1 Look to the people
Not revolutionary, but by using energy more efficiently in our homes and offices, and switching to renewable power sources, the biggest climate-savers are likely to be ourselves
2 Solar surplus
Sunlight energy – the most abundant source of free energy on the planet – is high on the list. With the right technology, there is an endless amount to intercept
3 Carbon capture
When we find the best way to do it, sucking up and storing CO2 from the atmosphere will be key to combating global warming. At present, however, these technologies are hugely energy-intensive
4 Plant power
Growing plants, such as oil palms, for fuel is dogged by ecological and food-conservation issues. However, second-generation biofuels use agricultural waste to generate energy. Most promising are third-generation biofuels, using algae. Algae farms could convert sunlight into oil
5 Scrubbing emissions
Stopping CO2 reaching the atmosphere means we’ll have a lot less to remove later. Algae farms, once again, could be the solution. By building farms near power stations, emissions can be filtered through algal vats. These remove CO2. The algae can then be harvested for oil or dried to be processed into ethanol
6 Taming the seas
Hurricanes need warm water to grow. Giant tubes that pump cold water up from the bottom of the sea could ‘tame’ storms by cooling the surface. The pumps could also mix nutrient-rich deep water with the relatively barren ocean surface. This would encourage algae to grow and use up dissolved CO2 in the water
7 Changing colour
Painting areas white might be an effective way to cool down. This is the opposite of what’s happening in the Arctic, where disappearing ice means more heat is accepted by the planet
8 A bit of everything
Some scientists argue that we don’t need to develop new technologies; we already have what we need to slow down climate change — wind, solar and nuclear energy, for example. However, to work, these techniques need to be scaled up and implemented immediately
9 Scale down
The world’s population, currently about 6.6 billion, is growing at unprecedented rates. Experts warn that, as well as technological fixes, stopping the population from reaching nine billion ‘would be jolly helpful’
10 Nuclear fusion
This radioactive-free power source has recently shown promising signs. Experts note that nuclear fusion ‘should not be forgotten’
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/science/article2793337.ece
