Reducing Our Impact on Global Warming - Carbon Capture and Storage

Evidence for the impact of carbon dioxide on global warming

There is much debate about the causes of global warming, some argue that it is just part of the Earths' natural cycle and that there have been periods of extreme heat and ice ages throughout the millennia. Whilst others say that increasing carbon dioxide in our time is contributing directly to global warming.  There are plenty of websites on the internet giving argue for and against these theories.  The Houston Chronicle blog typifies this showing that data can be used to argue for and against the impact of carbon dioxide. Click here.

The graph below (from http://www.discoveringantarctica.org.uk/alevel_2_3.html) shows a link between carbon dioxide levels and temperature over the last 600,000 years.  This data has been gathered by looking at ice core samples from Antarctica.  Click on the graph for more information.

It suggests that there is a link between carbon dioxide and temperature levels.  The greater the carbon dioxide the greater the temperature.  It also suggests that these temperature changes are cyclic.  At present the levels of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere are greater than at any time during the period of the graph above, it is also thought in some areas that the rise in global temperature is probably greater than would be expected in these normal temperature cycles.

The Artic Climate Impact Assessment (website click here) has shown that since the onset of the Industrial Revolution (1800s onwards) where the use of fossil fuels has increased, carbon dioxide emissions have increased rapidly as has global temperature.

Carbon-dioxide levels in the air closely track temperature records for the past 10 centuries. If they continue to parallel each other, global warming will only get worse. From: http://whyfiles.org/211warm_arctic/ Courtesy Arctic Climate Impact Assessment

How can carbon dioxide emissions be reduced?

Scientists believe that reducing carbon dioxide emissions could help reduce levels of global warming.  One method of doing this is by carbon capture and storage, the video below explains how this is being undertaken in Australia by the Australian Coal Association:

To summarise:

• carbon dioxide can be captured at the point of production,
• condensed into liquid form,
• then stored deep under sea beds in geological formation such as old oil fields, or underground in geological rock formations such as old coal seams.

For more information visit the Carbon Capture & Storage Association website. Click here.