Word: coal
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...amount of insulation in Earth’s atmosphere due to greenhouse gases released from the combustion of coal, oil, and gas is well established, and it now overwhelms much of the natural decadal and centennial climate variability. This realization has led to the widely accepted scientific assessment that most of the warming over the past 50 years is due to human activity...
Factors that will influence future climate include the number of people on Earth, the state of our socioeconomic development, and, most important of all, how dependent we are on coal, oil, and gas (versus alternative sources of energy) to fuel our economies. So what are we doing to reduce the effects of humans on Earth’s climate system...
...were experienced mainly on a local level, associated usually with effluents, both domestic and industrial, responsible for some combination of dirty air and polluted water (both surface and sub-surface) with complex consequences for both human and ecosystem health. It was relatively easy to associate cause with effect. Burning coal adds large concentrations of sooty materials to the atmosphere, in addition to gaseous compounds of nitrogen and sulfur oxides and a variety of toxic elements including, for example, mercury. The effluents from coal burning have a demonstrably negative effect on human health. It took a series of air pollution disasters...
...opted to switch to less polluting fuels such as natural gas. In either case, the solutions involved increased expense. We have been modestly successful in addressing the issue of air pollution in more affluent societies. It remains serious, however, in large developing countries such as China and India where coal is the primary fuel and where priorities for economic development often take precedence over demands for environmental protection. We chose to get rich first before taking action. Can we really blame developing countries if they opt to follow our lead...
...China's hunger for resources has also exposed inadequacies in Australia's infrastructure and work practices. Exports could have been even higher. Long queues of ships kept waiting off Dalrymple Bay in Queensland to load coking coal for China symbolize the problems. In this year's iron ore negotiations, Chinese buyers settled for a 71.5% price increase (BHP Billiton, fresh from securing a 25-year supply contract, had sought to double its price via a rise in the freight rate it charges mills). Chinese officials say supply bottlenecks are to blame for the price hikes. Ambassador Fu has raised...