Global Warming: Not Too Late

Technology Review, an MIT publication, has a special issue proclaiming “it’s not too late” to fix global warming. Here are some of the key points:

• Carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere, which have risen 32% in the last 150 years, threaten to raise global temperatures enough to submerge millions of homes.

• Oil extraction efforts continue to improve, perversely making the world's potential carbon dioxide problem even worse.

• While techniques exist to sequester carbon dioxide released by coal burning, we lack the incentives to force their use, and to force wider use of efficient electric lighting.

• Nuclear power proponents need to get busy 1) building plants that employ existing technologies, and 2) burying nuclear waste, not delay while researching better methods.

• Genetically engineered microorganisms that more efficiently produce ethanol offer the best research-driven path to clean energy.