RonnyMoffett

Dr.SarahLincoln
UNST125K
12March2015

TheFinalSolution
Eventually,ifwedontactagainstclimatechange,itwilldestroythe
planet.Thisdoomsdayscenariohasbeendepictedinmanynarrativesandfilms,and
manysolutionstoputrisingclimatechangetoahalthavebeenproposed.However,
nonewillsolvetheissueentirely.Onesolution,isaworldwideelectromagneticpulse
(EMP)thatwoulddiscontinuetheuseofelectronics.
Anelectromagneticpulseisastrongpulseofelectromagneticradiationusually
createdbyanuclearblasthighabovetheearthssurface.Thispulsefriescircuitboards
inelectronicsshuttingthemdownandmakesthemveryhardtorepair.Byeither
subduingourselves,orbeforcedtogowithoutelectricitywewouldstopnearlyallofour
CO
andothergasemissions,lowerthepopulation,andgivenaturetimetorebuilditself.
2
Thiswouldntstopclimatechange,butitwouldalmostcompletelyhaltouracceleration
ofit.
Co2now.org,awebsitethatcollectsobservationsfromNOAAandother
organizationsthatmeasureCO2,statesthat,Globalwarmingismainlytheresultof
CO
levelsrisingintheEarthsatmosphere.BothatmosphericCO
andclimatechange
2
2
areaccelerating.Climatescientistssaywehaveyears,notdecades,tostabilizeCO
2
andothergreenhousegases.Inmakingthiscomment,co2now.orgissayingthat

wevealmostreachedthecapforCO2emissions,andifwedontdosomethingwithina
fewyearsCo2levelswillincreasetodeadlyandtheworldweknowwillend.ThoughI
concedethatEarthisontheroadtoaclimatechangecatastrophe,Iinsistthatthereis
stillafightingchancetostopitfromhappening.
AnEMPwouldshutdownavastmajority,ifnotall,fossilfuelcombustionand
thiswouldhappeninmanydifferentways.Electricityandheatisgeneratedvery
commonlybytheburningoffossilfuelsandisthelargestproducerofmanmadecarbon
dioxideemissions,producing41%ofthetotalin2010.Thesecondlargestcategoryis
transportation,takingup22%ofthetotalyearlyemissionsthroughtruck,boat,and
plane.Theindustrialsectorisanotherlargegroupat20%,andthereareafewsmaller
areasthatalsoaffectCO
.BycreatingastrongenoughEMPwewouldinstantlyshutoff
2
allelectronics,thereforeeliminatingatleast,8090%,ifnotall,ofourtotalemissions.
InadditiontostoppingthecombustionoffossilfuelsanEMPwouldsend
manysocietiesintodisarray.Duringthe2003blackoutsinNewYorkastudyofmortality
rateswasdonetoseehowtheywereaffectedbybeingwithoutelectricity.Brooke
AndersonandMichelleL.Bellreportthat,Duringtheblackout,totalmortalityrose28%,
resultinginapproximately90excessdeaths...Riskofaccidentaldeathsincreased
mosthowever,excessdeathswereprimarilyfromnonaccidentalcauses.Inother
wordsthepowerwentoutinNewYorkCityandonedaylateryouhadalmosta30%
higherchanceofdieing,andthe90excessdeathswerentallaccidents.Thisisinjust
onedaywithoutpower,therewerereportsoflooting,disturbances,fights,and
homicidesinmanyplacesshortlyafterithappened.Nowimaginethatsituationona

worldwidescale,anditisincrediblymorecomplicatedtofix.Itwouldpermanently
destroysomeelectronics,whilecripplinganythingthatwasntdestroyedtothepointit
couldtakeyearstofix.Eventhen,thatswhenwehavetheelectricitytomine,
manufacture,andshipthepiecesthatwouldbefriedfromtheEMP.Toputitbluntly,an
EMPonthatscalewoulddropthemortalityrateveryquickly,andthepopulation
problemwouldbesolvedquickly.
Dayswouldturnintoweekswithoutpowerwithoutanyelectricalequipmentto
transport,fix,ortraveltoelectricitygeneratingplants.InaccordancewithAndersonand
BellsevidencefromNewYork,onecouldonlyimaginetheperilthatmostcitiesand
highlypopulatedareaswouldface.Thismaynotbegoodforthehumanrace,however,
itisanamazingcombatanttoclimatechange.Withnotsomanypeoplearound
destroyingtheclimateitwouldstarttohealitself,treesandplantsgrowoveroldcement
andmetalcitiescreatingneworganichabitatsforallspeciestoenjoy.Incontrast,does
theevidenceivecitedproveconclusivelythatanEMPisanadequatesolutionto
climatechange?
Ofcourse,manypeoplewillprobablydisagreewiththeassertionthatallofthe
peopleonearthwouldcomplywiththislifestylechange.However,intheyearssoonto
comewhenthephysicalchangesontheenvironmentcausedbyglobalwarmingsuch
as:waterlevelsrising,recordtemperatures,andhighCO
levels,becomemore
2
apparent.Thegeneralpopulace,asaresult,mightbemorewillingtogiveupelectricity
andalloftheharmfulbyproductsofitsproductionifnot,itcouldsimplybeforcedupon
thenaysayersofthisideaforthesakeofsavingtheearth.

Whentheissueoffossilfuelconsumptionisbroughtupmanysaythatalternative
energyistherouteweneedtotake.Wind,solar,andhydroelectricresourcesare
renewableandtheirproductiondoesntharmtheclimatenearlyasmuchasburning
fossilfuels.Anotherpossiblesolutionmanyspeakaboutisusingethanolfromcorn,a
resourcethatisrenewableandiseasytocultivate.Iagreethatthesearegreat
alternativestofossilfuels,itdisregardsthecurrentlevelsofCO2andtheirextremity.

AsofFebruary2015theNOAACO2testingstationmeasureda400.26forCo2

partspermillion(ppm),thebadpartaboutthatistheuppersafetylevelis350ppmand
wehaventseenthatsince1988.Ifwetakethetimetoconvertalloftheenergysources
wehavetodaytorenewableenergy,peoplewouldalreadyhavesuffocatedfromlackof
oxygenintheairbeforethedevelopedcountriesevengotclosetoswitchingto
alternativeenergy.MakinganEMPtheobviousremedytotheissueoffossilfuel
consumption.
DuringthetimeIveresearchedandstudiedthissavetheearthschemethe
categoryIranintothemostnegativitytowardsisloweringthepopulation.Manyclaim
thatkillingoffpeopleisnotapropersolutiontoclimatechangebecauseitsbelievedto
beimmoral.Somesayitseveninhumantosuggestkillingoffourownkindforany
reasonandthatwecanworktogethertosolvetheproblemanotherway.AlthoughI
wishthiswastrue,itisthefurthestthingfromit.Overpopulationiswhytheclimateis
speedingupsofast,themorepeoplethereare,themorepeopletherearetoproduce
CO2andotherenvironmentallydetrimentalfactorsofclimatechange.Itsagrim
realization,buteveryoneneedstorealizetherearetoomanypeoplefortheplanetto

sustain.IfwewantEarthforverymuchlonger,weregoingtohavetokickafewpeople
off.
Furthermore,whostosaythatafteranEMPeverythingwouldntgetworseand
theenvironmentbedestroyedfurther?Commonsensewouldsaythatiftherewasno
electricitypeoplewouldcutdowntreesandusethemforshelter,wildfirescouldntbe
stoppedbyfirefighters,andmanytreeswoulddryupinhotareaswherewaterisnull.
TothisIinterruptnearlyanyonewhoissayingthisandspeakaboutthefootballsized
fieldsofrainforestcutdownintherainforestalldayeveryday.Theproductionofnew
buildings,parkinglots,houses,anythingpeoplefeelliketheycanmakemoneyoffof,all
replacesnaturewithcold,hardcement.Natureisbeingbeatenatthemomentbutitwill
alwaysgrowback,letsjusthopewe'renotthenextdinosaurs.
Inconclusion,themostplausibleabsolutesolutiontocombatingclimatechange
isacompletemeltdownofallglobalelectronicsthatwouldhaltvirtuallyallCO2
emissions.ThiswillbedoneviaEMP.Thoughthissolutionmaynotbethemost
feasiblesolutionintheworld,however,comparedtootherpossiblesolutionanEMP
wouldbetheonlywaytocompletelysolvetheissue.Itwouldevenouttheplayingfield
perse,settingthetechnologicalclockbackwards,forcingusasahumanracetosustain
ourselvesinsmallcommunitieslikeweusedto,insteadofamassinginahugeglobal
industrialization.

WorksCited

Sims,RalphE.H.,HansHolgerRogner,andKenGregory."CarbonEmissionand
MitigationCostComparisonsbetweenFossilFuel,NuclearandRenewableEnergy
ResourcesforElectricityGeneration."
EnergyPolicy
:1315326.Print.

"CO2Now."
GlobalCarbonEmissions
.Web.1Mar.2015.

"WhatAretheMainSourcesofCarbonDioxideEmissions?"
What'sYourImpact
.
Web.5Mar.2015.

"U.S.EnergyInformationAdministrationEIAIndependentStatisticsand
Analysis."
FrequentlyAskedQuestions(FAQs)
.Web.5Mar.2015.

Anderson,Brooke,andMichelleBell.
LightsOut:ImpactoftheAugust2003Power
OutageonMortalityinNewYork,NY
(2012):18993.Print.