Introduction

Carbon has been stored in the trees, vegetation and soil of the earth and as fossil carbon in the forms of coal gas and oil for millions of years. The Industrial Revolution of the eighteenth century, combined with expanding land use for agriculture to feed the rapidly rising population, has transferred significant amounts of this carbon to the atmosphere. The rising affluence of an increasing global population is predicted to lead to the release of more greenhouse gas to the atmosphere in the future. With industrialisation's present dependence on fossil fuels for economic energy, there is unlikely to be restraint in the use of fossil carbon. The generation of greenhouse gas is expected to rise, particularly in rapidly developing countries such as China and India. Concentrations of these greenhouse gases in the atmosphere will increase unless there is deliberate expenditure on enhancing carbon sinks. With this change in concentration of greenhouse gas will come a change in the climate. The central theme of this book is how to have more economic growth using low-cost energy and at the same time sustain the earth's environmental quality. Engineers need to think in the time frame of 50 years because the consequences of their decisions on capital investments will be with us for many decades. To provide a better future, engineers need to constantly embrace innovation and plan for the environmental change that results from their actions. The management of the earth's environment can no longer be left to nature.