If fossile fuel usage is a/the major cause of global warming, what is the solution?

Question

There is currently and for the foreseeable future no replacement for fossile fuels.

Answer 1

Solar energy (and may be a bit of wind energy - i am not a great fan of wind). With more and more research and production in solar energy technologies, and both by the products becoming cheaper and people eventually having to spend more money on energy, solar power plants can provide electricity and some amount of thermal energy requirements to get rid of coal usage (power plants are one of the biggest consumers of coal). More transportation (the highest consumers of oil) can/will move to using mass electicity based transportation, reducing need for oil (which all things said, the best compact energy carrier we have and probably will ever have, unless you figure out how to run a car with a mini nuclear plant). That'll still leave out the non guided transportation (especially flights) still relying on oil or other forms of concentrated energy, which i guess we'll continue using coal to produce oil using something like fisher tropsch or may be biodiesel and ethanol, if the usage is comparatively less.

Also, while i am a fan of solar, there are definitely other ways and options for sustainable energy sources and a good energy strategy will take all those into consideration.

Answer 2

There are other replacements for fossil fuels (electric, hydrogen, corn, alcohol, natural gas, etc.), but those are so far away from being practical to the public in general, that, yes, there is NO replacement for fossil fuels in the near future. Think about it - in the U.S., how many millions of people rely on, just say, diesel fuel? Everything we purchase and use on a daily basis is "trucked in" one way or another. Trucks run 24/7, in every state, on every highway, all day, all night. How the heck is a "hybrid" little dinky car gonna transport the daily necessities our country needs on a daily basis? The technology is decades away from being practical.

...by the way, I thought CO2 was the major cause of global warming! We outta stop breathing! Save the earth. Stop breathing! :-)

Answer 3

Global warming is a natural process and burning of fossil fuel accelerates it.

Even though, fossil fuels has no alternatives, we can use electric power, hydrogen and oxygen combustion to drive our cars. The vehicles will run slower but it the sacrifice that we should make. We can also use ethanol produced from maize fermentation.

However the biggest problem is for the industries. They may make big losses if they use renewable sources of energy in manufacturing their products.

Answer 4

Oh yes there is.
Toyota has already made hydrogen cars that run on hydrogen. The by-product emitted is water, so it's clean.
Some use hybrid electric cars that is fuelled by batteries.
They're quiet, but are expensive to produce at this time.

If these cars become popular in the future, then maybe sometime later we'd have a cleaner world.

Answer 5

The fossil fuel is being recycled all the time. When u talk about fossils as if it was an animal . The fossil fuel is made from plant fossil's.

Answer 6

We don't have to cut fossil fuels out entirely. Just reduce their use. Careful analysis based on real data shows it's entirely possible.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,481085,00.html

Nuclear, solar, wind, bio fuels can all help. Some have their favorites, but, as you point out, this a huge task and we'll need them all.

Answer 7

actual, i don't mean to offence my fellow individual, destruction of mom nature - all by potential of human, be it open burning or utilising the fossile fuels - nicely biodiesel purely a small potion of palm oil - something continues to be fossile diesel. i don't think of we've any alien components helping us destroying this blue planet. I easily have fairly a sensible answer to international warming, much less grasping human beings and extra worrying human beings, yet i don't think of which will take place - purely a dream. We smash extra suitable than we save, care or we replant. it is our nature being human - we can smash until eventually not something left. am i able to end you human beings available using autos? initiate cycling and strolling - i don't think of so. image voltaic powered nonetheless too costly

Answer 8

Nuclear power stations can replace coal and oil burning plants easily and affordably. Hydrogen cars could be implemented once they are sufficiently developed to be efficient.