Exxon scientists accurately forecast climate change back in the 1970s
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Exxon scientists accurately forecast climate change back in the 1970s
Subject : Environment
Section : Climate Change
Context: Climatic collapse as we understand it in our world today could have largely been avoided perhaps if we had listened to Exxon’s forecasts and acted then.
More on the News:
- One of these moments came in the 1970s when oil giant Exxon chose to ignore its own commissioned research on the impact of fossil fuels.
- A new analysis published in the journal Science has found that Exxon’s forecasts from that era have proven incredibly accurate, yet it did not act to prevent its own predictions from happening.
- Instead, the company chose to maintain its role as an oil company and fund people to question the science and delay a coherent response.
- Possible action if the Forecast is acted upon
- Ahead of the emissions curve
- US government commits to a net zero carbon economy by 2000.
- Ahead of the emissions curve
- Solar provides power and food
- Further research results in enormous economic growth as the technology not only produces power but food through the use of seawater greenhouses.
- By 2000, North Africa is the main exporter of large solar power plants around the world.
- Petrol becomes a quaint hobby
- In the late 1980s the first production electric vehicle, the EV1. The car uses Nasa-patented batteries and space-age materials to produce cars that outperform petroleum vehicles in every area but extreme range.
- Exxon’s PR machine devises a “plugging into the Sun” programme promoting micro rooftop solar panels that refuel the EV1s for free.
- The micro-grids developed for car charging are also suitable for developing countries without large electrical grids.
- By the late 1990s, huge “liquid metal” batteries allow inter-seasonal energy storage, creating an energy reserve sufficient to allow the roll out of large wind and solar projects around the world.
- This makes coal and oil too expensive for energy production and its use is ramped down and eventually put into the history books by 1997.
- Collapse averted
- Seeing the opportunity for the manufacture of gasoline, many renewable energy firms begin the manufacture of “synth oil”.
- By the 2000s, human society produces barely any greenhouse gases for manufacturing, transport or energy.
- But climatic collapse as we understand it in our world today has largely been avoided.
- Solar provides power and food