Today Wired posted an article letting folks know about the Virgin Earth Challenge. Over all I’d have to say that it’s a good thing, though I have some reservations about it. To quote the challenge website:
The Virgin Earth Challenge is a prize of $25m for whoever can demonstrate to the judges’ satisfaction a commercially viable design which results in the removal of anthropogenic, atmospheric greenhouse gases so as to contribute materially to the stability of Earth’s climate.
Now, I have my own opinion and point of views about the whole global warming issue, namely I have not seen proof that the cause of the rise in temperatures is caused by CO2 emissions. However I have seen a correlation between the rise of CO2 and the rise of the average temperature. So, it seems to me that lowering CO2 would, at the very least, be a good thing.
However, rather than trying to create a machine that attempts to vacuum the greenhouse gases out of the air, the same gases that were put there mostly by other machines, I’d like to see the reforestation of the rain forest and many of the forests here in the USA and an increase in the use of recycled materials.
It seems to me that developing such a machine would only encourage the human race to continue to take the planet for granted. But to work together to cut the CO2 emissions and to re-plant trees (and not just fast growing softwood tress, but rather to plant and oak for every oak that’s cut down, and so on and so forth).
These is just a brief overview of the issue, one which I’m likely to elaborate on further at a later date.
