SHIKARPUR: Consumption of fossil fuels increases by about one per cent a year. The steps being taken by the government will not at all be able to prevent global warming in the near future.
The challenge is that we have to manage the probable effects of this phenomenon while taking steps to prevent climate changes in future.
There are two major approaches to slowing the build-up of greenhouse gases. The first is to keep carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere by storing the gas or its carbon component somewhere else. This is called carbon sequestration. The second major approach is to reduce the production of greenhouse gases.
The simplest way to sequester carbon is to preserve trees and to plant more of them. Trees, especially those which are young and fast-growing, use considerable amounts of carbon dioxide. Worldwide, forests are being cut down at an alarming rate, particularly in the tropics. In many such areas, there is little chance of regrowth since the land loses fertility or is changed to other uses, such as farming or building homes.
Reforestation could offset these losses and counter part of the greenhouse build-up. Carbon dioxide gas can also be sequestered directly. The gas has traditionally been injected into oil wells to force more petroleum out of the ground or seabed. Now, it is being injected to isolate it underground in oil fields, coal beds or aquifers.
Engr. Dilbar Detho
Published in The Express Tribune, August 20th, 2012.
