Professor Mark Jacobson has a theory for saving the Arctic. In fact he thinks it is our only hope. What we need to do is generate less soot.
According to the Stanford University researcher, soot, or ‘black carbon’, causes 15% to 20% of global warming. And it is particularly destructive in the Arctic. When released into the air by diesel engines, soot particles absorb sunlight, warming the atmosphere. Then when rain washes them onto an ice floe, they darken its surface and cause it to melt faster. It’s a double whammy.
At the moment much of the global warming debate is about CO2, but this misses a crucial point. CO2 remains in the atmosphere for 40 years. While you can stop fresh emissions today, you can do nothing about the CO2 that is already up there. But soot does not remain in the atmosphere for very long. So if you reduce emissions, the total amount of soot in the atmosphere will come down quickly.
Here’s the really interesting part though. Professor Jacobson is attracting a following. Regulators are paying attention. New rules are changing behaviour. And that could create a superb opportunity for a penny share that I’ve been following very closely for some time.
The politics of soot
Jacobson sees politics at work here. China and India rely on coal to power their economies, and are the world’s largest emitters of black carbon. They’re two rising powers that nobody wants to upset. But there is nothing like pictures of polar bears clinging to melting ice-packs to concentrate the mind, and soot is the Arctic’s worst enemy.
When soot settles on ice it blackens the surface. Less sunlight is reflected and more is absorbed, so it melts more quickly. This increases the dark sea surface, which further increases absorption of sun energy and melts more ice. To make matters worse, the melting of the ice-caps is opening new sea routes. As ships travel these new passages they deposit more soot, which exacerbates the problem.
This is because ships burn heavy fuel oil. Commonly known as bunker fuel, this is the heavy, treacly oil that is left when the thinner, cleaner stuff has been skimmed off the top of the barrel. This heavy fuel oil would give your car all the zip and acceleration of a steamroller – but for a big slow tanker, it is just fine.
This is a serious problem for the shipping industry
Emissions reduction policies have been directed at the car up to now, b now researchers are starting to cast a critical eye at the world’s shipping fleet. Recent studies have revealed that the amount of soot emitted by ships is far greater than previously thought.
One recent study, by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the University of Colorado, found that commercial ships emit almost half as much particulate pollutants into the air as the total emitted by the world’s cars. This puts further pressure on an industry that is still reacting to destructive oil spills by introducing double hulls.
Now ship owners face regulation that will force them to burn cleaner fuel. Since August, the burning of heavy fuel oil has been banned in the Antarctic. There is talk of refusing harbour entry in the EU to any vessel burning heavy fuel oil and emitting soot.
This is a big challenge for shippers. One possible solution is the use of scrubbers which take emissions and clean them up, but these are expensive and they consume energy. Powering ships with clean fuels or even gas is another possibility, but there is considerable doubt about whether oil refineries can satisfy such a huge new market.
Now there’s a third possible solution. It’s based upon a new technology, which has caught the eye of the world’s biggest tanker owner. This new technology is ingenious and could provide the ideal answer. What is more I believe that it could transform the fortunes of one of the stock market’s most intriguing penny shares. And I have described it in detail in the October edition of Red Hot Penny Shares. This is a company that I believe has the potential to make a 240% return from here.
If you register for a trial today, I’ll send you the October issue immediately by email, so you can read all the details on this stock now.
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