Energy sources, control, global warming, what must be done and a possible role for ‘sundownloaders’
Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry, University of Hong Kong.
Review
International Journal of Science and Technology Research Archive, 2022, 03(01), 011–015.
Article DOI: 10.53771/ijstra.2022.3.1.0054
Publication history:
Received on 23 June 2022; revised on 27 June 2022; accepted on 29 June 2022
Abstract:
Global warming is a genuine threat to human survival, though causes and therefore also solutions are more subtle, complex and difficult than usually supposed. Burning fossil fuels is a contributor; also 8 billion humans breathe out about 2 billion tons per year of carbon dioxide, just to stay alive; yet total human energy usage is a tiny fraction of solar radiation energy received by our planet. Standard reactions so far are inadequate, costly, dangerous and mis-directed.
An essential internationally-agreed programme to deal with the crisis must include reduction of the human population, better use of solar radiation, and a colossal research effort to find better ways of trapping atmospheric carbon dioxide and converting it into hydrocarbons - so as to achieve at least carbon-neutrality and yet allow use of much the most efficient means we yet know to both store energy and have it ready to hand. The alternative to such a programme is world-wide economic, political and biological disaster, including possible extinction of Homo sapiens.
Sundownloaders may make a useful contribution in one area - making better use of solar radiation. It is already clear that food production using artificial light cannot provide enough at low enough cost to feed the present human population.
The present global warming process, its causes and consequences, are the subject of millions of words per day in paper and internet media communications, but with no sign of deep understanding: this paper is intended to clarify and balance the problems from a serious practical viewpoint, offering serious suggestions about what really should be done by individuals, organisations, businesses, politicians and governments around the world. Global warming is real, its causation not as simple as some make out. Humans need energy from food, merely to survive, and the more humans exist the greater is that requirement. The quantity and cost of energy requirements for social and business functions are often obscured or misrepresented: here we shall challenge what are often unwarranted assumptions and proposals, making new ones. Yes, there is room for disagreement: yes, any statement whatever can be questioned and the truth can only be established if that is done and the argument judged without prejudice; Science, not self-advertisement, not propaganda.
Keywords:
Energy; Solar; Sundownloader; Control; Population; International
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