Reference no: EM132005452

Carbon dioxide has well-established climate effects, and climate change due to the increase of ~120 ppm CO2 that has already occurred since large scale fossil fuel use began is underway. Currently, the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere is increasing by about 2 ppm per year. This increase is mostly due to fossil fuel use for transportation fuels and electricity generation, with smaller contributions from land use change and cement manufacture. If we continue on this trajectory, the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere will approach 600 ppm by the end of this century, and could be even higher if the rate of fossil fuel use increases becomes more like that of the United States - in the large population developing countries such as China and India. It may also rise even higher- perhaps approaching 1000 ppm - if we choose to use non-conventional petroleum resources, such as oil shales and tar sands, rather than alternative energy resources to replace conventional petroleum resources which have already reached, or are very close to reaching, their peak supply in the global market. In choosing the types of energy policies and energy sources to support, we must be careful to separate questions of scientific knowledge from questions of policy choices. The knowledge that atmospheric CO2 concentrations is increasing due to fossil fuel use and is becoming an increasingly large cause of climate change does not necessarily tell us to take any particular course of action or make any particular policy choice. We always have a choice of what to do with a body of knowledge. The choice of what to do potentially involves many other considerations, some of which have nothing to do with science or climate. Potential considerations in climate and energy policy could include, but are not limited to, economic, social, technological, and political considerations, and will always be shaped by the values a particular individual assigns to these different factors. The question: What should we do about carbon emissions from fossil fuel use? Should they be reduced? Why or why not?

If your position is yes, carbon emissions from fossil fuel use should be reduced, then your paper must also explain how we should reduce carbon emissions from fossil fuel use. If your position is no emissions from fossil fuel use should not reduced, then your paper must also explain why this problem should not be addressed.