Archive for October, 2011
The Effects Of Global Warming And What It Means To
The Effects Of Global Warming And What It Means To You And Me
Have you ever listened to discussions and read articles about global warming and wondered why the resource person or the writer appears so emphatic and urgent in their call for fighting it? Well that is because global warming is an urgent problem that needs immediate action and resolution before it gets worse and could spell the end of human life and civilization as we see it today.
Broadly speaking, global warming is the steady increase of the atmospheres and oceans average temperature. And before you go saying Big deal to yourself and scoff at the near-catastrophic predictions made by scientists and advocates, consider first some of the expected effects of global warming to our environment and to our very lives.
One of the most pronounced effects of global warming would be glacial retreat, in which glaciers in the Arctic region may be steadily melting. This translates to elevation of sea levels all over the world, raising concerns over obliteration of small islands and even countries. Global warming is also attributed to influence precipitation, leading to the possibility of increased flooding in some parts of the world and increased drought elsewhere. Whats scary about these projected changes is the complete inability of man to counteract and prevent them once these events start happening.
But then again, global warming effects are not solely manifested in the environment. Consider the effect of increased drought and flooding to food supply, and ultimately, to food consumption. Agriculture is one large sector expecting to bear the worst of the brunt of global warming, with lesser and lesser produce and crops expected to be harvested in the next decade or so. Now that is really scary, considering we all get a large portion of our food supply from farms.
Weather experts are also predicting extreme weather events due to global warming, ranging from severe snowstorms to intense cyclones and hurricanes in tropical areas.
The increase in the average temperature of oceans in our planet also means dwindling in the supply of our other food source. The rest of the world might not come to realize how fragile most of the sea organisms are and expected changes in temperature would bring about extinction to most of them. Carbon dioxide, the main culprit of global warming, is also expected to acidify ocean waters, leading to more extinction and disruption of the food web.
It is also worth considering the impact of global warming on human health as well. With increasing surface temperature, heat waves are expected to occur more frequently, possibly endangering children and the elderly. Many pathogens proliferate much faster in warm environment. Increasing atmospheric temperature could very well mean faster proliferation of these pathogens that would cause numerous diseases and illnesses to humans. There is also expected spread of fatal tropical diseases as the world becomes warmer and warmer, placing those living in temperate regions at higher risks.
The mentioned risks and dangers are but overviews of the complexity and gravity of the problem that is global warming. A lot of resources and references have been published and produced on the subject matter and its time people should sit up and make effort to learn more. With increasing knowledge and understanding, the fight against global warming would no longer seem to be overwhelming and insurmountable. And as clich as it may sound, this is one fight nobody can ever win alone, so concerted efforts are certainly needed and cooperation from all sectors would be very much welcome.
The causes of Global Warming – Find out how our
The causes of Global Warming – Find out how our daily habits have disastrous effects for the planet
The two major greenhouse gases are the carbon dioxide that contributes to the greenhouse effect to a height of 60% and methane. While methane has only a weak life span in the atmosphere, the carbon dioxide there remains for more than a century. why we focus mostly on the reduction of the emission of carbon dioxide. When we use fossil energies, such as coal, the oil or the gas, we burn carbon, adding thus carbon dioxide into the atmosphere: about 20 billion tons per year in the world. The oceans and the forests and the plants; do away with about the half of this excess of carbon dioxide. However, this concentration does not stop growing: from 0.028% fifty years ago to 0.0365% today.
An additional greenhouse gas is the methane (CH4), of which the concentration has doubled since the industrial revolution. The sources are the paddy fields, garbage dumps, bovine farms, and the exploitation of gas and coal. The nitrous oxide (N2O) is another greenhouse gas that comes from certain industries such as fertilizers. As we go about our daily lives we rarely reflect how our lifestyles influence the environment. While we may consider for a few instants that we need to be more environmentally conscious, there are very few of us who truly take the time which is due. The environmental science has made dramatic breakthrough in determining the causes of global warming. The comprehensive information about global warming requires our mindfulness as many of the causes of global warming are due to us and that the global environmental outlook is getting worse. How is this conceivable? The answers are all staring us in the face if we accept to look at them. The first place to look for some of the causes of global warming is in our food choices. Livestock farming contributes more to global warming than all other factors combined. While it takes on average 24 of gallons of water to create one pound vegetable, 5,200 gallons of water are needed to create one pound of beef, which strains extremely the water resources as we hear more and more in the news. Comparably, it takes two calories of fuel to produce one calorie of soybean, 54 calories of fuel are necessary to generate one calorie from beef. Deforestation, is another biggie, the livestock growth has created seven times more deforestation than the one caused by all other human activities. Water pollution, heath issues, lost of biodiversity, the release of toxins, antibiotics, GMO, pesticides, sewage, air pollution are other factors that make livestock farming so detrimental to the environment. Researchers evaluate that 2.5 acres of land can meet the food requirement of twenty two vegetarians, but only two people eating meet, chicken, eggs or dairy products. Marc Reisner author of the Cadillac Desert, sums it up in these words The Wests water crisis and many other environmental problems as well can be summed up by one word: livestock. Another area to look into is in our cities. Each time you drive, your car is emitting carbon monoxide. Multiply that pollution with the hundreds of millions of other vehicles and you can clearly see that driving a fuel engine vehicle does add to global warming. One more manner that we contribute towards the causes of global warming is by deforestation. The trees in the forests, jungles and rainforests are the lungs of the world. By cutting down a great amount of trees the restorative ability of these areas are lessened. Trees need carbon dioxide to live. When big tracts of trees are cut down in one place the balance is gone astray. The left over trees cant take in all of the carbon which is in the atmosphere. Due to this reality, the carbon rises in large quantity in the atmosphere. This is also why deforestation can be seen as one of the main causes of global warming. Aside from these factors, chemicals like methane and nitrous oxide are as well causes of global warming. These chemicals while in small amounts are not enough to cause deterioration to the atmosphere and environment. They can be considered as causes of global warming when they are used for an array of man needed activities. These activities include the raising of domestic animals such as cows. Other chemical contributing to the global warming are artificial fertilizers. When all of these events are taken independently you may believe they cannot cause global warming. There is however lots of scientific substantiation which supports this case. In order to impede the dreadful aftermath of global warming you should look at the different global warming causes and see what steps you can take to circumvent them. The more we appreciate these facts, the faster we can halt the escalation of global warming. We should not continue too long as nature will not wait for us to get our acts straightened out. The effects of global warming are warnings to us to adjust our ways of living. Christophe Catesson www.theglobalwarmingoverview.com. Helping grow an unbiased platform about global warming and the environment. Related Articles – causes of Global Warming, global environment outlook, environment science, environment pollution, reasons of global warming, Email this Article to a Friend!Receive Articles like this one direct to your email box!Subscribe for free today!
The Answer to Global Warming
For a moment, lets assume that Global Warming is not happening. Still, we would be well advised to reduce our consumption of fossil fuels. But if Global Warming actually is a reality, and history will prove this one way or the other, then by limiting our use of fossil fuels, we will be doing a great thing for our kids, and their kids. This would be a very selfless thing to do, quite the opposite of continuing to consume oil mindlessly. Oil causes pollution, this is not a theory, and reducing pollution is good for all of us. The economy will not suffer if we begin living more moderately regarding our appetite for oil, and we might even regard ourselves to be better people, more compassionate and wise. Wouldnt it be nice if we could do all of this without feeling deprived?
When I meditate, its usually in a room with only a candle. No lights, no TV, no stereo; just the cushion and me. I dont need a fancy house, or big car, just a candle and a cushion. I no longer need a high powered job, or have to commute long distances for a special career; I have a local job now . . . and Im happier. I dont consume as much as I used to, and it doesnt seem to be hurting the economy too much. In addition, I find that the courage I am developing allows me to look beyond my personal wants a little, and consider the welfare of all of us. Meditation is a strange thing. When I began, I expected immediate results, maybe because I was so used to instant gratification, which is a luxury in this country, but I didnt get it. How I stayed with meditation, Ill never know. Then when small changes began to appear in me, I never connected them with the meditation, but connected them with other, more immediate and exciting things that were happening in my life. Yet I kept meditating. They say that karma decides who can meditate and who cant. Im not sure of this. But I know that ninety-five percent of the people Ive known who began practicing have fallen by the wayside. I cant blame them, the benefits are so delayed and subtle in many ways, and the lures of the world are so promising. But I know for myself that meditation has somehow made me a better citizen of the world. Its not that I ever wanted to be a good citizen; I was out for myself like everyone else. But for some reason I kept meditating, maybe because I believed my teachers when they said that meditation will make all the difference. After awhile, many of the things that I relied on for my happiness changed. A little spot in my heart started to grow, and as it did, it somehow moved aside many of the selfish things I did before. Things slipped away, and I wasnt sad when they did, I actually began to feel free, freer in my six-year old Corolla now than I did in my new Chrysler at one time. I didn’t feel that I was sacrificing anything, except perhaps my complete misunderstanding of what life should be about. I never planned to simplify my life and my needs . . . they just became not as important, not vital. The vitality that I was beginning to feel had nothing to do with wants, and everything to do with not wanting. I didnt set a goal to not want, it just happened gradually. I feel better about myself now, even though I dont have as much. A kind of freedom develops when one doesnt have too much to worry about, and when one doesnt have too much, the environment seems to make out a little better. So I dont worry about Global Warming; I just meditate occasionally and things seem to be working out. As a matter of fact, meditation is becoming more trustworthy than any of those other things I used to rely on. The more I meditate, the easier it becomes, and the less harm I do to our world. Now, I only want to leave as few footprints on this earth as possible when I leave it. Maybe that will make it easier for our kids. E. Raymond Rock of Fort Myers, Florida is cofounder and principal teacher at the Southwest Florida Insight Center, http://www.SouthwestFloridaInsightCenter.com His twenty-eight years of meditation experience has taken him across four continents, including two stopovers in Thailand where he practiced in the remote northeast forests as an ordained Theravada Buddhist monk. His book, A Year to Enlightenment (Career Press/New Page Books) is now available at major bookstores and online retailers. Visit http://www.AYearToEnlightenment.com Related Articles – Environment, global warming, meditation, self help. self improvement, politics, earth, world, Email this Article to a Friend!Receive Articles like this one direct to your email box!Subscribe for free today!
The Cause Of Global Warming. Is It You
We know the Earth is getting warmer.
The International Panel on Climate Change predicts a global temperature rise of about 5C by the end of this century. That’s enough for major changes. Like in rising seawater levels, in food production and rainfall.
Knowing why we are in this fix is the first step to doing something about it. Yes, that’s you and me.
There are four levels at which to understand the cause of global warming.
* The mechanics of global warming
* What we do
* Our beliefs and values, and
* Natural cycles, involving the sun
The mechanics of global warming are simple. There’s too much carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere.
The Earth absorbs heat from the sun and radiates much of it back into space or else we would cook. But presently the Earth retains more warmth from the sun, about 0.85 per square metre, than it radiates back into space. It is mainly CO2 that hinders solar radiation back into space and this creates the greenhouse effect.
Currently the atmospheric CO2 content is about 380 ppm (parts per million), up from about a thousand years ago at a level of 280 ppm. Predictions are that it may go up to 500ppm by the end of this century.
And CO2 hangs around for a long time. It takes about 100,000 years for atmospheric CO2 to reduce by about 63% through natural processes.
What we do contributes to so much CO2 in the atmosphere. It got there because of massive amounts of fossil fuels that humanity has been burning since the start of the Industrial Revolution, some 300 years ago.
Coal and oil are the mainstays in power generation and to power our transport. Of course a growing world population needs more energy for food, clothing, housing and comforts. But when there are 8 billion of us, all wanting a big house, the latest electronic playthings, a car, and access to world travel, we’re in trouble.
We’re in trouble because the Earth cannot physically support all those needs and wants and because the energy emissions needed to meet them would choke us.
Our beliefs and values have much to do with why we want so many more things than we really need.
It is to do with ideas about “progress” that started before the Industrial Revolution, during the period known as the “Enlightenment”, starting in the 16th century.
It generated ideas about the importance of the individual, about the use of reason and material wellbeing. Rene Descartes was one of this period’s foremost philosophers. You know his famous quote: “I think therefore I am.” Recently I saw an advertisement using that quote like this: “I think, therefore I shop”.
Funny? Yes, and getting to the heart of the problem. The way we think, about ourselves and about the world is the problem.
Does our consumer world leave room for nature, for things we can make and maintain ourselves, for “slow” and natural growth, for each other and our environments? Not much.
So, it’s our values and our beliefs that continues to put CO2 in the air and are cooking us.
Natural cycles, involving the sun have something to do with global warming too. That’s true.
The Earth is now receiving 30% more solar radiation than it did 4.6 billion years ago. And there have always been cycles of ice ages and warmer “interglacial” periods, depending on the Earth’s orbit, solar radiation strength and changes in ocean currents.
The last “Little Ice Age” was between 1400 and 1840 with significantly lower temperatures. And such events are part of 1,500 year cycles.
Presently the Earth is at the end of an interglacial, warmer time and is due for a cooling down. But it seems that we are not going to let that happen. The steep increase in CO2, particularly over the last 45 years, does not fit into any natural cycle.
We cannot blame the sun. It’s us.
What to do is the question. The facts are that global warming will be with us for a long time, whether we stop putting CO2 into the air today or not. It will get worse as fast developing economies involving billions of people in the USA, China and India will rely on fossil fuels for decades yet. Renewable energy is only at the start of making any inroads.
You can only change what you do by changing how you think. If we don’t figure our way out of our consumerist addictions we will eventually have to go cold turkey. Or is that hot turkey?
There is a need for re-valuation of living well with an interdependent, connected and unpredictable world. One with limits.
What better way to change your thinking than by getting close to people who do live – and some do so very well – with high levels of vulnerability and dependence, like people with disabilities or those who are frail aged.
Giving a hand to those who live in your street or come on your path, is a way to get reconnected with what life is all about.
Whether or not alternate energy sources will be used in time to make global warming tolerable, getting on with each other, in all our diversity, is good for planet Earth.
And for you.
Technological And Industrial Leaders To Address The Global Warming
Technological And Industrial Leaders To Address The Global Warming Problems!
Technological and industrial leaders are required to address the global warming problems. There is a need to find out alternative sources of energy so that there is no over usage of the fossil fuels. It was evident that these led to climatic changes and resulted in serious health problems too. People are getting cancer by drinking tainted water downstream from the coal mines. All this calls for an immediate attention to the environmental pollutants. There is a greater emission of carbon di oxide in the environment. This has added up to the already existing problems.
Renewable energy sources have to be discovered to resolve this. This may help as an alternative source of energy so that we dont make over usage of the fossil fuels. Youth leaders and experts in various fields must take care of these issues. They must take initiative and share their research papers in an international platform. This allows the whole world to come together for a noble and environmental cause. Global health is inter related to these environmental issues. Tackling one will help tackle the other, as they are all inter related. As you all know, the burning of fossil fuels and emission of carbon di oxide (CO2) as it is commonly known increases the temperature. This has affected the green belt in the planet and is now endangering species. People are suffering from various epidemic diseases, lung problems due to the inhalation of contaminated air and drinking tainted water.
Media should play an important role in creating awareness about these global issues. We have to find a solution to minimise the fossil fuel usage so that it does not affect the future world.
Space Sunshade May One Day Reduce Global Warming
Global warming is a reality and increasingly its consequences are upon us. We may think that global warming does not affect us but the fact is it has already started to have disastrous consequences. Flash floods, droughts, receding icebergs, cyclones are some of the manifestations of global warming. Although we are aware and worried about it and trying our best to control it but no significant impact could be seen. Scientists have come up with new strategies to tackle the problem. Now a scientist has suggested an ambitious idea to contain global warming. Put sunshades in space. Thats right. University of Arizona astronomer Roger Angel suggests putting sunshades in space and has detailed his idea in a paper Feasibility of cooling the Earth with a cloud of small spacecraft near L1 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. He suggests launching a constellation of trillions of small free-flying spacecraft a million miles above Earth into an orbit aligned with the sun, called the L-1 orbit. This spacecraft would form a long, cylindrical cloud and would have a diameter about half that of Earth, and about 10 times longer. It is suggested that about 10 percent of the sunlight passing through the 60,000-mile length of the cloud, pointing lengthwise between the Earth and the sun, would be diverted away from our planet. This would result in uniformly reduced sunlight by about 2 percent over the entire planet and would balance the heating of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere. The use of space shade was first mooted by James Early of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 1989. “The earlier ideas were for bigger, heavier structures that would have needed manufacture and launch from the moon, which is pretty futuristic,” Angel said. “I wanted to make the sunshade from small ‘flyers,’ small, light and extremely thin spacecraft that could be completely assembled and launched from Earth, in stacks of a million at a time. When they reached L1, they would be dealt off the stack into a cloud. There’s nothing to assemble in space.” Angel proposes to design lightweight flyers made of transparent film pierced with small holes and would be two feet in diameter, 1/5000 of an inch thick and weigh about a gram, the same as a large butterfly. He suggests using MEMS technology mirrors as tiny sails that tilt to hold the flyers position in the orbiting constellation. The weight of all flyers would be 20 millions tons. But conventional rocket launch system at $10,000 a pound would be too prohibitive. His alternative would cost only around $20 a pound. He suggests deploying a total 20 electromagnetic launchers launching a stack of flyers every 5 minutes for 10 years. The electromagnetic launchers would use hydroelectric power but even if it uses coal-generated electricity, each ton of carbon used would reduce the effect of 1000 tons of atmospheric carbon. Once propelled beyond Earths atmosphere the flyer stacks would be steered to L-1 orbit by solar-powered ion propulsion, pioneered by European Space Agency’s SMART-1 moon orbiter and NASA’s Deep Space 1 probe. “The concept builds on existing technologies,” Angel said. “It seems feasible that it could be developed and deployed in about 25 years at a cost of a few trillion dollars. With care, the solar shade should last about 50 years. So the average cost is about $100 billion a year, or about two-tenths of one percent of the global domestic product.” He added, “The sunshade is no substitute for developing renewable energy, the only permanent solution. A similar massive level of technological innovation and financial investment could ensure that. “But if the planet gets into an abrupt climate crisis that can only be fixed by cooling, it would be good to be ready with some shading solutions that have been worked out.” Author: Deepak Deepak writes on Science & Technology and currently edits website Press Release Gold, one of the largest resources on Science & Technology Syndicated By : ht
Solar Power Generator – The Antidote To Global Warming
Precisely why buy costly electricity when you’re able to build your individual solar technology technique and conserve a lot of money! Solar technology is definitely a good vitality resource which is the number one power choice source for house. Using sky rocket vitality regarding electrical energy is an ideal thought to save cash and also assist the earth. Yes, it is possible to accomplish these two excellent achievements because they build this sort of programs. It will be possible for you to spend less in order to 80 percent of the level of electricity you create use of in your own home when you start to apply free vitality. You can simply fully grasp this no cost vitality through the all-natural assets which can be for sale in a large amount. You need small gadgets metamorphic the time to generate no cost electricity. You will not manage to buy any extra business by now produced residence strength generator should you find the personal preference to generate 1 using your palm.
Earth 4 Energy is probably the plans which usually prove individuals the best way to develop their unique homemade solar energy electrical generator making use of components that you can get from a neighborhood retailer. His or her plan has simple detail by detail online guidebook which you can comply with along with affect create yours inside a day. Inside the products provided by earth4energy it is possible to view the procedure to find all the required elements and the approaches to several these as you. You may be capable of construct your full working solar technology power generator yourself to complete for just $200 with all the manual they provide what’s best than by now created commercial sorts that is certainly charged for more than $1,Thousand. You need at the most 3 day time to develop your own house built solar technology power generator. You can also construct yours inside a total morning should you commit your occasion straight into. The local surf forecast where sunshine shines quite often, you can consider this chance make use of solar panel to gather the actual one on one sun as well as using them as solar powered energy. In case you stay across the parts exactly where hefty or perhaps modest breeze produces a number of the time, you can utilize wind generator to generate blowing wind capacity to provide in your house. You may be capable to help save no less than 80% of your property electricity when you start to use renewable energy. In terms of the quantity of power company bill we pay out, photo voltaic along with wind turbine perform magic within assisting us to avoid wasting our own power bill plus maintain the world safe from global warming. Now it’s easy for us to get free energy by making use of natural means and there’s no have to pay the utility firms for the electrical power which usually we all use. Uncover the proper way to construct a property created solar energy electrical generator such as solar panel and wind turbines with only the sneaker string budget simply by adopting your guide which in turn reveals to you the right way to live the use of in depth info. There’s no need for you to exchange around the free of charge details which you’ll find on-line as a result of if you do a slight error, which means you have ruined your entire plan as well as it may actually collection your health in danger. My partner and I desire make use of the particular instruction developed by earth 4 energy because it’s composed by simply an authority environmentalist. Earth 4 energy is undoubtedly essentially the most extensive self-help guide to night out, in relation to building your personal wind flow and also solar powered energy products. It features a really in-depth tutorial sequence which is your entire process inside fantastic details. Knowing absolutely nothing regarding locating a nail in a wood, actually you save $1,000 per year about electric bills using this easy to understand procedure. Joseph P Connor has been worrying about mother earth and the fast depletion of its resources, driven by our greed and search for more and more comforts. He has been delving into other energy sources to replace the natural energy forms, which can give mother earth a respite from the continuous assault on her natural resources like fossils. Joseph has concluded that the best way to do this would be by harnessing the endless sources of power generation like wind and sunlight and use them to generate green energy in every home. Especially for educating the public at large and to impart his knowledge, he opened a website…Click Here… Solar Power DIY Visit Joseph’s website for more free tips and advice…Click here… Solar Power Generator Related Articles – Solar Power Generator, Solar Energy Panels, Email this Article to a Friend!Receive Articles like this one direct to your email box!Subscribe for free today!
Several Approaches To Prevent Global Warming
Among the most detrimental issues that the world is experiencing currently is actually global warming. We quite often see how this subject is being discussed in almost all television shows that will cope with character as well as what exactly is happening close to. This problem is definitely vulnerable the one which made numerous scientists wants to discover exactly what would be the even more results following several years. Not only are studies being carried out, there’s also some steps that many the authorities of most international locations do only to lessen the items which often can aggravate your circumstance.
Global warming is quite a common subject to most people; unfortunately, however, not every one of us understands how crucial this concern is. There are several things that an ordinary individual can do for you to contribute and fix this kind of crucial as well as important matter. Every single person needs to make a move to create points better and never to be most detrimental. A few of the straightforward stuff that can end as well as lower the scary global warming receive below.
A.At household usually switch off every one of the devices that aren’t used. Although it will save you more electricity, you can also aid decrease polluting of the environment with this basic method.
B.If you cherish Mother Nature as well as plant life, you’ll be able to place about your property; this may support take in every one of the carbon dioxide discovered coming from all the smog in which enters us all.
C.If needed, do not make use of plastic hand bags and exchange them a new cloth tote. Plastic material is just one of most dominant causes of air pollution.
D.Maintain your vehicle and maintain it usually in good shape. Understand that the actual cigarettes developing through all of the cars on the planet tend to be terrifyingly produced the environment we have now.
E.Do not really melt away rubbers, plastic material, or any other forms of items. The particular smoke cigarettes in which emanates from them can also affect the environment and will mean all of the polluting of the environment that this planet has already been suffocating through.
Information are already enumerated; and also the truth is we can invariably perform our own be associated with aiding the whole happening regarding climate change. There are numerous straightforward nevertheless points that people are able to do to help save and lengthen the life from the simply Planet we have. It is quite astonishing that this problem began with those people small and basic items that humans neglect. This is why, currently it is crucial for individuals to become dependable, involved, and be aware.
Reduce Global Warming
The earth and its environment are facing growing challenges every day. There are alarming trends which environmentalists have been pointing out – our wildlife has been slowly disappearing, wetlands and farmlands are in danger, growing consumerism is leading to uncontrollable waste and leading to massive air and water pollution. There are thus a myriad of environmental issues, which affect all of us without exception today. Some have generated a lot of debate and a lot of heat on what could be the best approach to tackle them.
Climate Change in general and Global Warming in particular, has attracted the most attention and generated the most controversies than most other environmental issues. Also called the greenhouse effect, global warming is the effect of gases gathered above the surface of the earth. These gases trap heat close to the surface of the earth thereby heating up the planet, almost like in a greenhouse and causing harm to the environment of the earth. There are a number of factors that lead to global warming. One of the biggest factors is the problem of overpopulation and its side effects. The more the number of people, the more resources they use, the more waste they generate, and the more pollution they cause. All these produce huge amounts of greenhouse emissions and contribute significantly to global warming. Finding a solution to global warming can also be tricky because the kind of products and kind of human activities that can generate greenhouse gases that cause global warming are huge in number. Driving to work means gas emissions from the car we drive, turning on the lights requires energy to be supplied from a power plant that will produce these toxic emissions, and even using a simple refrigerator will cause gas emissions. As you can imagine, there are countless such, otherwise normal day-to-day activities that can lead to greenhouse gas emissions. Further, growing industrialization and globalization has meant tremendous increase in the levels of gases surrounding the Earth, with developed countries producing almost 75% of all the greenhouse gases. In part, the fact that these gases are being generated by so many and such common activities is proving to be a big challenge towards limiting the production of greenhouse gas. With growing population and growing development, this challenge is only going to get tougher. The consequences of global warming can be very significant – there is already proof that the temperature of the earth has gone up by a few degrees over the last few decades. If the earth heats up sufficiently, some portion of the icecaps would melt and sea levels would rise. This could be quite disastrous in some places with entire islands being wiped out and millions displaced. There would be regular flooding along coastlines meaning more displacement of people and destruction of croplands. Scott Wells writes for http://allthingspondered.com/2092 where you can learn about going green and saving the environment. Fighting Gum Disease Gum Health Hydro Floss Oral irrigator Related Articles – Environmental, Email this Article to a Friend!Receive Articles like this one direct to your email box!Subscribe for free today!
Problems With Global Warming Theory
Criticized for his unconventional views on climate change, one man had the courage to stand up against the scientific community and mainstream media. Believing that the “global warming” theory did not have enough evidence to support its claims; a scientist/weatherman risked his reputation and stood by his convictions. That man was John Coleman, founder of the Weather Channel.
According to John Coleman, billions of tax dollars are being wasted on an overhyped belief that the Earth is warming. Mr. Coleman also points out that skepticism by scientists who dispute this belief has been widely suppressed by the media.
Despite constant media attention, “global warming” is still just a theory. Quite the contrary, periods of global cooling are a fact of Earth’s history that have come before and will come again. Although Mr. Coleman does not believe that either extreme is likely in our immediate future, an understanding of times when the Earth was cooler is essential in order to understand some of the fallacies of the mainstream view.
Although you will often hear the misleading argument that polar ice caps are melting, this argument fails to consider several important factors:
The best geological and climate data shows that ice sheets regularly grow and decline at predictable and sometimes unpredictable intervals. Mankind hasn’t been studying climate long enough to know for sure what constitutes the “normal” decline of ice in between glaciation periods.
Biased climate reports of record highs often neglect to show record lows and unprecedented snow falls that occur throughout many areas – including states that are supposed to be part of the Sunbelt.
Many scientists disagree with the “global warming” theory including the 17,000 that signed a petition circulated by the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine.
Despite predictions, some glaciers have actually increased in size in recent years.
Projections of “global warming” by the media and even scientists at times are often wildly exaggerated and based more on opinions and questionable computer models than actual historical data.
The whole premise of temperature increase is highly questionable on multiple accounts including the way readings are conducted (typically using unreliable ground-based readings), the amount of this increase (only 1 degree on average) and the manipulation of readings to cherry pick sample areas that best support the theory.
The belief that the industrial revolution has spurred on a warming trend conveniently overlooks the first 100 years of this period where Earth’s temperatures actually cooled.
Current CO2 levels in our atmosphere are similar to what they were between 120,000 to 140,000 years ago during the Eemian Interglacial Period. After this brief warming trend, the climate reverted back to a full-fledged ice age!
Despite popular belief, CO2 or carbon dioxide is actually not a very strong greenhouse gas. In fact, carbon dioxide is beneficial to trees and plants which need this to survive. Our atmosphere also breaks down CO2 naturally as carbon dioxide is a necessary part of our eco-system.
Does this mean we should be complacent about vehicle and industrial emissions? Certainly not! Air pollution is air-pollution and those with self-serving agendas must be held accountable for actions that effect our environment.
The truth is, we really don’t know exactly what the future will bring. Although it is theoretically possible the Earth might warm, it is also very possible just the opposite will occur or that the Earth may remain relatively stable for many millenniums to come. Extraordinary claims must be substantiated and not the result of conjecture. Without a full and unbiased model that shows all the evidence, such wild speculation has no place in science and only serves to reduce the credibility of climatologists and the legacy scientists of our time leave behind.