Global Warming

Ocean temperatures increasing

2009-10-27T09:26:00.000-07:00

# Recent headline: Caribbean coral suffers record die-off. (* 3/31/06 *)
# Costal ocean temperatures are so high that sea corals are being killed globally.

* Up to 90% of corals are dead or dying in many areas.
* It is now too late to derail or delay the disaster.

# The increase in the temperature of the oceans is providing fuel for stronger and more frequent hurricances and typhoons - like last year when we saw a record number of hurricanes in the Caribbean. Japan also set a record for the number of typhoons to hit Japan.
# Sea levels are slowly increasing, threatening cities such as Venice, Italy

* Sea level as measured at San Francisco, California, USA.

The Stockholm Environment Institute

2009-09-04T07:18:00.000-07:00

Dr Collins says: “Taking a flight and planting a tree does not add up. It does not make it all right. It is having your cake and eating it.” Dr John Barrett, from the Stockholm Environment Institute at the University of York, says: “There is a huge irony in flying halfway across the globe in a private jet, eating up fossil fuel. The idea that you can offset the pollution you cause is just ridiculous. What these people at Live Earth have done is defined their boundaries to suit themselves, but there is no sense in which this concert is carbon neutral. Planting trees or investing in renewable energy does not reverse the damage of releasing huge quantities of carbon dioxide into the environment. It is far better not to pollute in the first place. Carbon offsetting can be a removal of guilt, but it is not an effective one.”

Live Earth is encouraging ‘citizens of the world’ to take small steps: share a car, plant a shrub, turn off a light or hang out washing rather than use a dryer. But Dr Barrett says: “It would be far better for these celebrities to stay at home. Holding large concerts to highlight environmental concerns and cut carbon emissions just seems ridiculous. What planet do these people live on?”

Personal Global Warming Solutions

2009-07-15T22:04:00.000-07:00

The world's scientists agree: global warming is real, here, and happening faster than anyone predicted. But scientists also say we can curb global warming and its consequences -- if we take bold, comprehensive action now that adds up to an at least 80 percent cut in carbon emissions by 2050, or an average of 2 percent a year. Learn more about how to be part of the Two Percent Solution!

U.S. carbon emissions primarily come from transportation and power plants. You can take the following steps to reduce your own carbon emissions from these sectors:

Install solar electric

2009-07-15T22:01:00.000-07:00

Some people are fortunate enough that their financial position makes it possible for them to buy enough photovoltaic (electricity-generating) solar panels to completely offset their electric bill. But even if you can't go mega-solar, adding some level of solar PV may make sense for you, both in terms of greenhouse-gas reductions and in terms of being more resilient in the face of future electricity disruptions. The US government and many states offer tax incentives for installation of PV systems, solar hot water systems, and other energy efficiency improvements. See DSIRE for specifics or check out our Home Solar Energy article.

2007 announce of global warming

2009-06-15T18:40:00.000-07:00

There are different consequences of global warming : greenhouse effect ,coastal flooding ,ocean warming, sea-level rising , Arctic and Antarctic warming and melting , shrinking of a glaciers... All of us can notice spring arriving earlier , or feel climate changes . Rising of temperature and global warming have influence on infections spreading, animal population changes , killer hurricanes, heat waves, Prognoses of scientists are very pessimistic , by 21st century's end the temperature on the Earth will raise ( on the average ) 4-5 degrees of Celsius There are also more pessimistic forecasts. Planet Earth and human race are in great danger. Global warming threaten to make life on the earth impossible .

Global Warming Ozone Depletion

2009-05-24T18:45:00.000-07:00

The ozone layer, which protects all life from ultraviolet (UV) radiation, is being destroyed by release of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) into the atmosphere. The widening holes in the ozone layer allow in more UV rays, which can cause skin cancers, cataracts, and immune system damage. UV rays are detrimental to pollination, seed production, and marine life food supplies as well.

California Global Warming Solutions Act

2009-04-27T02:37:00.000-07:00

* Establish a statewide greenhouse gas emissions cap for 2020, based on 1990 emissions by January 1, 2008.
* Adopt mandatory reporting rules for significant sources of greenhouse gases by January 1, 2009.
* Adopt a plan by January 1, 2009 indicating how emission reductions will be achieved from significant greenhouse gas sources via regulations, market mechanisms and other actions.
* Adopt regulations by January 1, 2011 to achieve the maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective reductions in greenhouse gas, including provisions for using both market mechanisms and alternative compliance mechanisms.
* Convene an Environmental Justice Advisory Committee and an Economic and Technology Advancement Advisory Committee to advise CARB.
* Ensure public notice and opportunity for comment for all CARB actions.
* Prior to imposing any mandates or authorizing market mechanisms, CARB must evaluate several factors, including but not limited to impacts on California's economy, the environment and public health; equity between regulated entities; electricity reliability, conformance with other environmental laws and ensure that the rules do not disproportionately impact low-income communities.

Human Impacts on Climate

2009-03-28T03:40:00.000-07:00

Human activities are increasingly altering the Earth's climate. These effects add to natural influences that have been present over Earth's history. Scientific evidence strongly indicates that natural influences cannot explain the rapid increase in global near-surface temperatures observed during the second half of the 20th century.

Human impacts on the climate system include increasing concentrations of atmospheric greenhouse gases (e.g., carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons and their substitutes, methane, nitrous oxide, etc.), air pollution, increasing concentrations of airborne particles, and land alteration. A particular concern is that atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide may be rising faster than at any time in Earth's history, except possibly following rare events like impacts from large extraterrestrial objects.

Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations have increased since the mid-1700s through fossil fuel burning and changes in land use, with more than 80% of this increase occurring since 1900. Moreover, research indicates that increased levels of carbon dioxide will remain in the atmosphere for hundreds to thousands of years. It is virtually certain that increasing atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases will cause global surface climate to be warmer.

The consequences of global climate change

2009-03-11T08:46:00.000-07:00

Like the immediate prospect of being hanged, to paraphrase literary figure Samuel Johnson, are wonderfully concentrating the minds of agricultural scientists, development professionals and policy makers around the world. Among them are the approximately 1,000 scientists and 7,000 other staff of the 15 centers supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, or CGIAR.

The CGIAR Centers and their numerous partners in government and civil society organizations have been helping farmers cope with the effects of variable and severe weather for nearly three decades. Specifically, they seek ways to protect water and other natural resources under extreme weather conditions and other pressures, to develop crop varieties that are adapted to harsh climates, and to identify policy and institutional innovations that better enable countries and communities to cope with these conditions. Through this work, CGIAR researchers have generated a wealth of improved crop germplasm, knowledge, technologies, methods and policy analysis, which can lessen the vulnerability of marginalized rural people and places through more sustainable management of crops, livestock, soils, water, forests, fisheries and biodiversity.

This research is highly relevant to the economic and environmental constraints that developing country farmers face today. And it will become even more necessary as global climate change magnifies those constraints.

Climate crisis on Global warming

2009-02-14T10:18:00.000-08:00

No human challenge is so potentially uniting as the climate crisis. Our human drive to invent and build has led to extraordinary advances and great technological promise. It's also had grave, unintended consequences. And unless we face the climate crisis with ingenuity, resolve, and a sense of urgency, much of the world as we know it will begin to unravel before our eyes.

The warning signs are plain to see. The 10 warmest years on record have all occurred since 1990. Mountain glaciers are fading on every continent and the sea ice is melting. The seas have begun a slow but menacing rise.

National Climatic Data Center

2009-01-24T07:18:00.000-08:00

One of the most vigorously debated topics on Earth is the issue of climate change, and the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) data centers are central to answering some of the most pressing global change questions that remain unresolved. The National Climatic Data Center contains the instrumental and paleoclimatic records that can precisely define the nature of climatic fluctuations at time scales of a century and longer. Among the diverse kinds of data platforms whose data contribute to NCDC's resources are: Ships, buoys, weather stations, weather balloons, satellites, radar and many climate proxy records such as tree rings and ice cores. The National Oceanographic Data Center contains the subsurface ocean data which reveal the ways that heat is distributed and redistributed over the planet. Knowing how these systems are changing and how they have changed in the past is crucial to understanding how they will change in the future. And, for climate information that extends from hundreds to thousands of years, paleoclimatology data, also available from the National Climatic Data Center, helps to provide longer term perspectives.

STOP the EXTINCTION of LIFE

2009-01-17T03:53:00.000-08:00

Think that will solve the problems in this world? Definitely not. Their greed and selfish attitude far exceeds any effort of those who are their servants and walk the streets. The scientific world has gone off on a tangent looking for a solution while they have missed the actual solution staring them in the face.

How is that possible you ask? Very simply put. When they were being taught by their previous teachers in school, they were told you can not do this. They believed it true, because they could not find the flaw in the laws of physics. So they became derelict in their beliefs.

So life goes on for them believing that something is impossible. They don't even want to believe there is real people in this world who have the true love of GOD in their heart and can actually solve this problem before they will have a solution.

Any of these high tech solutions of today are way out of reach for the average person and will have little or no effect on climate change. They are like using a tooth pick to remove a manure pile when someone is shoveling more on the pile.

So we ask you if you want to help, Before it is to late.

How global warming works

2009-01-17T02:20:00.000-08:00

I think you’ll remember from high school biology that plants absorb carbon dioxide and sunlight and that is how they grow. Just like plants need sunlight to grow, they also need carbon dioxide. Plants create oxygen and this is what we breathe. Quite a neat system the Creator has made – humans breathe in oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide, and plants breathe in carbon dioxide and exhale oxygen. Therefore, you could view our carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles and power plants that burn coal or oil as potential plant food. So if carbon dioxide is plant food then what’s the big deal about carbon dioxide causing global warming, you might ask. Answer: Our output of carbon dioxide has been growing over the decades and there are not enough plants to absorb it all. The carbon dioxide stays in the atmosphere and acts as a heat shield. Our planet gets warmer every year.

Choose an efficient vehicle

2009-01-05T06:09:00.001-08:00

A car that gets 20 miles per gallon will emit about 50 tons of carbon dioxide over its lifetime. A car getting 40 mpg will emit half that much. When buying your next car, pick the least-polluting, most efficient vehicle that meets your needs. Maybe it's an innovative hybrid that combines a gasoline engine with electric motors (and never needs to be plugged in). Or maybe it's a wagon instead of an SUV. And over the average lifetime of an American car, a 40-mpg car will save roughly $3,000 in fuel costs compared with a 20-mpg car, so compare fuel economy performance before you buy. (See www.fueleconomy.gov's Find and Compare Cars feature.)

Global Warming = Rising Ocean Levels

2009-01-05T06:08:00.001-08:00

Rising ocean levels could eventually cause worldwide flooding of coastal areas, forcing people and wildlife to migrate inland. Many experts believe global warming is behind the upswing in hurricane activity, and they also predict global warming will cause a dramatic increase in excessive precipitation in some areas and severe drought in others, resulting in floods, crop failures, and a rising number of forest fires and land slides.

Many of the world's most knowledgeable climate-change scientists forecast that the earth's temperature will rise from 1.44 to 6.3º F by the year 2100 if we don't take steps to reduce greenhouse gases. An increase of 1 to 3.6º F will occur even if we do act, because many gases have already been released.

Global Warming = Ozone Depletion

2009-01-05T05:55:00.000-08:00

Mathematical Model Illuminates Polar Lows Treacherous winds

2008-12-21T22:45:00.000-08:00

Polar lows are small-scale storms that occur in the oceans of the high latitudes and are comparable to a tropical cyclone. The strong winds they produce are rightly feared by seamen. In the course of the last century, North Atlantic polar lows caused 56 shipwrecks with a total of 342 people lost at sea.

Although polar lows do not always produce winds of hurricane force, they are particularly treacherous to shipping because they can develop very suddenly and, on account of their small diameter of only a few hundred kilometres, are very difficult to predict.

Similarly, the lack of meteorological stations in the polar regions further compounds the difficulties of forecasting and documenting these weather systems.

Global Warming>Balancing Factors

2008-12-14T03:40:00.000-08:00

The major role of water vapour in absorbing thermal radiation is in some respects balanced by the fact that when condensed it causes an albedo effect which reflects about one third of the incoming sunlight back into space. This effect is enhanced by atmospheric sulfate aerosols and dust, which provide condensation nuclei. Nearly half the sulfates in the atmosphere originate from sulfur dioxide emissions from power stations and industry, particularly in the northern hemisphere.

In recent decades volcanoes have contributed substantially to dust and acid aerosol levels high in the atmosphere. While at lower levels in the atmosphere sulfate aerosols and dust are short-lived, such material in the stratosphere remains for years, increasing the amount of sunlight which is reflected away. Hence there is, for the time being, a balancing cooling effect on the earth's surface. In the northern hemisphere the sulfate aerosols are estimated to counter nearly half the heating effect due to anthropogenic greenhouse gases.

However, in many countries there are now programs to reduce sulphur dioxide emissions from power stations, as these emissions cause acid rain. Hence this balancing factor will diminish and the rate of temperature increase due to greenhouse gases may consequently increase. Removing the sulfate aerosols is likely to be equivalent to increasing CO2 levels by 100ppm, according to a senior UK climate scientist.

Global Warming>Australia's Rudd Tackles Global Warming

2008-12-14T03:33:00.000-08:00

Australia's Prime Minister-elect Kevin Rudd took advice Sunday on how to ratify the Kyoto Protocol on cutting greenhouse gas emissions and fielded phone calls from world leaders — starting in on work the day after a sweeping election victory.
The emphatic victory for Rudd's Labor Party swings Australia toward the political left after almost 12 years of conservative rule and puts it at odds with key ally Washington on two crucial policy issues — Iraq and global warming.
After declaring victory late Saturday, Rudd attended church Sunday then held meetings with government officials about the mechanics of signing the Kyoto pact on global warming, an issue he made his top priority during the election campaign.

He also held meetings with top bureaucrats about taking over the levers of government, took phone calls from President Bush and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and received congratulatory messages from other foreign leaders.

Britain, New Zealand and Indonesia said Rudd's election would boost international efforts to address climate change. Ousted Prime Minister John Howard had refused to sign Kyoto.

Rudd declined to give details of his conversation with Bush, and said he plans to visit Washington next year.

The leaders agreed during the call that they looked forward to working together, said White House National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe.

Rudd, a Chinese-speaking former diplomat, accepted Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's invitation to attend a December U.N. meeting in Bali to map out the world's next steps against climate change.

On Sunday, at his first news conference, Rudd promised "action, and action now" on climate change and made education, health and a high-speed Internet network additional priorities of his government.

He said Labor lawmakers were due to meet Thursday, and he hoped his Cabinet would be sworn in soon after that.

Deputy Labor leader Julia Gillard said Monday that Rudd would act quickly on signing Kyoto, paving the way for Australia to play a greater role at the Bali meeting.

Gillard will become Australia's most senior woman politician ever when she is sworn in as deputy prime minister, a role that will make her acting leader of the country when Rudd is overseas or on leave.

Rudd's election brought a sharp and mortifying end to the 11-year rule of Howard, Australia's second-longest serving leader.

Howard faces the further possible embarrassment of losing his own district seat in parliament — a fate suffered only once before by a sitting prime minister in 106 years of federal government.

Howard, 68, reshaped Australia's image abroad with his unwavering support for Bush's war on terrorism and in Iraq. But he failed to read the signs that voters had grown tired of his rule.

He campaigned on his economic management, arguing that Rudd, 50, could not be trusted to continue Australia's 17 years of unbroken economic growth, fueled by China's and India's hunger for Australian coal and other minerals.

Aside from Iraq and Kyoto, the bulk of Australia's foreign, trade and economic policies are not expected to change much under Rudd.

Rudd has pledged to govern as an "economic conservative," while pouring money into schools and universities, and to curtail sweeping workplace reforms that Howard introduced.

As Rudd basked in his victory, Howard's party fell into turmoil when his nominated successor, outgoing Treasurer Peter Costello, announced he would not accept the post of opposition leader.

The surprise announcement opens the possibility of a bruising fight for the leadership, with outgoing Foreign Minister Alexander Downer and former Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull likely candidates.

Howard took his customary early morning walk along the Sydney Harbor Sunday, but did not comment on the election.

With 75 percent of the more than 13.5 million ballots counted, Labor had won more than 53 percent of the vote and a clear majority of at least 83 places in parliament's 150-seat lower house, official Australian Electoral Commission results showed.

That was at least 23 seats more than Labor Party won at the last election in 2004 — a huge swing in Australian politics.

Howard's Liberal-National coalition had 46.6 percent of the vote, and 47 parliamentary seats. Howard's district of Bennelong hung in the balance, with the final outcome to be decided by postal votes to be counted in the next few days.

Global Warming > The Greenhouse Effect

2008-12-08T18:24:00.000-08:00

The greenhouse effect itself occurs when short-wave solar radiation (which is not impeded by the greenhouse gases) heats the surface of the Earth, and the energy is radiated back through the Earth's atmosphere as heat, with a longer wavelength. In the wavelengths 5-30µm a lot of this thermal radiation is absorbed by water vapour and carbon dioxide, which in turn radiate it, thus heating the atmosphere. This is what keeps the Earth habitable. Without the greenhouse effect overnight temperatures would plunge and the average surface temperature would be about minus 18oC, about the same as on the moon, which lacks the shroud of our atmosphere.

The particular problem arises in the 8-18µm band where water vapour is a weak absorber of radiation and where the Earth's thermal radiation is greatest.* Increased concentrations of CO2 and other radiative gases here mean that less heat is lost to space from the Earth's lower atmosphere, and temperatures at the Earth's surface are therefore likely to increase.

A number of indicators suggest that warming due to increased levels of greenhouse gases is indeed observable since 1980, despite some masking by aerosols (see below). One problem is that while global air temperatures do appear to have risen about 0.6oC over the last century, this has been irregular rather than steady, and does not correlate well with the steady increase in greenhouse gas concentrations. While the amount is consistent with natural climate variability, some of the warmest years on record have been in the last decade. However, the climate is a complex system and other factors influence global temperatures.

Global Warming > Reduces Greenhouse Gas Emissions

2008-12-08T18:20:00.000-08:00

Animal feeding operations are an important emission source of air pollutants including methane and carbon dioxide—known greenhouse gases. Recent inventories suggest that animal manure makes a significant contribution to global methane emissions. As a consequence, greenhouse gas emissions can potentially become a limiting factor in the development and sustainability of animal production and technologies are needed to mitigate pollutant gas emissions.

Oil spray has been used as a mitigation technique to reduce pollution from animal buildings. However, little is known about its effect on greenhouse gas emissions.

Scientists at Purdue University and the University of Missouri have investigated oil spray on air pollutant emissions from pig barns in northern Missouri. Specifically, they studied the quantity and characteristics of methane and carbon dioxide emissions from two commercial pig finishing barns and tested three oil spray techniques—vegetable oil sprinkling, essential oil misting, and misting of essential oil with water—to reduce these emissions. Results from the study were published in the November-December issue of Journal of Environmental Quality.

The study revealed average emissions of 32.5 g methane and 15.8 g carbon dioxide per day per animal unit (500 kg animal live weight) from the two barns. Treatments of oil sprinkling, misting of essential oils, and misting of essential oils with water reduced the average emissions of methane by 20% and of carbon dioxide by 19%. Barn methane and carbon dioxide concentrations and emission rates were affected by diel and seasonal fluctuations of ambient temperature. Methane was produced from decomposing manure and released from recycled lagoon effluent during barn gutter flushing. Carbon dioxide was produced from pig exhalation, manure decomposition, and combustion heaters and was also released from recycled lagoon effluent. The flushing lagoon effluent was responsible for 9.8 % of methane and 4.1 % of carbon dioxide in the total barn emissions.

A state-of-the-art mobile laboratory monitoring system was set up between two barns and connected to the barns via tubing and cables. One barn was used as control and another was treated with the three oil spray techniques, one after another for a total of 247 days. Air samples were taken at the exhaust fans of the two barns and from outdoor background and pumped into the mobile laboratory via tubing. Concentrations of methane and carbon dioxide in the sample air were measured continuously with two gas analyzers. Air sampling and measurement were conducted 18 times daily to cover diel variations. Ventilation fans were monitored for gas emission calculations. Barn temperature, relative humidity, animal activity, barn space heaters, manure flushing, and weather conditions were also continuously monitored. The field investigation was conducted from August 2002 to July 2003 to cover seasonal variations.

Quantification and mitigation of air pollution from animal feeding operations helps researchers to understand and reduce the industry’s negative impact on local and global environments. Research on greenhouse gases and other pollutants emissions from animal barns of different animal species is ongoing at Purdue University in collaboration with other universities in the U.S. Mitigation technology development will be one of the research focuses in this field. Further study on oil spray in animal barns is needed to optimize its application method for better effects on reducing emissions of not only greenhouse gases but also particulate matter and odor.

Global Warming > Rising Ocean Levels

2008-12-03T06:17:00.000-08:00

Global Warming = Ozone Depletion

2008-12-03T06:10:00.000-08:00

Global Warming > Stop Deforestation

2008-11-26T07:49:00.000-08:00

Ending deforestation is certainly a hard problem to fix because the reason for deforestation is to account for the growing population with more living space and also there is a need for more lumber to build buildings. Even though this is true, the rates at which these forests are being destroyed are increasing rapidly and there needs to be a stop to this or at least a compromise to limit deforestation.
Another possible solution is to use synthetic material rather than wood as a resource. This leads to the idea of recycling, products that are made from trees such as paper, so that the recycled material can be re-used rather than destroying more forests.

Global Warming > Something must be done

2008-11-26T07:36:00.000-08:00

1. The single biggest contributor to global warming is the burning of fossil fuels and production of carbon byproduct. If fuels could be burned more efficiently, with less waste, that would reduce the amount of airborne carbon and slow the pace of climate change. That’s a start.
2. Another important step would be to find alternative sources of clean, replenishable energy. Solar power has long been seen as the quintessential replenishable resource. But to date is has been expensive to capture sunlight and produce power, particularly in the extreme northern and southern latitudes.
3. A third component of the solution would be to address the growing crisis in clean, drinkable water – a sad effect of the rise in global temperatures. While not decreasing global warming itself, clean water technology would ease the effects of climate change on some of the world’s most disadvantaged populations.