Scientists discuss green plans

green#topic

Innovators from across the globe have gathered in Manchester to discuss groundbreaking plans to reduce climate change.

One proposal was to fill parts of the Sahara desert with mirrors to create clean energy, while another plan was to make livestock behave like herds of wildebeest to trap carbon.

Manchester International Festival provides a shop window for the best ideas to catch the eyes of investors and policymakers.

Dr Gerry Wolff, formerly from the University of Wales, unveiled a scheme to use mirrors to capture energy in desert conditions.

Dr Wolff's proposal involves reflecting sunlight onto special power stations. He explained: "The mirrors can focus the sun's rays and there is a lot of energy in these rays. The major attractions of this is it's very clean - there's very little pollution.

"You can store the electricity fairly cheaply, it's very quick to put up and can deliver power on demand. It's hard to think of any downsides."

Parts of North Africa are already installing the technology, which is backed by a number of European countries such as Spain.

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