Gian Paolo Beretta, Professor of Thermal Sciences at Brescia University, Italy
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Jan/06 | Tue | 10:00AM-12:00PM | 3-270 |
Enrollment: Limited: First come, first served (no advance sign-up)
110 minutes event: 70 min lecture followed by 40 min of open discussion
In the lecture we construct a plausible scenario of primary energy consumption for the rest of the 21st century so as to estimate the energy-related CO2 emissions scenario for the rest of the century and compare it with global natural carbon exchanges and inventory to see what size of natural mechanisms mankind has to compete with to gain some control of the thermal balance of our planet.
Then, we address three important questions:
1) Are anthropogenic CO2 immissions in the atmosphere responsible for increasing the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere?
2) Is the increase in CO2 concentration in the atmosphere responsible for increasing the mean global temperature?
3) Could climatic changes be caused by solar activity?
We will examine some data that are available in the literature and that will help us decide if indeed there is enough scientific evidence to support the general belief that by reducing anthropogenic CO2 immissions in the atmopshere we can control climatic changes.
We will not reach definitive conclusions other then the following:
Answer to question 1: maybe, but it is not certain, and some evidence does not confirm it.
Answer to question 2: there are several doubts, and some experimental evidence does not confirm it.
Answer to question 3: probably: some evidence does suggest this to be the case.
Brush up your favorite arguments so that during the discussion we can learn from each other.
Contact: Gian Paolo Beretta, N/A, N/A, BERETTA@MIT.EDU