Archive for December, 2007
Global Warming And Thawing At The Polar Regions
Monday, December 24th, 2007 by Global WarmerA dramatic result of Global Warming is the serious changes occurring in the poles of our Earth. As our air is slowly heating from increasing hothouse gases the vast fields of ice are slowly melting. What does this mean for our lifestyle?
There are 2 regions. The Northern Arctic, a frozen ocean that has a population of about 4,000,000. And the Antarctica to the south, an ice-covered land mass encircled by ocean, and has very few residents.
Ice covered areas are highly reflective. As the air heats up and ice melts larger areas of dark ocean are revealed. This dark ocean area absorbs the sun’s heat more readily and so accelerates the thawing process. Changes in the size and shape of ice sheets have been uncovered by satellite images. And typical temperatures in the Arctic polar region have risen at almost twice the rate of typical temperatures over the world. This melting has resulted in the general increase in ocean levels everywhere on the planet. The I.P.C.C. or the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has calculated that ocean levels could rise from 0.3 to 2.9 feet in the next hundred years.
A few of these effects on our environment include -
- Increase in the saltiness of our rivers, bays, and ground water tables.
- The disappearance of the food supply and means of living for the inhabitants.
- Endangerment of sea life that may affect local economies and result in the loss of larger sea life depending on these ecosystems for food.
- Flooding of lower areas such as swamps and coastal regions.
- Thawing of permafrost destabilizing pipelines, buildings, roads, and more.
- The disappearance of l to 4 feet of shoreline each year along the ocean and gulf coasts. These have many resorts that will be vulnerable to economic losses.
- Increased danger from bad weather due to the erosion of natural and man made levees.
- The endangerment of seals, polar bears, and other creatures that inhabit the poles.
- Eroding of beaches.
A few of the measures that are being taken to counteract these issues are:
- Raising existing buildings.
- Replacing sand on the beaches to reverse any erosion.
- Building up coastlines with thoughtful placement of stone, sand, rocks, plants, and other materials.
- Limiting new construction in low lying areas.
For most people the poles seem too distant to matter. The fact remains, however, that the planet’s biosphere is a very complex environment that will react as a whole to any imbalance. The changes in the polar regions of the world provide yet again a warning sign that Global Warming is serious.
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Global Warming-A Brief Primer
Sunday, December 16th, 2007 by Global WarmerThere is little debate that the earth is undoubtedly warming. It has been the subject of intense debate for decades now. Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and industrial gases from fossil fuels play a huge role in why our environment is changing so rapidly.
With projections of an increase between 2.5 and 10.5 degrees by the year 2100, it is really nothing to take lightly. According to some scientific studies, the main gas causing Global Warming, CO2, or carbon dioxide, has increased in our atmosphere by as much as 30 percent over the last 100 years. That is a significant increase to say the least.
Causes of Global Warming
The number two source of pollution to our atmosphere is undoubtedly transportation. In fact, cars and other vehicles represent at least 20 percent of the carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere.
Power plants also play a huge role in polluting the atmosphere. Nearly 600 of the United States power plants do not have to play by new emission standards, what they like to call are “grandfathered” in. This means there is no cap on smog and acid rain producing pollutants that can be emitted from these plants. Power plants actually account for 36 percent of carbon dioxide emissions and 32 percent of mercury emissions.
Consequences of Global Warming
- Sea level rise, which will eventually increase beach erosion and flooding from coastal storms.
- Precipitation changes are inevitable which will increase or decrease the risk of droughts and floods all over the world. Significant storms are already on the rise.
- Deadly heat waves will continue. The summer of 1995 when 669 people died from heat exposure, and the 250 in the summer of 1999 was just a sign of things to come.
- There are obvious threats to biodiversity and to public health as well.
Evidence that Global Warming has Begun
- Shifting ranges of infectious diseases-Diseases that were not known to be a problem in areas such as the United States have shown their ugly head. Malaria has been reported as far north as New York, New Jersey and Michigan.
- Sea levels have risen between 4 and 10 inches in the last century. The destruction of beaches and wetlands are also taking place around the world.
- Glaciers and significant snow melt has been taking place on 5 continents since 1995, 5,400 square miles to be exact.
- Summer droughts and winter floods are becoming the norm.
- Storms are becoming more frequent and more brutal, hence Hurricane Katrina.
What if the recent rise in infectious disease was caused by the increase in temperature? Scientists believe it definitely plays a role in this and in the plant and animal shifts throughout different parts of the world. Living things are simply trying to adapt to the changing environment and they will ultimately kill humans through sickness and disease. For example, as the climate changes, disease carrying mosquitoes and other rodents move to new areas and in turn infect a population of people. Diseases such as malaria, encephalitis, West Nile virus and dengue fever will continue to be on the rise in all areas of the world, including the United States.
The only way to reverse the affects of Global Warming, and prevent further damage is to change how we power our economy. Most importantly, fossil fuels will have to be replaced with organic, non-toxic materials for our world’s vehicles. This of course, is already in the works in several areas of the world. The semi-recent release of hybrid electric and gas vehicles is just one example.
Star Power And Global Warming
Friday, December 14th, 2007 by Global WarmerIn April the 22nd, 1970 the US observed the first Earth Day celebration. Decades later, it is observed by many countries all over the globe.
As we learn more about how human activity is impacting the world, more people are changing the way they live and use energy resources.
Individual causes have been started that target one or more of the areas of concern. At the forefront of a few of these causes are many high-profile celebrities that lend their name and support. To name a few -
- Al Gore - Author of the movie “An Inconvenient Truth” which has been shown worldwide. The film focuses on climate change and the evidence for Global Warming. His book of the same name covers the same material and provides additional details.
- Matt Damon - Actor. He is on the Board of GreenDimes which campaigns to reduce junkmail and also to plant trees.
- Barenaked Ladies - Rock group that has joined other musicians in running their transportation on biodiesel.
- Ed Begley Junior - Activist and actor involved in numerous environmental issues. He is well known for using ‘green’ vehicles and residing in a self-sufficient home that is solar powered.
- Robert Redford - Actor, director. He has over thirty years supported and promoted programs for grassroots conservation. He has recently started a program on the Sundance Channel that focuses on ‘green’ issues.
- Bill Clinton - Former President of the U.S. Promoter of the Clinton Initiative that is meant to bring leaders together from around the Earth to work on alternatives for problems that affect our Earth, including the issue of climate change.
- Sting - Musician, activist. Created the Rainforest Foundation that for close to 20 years has helped to protect rainforests.
- Leonardo DiCaprio - Actor. Organized a foundation that deals with environmental topics. He is as well making a documentary on Global Warming.
- Daryl Hannah - Environmentalist and actor. She lives ‘green’ and generates her own electricity in a solar-powered house. She has toured to recommend biodiesel fuel as a fuel alternative resulting in lower emissions. Also a vegetarian, she recommends people go organic.
- Richard Branson - Well known British billionaire who is using 3 billion in profits from his rail and airline businesses to look into energy sources that don’t result in Global Warming.
The roster of well-known people who are involved in effecting a change to preserve and improve our world’s environment is growing. With these famous people involved, an advantage is that it highlights issues like Global Warming that could be ignored by the majority of people.
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The Problems With National Climate Policies
Wednesday, December 12th, 2007 by Global WarmerEvidence is growing that the world’s overall temperature is rising and these changes are hurting our environment. Although different natural events could cause a change in the atmosphere, such as a volcanic eruption, the steady increases over the last 50 years in greenhouse gases point mainly to humans as the cause. To change this trend will require the efforts of communities worldwide.
As an example of a single nation setting policies we can look at the United States of America. In recent times the U.S. has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas output. Their stated goal is to reduce these gases by about 20 percent during the 10 year period starting in 2002. This should stop approximately five hundred million metric tons of carbon emissions from going into the atmosphere.
That government intends to do this by:
- By technological improvements to reduce these emissions when created.
- With investigating ways that industry can move to the use of cleaner fuels.
- By working on how energy can be harnessed more efficiently.
Other nations are reaching for and implementing like-minded goals. But enforcing these environmental policies becomes more problematic with increased population growth and the need for expansion.
And when many nations around the world are becoming more aware of the need to limit greenhouse gases, the wide economic or population disparity makes it a problematic issue.
The Kyoto Accord was one specific effort in this regard. A little under 200 nations are working within this agreement that describes a standard. It uses a system of credits that allows for the problems some countries may have in reaching these goals. A country that is able to afford to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions may sell its credits to one that isn’t, with the ultimate goal to reduce the total emissions, for the benefit of our atmosphere and ourselves.
This seems a workable solution but another hurdle arises when major countries, such as Australia and the U.S., while going along in theory with this accord have declined to ratify it. This is partly because of what they feel are unreasonable advantages given to some nations, and partly because they feel some of the restrictions would cause too much strain on the industries. However, others countries who have ratified the protocol could feel at a disadvantage trade wise due to the costs associated with emission controls.
These and other issues that are just a few of the problems man encounters in organizing the international community to reduce Global Warming.
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