Fossil Fuel companies have created disingenuous claims to benefit them. But the things that they leave are things such as the impacts of coal towards people in poverty and also the air pollution.Mathiesen, 2015 [Karl, Al Gore: Coal industry campaign on energy poverty is extremely misleading, 4/16/2015, http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/apr/16/al-gore-coal-industry-campaign-on-energy-poverty-is-extremely-misleading]Al Gore and David Blood are the co-founders of Generation Investment Management, a fund that supports renewable energy and sustainable projects in its investment strategyThe global coal industry has mounted a cynical and misleading campaign to present coal as a solution to world poverty, according to former US vice-president Al Gore and global investment manager David Blood. Writing in the Guardian on Thursday, the pair said that as investors have grown increasingly worried about coal assets being overvalued, coals industrial masters and political friends have embarked on a desperate fightback based on tenuous arguments and exploits an urgent humanitarian need. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates more than 1.3 billion people lack access to electricity 95% of whom live in sub-Saharan Africa and developing regions in Asia. The coal industry and coal producing nations have repeatedly cited this crisis as a moral imperative for the continued expansion of coal power in the developing world. But Gore and Blood said coal power would not only fail to deliver electricity to those suffering from energy poverty, it would actively degrade their lives. ... As the coal industry fights for survival, it has begun to rely on novel and increasingly tenuous arguments. It has embarked on a global campaign to promote coal as the solution to energy poverty. This disingenuous claim is predicated on the notion that coal is the cheapest way of providing electricity to the one-fifth of the worlds population lacking access to an electricity grid, they said. Energy poverty overwhelmingly (84%) hits rural areas where there is often no extant grid infrastructure. Gore and Blood cited research by campaign group Carbon Tracker that found the cost of building the lines to carry electricity from a central coal power station to these communities made the cost prohibitively high. In practice, they said, large energy projects in developing countries tend to bring increased capacity to those already connected ie wealthy and industrial customers not those living without power. Gore and Blood are the co-founders of Generation Investment Management, a fund that supports renewable energy and sustainable projects in its investment strategy. They argued that renewable energy especially solar was the best solution to the urgent need for electricity in the developing world. Solar has dropped dramatically in price in recent years, is virtually free once established and can be built in rural areas without the need to carry power long distances. ...The relative merits of different energy options must be considered over the long term with an emphasis on three factors: financial cost, reliability, and impact on society and the environment. And when viewed through this lens, renewable energy particularly solar photovoltaic energy, or PV far outranks coal as the best future energy choice for developing nations, they said. In response, representatives of the coal industry said coal had been, and would continue to be, a vital source of power for the developing world. Vic Svec, a senior vice-president at the worlds largest private coal company Peabody Energy, cited a recent report by a conservative US think tank that found 830 million people had been connected to coal power in the past two decades. Half the worlds seven billion people lack adequate electricity, and coal is key to solving this problem. In the past 20 years, more than 800 million people gained access to electricity from coal, representing a ratio of 13 to one versus wind and solar. Coal remains the fastest-growing fuel this century and projections show coal will fuel more electricity than any other source over the next several decades, said Svec. Benjamin Sporton , acting chief executive of the World Coal Association, said coal has a critical role to play in solving the energy poverty problem. He said African leaders were supportive of coals role in their energy mix and the IEA predicted coal demand to grow by 4.8% per year to 2035 and to double in India by 2040. Rather than ignoring the huge role coal is playing in building energy access, the international community should be supporting developing countries deploy cleaner coal technologies, such as high-efficiency low-emissions coal plants and carbon capture and storage, said Sporton. But Gore and Blood said the impact of coals combustion on the climate and the air pollution it generates were already responsible for devastating the lives the industry claims to have improved. In northern China and some Indian cities, where hundreds of millions of people have been connected to coal power in recent decades, life expectancy has decreased by 5.5 and 3.2 years respectively because of air pollution linked to coal plants. The price of coal would increase dramatically if it reflected the cost borne by society from the pollution that causes hundreds of thousands of premature deaths each year in coal-dependent countries, said Gore and Blood. According to IEA data, coal was responsible for almost 44% of global carbon emissions in 2012. The UN says the climate changes that result from these emissions will land disproportionately heavily on those in developing and rural communities.

Earths Temp has increase dramaticallyhttp://www.epa.gov/climatechange/basics/Earth's average temperature has risen by 1.4F over the past century, and is projected to rise another 2 to 11.5F over the next hundred years. Small changes in the average temperature of the planet can translate to large and potentially dangerous shifts in climate and weather.

Climate change is anthropogenichttp://www.epa.gov/climatechange/basics/Over the past century, human activities have released large amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The majority of greenhouse gases come from burning fossil fuels to produce energy, although deforestation, industrial processes, and some agricultural practices also emit gases into the atmosphere.Greenhouse gases act like a blanket around Earth, trapping energy in the atmosphere and causing it to warm. This phenomenon is called the greenhouse effect and is natural and necessary to support life on Earth. However, the buildup of greenhouse gases can change Earth's climate and result in dangerous effects to human health and welfare and to ecosystems.The choices we make today will affect the amount of greenhouse gases we put in the atmosphere in the near future and for years to come.

How Green House Gas Effect HappensWhen sunlight reaches Earths surface, it can either be reflected back into space or absorbed by Earth. Once absorbed, the planet releases some of the energy back into the atmosphere as heat (also called infrared radiation). Greenhouse gases (GHGs) like water vapor (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), and methane (CH4) absorb energy, slowing or preventing the loss of heat to space. In this way, GHGs act like a blanket, making Earth warmer than it would otherwise be. This process is commonly known as the greenhouse effect.

Contemporary GHG EffectsSince the Industrial Revolution began around 1750, human activities have contributed substantially to climate change by adding CO2 and other heat-trapping gases to the atmosphere. These greenhouse gas emissions have increased the greenhouse effect and caused Earths surface temperature to rise. The primary human activity affecting the amount and rate of climate change is greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of fossil fuels.

Past GHG EffectsIn the distant past (prior to about 10,000 years ago), CO2 levels tended to track the glacial cycles. During warm interglacial periods, CO2 levels have been higher. During cool glacial periods, CO2 levels have been lower. [1] [2] This is because the heating or cooling of Earths surface can cause changes in greenhouse gas concentrations. [1] These changes often act as a positive feedback, amplifying existing temperature changes. [1]

Types of GHG

1) Carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide is the primary greenhouse gas that is contributing to recent climate change. CO2 is absorbed and emitted naturally as part of the carbon cycle, through animal and plant respiration, volcanic eruptions, and ocean-atmosphere exchange. Human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels and changes in land use, release large amounts of carbon to the atmosphere, causing CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere to rise. Atmospheric CO2 concentrations have increased by almost 40% since pre-industrial times, from approximately 280 parts per million by volume (ppmv) in the 18th century to 390 ppmv in 2010. The current CO2 level is higher than it has been in at least 800,000 years. [1]Some volcanic eruptions released large quantities of CO2 in the distant past. However, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reports that human activities now emit more than 135 times as much CO2 as volcanoes each year.Human activities currently release over 30 billion tons of CO2 into the atmosphere every year. [1] This build-up in the atmosphere is like a tub filling with water, where more water flows from the faucet than the drain can take away.

2) Methane Methane is produced through both natural and human activities. For example, natural wetlands, agricultural activities, and fossil fuel extraction and transport all emit CH4.Methane is more abundant in Earths atmosphere now than at any time in at least the past 650,000 years. [2] Due to human activities, CH4 concentrations increased sharply during most of the 20th century and are now more than two-and-a-half times pre-industrial levels. In recent decades, the rate of increase has slowed considerably. [1]For more information on CH4 emissions and sources, and actions that can reduce emissions, see EPAs Methane page in the Greenhouse Gas Emissions section of the website.

3) Nitrous oxide Nitrous oxide is produced through natural and human activities, mainly through agricultural activities and natural biological processes. Fuel burning and some other processes also create N2O. Concentrations of N2O have risen approximately 18% since the start of the Industrial Revolution, with a relatively rapid increase towards the end of the 20th century. [3] In contrast, the atmospheric concentration of N2O varied only slightly for a period of 11,500 years before the onset of the industrial period, as shown by ice core samples. [3] For more information on N2O emissions and sources, and actions that can reduce emissions, see EPAs Nitrous Oxide page in the Emissions section of the website.