A summary to the lecture

200 tonnes carbon dioxide per second are released to the atmosphere. CO2 is one of the main gases which are responsible for global warming. The increase of CO2 in the atmosphere is largely due to consumption of fossil fuels. Consumptions of coal exist everywhere in the world. The United States, India, and China are the major countries consuming coal. If the business as usual scenario comes ture, there will be about 1300 ppm carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. That will be a severe threaten to our planet. Thus, we need to take some actions to avert the scenario from happening. There are five main ways to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide as the lecturer has mentioned: improving fuel efficiency and conservation, , capture and storage of CO2, mitigation, adaptation, and switching to alternative energy sources, such as solar, nuclear, wind, and biomass. Currently, a popular technology applied is to sink liquid CO2 to the bottom of the ocean. However, one disadvantage of this technology is that exceed CO2 will make the ocean water acidic and cause a serious biological effect. Actually, the political quetions are more difficult than the technological problems. The United States and Austrilia are the only countries that refuse to ratify the Tokyo protocol. But it is not all the United State's fault. It is an excuse for the politician all over the world who do not want to do anything to global warming. In Bratain, the government make some policies to control global warming, such as improve minimum standard for vehicle. It is not all governments' responsibility to take actions, we as individuals also need to something: giving up owning cars, stop wasting light, air-con, heat, and so on.