• How do we slow, stop, or even reverse the role of climate change?

 

• Reducing greenhouse gases and the burning of fossil fuels is our best bet. To do this, we can get our energy from sources other than natural gas, oil, and coal.

 

• Wind and solar power, for example, do not burn fossil fuels, but provide a good amount of energy. Cost is a factor though. Some techniques do not stop the manufacture of greenhouse gases, but can stop them from entering the atmosphere or reduce their effects.

 

• Effective ways to reduce the risk include biomass energy, wind and water energy, geothermal and solar energy, carbon and methane containment, energy efficient and green buildings and vehicles, and nuclear energy.

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• Biomass: Wood, for example, can create electricity. This efficiently uses a natural resource to power lights and heat homes.

 

• Wind and Water: Wind turbines are powered naturally by the wind, creating a source that can be used for electricity. Water sources, such as hydroelectric dams, use the water movement to power electricity. The dam also creates bodies of water behind them that we can use for recreational purposes.

 

• Geothermal and Solar: Power plants and heat pumps use heat from inside the earth or near Earth’s surface to create steam for electricity or to heat water and buildings. Solar thermal technology is another way to create steam for electricity or hot water. Solar panels installed on buildings heat the buildings using the Sun’s energy.

 

• Carbon and methane containment: Carbon is captured as it is manufactured, and redirected underground for permanent storage, keeping it from being released into the atmosphere. Methane is created when trash rots in landfills, but is captured in pipes and then burned for electricity.

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• Energy-efficiency and 'going green': “Buildings we live and work in create 30 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions in the United States.” Buildings can be made to reduce greenhouse gases by using technology for more efficient heating, cooling, and lighting. Fuel-efficient cars, electric cars, and hybrids all reduce the amount of fossil fuels burned and released into the air.

 

• Use of these new types of vehicles can create a great reduction just considering the number of people driving to and from work every day.

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• Carpooling or taking a bus or train are other ways we can reduce our footprint. Think of the effect of hundreds of people taking the bus to work every day, using transportation that only emits greenhouse gases from one vehicle, as opposed to all of these people individually taking their own cars to work, and releasing gases from each one of those vehicles.

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• Nuclear Energy: Requires the use of uranium, a natural substance that is non-renewable, but still in abundance for use. Energy from the uranium creates steam, which can be used for electricity. The radioactive waste from a nuclear power plant though must be contained and disposed of for safety.

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---. Technologies. n.d. Web. 6 Dec. 2016.