Foggy Olde London Towne? It Wasn't Just Fog

A lot of it was smoke and smog and air pollution from all the coal-burning industries, furnaces, and fireplaces of London in the 19th and 20th centuries.  And it wasn't just London, it was almost everywhere.  Burning coal was how the "developed world" became developed.

The history of humankind on our little planet is relatively brief, but from the very beginning we've relied almost exclusively on burning things to provide ourselves with heat, light, energy, transportation, and so forth. We burn wood, peat, dung, whale oil, and alcohol.  In the fossil-fuels category, we burn coal, natural gas, petroleum oil, liquid propane, kerosene, diesel oil, gasoline, and pet coke.

To one extent or another, all these things release hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and other gasses when they're burned.  Also, many of these burnable fuels require that substantial heat and energy be expended just to produce/refine/distill the fuel source in the first place.  (And let's not even discuss the physical damage done by mining, drilling, fracking, etc.)

Back in the day, it was one thing when it was just Old Cousin Ugg and few thousand of his caveman buddies sitting around burning a few sticks.  But today, the earth's population is 7 billion and growing and our primary means of energy generation is still burning shit!  That's quite another thing altogether.  All this burning has warmed the atmosphere and created the greenhouse effect, resulting in global warming and climate extremes.

It's amazing how quickly we've done this to ourselves, how blithely we've poisoned our own well.  Now we must adapt even more quickly to non-fossil fuels, non-burning alternatives.  Nuclear energy is viable, but has risks, like the storage of spent fuel rods.  Even considering the risks, nuclear power is probably be a lesser-evil option compared to burning fossil fuels.  Hydro power, solar power, and wind power are good options -- clean and plentiful, but have been shamefully held down by Big Oil interests.

Perhaps hydrogen and hydrogen fuel cells offer the most promise for our energy future.  They're super-clean, with almost zero emissions.  Their byproduct is water.  But right now, most of the hydrogen needed for the process is extracted from natural gas, so it's still in the fossil-fuels loop.  There are ways to produce hydrogen from renewables like water and from biogas/bacteria, and we must keep working in that direction.

We need to change.  It's a big challenge that will take time.  Chances are I won't see much change in my life, and maybe my son won't see much in his either, but we've got to get on with it, and very soon/now.  We must wean ourselves off carbon-based fuels and make drastic cuts in our greenhouse gas emissions.  If we don't, our species is likely on a fast track to an early extinction.

ASAP:
1.  We need global population stability.
2.  We need to quit burning shit!

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go to the gas station and fill up my SUV.