Leaf fuel could help save planet
Cars and planes could run on fuel made by artificial
leaves in the future, scientists say
Researchers from Glasgow University are trying to create a
special kind of leaf that is able to produce liquid fuel.
If it works, the invention could help to slow down climate
change.
Normal leaves take energy from the sun and turn it into food in
a process called photosynthesis. The special leaf would take solar
energy, as well as electricity, and turn it into fuel instead.
When we burn fossil fuels, like oil, carbon dioxide (CO2) is
released into the atmosphere. But photosynthesis uses up CO2 and so
it reduces greenhouse gas levels. If people burned the fuel
produced by the special leaves, the carbon dioxide would be
released again but it would not add extra CO2 to the air in the way
that burning oil does.
The 'leaf' that the scientists want to make won't actually look
anything like a real leaf. Instead, it will consist of a tank full
of water containing genetically-modified bacteria. But the system
will work in a similar way to natural photosynthesis in plants.
"The sun gives its energy away for free but making use of it is
tricky," said Professor Richard Cogdell, who is in charge of the
project.
We can use solar panels to make electricity. We can also use
turbines to trap energy from wind and waves. But electricity can't
be stored. Professor Codgell's team think their 'leaves' would give
us a way to bottle up the sun's energy so that we can use it
whenever we need it.
The new technology may be ready in about five years.
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Leaf fuel could help save planet
The race is on to cut greenhouse gas emissions as
campaigners warn the world is on a 'cliff edge'
Billions of pounds are spent every year on attempts to find ways
to reduce greenhouse gases and slow down climate change. Special
'leaves' that use a process similar to photosynthesis to create a
carbon-neutral fuel is just one of the latest.
Greenhouse gas emissions in Scotland have fallen by more than a
quarter since 1990. The government aims to increase this to 42% by
2020, a goal that could cost £11 billion.
The plans include action to reduce emissions from vehicles,
improve the energy efficiency of homes and buildings and increase
the rate of tree planting.
"The cost of cutting CO2 emissions is still far more affordable
than the much greater cost of doing nothing," said Patrick Harvie
from the Green Party.
But what happens in Scotland is only a tiny part of the global
picture.
In 2010 the world's emissions of carbon dioxide rose by almost
6%, the biggest increase ever recorded, largely because more coal
was burned in China and India. According to a UN report, carrying
on at this rate will leave the world a massive 12 gigatonnes of
carbon short of needed reductions by 2020.
"The world is on a cliff edge," said Stan Blackley, the chief
executive of Friends of the Earth Scotland.
"Society has the knowledge and the means to turn this situation
around before it's too late. But without this action, we fear we
will be locked into an ever-worsening tailspin towards irreversible
climate change and the significant negative impacts that this will
cause."
And the way that our environment changes is not always
predictable. There is a new fear over the level of greenhouse gases
that could be released by thawing permafrost in the Arctic.
Frozen soils in that region are believed to keep an estimated
1672 billion tonnes of carbon out of the Earth's atmosphere.
Experts have long been concerned about the threat of permafrost
releasing large amounts of trapped carbon as temperatures rise. But
new research has exposed a new and hidden danger - dormant bugs
that awaken and create a gas called methane when frozen soil
thaws.
As a heat-trapping greenhouse gas, methane is 20 times more
potent than carbon dioxide.
The United Nations climate talks in Durban, South Africa, late
last year ended in a deal committing countries to sign up to a
treaty on cutting carbon emissions by 2015.
It is the first time that major polluters the USA, China and
India have signed up to a process that will result in a
legally-binding agreement to cut their emissions.
But critics say that the deal is too little too late - the
treaty would not come into effect until 2020.
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