query: The Arctic’s carbon bomb might be even more potent than we thought […] methane, a shorter-lived but far harder-hitting gas that could cause faster bursts of warming

positive: Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world 's five major oceans . The International Hydrographic Organization ( IHO ) recognizes it as an ocean , although some oceanographers call it the Arctic Mediterranean Sea or simply the Arctic Sea , classifying it a mediterranean sea or an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean . Alternatively , the Arctic Ocean can be seen as the northernmost part of the all-encompassing World Ocean .   Located mostly in the Arctic north polar region in the middle of the Northern Hemisphere , the Arctic Ocean is almost completely surrounded by Eurasia and North America . It is partly covered by sea ice throughout the year and almost completely in winter . The Arctic Ocean 's surface temperature and salinity vary seasonally as the ice cover melts and freezes ; its salinity is the lowest on average of the five major oceans , due to low evaporation , heavy fresh water inflow from rivers and streams , and limited connection and outflow to surrounding oceanic waters with higher salinities . The summer shrinking of the ice has been quoted at 50 % . The US National Snow and Ice Data Center ( NSIDC ) uses satellite data to provide a daily record of Arctic sea ice cover and the rate of melting compared to an average period and specific past years .

positive: Climate change feedback Climate change feedback is important in the understanding of global warming because feedback processes may amplify or diminish the effect of each climate forcing , and so play an important part in determining the climate sensitivity and future climate state . Feedback in general is the process in which changing one quantity changes a second quantity , and the change in the second quantity in turn changes the first . Positive feedback amplifies the change in the first quantity while negative feedback reduces it .   The term `` forcing '' means a change which may `` push '' the climate system in the direction of warming or cooling . An example of a climate forcing is increased atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases . By definition , forcings are external to the climate system while feedbacks are internal ; in essence , feedbacks represent the internal processes of the system . Some feedbacks may act in relative isolation to the rest of the climate system ; others may be tightly coupled ; hence it may be difficult to tell just how much a particular process contributes . Forcings , feedbacks and the dynamics of the climate system determine how much and how fast the climate changes . The main positive feedback in global warming is the tendency of warming to increase the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere , which in turn leads to further warming . The main negative feedback comes from the Stefan -- Boltzmann law , the amount of heat radiated from the Earth into space changes with the fourth power of the temperature of Earth 's surface and atmosphere .   Some observed and potential effects of global warming are positive feedbacks , which contribute directly to further global warming . The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 's ( IPCC ) Fourth Assessment Report states that `` Anthropogenic warming could lead to some effects that are abrupt or irreversible , depending upon the rate and magnitude of the climate change . ''

positive: Arctic methane emissions Arctic methane release is the release of methane from seas and soils in permafrost regions of the Arctic . While a long-term natural process , it is exacerbated by global warming . This results in a positive feedback effect , as methane is itself a powerful greenhouse gas .   The Arctic region is one of the many natural sources of the greenhouse gas methane . Global warming accelerates its release , due to both release of methane from existing stores , and from methanogenesis in rotting biomass . Large quantities of methane are stored in the Arctic in natural gas deposits , permafrost , and as undersea clathrates . Permafrost and clathrates degrade on warming , thus large releases of methane from these sources may arise as a result of global warming . Other sources of methane include submarine taliks , river transport , ice complex retreat , submarine permafrost and decaying gas hydrate deposits .   Concentrations in the Arctic atmosphere are higher by 8 -- 10 % than that in the Antarctic atmosphere . During cold glacier epochs , this gradient decreases to practically insignificant levels . Land ecosystems are considered the main sources of this asymmetry , although it has been suggested that `` the role of the Arctic Ocean is significantly underestimated . '' Soil temperature and moisture levels have been found to be significant variables in soil methane fluxes in tundra environments .

positive: Arctic The Arctic ( -LSB- ˈɑrktɪk -RSB- or -LSB- ˈɑrtɪk -RSB- ) is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth . The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean , adjacent seas , and parts of Alaska ( United States ) , Canada , Finland , Greenland ( Denmark ) , Iceland , Norway , Russia and Sweden . Land within the Arctic region has seasonally varying snow and ice cover , with predominantly treeless permafrost-containing tundra . Arctic seas contain seasonal sea ice in many places .   The Arctic region is a unique area among Earth 's ecosystems . For example , the cultures in the region and the Arctic indigenous peoples have adapted to its cold and extreme conditions . In recent years , Arctic sea ice decline has been caused by global warming . Life in the Arctic includes organisms living in the ice , zooplankton and phytoplankton , fish and marine mammals , birds , land animals , plants and human societies . Arctic land is bordered by the subarctic .

negative: Landfill gas Landfill gas is a complex mix of different gases created by the action of microorganisms within a landfill . Landfill gas is approximately forty to sixty percent methane , with the remainder being mostly carbon dioxide . Trace amounts of other volatile organic compounds comprise the remainder ( < 1 % ) . These trace gases include a large array of species , mainly simple hydrocarbons .   Landfill gases have an influence on climate change . The major components are CO2 and methane , both of which are greenhouse gas . In terms of global warming potential , methane is over 25 times more detrimental to the atmosphere than carbon dioxide . Landfills are the third largest source of methane in the US .

negative: Methane clathrate Methane clathrate ( CH4 · 5.75 H2O ) or ( 4CH4 · 23H2O ) , also called methane hydrate , hydromethane , methane ice , fire ice , natural gas hydrate , or gas hydrate , is a solid clathrate compound ( more specifically , a clathrate hydrate ) in which a large amount of methane is trapped within a crystal structure of water , forming a solid similar to ice . Originally thought to occur only in the outer regions of the Solar System , where temperatures are low and water ice is common , significant deposits of methane clathrate have been found under sediments on the ocean floors of the Earth .   Methane clathrates are common constituents of the shallow marine geosphere and they occur in deep sedimentary structures and form outcrops on the ocean floor . Methane hydrates are believed to form by migration of gas from deep along geological faults , followed by precipitation or crystallization , on contact of the rising gas stream with cold sea water . In 2008 , research on Antarctic Vostok and EPICA Dome C ice cores revealed that methane clathrates were also present in deep Antarctic ice cores and record a history of atmospheric methane concentrations , dating to 800,000 years ago . The ice-core methane clathrate record is a primary source of data for global warming research , along with oxygen and carbon dioxide .

negative: Greenhouse gas A greenhouse gas ( abbrev . GHG ) is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range . This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect . The primary greenhouse gases in Earth 's atmosphere are water vapor , carbon dioxide , methane , nitrous oxide , and ozone . Without greenhouse gases , the average temperature of Earth 's surface would be about -18 ° C , rather than the present average of 15 ° C . In the Solar System , the atmospheres of Venus , Mars and Titan also contain gases that cause a greenhouse effect .   Human activities since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution ( taken as the year 1750 ) have produced a 40 % increase in the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide , from 280 ppm in 1750 to 406 ppm in early 2017 . This increase has occurred despite the uptake of a large portion of the emissions by various natural `` sinks '' involved in the carbon cycle . Anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions ( i.e. , emissions produced by human activities ) come from combustion of fossil fuels , principally coal , oil , and natural gas , along with deforestation , soil erosion and animal agriculture .   It has been estimated that if greenhouse gas emissions continue at the present rate , Earth 's surface temperature could exceed historical values as early as 2047 , with potentially harmful effects on ecosystems , biodiversity and the livelihoods of people worldwide . Recent estimates suggest that on the current emissions trajectory the Earth could pass a threshold of 2 ° C global warming , which the United Nations ' IPCC designated as the upper limit to avoid `` dangerous '' global warming , by 2036 .

negative: Carbon monitoring Carbon monitoring refers to tracking how much carbon dioxide or methane is produced by particular activity at a particular point in time . For example , it may refer to tracking methane emissions from agriculture , or carbon dioxide emissions from land use changes , such as deforestation , or from burning fossil fuels , whether in a power plant , automobile , or other device . Because carbon dioxide is the greenhouse gas emitted in the largest quantities , and methane is an even more potent greenhouse gas , monitoring carbon emissions is widely seen as crucial to any effort to reduce emissions and thereby slow climate change . Monitoring carbon emissions is key to the cap-and-trade program currently being used in Europe , as well as the one in California , and will be necessary for any such program in the future , like the Paris Agreement . The lack of reliable sources of consistent data on carbon emissions is a significant barrier to efforts to reduce emissions .

negative: Global warming potential Global warming potential ( GWP ) is a relative measure of how much heat a greenhouse gas traps in the atmosphere . It compares the amount of heat trapped by a certain mass of the gas in question to the amount of heat trapped by a similar mass of carbon dioxide . A GWP is calculated over a specific time interval , commonly 20 , 100 , or 500 years . GWP is expressed as a factor of carbon dioxide ( whose GWP is standardized to 1 ) . In the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change , methane has a lifetime of 12.4 years and with climate-carbon feedbacks a global warming potential of 86 over 20 years and 34 over 100 years in response to emissions . User related choices such as the time horizon can greatly affect the numerical values obtained for carbon dioxide equivalents . For a change in time horizon from 20 to 100 years , the GWP for methane decreases by a factor of approximately 2.5 .  The substances subject to restrictions under the Kyoto protocol either are rapidly increasing their concentrations in Earth 's atmosphere or have a large GWP .   The GWP depends on the following factors :  the absorption of infrared radiation by a given species  the spectral location of its absorbing wavelengths  the atmospheric lifetime of the species  Thus , a high GWP correlates with a large infrared absorption and a long atmospheric lifetime . The dependence of GWP on the wavelength of absorption is more complicated . Even if a gas absorbs radiation efficiently at a certain wavelength , this may not affect its GWP much if the atmosphere already absorbs most radiation at that wavelength . A gas has the most effect if it absorbs in a `` window '' of wavelengths where the atmosphere is fairly transparent . The dependence of GWP as a function of wavelength has been found empirically and published as a graph .   Because the GWP of a greenhouse gas depends directly on its infrared spectrum , the use of infrared spectroscopy to study greenhouse gases is centrally important in the effort to understand the impact of human activities on global climate change .

negative: Enhanced coal bed methane recovery Enhanced coal bed methane recovery is a method of producing additional coalbed methane from a source rock , similar to enhanced oil recovery applied to oil fields . Carbon dioxide ( CO2 ) injected into a bituminous coal bed would occupy pore space and also adsorb onto the carbon in the coal at approximately twice  the rate of methane ( CH4 ) , allowing for potential enhanced gas recovery . This technique may be used in conjunction with carbon capture and storage in mitigation of global warming where the carbon dioxide that is sequestered is captured from the output of fossil fuel power plants .   A research project at ETH Zurich is studying the process of pumping carbon dioxide into unminable coal seams and recovering the methane that is subsequently displaced .   An extensive experimental investigation about the process of desorbing methane by adsorbing carbon dioxide in real coal samples was performed . The proof of principle and the technical feasibility of the method could be verified with these measurements . These research results indicate that CBM can become an alternative to conventional natural gas . ECBM provides additional to CBM the advantage of long-term CO2 storage in the underground coal seams .   However , without other incentives , enhanced coal bed methane recovery is not economical as the commercial value of the released methane does not completely offset the cost of pumping .   Penetration of CO2 into coal is simulated using a stress-enhanced diffusion model .

negative: Thermal runaway Thermal runaway occurs in situations where an increase in temperature changes the conditions in a way that causes a further increase in temperature , often leading to a destructive result . It is a kind of uncontrolled positive feedback .   In other words , `` thermal runaway '' describes a process which is accelerated by increased temperature , in turn releasing energy that further increases temperature . In chemistry ( and chemical engineering ) , it is associated with strongly exothermic reactions that are accelerated by temperature rise . In electrical engineering , thermal runaway is typically associated with increased current flow and power dissipation , although exothermic chemical reactions can be of concern here too . Thermal runaway can occur in civil engineering , notably when the heat released by large amounts of curing concrete is not controlled -LCB- Citation needed -RCB- . In astrophysics , runaway nuclear fusion reactions in stars can lead to nova and several types of supernova explosions , and also occur as a less dramatic event in the normal evolution of solar mass stars , the `` helium flash '' .   There are also concerns regarding global warming that a global average increase of 3 -- 4 degrees Celsius above the preindustrial baseline could lead to a further unchecked increase in surface temperatures . For example , releases of methane , a greenhouse gas more potent than CO2 , from wetlands , melting permafrost and continental margin seabed clathrate deposits could be subject to positive feedback .

negative: Carbon diet A carbon diet refers to reducing the impact on climate change by reducing greenhouse gas production specifically , CO2 production . In today 's society , we produce CO2 in every day activities such as driving , heating , deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels such as coal , oil and gas . It has been found that carbon dioxide from the burning of coal , natural gas , and oil for electricity and heat is the largest single source of global greenhouse gas emissions . For years , governments and corporations have been attempting to balance out their emissions by participating in carbon-offsetting -- the practice in which they invest in renewable energy to compensate for the global-warming pollution that they produce . Despite these efforts the results are still far off and we continue to see growth in CO2 concentration . Now , a growing number of individuals are trying to make a reduction in the amount of CO2 that is being produced by participating in low carbon dieting . This small adjustment in household CO2 production has the potential to reduce emissions much more quickly than other kinds of changes and it deserves explicit consideration as part of climate policy . It can potentially help avoid `` overshoot '' of greenhouse gas concentration targets ; provide a demonstration effect ; reduce emissions at low cost ; and buy time to develop new technologies , policies , and institutions to reach long-term greenhouse gas emission targets and to develop adaptation strategies .

negative: Fossil fuel Fossil fuels are fuels formed by natural processes such as anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms , containing energy originating in ancient photosynthesis . The age of the organisms and their resulting fossil fuels is typically millions of years , and sometimes exceeds 650 million years . Fossil fuels contain high percentages of carbon and include petroleum , coal , and natural gas . Other commonly used derivatives include kerosene and propane . Fossil fuels range from volatile materials with low carbon to hydrogen ratios like methane , to liquids like petroleum , to nonvolatile materials composed of almost pure carbon , like anthracite coal . Methane can be found in hydrocarbon fields either alone , associated with oil , or in the form of methane clathrates .   The theory that fossil fuels formed from the fossilized remains of dead plants by exposure to heat and pressure in the Earth 's crust over millions of years was first introduced by Georgius Agricola in 1556 and later by Mikhail Lomonosov in the 18th century .   The Energy Information Administration estimates that in 2007 the primary sources of energy consisted of petroleum 36.0 % , coal 27.4 % , natural gas 23.0 % , amounting to an 86.4 % share for fossil fuels in primary energy consumption in the world . Non-fossil sources in 2006 included nuclear 8.5 % , hydroelectric 6.3 % , and others ( geothermal , solar , tidal , wind , wood , waste ) amounting to 0.9 % . World energy consumption was growing about 2.3 % per year .   Although fossil fuels are continually being formed via natural processes , they are generally considered to be non-renewable resources because they take millions of years to form and the known viable reserves are being depleted much faster than new ones are being made .   The use of fossil fuels raises serious environmental concerns . The burning of fossil fuels produces around 21.3 billion tonnes ( 21.3 gigatonnes ) of carbon dioxide ( CO2 ) per year . It is estimated that natural processes can only absorb about half of that amount , so there is a net increase of 10.65 billion tonnes of atmospheric carbon dioxide per year . Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that increases radiative forcing and contributes to global warming . A global movement towards the generation of renewable energy is underway to help reduce global greenhouse gas emissions .

negative: Effects of global warming The effects of global warming are the environmental and social changes caused ( directly or indirectly ) by human emissions of greenhouse gases . There is a scientific consensus that climate change is occurring , and that human activities are the primary driver . Many impacts of climate change have already been observed , including glacier retreat , changes in the timing of seasonal events ( e.g. , earlier flowering of plants ) , and changes in agricultural productivity .   Future effects of climate change will vary depending on climate change policies and social development . The two main policies to address climate change are reducing human greenhouse gas emissions ( climate change mitigation ) and adapting to the impacts of climate change . Geoengineering is another policy option .   Near-term climate change policies could significantly affect long-term climate change impacts . Stringent mitigation policies might be able to limit global warming ( in 2100 ) to around 2 ° C or below , relative to pre-industrial levels . Without mitigation , increased energy demand and extensive use of fossil fuels might lead to global warming of around 4 ° C. Higher magnitudes of global warming would be more difficult to adapt to , and would increase the risk of negative impacts .

negative: Oxidative coupling of methane The oxidative coupling of methane ( OCM ) is a type of chemical reaction discovered in the 1980s for the direct conversion of natural gas , primarily consisting of methane , into value-added chemicals . Direct conversion of methane into other useful products is one of the most challenging subjects to be studied in heterogeneous catalysis . Methane activation is difficult because of its thermodynamic stability with a noble gas like electronic configuration . The tetrahedral arrangement of strong C -- H bonds ( 435 kJ/mol ) offer no functional group , magnetic moments or polar distributions to undergo chemical attack . This makes methane less reactive than nearly all of its conversion products , limiting efficient utilization of natural gas , the world 's most abundant petrochemical resource .

negative: Methanotroph Methanotrophs ( sometimes called methanophiles ) are prokaryotes that metabolize methane as their only source of carbon and energy . They can grow aerobically or anaerobically and require single-carbon compounds to survive .  These Methanotrophs are currently being modified to absorb methane from the atmosphere , because methane released into the atmosphere contributes to greenhouse gasses , which heat up the earth and cause global warming .

negative: Maxwell's demon In the philosophy of thermal and statistical physics , Maxwell 's demon is a thought experiment created by the physicist James Clerk Maxwell in which he suggested how the Second Law of Thermodynamics might hypothetically be violated . In the thought experiment , a demon controls a small door between two chambers of gas . As individual gas molecules approach the door , the demon quickly opens and shuts the door so that fast molecules pass into the other chamber , while slow molecules remain in the first chamber . Because faster molecules are hotter , the demon 's behavior causes one chamber to warm up as the other cools , thus decreasing entropy and violating the Second Law of Thermodynamics .

negative: Atmospheric carbon cycle The atmosphere is one of the Earth 's major carbon reservoirs and an important component of the global carbon cycle , holding approximately 720 gigatons of carbon . Atmospheric carbon plays an important role in the greenhouse effect . The most important carbon compound in this respect is the gas carbon dioxide . Although it is a small percentage of the atmosphere ( approximately 0.04 % on a molar basis ) , it plays a vital role in retaining heat in the atmosphere and thus in the greenhouse effect . Other gases with effects on the climate containing carbon in the atmosphere are methane and chlorofluorocarbons ( the latter is entirely anthropogenic ) . Emissions by humans in the past 200 years have almost doubled the amount carbon dioxide in the atmosphere .

negative: Migration of marine species in the Northern Atlantic Ocean The world 's oceans are warming due to climate change . Climate change is caused by three major factors which are the greenhouse effect , variation in the sun 's energy that reaches Earth , and changes in reflectivity within Earth 's atmosphere and its surface . The greenhouse effect is caused by greenhouse gases that absorb sunlight . Energy from the sun that reaches Earth is either retained or sent into space . Greenhouse gases in Earth 's atmosphere such as carbon dioxide , methane , and water vapor absorb energy which cause a blanketing effect that warms the earth . Aerosols such as black carbon also catalyze the warming effect as they are unreflective and absorb energy from the sun supplementing greenhouse gases in the warming effect .   These combined factors are warming the Earth 's land as well as the oceans . Many fish species possess a certain range of water temperature that they are able to tolerate which is causing species to migrate to different areas where the water temperature is livable . The warming of the Atlantic Ocean is causing many fish species to shift north towards once cooler waters so they can live within their temperature range . Tropical species are being found outside their normal range and into more northern waters causing an array of ecological , economic , and fishery management problems .

negative: Arctic resources race The Arctic resources race refers to the competition between global entities for newly available natural resources in the Arctic . As the ice in the Arctic melts at a record rate and the sea ice extent continues to decrease due to global climate change , the Arctic waters become more navigable and Arctic resources -- such as oil and gas , minerals , fish , as well as tourism and new trade routes -- are becoming more accessible . Under the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea , five nations have the legal right to exploit the Arctic 's natural resources within their exclusive economic zones : Canada , Russia , Denmark , Norway , and the United States ( though the U.S. has yet to ratify the treaty , it considers the treaty to be customary international law and abides by it ) .   The Arctic region and its resources have recently been at the center of controversy and pose potential conflicts between nations that have differing opinions of how to manage the area , including conflicting territorial claims . In addition , the Arctic region is home to an estimated 400,000 indigenous people . If the ice continues to melt at the current rate , then these indigenous people are at risk of being displaced . The acceleration of ice depletion will contribute to climate change as a whole : melting ice releases methane , ice reflects incoming solar radiation , and without it will cause the ocean to absorb more radiation ( albedo effect ) , heating up the water causing more ocean acidification , and melting ice will cause a rise in sea level .

negative: Wetland methane emissions As one of the most significant natural sources of atmospheric methane , wetlands remain a major area of concern with respect to climate change . Wetlands are characterized by water-logged soils and distinctive communities of plant and animal species that have evolved and adapted to the constant presence of water . Due to this high level of water saturation as well as warm weather , wetlands are one of the most significant natural sources of atmospheric methane .   Most methanogenesis , or methane production , occurs in oxygen-poor environments . Because the microbes that live in warm , moist environments consume oxygen more rapidly than it can diffuse in from the atmosphere , wetlands are the ideal anaerobic , or oxygen poor , environments for fermentation .   Fermentation is a process used by certain kinds of microorganisms to break down essential nutrients . In a process called acetoclastic methanogenesis , microorganisms from the classification domain archaea produce methane by fermenting acetate and H2-CO2 into methane and carbon dioxide .   H3C-COOH → CH4 + CO2   Depending on the wetland and type of archaea , hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis , another process that yields methane , can also occur . This process occurs as a result of archaea oxidizing hydrogen with carbon dioxide to yield methane and water .   4H2 + CO2 → CH4 + 2H2O

negative: Technological Innovation for Climate Change Mitigation

negative: Methanizer Methanizer is an appliance used in gas chromatography , which allows to detect very low concentrations of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide . It consists of a flame ionization detector , preceded by a hydrogenating reactor , which converts CO2 and CO into methane CH4 .

negative: Mootral Mootral is the name given to a programme to reduce methane emissions from ruminant animals , chiefly cows and sheep , but also goats . Methane is a major target greenhouse gas and in the 4th protocol report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) is recommended to increase from a x23 to x72 multiplier because of the magnitude of its effect relative to carbon dioxide and short longevity in Earth 's atmosphere .

negative: Baking powder Baking powder is a dry chemical leavening agent , a mixture of a carbonate or bicarbonate and a weak acid , and is used for increasing the volume and lightening the texture of baked goods . Baking powder works by releasing carbon dioxide gas into a batter or dough through an acid-base reaction , causing bubbles in the wet mixture to expand and thus leavening the mixture . It is used instead of yeast for end-products where fermentation flavors would be undesirable or where the batter lacks the elastic structure to hold gas bubbles for more than a few minutes , or to speed the production . Because carbon dioxide is released at a faster rate through the acid-base reaction than through fermentation , breads made by chemical leavening are called quick breads .

negative: Carbon tax A carbon tax is a tax levied on the carbon content of fuels . It is a form of carbon pricing . Carbon is present in every hydrocarbon fuel ( coal , petroleum , and natural gas ) and converted to carbon dioxide and other products when combusted . In contrast , non-combustion energy sources -- wind , sunlight , geothermal , hydropower , and nuclear -- do not convert hydrocarbons to . is a heat-trapping `` greenhouse '' gas which represents a negative externality on the climate system ( see scientific opinion on global warming ) . Since GHG emissions caused by the combustion of fossil fuels are closely related to the carbon content of the respective fuels , a tax on these emissions can be levied by taxing the carbon content of fossil fuels at any point in the product cycle of the fuel .   Carbon tax offers social and economic benefits . It is a tax that increases revenue without significantly altering the economy while simultaneously promoting objectives of climate change policy . The objective of a carbon tax is to reduce the harmful and unfavorable levels of carbon dioxide emissions , thereby decelerating climate change and its negative effects on the environment and human health .   Carbon taxes offer a potentially cost-effective means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions . From an economic perspective , carbon taxes are a type of Pigovian tax . They help to address the problem of emitters of greenhouse gases not facing the full social cost of their actions . Carbon taxes can be a regressive tax , in that they may directly or indirectly affect low-income groups disproportionately . The regressive impact of carbon taxes could be addressed by using tax revenues to favour low-income groups .   A number of countries have implemented carbon taxes or energy taxes that are related to carbon content . Most environmentally related taxes with implications for greenhouse gas emissions in OECD countries are levied on energy products and motor vehicles , rather than on emissions directly .   Opposition to increased environmental regulation such as carbon taxes often centers on concerns that firms might relocate and/or people might lose their jobs . It has been argued , however , that carbon taxes are more efficient than direct regulation and may even lead to higher employment ( see footnotes ) . Many large users of carbon resources in electricity generation , such as the United States , Russia , and China , are resisting carbon taxation .

negative: LNG spill A liquefied natural gas ( LNG ) spill can happen during an accident or an intentional act such as terrorism . LNG is normally stored and transported in liquid form at a temperature of approximately -161 ° C . If this cooled liquid is released from a storage facility , pipeline , or LNG transport ship , then it begins to warm . As LNG warms above its storage temperature , the liquid begins to vaporize . The resulting gas produced by this warming is typically methane , which is the major component ( with some ethane ) of natural gas .   If a spill occurs and the vapor does not ignite , it would build to higher concentrations . At higher concentrations , the vaporized methane will cause an asphyxiation hazard to anyone exposed . If a spill or leak followed by a vaporization event were to occur in or near water , then water in contact with the spilled LNG can accelerate the vaporization process and increase the concentration of vapor in the immediate area . According to the 2004 Sandia report , this is of special concern to ship and pilot-boat crews , emergency response personnel or others who are exposed in a marine environment .   An ignition source close to the origin of the spill is likely to cause ignition and result in rapid burn off of natural gas vapors , rather than an explosion . No cargo explosions have ever been reported .

negative: Polar amplification Polar amplification is the phenomenon that any change in the net radiation balance ( for example greenhouse intensification ) tends to produce a larger change in temperature near the poles than the planetary average . On a planet with an atmosphere that can restrict longwave radiation to space ( a greenhouse effect ) , surface temperatures will be warmer than a simple planetary equilibrium temperature calculation would predict . Where the atmosphere or an extensive ocean is able to convect heat polewards , the poles will be warmer and equatorial regions cooler than their local net radiation balances would predict .   In the extreme , the planet Venus is thought to have experienced a very large increase in greenhouse effect over its lifetime , so much so that its poles have warmed sufficiently to render its surface temperature effectively isothermal ( no difference between poles and equator ) . On Earth , water vapor and trace gasses provide a lesser greenhouse effect , and the atmosphere and extensive oceans provide efficient poleward heat transport . Both palaeoclimate changes and recent global warming changes have exhibited strong polar amplification , as described below .

negative: Copenhagen Diagnosis The Copenhagen Diagnosis is a report written by twenty-six climate scientists from eight countries . It was published in 2009 and was a summary of the peer-reviewed literature to date .   The Copenhagen Diagnosis is a follow-up of the previous Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 's Working Group 1 Report . The studies summarized , which date back to the cutoff point of the Working Group 1 Report , are those that authors viewed most relevant to the discussions at the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference . The Copenhagen Diagnosis served as the midpoint between IPCC -- AR4 and IPCC-AR5 .   In total , the Copenhagen Diagnosis contains eight main sections , which are :   Surging Greenhouse gas emissions  Since 1990 , the combined global emission of carbon dioxide from various origins , such as cement production , deforestation , and fossil fuel burning , has increased 27 % .  Human-induced warming  Studies conducted by Lee and Rind show that only 10 % of global warming over the past century was due to the Sun .  Acceleration of melting ice caps  Glaciers and melting ice caps can contribute to about 8/10ths of a meter to global sea level rise .  Rapid Arctic sea-ice decline  According to simulations run by NCAR Climate System Model version 3 , the Arctic summer is expected to be ice-free by 2040 .  Underestimation of changing sea levels  In contrast to previous IPCC , the rate of sea level rise ( 3.4 mm/yr over the past 15 years ) has increased around 80 % faster than previously predicted .  Damage due to inaction  A region of permafrost , called the Yedoma , stores about 500 Gt of CO2 and , once released due to rising global temperatures , will increase global temperatures even more .  Turning point must come soon  The largest climate science conference , held in 2009 , has stated , `` Temperature rises above 2 ° C will be difficult for contemporary societies to cope with , and are likely to cause major societal and environmental disruptions through the rest of the century and beyond . ''  The Future  By 2100 , global mean air-temperature is projected to warm by 2 ° C -- 7 ° C above pre-industrial levels .

negative: Diamonds on Jupiter and Saturn A team of scientists recently claimed that the mix of methane , carbon and lightning in Saturn 's atmosphere is causing diamonds to be forged in the planet 's atmosphere . These diamonds would be around a centimetre in diameter , but could range in size based on the availability of carbon at the time of the diamond 's formation . The new study estimates that there are more than 1,000 tons of diamonds being created every year on Saturn . Mona Delitsky of California Speciality Engineering in Flintridge , and Kevin Baines of the University of Wisconsin-Madison , claimed that it is possible . Saturn 's atmosphere is mostly made up of hydrogen and helium , with trace amounts of methane . When storms form , the lightning causes the methane to decompose , producing hydrogen and elemental carbon . As the carbon falls towards the planet , it may bond together forming graphite , and as the pressure builds up closer to the planet 's core , that graphite may be compressed into diamond . The scientists think the same thing might be happening on Jupiter too . Both scientist laying out their argument at American Astronomical Society 's annual meetings in Division for Planetary Sciences in Denver , Colorado .   The new predictions have not been reviewed by peers , but according to a few planetary scientists they are possible . Dr. Raymond Jeanloz said :  The idea that there is a depth range within the atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn within which carbon would be stable as diamond does seem sensible . says Professor Raymond Jeanloz , one of the member of the team who first predicted diamonds on Uranus and Neptune .  And given the large sizes of these planets , the amount of carbon ( therefore diamond ) that may be present is hardly negligible .  Dr Nadine Nettelmann , of the University of California , Santa Cruz , said further more work was needed to understand whether carbon can form diamonds in an atmosphere which is rich in hydrogen and helium such as Saturn 's

negative: Life on Titan Whether there is life on Titan , the largest moon of Saturn , is at present an open question and a topic of scientific assessment and research . Titan is far colder than Earth , and its surface lacks stable liquid water , factors which have led some scientists to consider life there unlikely . On the other hand , its thick atmosphere is chemically active and rich in carbon compounds . On the surface there are bodies of liquid methane and ethane ; some scientists speculate that these liquids might take the place of water in living cells different from those on Earth .   In June 2010 , scientists analysing data from the Cassini -- Huygens mission reported anomalies in the atmosphere near the surface which could be consistent with the presence of methane-producing organisms , but may alternatively be due to non-living chemical or meteorological processes . The Cassini -- Huygens mission was not equipped to look directly for micro-organisms or to provide a thorough inventory of complex organic compounds .

negative: JWH-019 JWH-019 is an analgesic chemical from the naphthoylindole family that acts as a cannabinoid agonist at both the CB1 and CB2 receptors . It is the N1-hexyl homologue of the more common synthetic cannabinoid compound JWH-018 . Unlike the butyl homologue JWH-073 , which is several times weaker than JWH-018 , the hexyl homologue is only slightly less potent , although extending the chain one carbon longer to the heptyl homologue JWH-020 results in dramatic loss of activity . These results show that the optimum side chain length for CB1 binding in the naphthoylindole series is the five-carbon pentyl chain , shorter than in the classical cannabinoids where a seven-carbon heptyl chain produces the most potent compounds . This difference is thought to reflect a slightly different binding conformation adopted by the naphthoylindole compounds as compared to the classical cannabinoids , and may be useful in characterising the active site of the CB1 and CB2 receptors .


query: Before human burning of fossil fuels triggered global warming, the continent’s ice was in relative balance

positive: Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum The Paleocene -- Eocene Thermal Maximum ( PETM ) , alternatively ( ETM1 ) , and formerly known as the `` Initial Eocene '' or '' '' was a time period with more than 8 ° C warmer global average temperature than today . This climate event began at the time boundary between the Paleocene and Eocene geological epochs . The exact age and duration of the event is uncertain but it is estimated to have occurred around 55.5 million years ago .   The associated period of massive carbon injection into the atmosphere has been estimated to have lasted no longer than 20,000 years . The entire warm period lasted for about 200,000 years . Global temperatures increased by 5 -- 8 ° C . The carbon dioxide was likely released in two pulses , the first lasting less than 2,000 years . Such a repeated carbon release is in line with current global warming . A main difference is that during the Paleocene -- Eocene Thermal Maximum , the planet was essentially ice-free .   The onset of the Paleocene -- Eocene Thermal Maximum has been linked to an initial 5 ° C temperature rise and to extreme changes in Earth 's carbon cycle . The period is marked by a prominent negative excursion in carbon stable isotope records from around the globe ; more specifically , there was a large decrease in 13C/12C ratio of marine and terrestrial carbonates and organic carbon .   Stratigraphic sections of rock from this period reveal numerous other changes . Fossil records for many organisms show major turnovers . For example , in the marine realm , a mass extinction of benthic foraminifera , a global expansion of subtropical dinoflagellates , and an appearance of excursion , planktic foraminifera and calcareous nanofossils all occurred during the beginning stages of PETM . On land , modern mammal orders ( including primates ) suddenly appear in Europe and in North America . Sediment deposition changed significantly at many outcrops and in many drill cores spanning this time interval .   At least since 1997 , the Paleocene -- Eocene Thermal Maximum has become a focal point of considerable geoscience research because it probably provides the best past analog by which to understand impacts of global climate warming and of massive carbon input to the ocean and atmosphere , including ocean acidification . Although it is now widely accepted that the PETM represents a `` case study '' for global warming and massive carbon input to Earth 's surface , the cause , details and overall significance of the event remain perplexing .

positive: Antarctica Antarctica ( UK English -LSB- ænˈtɑːktɪkə -RSB- or -LSB- ænˈtɑːtɪkə -RSB- , US English -LSB- æntˈɑːrktɪkə -RSB- ) is Earth 's southernmost continent . It contains the geographic South Pole and is situated in the Antarctic region of the Southern Hemisphere , almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle , and is surrounded by the Southern Ocean . At 14000000 km2 , it is the fifth-largest continent . For comparison , Antarctica is nearly twice the size of Australia . About 98 % of Antarctica is covered by ice that averages 1.9 km in thickness , which extends to all but the northernmost reaches of the Antarctic Peninsula .   Antarctica , on average , is the coldest , driest , and windiest continent , and has the highest average elevation of all the continents . Antarctica is a desert , with annual precipitation of only 200 mm ( 8 in ) along the coast and far less inland . The temperature in Antarctica has reached − 89.2 ° C ( − 128.6 ° F ) , though the average for the third quarter ( the coldest part of the year ) is − 63 ° C ( − 81 ° F ) . Anywhere from 1,000 to 5,000 people reside throughout the year at the research stations scattered across the continent . Organisms native to Antarctica include many types of algae , bacteria , fungi , plants , protista , and certain animals , such as mites , nematodes , penguins , seals and tardigrades . Vegetation , where it occurs , is tundra .   Although myths and speculation about a Terra Australis ( `` Southern Land '' ) date back to antiquity , Antarctica is noted as the last region on Earth in recorded history to be discovered and colonised by humans , being only first sighted in 1820 by the Russian expedition of Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev on Vostok and Mirny , who sighted the Fimbul ice shelf . The continent , however , remained largely neglected for the rest of the 19th century because of its hostile environment , lack of easily accessible resources , and isolation . In 1895 , the first confirmed landing was conducted by a team of Norwegians .   Antarctica is a de facto condominium , governed by parties to the Antarctic Treaty System that have consulting status . Twelve countries signed the Antarctic Treaty in 1959 , and thirty-eight have signed it since then . The treaty prohibits military activities and mineral mining , prohibits nuclear explosions and nuclear waste disposal , supports scientific research , and protects the continent 's ecozone . Ongoing experiments are conducted by more than 4,000 scientists from many nations .

positive: Coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams . The harder forms , such as anthracite coal , can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure . Coal is composed primarily of carbon , along with variable quantities of other elements , chiefly hydrogen , sulfur , oxygen , and nitrogen . A fossil fuel , coal forms when dead plant matter is converted into peat , which in turn is converted into lignite , then sub-bituminous coal , after that bituminous coal , and lastly anthracite . This involves biological and geological processes that take place over time .   Throughout human history , coal has been used as an energy resource , primarily burned for the production of electricity and heat , and is also used for industrial purposes , such as refining metals . Coal is the largest source of energy for the generation of electricity worldwide , as well as one of the largest worldwide anthropogenic sources of carbon dioxide releases . The extraction of coal , its use in energy production and its byproducts are all associated with environmental and health effects including climate change .   Coal is extracted from the ground by coal mining . Since 1983 , the world 's top coal producer has been China . In 2015 China produced 3,747 million tonnes of coal -- 47.7 % of 7,861 million tonnes world coal production . In 2015 other large producers were United States ( 813 million tonnes ) , India ( 678 ) , European Union ( 539 ) and Australia ( 503 ) . In 2010 the largest exporters were Australia with 328 million tonnes ( 27.1 % of world coal export ) and Indonesia with 316 million tonnes ( 26.1 % ) , while the largest importers were Japan with 207 million tonnes ( 17.5 % of world coal import ) , China with 195 million tonnes ( 16.6 % ) and South Korea with 126 million tonnes ( 10.7 % ) .

positive: Global warming Global warming , also referred to as climate change , is the observed century-scale rise in the average temperature of the Earth 's climate system and its related effects . Multiple lines of scientific evidence show that the climate system is warming . Many of the observed changes since the 1950s are unprecedented in the instrumental temperature record which extends back to the mid 19th century , and in paleoclimate proxy records over thousands of years .   In 2013 , the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) Fifth Assessment Report concluded that `` It is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century . '' The largest human influence has been emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide , methane and nitrous oxide . Climate model projections summarized in the report indicated that during the 21st century the global surface temperature is likely to rise a further 0.3 to for their lowest emissions scenario and 2.6 to for the highest emissions scenario . These findings have been recognized by the national science academies of the major industrialized nations and are not disputed by any scientific body of national or international standing .   Future climate change and associated impacts will differ from region to region around the globe . Anticipated effects include warming global temperature , rising sea levels , changing precipitation , and expansion of deserts in the subtropics . Warming is expected to be greater over land than over the oceans and greatest in the Arctic , with the continuing retreat of glaciers , permafrost and sea ice . Other likely changes include more frequent extreme weather events including heat waves , droughts , heavy rainfall with floods and heavy snowfall ; ocean acidification ; and species extinctions due to shifting temperature regimes . Effects significant to humans include the threat to food security from decreasing crop yields and the abandonment of populated areas due to rising sea levels . Because the climate system has a large `` inertia '' and greenhouse gases will stay in the atmosphere for a long time , many of these effects will not only exist for decades or centuries , but will persist for tens of thousands of years .   Possible societal responses to global warming include mitigation by emissions reduction , adaptation to its effects , building systems resilient to its effects , and possible future climate engineering . Most countries are parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC ) ,  whose ultimate objective is to prevent dangerous anthropogenic climate change . Parties to the UNFCCC have agreed that deep cuts in emissions are required and that global warming should be limited to well below 2.0 C-change relative to pre-industrial levels , with efforts made to limit warming to 1.5 C-change .   Public reactions to global warming and concern about its effects are also increasing . A global 2015 Pew Research Center report showed a median of 54 % consider it `` a very serious problem '' . There are significant regional differences , with Americans and Chinese ( whose economies are responsible for the greatest annual CO2 emissions ) among the least concerned .

positive: Ice age An ice age is a period of long-term reduction in the temperature of Earth 's surface and atmosphere , resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers . Within a long-term ice age , individual pulses of cold climate are termed `` glacial periods '' ( or alternatively `` glacials '' or `` glaciations '' or colloquially as `` ice age '' ) , and intermittent warm periods are called `` interglacials '' . In the terminology of glaciology , ice age implies the presence of extensive ice sheets in both northern and southern hemispheres . By this definition , we are in an interglacial period -- the Holocene -- of the ice age . The ice age began 2.6 million years ago at the start of the Pleistocene epoch , because the Greenland , Arctic , and Antarctic ice sheets still exist .

negative: Cap and Share Cap and Share was originally developed by Feasta ( the Foundation for the Economics of Sustainability ) and is a regulatory and economic framework for controlling the use of fossil fuels in relation to climate stabilisation . Accepting that climate change is a global problem and that there is a need to cap and reduce greenhouse gas emissions globally , the philosophy of Cap and Share maintains that the earth 's atmosphere is a fundamental common resource . Consequently , it is argued , each individual should get an equal share of the benefits from the limited amount of fossil fuels that will have to be burned and their emissions released into the atmosphere in the period until the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases has been stabilised at a safe level .

negative: ExxonMobil climate change controversy The ExxonMobil climate change controversy is the controversy around ExxonMobil 's activities related to climate change , especially their promotion of climate change denial . Since the 1970s , ExxonMobil engaged in research , lobbying , advertising , and grant making , some of which were conducted with the purpose of delaying widespread acceptance and action on global warming .   From the late 1970s and through the 1980s , Exxon funded internal and university collaborations , broadly in line with the developing public scientific approach . After the 1980s , the company was a leader in climate change denial , opposing regulations to curtail global warming . ExxonMobil funded organizations critical of the Kyoto Protocol and seeking to undermine public opinion about the scientific consensus that global warming is caused by the burning of fossil fuels . Exxon helped to found and lead the Global Climate Coalition of businesses opposed to the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions .

negative: Hurricane Katrina and global warming The tremendous destruction caused by recent Atlantic Ocean tropical cyclones , such as Hurricanes Katrina , Wilma , and Sandy caused a substantial upsurge in interest in the subject of global warming by news media and the wider public , and concerns that global climatic change may have played a significant role in those events . Time Magazine , for example , published an article titled , `` Is Global Warming Fueling Katrina ? '' -- however , the article itself addressed hurricanes in general , rather than Katrina specifically , and was inconclusive .   Shortly after the hurricane , former Boston Globe reporter Ross Gelbspan wrote an op-ed piece for the Globe titled , `` Katrina 's Real Name '' , declaring that the hurricane 's `` real name is global warming . '' Gelbspan went on to assert :  `` Although Katrina began as a relatively small hurricane that glanced off south Florida , it was supercharged with extraordinary intensity by the relatively blistering sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico . ''  Gelbspan did not single out Katrina from other recent storms in that regard ; in the article he went on to attribute other major weather events over the preceding year to global warming , including a blizzard in Los Angeles , high winds in Scandinavia , wildfires in Spain , and a drought centered in Missouri .   Britain 's then deputy prime minister , John Prescott , has linked Katrina with global warming , and statements made shortly after the hurricane by Germany 's environment minister , Jürgen Trittin , indicate he believes that global warming is responsible for an increase in the frequency of destructive natural events .   Kerry Emanuel had recently published a paper in the journal Nature that found a good correlation between hurricane intensity and sea surface temperatures . Some journalists have claimed Emanuel 's paper concludes that the recent increase in intense Atlantic storms is due to global warming , but Emanuel stated that `` it would be absurd to attribute the Katrina disaster to global warming '' .   The Internet blog RealClimate has written that `` there is no way to prove that Katrina either was , or was not , affected by global warming '' .

negative: Scientific opinion on climate change The scientific opinion on climate change is the overall judgment among scientists regarding the extent to which global warming is occurring , its causes , and its probable consequences . The scientific consensus is that the Earth 's climate system is unequivocally warming , and that it is extremely likely ( meaning 95 % probability or higher ) that this warming is predominantly caused by humans . It is likely that this mainly arises from increased concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere , such as from deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels , partially offset by human caused increases in aerosols ; natural changes had little effect .   This scientific opinion is expressed in synthesis reports , by scientific bodies of national or international standing , and by surveys of opinion among climate scientists . Individual scientists , universities , and laboratories contribute to the overall scientific opinion via their peer-reviewed publications , and the areas of collective agreement and relative certainty are summarised in these respected reports and surveys .   National and international science academies and scientific societies have assessed current scientific opinion on global warming . These assessments are generally consistent with the conclusions of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change . The IPCC Fourth Assessment Report stated that :  Warming of the climate system is unequivocal , as evidenced by increases in global average air and ocean temperatures , the widespread melting of snow and ice , and rising global average sea level .  Most of the global warming since the mid-20th century is very likely due to human activities .  Benefits and costs of climate change for -LSB- human -RSB- society will vary widely by location and scale . Some of the effects in temperate and polar regions will be positive and others elsewhere will be negative . Overall , net effects are more likely to be strongly negative with larger or more rapid warming .  The range of published evidence indicates that the net damage costs of climate change are likely to be significant and to increase over time .  The resilience of many ecosystems is likely to be exceeded this century by an unprecedented combination of climate change , associated disturbances ( e.g. flooding , drought , wildfire , insects , ocean acidification ) and other global change drivers ( e.g. land-use change , pollution , fragmentation of natural systems , over-exploitation of resources ) .   Some scientific bodies have recommended specific policies to governments , and science can play a role in informing an effective response to climate change . Policy decisions , however , may require value judgements and so are not included in the scientific opinion .   No scientific body of national or international standing maintains a formal opinion dissenting from any of these main points . The last national or international scientific body to drop dissent was the American Association of Petroleum Geologists , which in 2007 updated its statement to its current non-committal position . Some other organizations , primarily those focusing on geology , also hold non-committal positions .

negative: Green paradox The green paradox , identified by German economist Hans-Werner Sinn , is the observation that an environmental policy that becomes greener with the passage of time acts like an announced expropriation for the owners of fossil fuel resources , inducing them to accelerate resource extraction and hence to accelerate global warming .

negative: Global warming controversy The global warming controversy concerns the public debate over whether global warming is occurring , how much has occurred in modern times , what has caused it , what its effects will be , whether any action should be taken to curb it , and if so what that action should be . In the scientific literature , there is a strong consensus that global surface temperatures have increased in recent decades and that the trend is caused by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases . No scientific body of national or international standing disagrees with this view , though a few organizations with members in extractive industries hold non-committal positions . Disputes over the key scientific facts of global warming are more prevalent in the media than in the scientific literature , where such issues are treated as resolved , and such disputes are more prevalent in the United States than globally .   Political and popular debate concerning the existence and cause of climate change includes the reasons for the increase seen in the instrumental temperature record , whether the warming trend exceeds normal climatic variations , and whether human activities have contributed significantly to it . Scientists have resolved these questions decisively in favour of the view that the current warming trend exists and is ongoing , that human activity is the cause , and that it is without precedent in at least 2000 years . Public disputes that also reflect scientific debate include estimates of how responsive the climate system might be to any given level of greenhouse gases ( climate sensitivity ) , how global climate change will play out at local and regional scales , and what the consequences of global warming will be .   Global warming remains an issue of widespread political debate , often split along party political lines , especially in the United States . Many of the issues that are settled within the scientific community , such as human responsibility for global warming , remain the subject of politically or economically motivated attempts to downplay , dismiss or deny them -- an ideological phenomenon categorised by academics and scientists as climate change denial . The sources of funding for those involved with climate science -- both supporting and opposing mainstream scientific positions -- have been questioned by both sides . There are debates about the best policy responses to the science , their cost-effectiveness and their urgency . Climate scientists , especially in the United States , have reported official and oil-industry pressure to censor or suppress their work and hide scientific data , with directives not to discuss the subject in public communications . Legal cases regarding global warming , its effects , and measures to reduce it have reached American courts . The fossil fuels lobby has been identified as overtly or covertly supporting efforts to undermine or discredit the scientific consensus on global warming .

negative: Alternative energy Alternative energy is any energy source that is an alternative to fossil fuel . These alternatives are intended to address concerns about such fossil fuels , such as its high carbon dioxide emissions , an important factor in global warming . Marine energy , hydroelectric , wind , geothermal and solar power are all alternative sources of energy .   The nature of what constitutes an alternative energy source has changed considerably over time , as have controversies regarding energy use . Because of the variety of energy choices and differing goals of their advocates , defining some energy types as `` alternative '' is considered very controversial .

negative: Carbon diet A carbon diet refers to reducing the impact on climate change by reducing greenhouse gas production specifically , CO2 production . In today 's society , we produce CO2 in every day activities such as driving , heating , deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels such as coal , oil and gas . It has been found that carbon dioxide from the burning of coal , natural gas , and oil for electricity and heat is the largest single source of global greenhouse gas emissions . For years , governments and corporations have been attempting to balance out their emissions by participating in carbon-offsetting -- the practice in which they invest in renewable energy to compensate for the global-warming pollution that they produce . Despite these efforts the results are still far off and we continue to see growth in CO2 concentration . Now , a growing number of individuals are trying to make a reduction in the amount of CO2 that is being produced by participating in low carbon dieting . This small adjustment in household CO2 production has the potential to reduce emissions much more quickly than other kinds of changes and it deserves explicit consideration as part of climate policy . It can potentially help avoid `` overshoot '' of greenhouse gas concentration targets ; provide a demonstration effect ; reduce emissions at low cost ; and buy time to develop new technologies , policies , and institutions to reach long-term greenhouse gas emission targets and to develop adaptation strategies .

negative: The Sacred Balance The Sacred Balance is a book by environmentalist David Suzuki , which is in its second edition as of 2007 . The book explores human society 's impact on the natural world , both for the planet and the people living on it . Suzuki reveals how dependent humankind is upon the planet 's water , soil , sunlight , and the breath of its vegetation . Threats to the planet 's balance , ranging from toxic pollution to global warming are also discussed .   A series of documentary films , also called The Sacred Balance , is based on the book produced by Kensington Communications , Inc. . Producer Robert Lang was the producer of the series .

negative: List of power stations in Denmark This is a list of fuel-burn power stations in Denmark ; fuel types are fossil or biomass .

negative: Spoiled (film) Spoiled ( stylized as spOILed ) is a 2011 documentary film about energy myths , environmental issues with energy , the problems with alternative energy , and the global warming controversy associated with energy . Spoiled also discusses wind energy , solar energy , fossil fuels , green energy , alternative energy , and sustainable energy as a part of its renewable energy documentary scope .

negative: Effects of global warming on oceans Global warming can affect sea levels , coastlines , ocean acidification , ocean currents , seawater , sea surface temperatures , tides , the sea floor , weather , and trigger several changes in ocean bio-geochemistry ; all of these affect the functioning of a society .

negative: Carbon bubble The carbon bubble is a hypothesized bubble in the valuation of companies dependent on fossil-fuel-based energy production , because the true costs of carbon dioxide in intensifying global warming are not yet taken into account in a company 's stock market valuation . Currently the price of fossil fuels companies ' shares is calculated under the assumption that all fossil fuel reserves will be consumed . An estimate made by Kepler Chevreux puts the loss in value of the fossil fuel companies due to the impact of the growing renewables industry at US$ 28 trillion over the next two decades-long . A more recent analysis made by Citi puts that figure at $ 100 trillion .   Analysts in both the petroleum and financial industries are concluding that the `` age of oil '' has already reached a new stage where the excess supply that appeared in late 2014 may continue to prevail in the future .  A consensus appears to be emerging that an international agreement will be reached to introduce measures to constrain the combustion of hydrocarbons in an effort to limit global temperature rise to the nominal 2 ° C that is consensually predicted to limit environmental harm to tolerable levels .   According to the UK 's Committee on Climate Change , overvaluing companies that produce fossil fuels and greenhouse gases poses a serious threat to the economy . The committee warned the British government and Bank of England of the risks of the carbon bubble in 2014 . The following year , Mark Carney , the Governor of the Bank of England , in his lecture to Lloyd 's of London , warned that limiting global warming to 2 ° C appears to require that the `` vast majority '' of fossil fuel reserves be `` stranded '' , or `` literally unburnable without expensive carbon-capture technology '' , resulting in `` potentially huge '' exposure to investors in that sector . He concluded that `` the window of opportunity is finite and shrinking '' for responding to the threat that climate change poses to financial resilience and longer-term prosperity , which he called the `` tragedy of the horizon '' . That same month , the Prudential Regulation Authority of the Bank of England issued a report discussing the risks and opportunities that climate change presents to the insurance industry .   In his speech announcing his denial of the proposal to build the Keystone XL oil pipeline , U.S. President Barack Obama gave as one reason for the decision '' ... ultimately , if we 're going to prevent large parts of this Earth from becoming not only inhospitable but uninhabitable in our lifetimes , we 're going to have to keep some fossil fuels in the ground ... '' .

negative: Power to Save the World Power to Save the World : The Truth About Nuclear Energy ( Knopf , 2007 ) , by Gwyneth Cravens , is an introduction to the benefits of nuclear power and the science behind it . It is written for members of the lay public who want to learn more about nuclear power , environmentalists concerned about global warming due to fossil fuel combustion ; and scientists and others who work in the nuclear world .

negative: Effects of global warming on human health The effects of global warming include effects on human health . The observed and projected increased frequency and severity of climate related impacts will further exacerbate the effects on human health . This article describes some of those effects on individuals and populations .

negative: Tectonics Tectonics , from the Late Latin tectonicus from the Ancient Greek τεκτονικός , `` pertaining to building '' , is the process that controls the structure and properties of the Earth 's crust and its evolution through time . In particular , it describes the processes of mountain building , the growth and behavior of the strong , old cores of continents known as cratons , and the ways in which the relatively rigid plates that constitute the Earth 's outer shell interact with each other . Tectonics also provides a framework for understanding the earthquake and volcanic belts that directly affect much of the global population . Tectonic studies are important as guides for economic geologists searching for fossil fuels and ore deposits of metallic and nonmetallic resources . An understanding of tectonic principles is essential to geomorphologists to explain erosion patterns and other Earth surface features .

negative: Carbon sequestration Carbon sequestration is the process involved in carbon capture and the long-term storage of atmospheric carbon dioxide . Carbon sequestration involves long-term storage of carbon dioxide or other forms of carbon to mitigate or defer global warming . It has been proposed as a way to slow the atmospheric and marine accumulation of greenhouse gases , which are released by burning fossil fuels .   Carbon dioxide is naturally captured from the atmosphere through biological , chemical , and physical processes . Artificial processes have been devised to produce similar effects , including large-scale , artificial capture and sequestration of industrially produced using subsurface saline aquifers , reservoirs , ocean water , aging oil fields , or other carbon sinks .

negative: Petroleum Petroleum ( from petra #Greek : `` rock '' + oleum #Latin : `` oil '' . ) is a naturally occurring , yellow-to-black liquid found in geological formations beneath the Earth 's surface , which is commonly refined into various types of fuels . Components of petroleum are separated using a technique called fractional distillation .   It consists of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other organic compounds . The name petroleum covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crude oil and petroleum products that are made up of refined crude oil . A fossil fuel , petroleum is formed when large quantities of dead organisms , usually zooplankton and algae , are buried underneath sedimentary rock and subjected to both intense heat and pressure .   Petroleum has mostly been recovered by oil drilling ( natural petroleum springs are rare ) . Drilling is carried out after studies of structural geology ( at the reservoir scale ) , sedimentary basin analysis , and reservoir characterization ( mainly in terms of the porosity and permeability of geologic reservoir structures ) have been completed . It is refined and separated , most easily by distillation , into a large number of consumer products , from gasoline ( petrol ) and kerosene to asphalt and chemical reagents used to make plastics and pharmaceuticals . Petroleum is used in manufacturing a wide variety of materials , and it is estimated that the world consumes about 95 million barrels each day .   Concern over the depletion of the earth 's finite reserves of oil , and the effect this would have on a society dependent on it , is a concept known as peak oil . The use of fossil fuels , such as petroleum , will have a negative impact on Earth 's biosphere , damaging ecosystems through events such as oil spills and releasing a range of pollutants into the air including ground-level ozone and sulfur dioxide from sulfur impurities in fossil fuels . The burning of fossil fuels plays the major role in the current episode of global warming .

negative: Climate change in popular culture The issue of climate change and global warming , their possible effects , and related human-environment interaction have entered popular culture since the late 20th century .   Science historian Naomi Oreskes has noted , `` There 's a huge disconnect between what professional scientists have studied and learned in the last 30 years , and what is out there in the popular culture . '' An academic study contrasts the relatively rapid acceptance of ozone depletion as reflected in popular culture with the much slower acceptance of the scientific consensus on global warming .

negative: Ende Gelände 2016 Ende Gelände 2016 was a large civil disobedience protest movement in Germany to limit global warming through fossil fuel phase-out .   3,500 -- 4,000 environmental activists from twelve countries blocked the Welzow-Süd open-pit coal mine and the coal-fired Schwarze Pumpe power station , then owned by Vattenfall ( Spremberg ) , from 13 to 15 May 2016 .

negative: Warm air intake A warm air intake or WAI is a system to decrease the amount of the air going into a car for the purpose of increasing the fuel economy of the internal-combustion engine . This term may also be used to describe a short ram air intake , a totally different intake modification .   All warm air intakes operate on the principle of decreasing the amount of oxygen available for combustion with fuel . Warm air from inside the engine bay is used opposed to air taken from the generally more restrictive stock intake . Warmer air is less dense , and thus contains less oxygen to burn fuel in . The car 's ECU compensates by opening the throttle wider to admit more air . This , in turn , decreases the resistance the engine must overcome to suck air in . The net effect is for the engine to intake the same amount of oxygen ( and thus burn the same amount of fuel , producing the same power ) but with less pumping losses , allowing for a gain in fuel economy , at the expense of top-end power .   Opposite principle of a cold air intake ( CAI ) which significantly differs by collecting air from a colder source outside the engine .   In the extreme , a warm air intake can eliminate the need for a conventional throttle and thus eliminate throttle losses .

negative: Mark Z. Jacobson Mark Zachary Jacobson ( born 1965 ) is professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University and director of its Atmosphere and Energy Program . Jacobson develops computer models about the effects of different energy technologies and their emissions on air pollution and climate . He has done influential research on the role of aerosols and black carbon on the climate and is regarded as a leading aerosol climate modeler .   According to Jacobson , a speedy transition to clean , renewable energy is required to reduce the potential acceleration of global warming , including the disappearance of the Arctic Sea ice . This change will also eliminate 2.5 -- 3 million deaths worldwide each year , related to air pollution , and reduce disruption associated with fossil fuel shortages .

negative: Friends of Science Friends of Science ( FoS ) is a Canadian non-profit advocacy organization based in Calgary , Alberta . The organization takes a position that humans are largely not responsible for the currently observed global warming , contrary to the established scientific position on the subject . Rather , they propose that `` the Sun is the main direct and indirect driver of climate change , '' not human activity . They argued against the Kyoto Protocol . The society was founded in 2002 and launched its website in October of that year . They are considered by many to promote climate change denial . They are largely funded by the fossil fuel industry .   Madhav Khandekar , Chris de Freitas , Tim Patterson and Sallie Baliunas act as advisers to the Friends of Science with their work cited in Friends ' publications . Douglas Leahey has been president since December , 2009 .

negative: List of coal fired power stations in Australia These fossil fuel power stations burn coal to power steam turbines that generate some or all of the electricity they produce .

negative: Climate change in Massachusetts Formet Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has signed into law three global warming and energy-related bills that will promote advanced biofuels , support the growth of the clean energy technology industry , and cut the emissions of greenhouse gases within the state .   The Clean Energy Biofuels Act , signed in late July , exempts cellulosic ethanol from the state 's gasoline tax , but only if the ethanol achieves a 60 % reduction in greenhouse gas emissions relative to gasoline . The act also requires all diesel motor fuels and all No. 2 fuel oil sold for heating to include at least 2 % `` substitute fuel '' by July 2010 , where substitute fuel is defined as a fuel derived from renewable non-food biomass that achieves at least a 50 % reduction in greenhouse gas emissions . The requirement for both motor diesel fuel and heating oil increases by a percentage point per year until 2013 , after which it holds steady 5 % . The act also allows the state to expand the requirement to other forms of fuel oil , and it requires the state to work to establish a low-carbon fuel standard under the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative .   In early August of 2008 , Governor Patrick signed two additional bills : the Green Jobs Act and the Global Warming Solutions Act . The Green Jobs Act will support the growth of a clean energy technology industry within the state , backed by $ 68 million in funding over 5 years . The Global Warming Solutions Act requires a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the state to 10 % -25 % below 1990 levels by 2020 and to 80 % below 1990 levels by 2050 . Under the act , the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection will carry the burdens of determining the baseline level of emissions in 1990 and creating a plan to meet the future emissions limits , including the establishment of interim limits for 2030 and 2040

negative: Flue-gas emissions from fossil-fuel combustion Flue-gas emissions from fossil-fuel combustion refers to the combustion-product gas resulting from the burning of fossil fuels . Most fossil fuels are combusted with ambient air ( as differentiated from combustion with pure oxygen ) . Since ambient air contains about 79 volume percent gaseous nitrogen ( N2 ) , which is essentially non-combustible , the largest part of the flue gas from most fossil-fuel combustion is uncombusted nitrogen . Carbon dioxide , the next largest part of flue gas , can be as much as 10 − 25 volume percent or more of the flue gas . This is closely followed in volume by water vapor ( H2O ) created by the combustion of the hydrogen in the fuel with atmospheric oxygen . Much of the ` smoke ' seen pouring from flue gas stacks is this water vapor forming a cloud as it contacts cool air .   A typical flue gas from the combustion of fossil fuels contains very small amounts of nitrogen oxides ( NOx ) , sulfur dioxide ( SO2 ) and particulate matter . The nitrogen oxides are derived from the nitrogen in the ambient air as well as from any nitrogen-containing compounds in the fossil fuel . The sulfur dioxide is derived from any sulfur-containing compounds in the fuels . The particulate matter is composed of very small particles of solid materials and very small liquid droplets which give flue gases their smoky appearance .   The steam generators in large power plants and the process furnaces in large refineries , petrochemical and chemical plants , and incinerators burn considerable amounts of fossil fuels and therefore emit large amounts of flue gas to the ambient atmosphere . The table below presents the total amounts of flue gas typically generated by the burning of fossil fuels such as natural gas , fuel oil and coal . The data were obtained by stoichiometric  calculations .   It is of interest to note that the total amount of flue gas generated by coal combustion is only 10 percent higher than the flue gas generated by natural-gas combustion .   Note : m ³ are standard cubic meters at 0 ° C and 101.325 kPa , and scf is standard cubic feet at 60 ° F and 14.696 psia .

negative: The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels is a 2014 book by American energy theorist Alex Epstein , in which Epstein argues that , although sometimes labeled as `` immoral , '' the use of fossil fuels dramatically improves the overall progress of humanity , and improves life expectancy and income . The book was a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller .

negative: Combustion chamber A combustion chamber is that part of an internal combustion engine ( ICE ) in which the fuel/air mix is burned .

negative: False balance False balance is a real or perceived media bias in which journalists present an issue as being more balanced between opposing viewpoints than the evidence supports . Journalists may present evidence and arguments out of proportion to the actual evidence for each side , or may omit information that would establish one side 's claims as baseless .   Examples of false balance in reporting on science issues include the topics of man-made versus natural climate change , the alleged relation between thimerosal and autism and evolution versus intelligent design .   An example of false balance is the `` debate '' on global warming ; although the scientific community almost unanimously attributes global warming to the effects of the industrial revolution , there is a very small number , a few dozen scientists out of tens of thousands of scientists , who dispute the conclusion . Giving equal voice to scientists on both sides makes it seem like there is a serious disagreement within the scientific community , when in fact there is an overwhelming scientific consensus that anthropogenic global warming exists .   False balance can sometimes originate from similar motives as sensationalism , where producers and editors may feel that a story portrayed as a contentious debate will be more commercially successful than a more accurate account of the issue . However , unlike most other media biases , false balance may stem from an attempt to avoid bias ; producers and editors may confuse treating competing views fairly -- i.e. , in proportion to their actual merits and significance -- with treating them equally , giving them equal time to present their views even when those views may be known beforehand to be based on false information .

negative: Cynodont The cynodonts ( `` dog teeth '' ) , in the clade Cynodontia , are therapsids that first appeared in the Late Permian ( approximately 260 Ma ) . The group includes modern mammals ( including humans ) as well as their extinct ancestors and close relatives . Nonmammalian cynodonts spread throughout southern Gondwana and are represented by fossils from South America , Africa , India , and Antarctica . In the northern continents , fossils have been found in eastern North America as well as in Belgium and northwestern France . Cynodontia is one of the most diverse groups of therapsids .

negative: Crude Impact Crude Impact is a 2006 film written and directed by James Jandak Wood . It is a documentary about the effect of fossil fuels on issues such as global warming , the environmental crisis , society and the questionable practices of oil companies .   Crude Impact was an official selection at over thirty film festivals around the world . The film had a limited theatrical release in the United States and Canada . It has been broadcast on television in several countries . Crude Impact has been translated into French , Spanish , Czech , Turkish and Finnish .

negative: Journal for Geoclimatic Studies The Journal for Geoclimatic Studies is the name given to a nonexistent journal which published a fabricated global warming study in November 2007 entitled , `` Carbon dioxide production by benthic bacteria : the death of manmade global warming theory ? '' The published study identified the Journal for Geoclimatic Studies as an official publication of Okinawa University 's Institute for Geoclimatic Studies ( The Institute for Geoclimatic Studies is also fraudulent and does not exist ) . The spurious study , ostensibly authored by Daniel Klein and Mandeep J. Gupta of the University of Arizona 's Department of Climatology , and Philip Cooper and Arne FR Jansson at the University of Gothenburg 's Department of Atmospheric Physics , claimed that global warming was not human caused , but the work of carbon-dioxide emitting bacteria based on the ocean floor .   The report was circulated by a number of global warming skeptics before discovery that the study authors and university departments identified in the publication did not exist . The website where the study was published was taken down once the deception was revealed , and its ownership was traced to David Thorpe , a science journalist and web designer based in the United Kingdom . The true author of the article is purportedly a man identifying himself as Mark Cox , who has claimed the hoax was designed to expose the gullibility and scientific illiteracy of global warming skeptics .