The biggest challenge faced by mankind is the reduction of unwanted gasses in the atmosphere, which are warming the planet. To meet this, British billionaire Richard Branson and the former vice president Al Gore announced a $25 million prize.
Mr. Gore is the author of the book An Inconvenient Truth, which formed the basis for an Oscar-nominated documentary about global warming. He said that the prize would be given to a project which would be different from technologies which are currently under development. It should not be a stop-gap against global warming gases. Climate change experts said the prize money might be spent on projects which have more chances of success. Mr. Gore said that the organizers should ensure that the prize was not seen as a substitute of the main event which is the reduction of the amount of CO2 being emitted.
Mr. Branson hoped that the prize would encourage innovators to go to work. He urged the governments to match the prize money offered by him and he spoke of the past efforts to encourage leaps forward in technologies, like a competition sponsored by the British government that led to more accurate measurement of longitude, saving thousands of lives at sea. Air transport represented about 3.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions in 1990 but that figure could grow to about 15 percent by 2050.
The step taken by Mr. Richardson and Mr. Gore to reduce the gases in the atmosphere leading to global warming can prove beneficial and a giant vacuum cleaner for the atmosphere can be well imagined.
Via: The New York Times
