Branson and Gore Launch $25m Climate Change Competition
With climate change issues dominating news headlines worldwide, Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson has launched a competition in London alongside former US vice-president Al Gore recently, to improve the critical issue.
by Kevin Donovan
Posted: Monday, February 12, 2007, 6:36 (GMT)
With climate change issues dominating news headlines worldwide, Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson has launched a competition in London alongside former US vice-president Al Gore recently, to improve the critical issue.
The Earth Challenge Prize will offer $25m (£12.5m) to the person who comes up with the best way of removing significant amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, while a panel of judges will oversee the prize, including James Lovelock and Nasa scientist James Hansen.
Sir Richard said humankind must realise the scale of the crisis it faced.
"The Earth cannot wait 60 years," he said at the news conference. "I want a future for my children and my children's children. The clock is ticking."
He said if the planet was to survive, it was vital to find a way of getting rid of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.
Overseeing the innovations are James Hansen, the noted climate scientist and head of the Nasa Institute for Space Studies; the inventor of Gaia theory James Lovelock; UK environmentalist Sir Crispin Tickell; and Australian mammalogist and palaeontologist Tim Flannery.
They are looking for a method that will remove at least one billion tonnes of carbon per year from the atmosphere.
Al Gore, the former presidential candidate turned environmental campaigner, is also on the judging panel.
The man behind the hit documentary film An Inconvenient Truth said: "It's a challenge to the moral imagination of humankind to actually accept the reality of the situation we are now facing.
"We're not used to thinking of a planetary emergency, and there's nothing in our prior history as a species that equips us to imagine that we, as human beings, could actually be in the process of destroying the habitability of the planet for ourselves."
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Added: Thursday, February 15, 2007, 0:52 (GMT)
I am so happy to see someone not just saying we have a problem, But actually doing something about it . I know I am from America, But so is Al Gore, I read the Biography of Mr.Branson, when I lived in London, and I love to fly Virgin. But God Bless this man, With his fortune, and I pray that his wealth is forever. Since he is wealthy enough to do something to help the world, when this is not something we can sit back and wait for help. I also voted for Al Gore to be President. But it was God's way of saying I have something Bigger and Better for you to do for me. I yet to read your Bio. But I love you both. And if you ever put a walk a thon together, or some kind of fund raising. Please contact me. I am not a rich person. But I have always done walk a thons, dance a thons. to raise money for causes. since I was 10 years old. Now I am older. But still do the same thing. Aids, March of dime's, and hoping to add Avon cancer walk. But if you come up with one. I would be glad to get involved. Thankyou, Mar
P. S. God Bless both of You and Your Families.
Mar, Pasadena, Usa
Added: Monday, February 12, 2007, 17:33 (GMT)
I have spent 32 years researching and developing high efficiency energy technologies. I have lectured all over the world on the environment, I foresaw the problems we have today, 35 years ago.
We have hacked down the planet's eco-system, and since 1980 we have been emitting more CO2 than the planets eco-system can handle, today we emit 9,000,000,000 tons of CO2 a year, 2,500,000,000 tons that man, animals, plants etc. emit through respiration, and 6,500,000,000 tons through fossil fuel consumption.
The eco-system today can handle 4,000,000,000 tons of CO2. That is all that is wrong.
There are ways to reduce fossil fuel consumption by 55% which will save billions of $'s for industry and us all, that way we save the planet and make money doing it, Energy Rationalization is the future major new industry that will create millions of new sustainable jobs and make billions for Investors and all.
Currently, in alternative, we are wasting $500bn a year killing the planet.
Plant trees Richard, use your money wisely, nothing will stop you flying your planes or running trains = 12% of total fossil fuel CO2 pollution, we need you and your services and we can live with that, aircraft are one of the most fuel efficient machines on the planet, not trains though. What we can not live with is 80% of the energy we buy being wasted through inefficiency, global warming is not an endless problem, the planet will handle itself if we allow it the chance by putting back what we have taken from it, the eco-system, and reduce what we are doing to harm it, harmful over consumption of fossil fuel and the resultant CO2 emissions.
Even the Ozone layer will restore itself if we handle the eco-system well over the next 30 years, that is all the time we have to stop the slide into obscurity.
I asked the head of the European Commission responsible for the Kyoto protocol what he would do if someone offered him the planet solution to the environment problem tomorrow, meaning greater energy efficiency, he had no idea, he said - What do you need - money?
The solution is available, who is listening and more importantly, who is prepared to take the energy companies on as they are protecting their position believing they will be the losers, not-so, we all win, we need the energy companies vibrant and profitable, in a game that is win-win for everyone.
What are we waiting for? I challenge you: Ask me how we can do this and maybe Sir Richard can plant trees as my reward for answering his question by producing 4 billion tons of CO2 savings a year - 4 times more than Sir Richard asked for each year.
David Jones, London UK
