A new solution to global warming

Alan Cai

October 25, 2024

Humanity’s biggest challenges frequently engender the wildest solutions: herd immunity to combat Covid 19, one-child policy to tackle overpopulation, and space exploration to win the Cold War. Yet, I may have an even more preposterous solution to one of the most pressing issues facing the world today: climate change.

Global warming occurs when excessive amounts of carbon dioxide enter the atmosphere either through burning fossil fuels or through other means and cause an abnormally large amount of heat to be trapped in the atmosphere. The excess heat can give rise to a variety of short-term and long-term consequences including extreme weather, crop failure, sea level rise, and ocean acidification.

Remedies to climate change have thoroughly permeated the minds of citizens around the globe. The solutions seem simple enough: use less, build less, and burn less. Somewhat counterintuitively, doing the exact opposite may prove to be the more effective choice.

For example, using less paper to save trees is a common talking point made by groups who hope to increase individual responsibility to tackle the crisis. However, since the vast majority of paper is made on tree farms which are planted and replanted frequently to meet consumer demand for paper, using more paper is good because it incentivizes farmers to plant more trees which in turn reduces the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Paper and wood products are renewable and therefore must be utilized to their maximum extent to help fight climate change.

On the other hand, aggressively increasing the burning of fossil fuels may assist in solving climate change in the long run. Peak oil is the moment in which global oil production reaches its maximum capacity and goes on a permanent decline due to insufficient global supply. Reaching peak oil and equivalent peaks for other fossil fuel products such as natural gas will cause prices to naturally skyrocket not only due to the slumping supply, but also compounded by consumer speculation, hoarding, and general market contractions and restrictions. Therefore, if we burn enough fossil fuels to quickly reach peak oil, the practice of continuing to rely on fossil fuels for energy will become economically unfeasible, forcing a general societal shift toward cleaner renewable energy. Although the push for green technology can be incentivized by tax breaks or publicity, the gears of capitalism can expedite the research tremendously and allow for its widespread development and incorporation. While climate change will accelerate in the short term, inducing companies to quickly shift toward a greener approach through peak oil will be far more beneficial for humanity.

Additionally, greater energy output from the resulting green technology may enable the development of more energy-intensive carbon-capture techonologies, ultimately mitigating the original fossil fuel investment. If peak oil will be met with or without intentionally increasing global emissions and the same amount of oil will be burnt either way, it is best to reach that threshold earlier so we can have more prepared and timely techonologies ready when it happens.

Common wisdom surrounding climate change is not necessarily incorrect, but it must be examined with a more critical lens. The true solution to one of our most pressing difficulties may be more elusive than previously thought.