Question: What do you think it will take to stop global warming

Daniel Scully answered on 23 Nov 2011:

The solution to global warming really lies in scientists and engineers finding clean ways to produce power and efficient devices that don’t waste any.

If we think about what we have in a developed country like the U.K. at the moment… we’d have to cut emissions so drastically that it would require serious changes in the way we go about our day to day lives and or great expense of tax payers’ money. Both of these are very unpopular with voters, so no government can afford to push these through.

Even if we could manage these substantial reductions, they would not be enough. We would also need to develop carbon capture schemes.

Finally, the rest of the developing world is also soon going to want to enjoy cars, foreign holidays and electronic devices. Populations in these countries (like China and India) dwarf the number or people in the developed world.

I don’t think it’s reasonable or practical to ask people to inconvenience their lives. And I don’t think its unreasonable that other people around the world should enjoy the same standard of life we do.

So the only way that we can reduce emissions is by making devices more efficient, cars and planes less polluting and generate power more cleanly.

The best possibility for that last one is Nuclear Fusion. If we can develop a working power station it will produce no greenhouse gasses and doesn’t produce any of the nasty radioactive waste that conventional nuclear fission power does.