solutions_d

=**Possible Solutions To the Issue of Human Impact on Climate Change**= Alice, Charmaine, Frank, Kevin and Sean

Alternative Energy Resources
Many of the issues addressed in climate change are all related to the increasing amount of carbon emissions which contributes to global warming. As a result, one solution would be to be more energy efficient and implement the use of renewable energy such as **hydroelectricity**, **solar power** and **wind power**.

Firstly, **hydroelectricity** is produced from the current of moving water. Furthermore, it is different from the other two (solar and wind power) energies in that it can be stored in rivers and dams which makes it much more easy to generate electricity. It also does not contribute to the greenhouse effect. In order to make this hydroelectric power, bodies of water are stored safely in dams where the water can be controlled by gates and pipes. Ultimately, the pressure resulted from the water pushing the turbines which is connected to a generator will generate electricity.

__**Advantages**__**:**
 * Does not produce any gas emissions or wastes
 * More reliable than solar and wind because the water can be stored and used more often
 * Hydroelectricity stations are relatively inexpensive to operate

__**Disadvantages**__**:**
 * Surrounding ecosystem and plant life may be impaired due to water quality
 * Dams take up large areas of land
 * Hydroelectricity stations are expensive to build

Methods to help curb the level of carbon emissions from transportation vehicles would be to produce less petrol driven vehicles and more solar powered ones. **Solar power** helps provide energy in the form of light as well as heat. With the inventions of photo voltaic cells (panels), scientists are now able to capture sunlight and convert it into electricity uses. On the other hand, rather than (for example) burning wood or coal to heat water, energy from the sun can be absorbed and used to heat water instead.

__**Advantages**__**:**
 * Energy from the sun is limitless (won't run out)
 * Particularly helpful in remote areas
 * Environmentally safe

__**Disadvantages**__:
 * On cloudy days and during the night it won't work
 * Solar generators are expensive and require big space


 * Wind Energy** has been used since the 1800's to power grain mills. Nowadays, with aerospace materials and ultra-efficient engineering, this limitless source of energy can be used to harness the power of the wind, and provide energy for homes. Wind mills are commonly seen in and around farming communities, as the flat geography allows for a strong wind. Farmer's will typically use windmills to power their homes, while selling the surplus energy back into the energy grid. Wind mills haven't changed in their basic design from many centuries ago. The wind still spins the blades, this time however, the blades power an electric generator which converts it into energy. More recently, computers and aerospace materials have been used to make windmills more efficient.

__**Advantages:**__ __**Disadvantages:**__
 * Wind energy is virtually limitless
 * Environmentally safe
 * Does not produce any emissions of wastes
 * Relatively inexpensive
 * Some people think wind mills are unsightly
 * Reliance on wind (no wind=no power)
 * Limited to certain geographical areas
 * Takes many wind mills to produce a lot of energy

**Recycling**
Recycling is a series of activities that includes collecting recyclable materials that would otherwise be considered waste, sorting and processing recyclables into raw materials such as fibers, and manufacturing raw materials into new products.

__Process__

Collecting recyclables varies from community to community.
 * Step 1. Collection and Processing**

Recyclables are sent to a materials recovery facility to be sorted and prepared into marketable commodities for manufacturing.

Recyclables are bought and sold just like any other commodity, and prices for the materials change and fluctuate with the market.

Once cleaned and separated, more and more of today's products are being manufactured with total or partial recycled content.
 * Step 2. Manufacturing**


 * Common household items that contain recycled materials include newspapers and paper towels; aluminum, plastic, and glass soft drink containers; steel cans; and plastic laundry detergent bottles.

Recycled materials also are used in innovative applications such as recovered glass in roadway asphalt (glassphalt) or recovered plastic in carpeting, park benches, and pedestrian bridges.


 * Step 3. Purchasing Recycled Products**

By "buying recycled," governments, each play an important role in making the recycling process a success. As consumers demand more environmentally sound products, manufacturers will continue to meet that demand by producing high-quality recycled products.


 * Recycling Facts and Figures**

For every ton of steel recycled, 2,500 pounds of iron ore, 1,400 pounds of coal, and 120 pounds of limestone are conserved.

Glass containers were recycled at a 22 percent rate in 2003 (by weight).

In 2003, newspapers were recycled at an 82.4 percent rate and corrugated cardboard boxes at a 71.3 percent rate (both by weight).

Recycling one ton of paper saves the equivalent of 17 trees, saves enough energy to power an average home for six months, saves 7,000 gallons of water, and keeps 60 pounds of pollutants out of the air.

For more information on recycling: http://www.co.ba.md.us/Agencies/publicworks/recycling/recylfact.html http://www.buyrecycled.com/facts.htm http://www.oberlin.edu/recycle/facts.html

An example of a real life protocol to help curb human impact on the environment is the **Kyoto Protocol**. This protocol, which was made official on February 16th, 2005, seeks to legally enforce a global awareness, and action against greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane sulfer hexaflouride, PFC's, HFC's, and CFC's. The Protocol has signed on nearly 180 countries, and aims to globally reduce emissions by keeping track of how much emissions each country produces, and assigning each country a certain limit to the amount they can produce annually. Countries that exceed this stated limit are fined heavily, while countries that reach or produce less than their limit, can sell their "Energy Credits" to other countries.
 * Protocols**

The Kyoto Protocol suffers however, as it does not include developing countries such as India and China (two developing countries which produce a lot of pollution), and failed to include the United States and Australia. Some also state that the Protocol is economically inefficient, as it seeks to do too much in too little time. Scientists also argue that it isn't relevant to the problem, in how it seeks to reduce emissions, when it should be targeting atmospheric concentrations of CO2. It also fails to effectively punish countries that do not meet their targets. There has also been calculations done, stating that the reduction in emissions by 2050 will only be reduced by 2 to 3%.

In order to create an effective protocol to enforce and reduce greenhouse gases, these alternatives come to mind:
 * Create a strong unified body, which includes all major powers (most notably the United States), and does not exclude certain developing nations such as China and India.
 * Create an alternative energy quota, in which a certain percentage of the country should be powered by alternative energy sources by a specific date.
 * Implementing a carbon tax, this would be an incentive to reduce carbon emissions, as the more emissions, the more tax.
 * Improving the time line, to look at it in the long run, instead of hastily trying to reduce greenhouse gases in what many perceive as an unreachable amount of time.
 * Enforce strict penalties to countries that fail to follow the rules of the protocol (such as heavy taxation, decline of trading rights etc.)

Promotion
- **Spread the word:** let friends and families know about the current problem and tell them to cut down on energy use - **Education and talks**: tell people about the problem and the solutions, let them know their responsibilities - **Volunteer**: support organisations that are trying to solve the problem, become part of the solution - **Campaign**: gain support, raise awareness

Sources: http://www.energy.com.au/energy/ea.nsf/Content/Kids+Renewable+energy & http://www.re-energy.ca/t_renewablebasics.shtml & http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/what_we_do/climate_change/solutions/index.cfm