Coal, a fossil fuel, emits foul and harmful gasses into our atmosphere, and with a lack of political support for clean coal, a new alternative is here, biochar. Biochar is a newfound way of trapping carbon with so called “green coal”. Biomass waste we would never think of using, such as peanut shells actually release carbon when it decomposes. However, by burning the remains in a process known as pyrolysis, what’s left over is biochar or green coal. South American societies began this process and dug back this green coal in the ground in order to lock in carbon instead of allowing it to widen the hole in the ozone layer. If this process is applied efficiently and effectively, scientists agree that billion of tons of carbons could be sequestered in soil instead of being released into our atmosphere. Carbon sequestration can be an effective approach to runaway global warming. This new green coal is proved to be more effective than nature’s natural approach to the problem. While trees or plants lock in the carbon for only 15-20 years, biochar could possibly lock in carbon for possibly 100 years. Along with its obvious benefits, the nutrients brought back into the soil could also spur the industrial agriculture sector, signifying a thumbs up from not only farmers, but those attempting to combat climate
change.
-Nicholas Chan
Biofuels have been proven to be cost effective and efficient since 1973. It is estimated that biomass produces 146 billion metric tons a year. Many new alternatives are emerging across the country and hemp is a potential. Hemp has the potential to be the number one biomass producer on Earth. 77% of the plant contains cellulose and cellulosic ethanol is the term referring to types of energy that we are familiar with. Cubing the plant can condense the bulk which reduces the cost and the amount of land used in the pyrolosis reactor which makes the fuel.
The United States makes up 40% of China’s imports and unfortunately, these two major industrialized countries lack new alternatives to even simple problems such as the transportation of goods. Large cargo ships emit fossil fuels just as any other form of transportation such as a car or a heavy metal locomotive, however the newest innovations prove how hydrogen based cargo ships can make drastic changes in society. Some consider the global shipping industry as an emission juggernaut, but hydrogen-hybrid boats can easily switch over to a zero-emissions glide into the oceans. The first design was actually created and based off of a British Waterways vessel and is powered by stored hydrogen. Unlike normal hydrogen based vehicles, the cargo ships actually store the hydrogen-lithium-hydride power safely to avoid dangerous accidents because there is no need to carry high pressured gasses on board. Another positive benefit is that the weight of the heavy hydrogen is no longer a problem on smooth sailing waterways. With all of this taken into consideration, the ships that carry our precious goods can easily be powered by the water that they’re gliding across on the ocean.
Global Warming and greenhouse emissions are becoming a bigger issue than we ever expected. Our own industrial revolution seem to coming back to bite us in the butt, but President Barack Obama is currently proposing a policy to Congress concerning cap and trade emissions. The policy calls for the auctioning off of permits to large emission companies. There will be a cap set to determine the amount of carbon released and carbon permits will be traded to carbon emitters. Since the U.S never signed the Kyoto Protocol, getting this passed through Congress will be a huge achievement and a positive thumbs up from other countries around the world. Obama wants to reduce emissions by 83% during the 2050. Although the legislation is being debated now, it might end up being crowded out by the controversial health care proposals. The President is using up tons of his political capital in order to get health care passed and it might be incredibly hard to squeeze cap and trade in there as well. There is also still public opposition to the policy because Americans just don’t seem to care about global warming because it doesn’t seem to affect their current day to day lives, but U.S citizens must open up their eyes and look to the bigger picture. Melting ice caps, depleting animal habitats and resource wars are just small scale consequences to a much larger problem. If Congress doesn’t follow through, we’re going to be expecting warmer winters.
