• Question: Hi Scientists, Even though the fossil fuels will run out, is their any chance we can stop global warming? Also I think fossil fuels have something to do with global warming, but what do they have to do with it, and are fossil fuels causing global warming? Thankyoou..

    Asked by jesschallenger to Amy, Grant, Martin, Shawn, Usman on 9 Mar 2013.
    • Photo: Grant Kennedy

      Grant Kennedy answered on 9 Mar 2013:

      Good question!

      One of the reasons that slowing down global warming is hard is politics. To change to better energy sources like tides, wind, Solar, etc. is very expensive because we haven’t been doing it for as many years as we’ve been using gas, oil, and coal. We’ll get better at these in the future, but governments need to spend more money on research that improves the technology. So if some country keeps using fossil fuels but another doesn’t, the one that uses fossil fuels will have more money in the short term. It’s kind of like saying if your mate has a cool car then you need one too, even if it’s bad for the environment.

      I don’t think it’s the fossil fuels themselves that are causing global warming, but our use of them at a massive rate. We use so much that the Earth can’t deal with the extra carbon dioxide, which means that the “greenhouse effect” is getting stronger and the Earth is warmer. Basically the extra carbon dioxide stops the Earth from losing heat that comes in from the Sun, just a like the glass on a real greenhouse.

      There’s some more really good stuff on the wikipedia page that shows which fuels are good and bad
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_dioxide_in_Earth's_atmosphere

      I try to do my bit to stop global warming. I bike everywhere and don’t own a car and I buy local food over stuff that’s been shipped from other countries.

      g

    • Photo: Martin Archer

      Martin Archer answered on 12 Mar 2013:

      Lots of scientists are trying to work out what the effect of global warming will be if we continue burning fossil fuels at the rate we are. It’s very difficult to do this and really predict what the climate change will be, but everyone agrees we need to do something. The problem for the politicians is that the effects aren’t going to be big for at least another 50 years or so say. Plus people don’t want to completely change their lifestyle.

      We don’t really know what we can do to slow down or even halt climate change and when we need to do it at the moment. But as I say, lots of people are trying to work this out to inform world leaders.

    • Photo: Shawn Domagal-Goldman

      Shawn Domagal-Goldman answered on 12 Mar 2013:

      Jess, I think you’re right! There’s a LOT of evidence the burning of fossil fuels has led to global warming. Just about every formal group of scientists that has looked at this problem has come to that conclusion.

      But there’s a lot of answers out there for us, both as single people and as a global community! Chats like this, where we don’t have to talk face-to-face, means burning less fossil fuels. Using appliances and light bulbs that are energy efficient also helps. Same thing with cars that use les gasoline/petrol – they burn less fuel.

      One thing people don’t often think about is their diet. Moving foods across great distances takes up LOTS of energy. That is especially true for meat. So if you buy food from local farmers and ranchers, and reduce the amount of meat you eat, that does a LOT of good for the environment. I try to go to the farmer’s market every week to get fresh vegetables, and I try to limit the amount of meat I eat.

      Eventually, we’ll also need to tackle these problems as a planet. But as Grant and Martin have said, that’s going to require a lot of us raising our voices so our politicians hear how important the future of our planet is to us.

      Meanwhile, we need to develop cleaner sources of energy. Maybe clean versions of nuclear power? Or maybe wind? Or maybe solar? Or maybe one day YOU can help find some new solutions to this problem!

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