June 24, 2008

How to stop Global Warming ?

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO STOP GLOBAL WARMING:

There are several things which you can do directly after reading . However, some of the actions which we all have to take will slightly decrease your present standards of living.

First, since the largest portion of electricity is produced by burning coal, we should try to cut-down on our demand for electricity. Coal combustion creates the largest amount of CO2 per energy unit of any fossil fuel. Coal and oil together represent 80% of the fuel supply used to generate electricity. Here are few things you can do ...
  • Decrease the use of electricity,every kilowatt-hour of electricity saved keeps 1.5 to 2 pounds of CO2 out of the atmosphere.Turn off electronic devices when you are not using them.
  • Install an energy efficient thermostat, with a day and night timer
  • Move your thermostat down 2° in winter and up 2° in summer.Almost half of the energy we use in our homes goes to heating and cooling. You could save about 2,000 pounds of CO2 a year with this simple adjustment.
  • Plant trees,a single tree can absorb 1 ton of CO2 over its life time.
  • Switch to Renewable Energy,such as Solar,Wind and Biomass.
  • Use less hot water (showers & washing), instead use solar water heaters.
  • Switch to fuel efficient cars,if possible Green Technology ( Hybrid & Hydrogen Cars ).Keeping your tyres(tires) inflated properly can improve the fuel efficiency by more than 3%.
  • Use public transport system (mass transit) or share a ride with your colleagues (coworkers) or classmates.
  • Reduce waste,recycle more,you can save 2,400 pounds of CO2 per year by recycling just half of your household waste.

Spread the word,encourage your friends to follow the above mentioned things and make this planet a better place to live in.

June 15, 2008

"Global Warming and Climate Changes " Do we know the truth ?


Global warming is the increase in the average temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans. Carbon dioxide and other gases warm the surface of the planet naturally by trapping solar heat in the atmosphere. This is a good thing because it keeps our planet habitable. However, by burning fossil fuels such as coal, gas and oil and clearing forests we have dramatically increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere and temperatures are rising since the mid-twentieth century, and its projected continuation.

The average global air temperature near the Earth's surface increased 0.74 ± 0.18 °C (1.33 ± 0.32 °F) during the hundred years ending in 2005. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes "most of the observed increase in globally averaged temperatures since the mid-twentieth century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic (man-made) greenhouse gas concentrations" via an enhanced greenhouse effect. Natural phenomena such as solar variation combined with volcanoes probably had a small warming effect from pre-industrial times to 1950 and a small cooling effect from 1950 onward. These basic conclusions have been endorsed by at least thirty scientific societies and academies of science, including all of the national academies of science of the major industrialized countries. While individual scientists have voiced disagreement with some findings of the IPCC, the overwhelming majority of scientists working on climate change agree with the IPCC's main conclusions.

Climate model projections summarized by the IPCC indicate that average global surface temperature will likely rise a further 1.1 to 6.4 °C (2.0 to 11.5 °F) during the twenty-first century. This range of values results from the use of differing scenarios of future greenhouse gas emissions as well as models with differing climate sensitivity. Although most studies focus on the period up to 2100, warming and sea level rise are expected to continue for more than a thousand years even if greenhouse gas levels are stabilized. The delay in reaching equilibrium is a result of the large heat capacity of the oceans. Increasing global temperature will cause sea level to rise, and is expected to increase the intensity of extreme weather events and to change the amount and pattern of precipitation. Other effects of global warming include changes in agricultural yields, trade routes, glacier retreat, species extinctions and increases in the ranges of disease vectors.Remaining scientific uncertainties include the amount of warming expected in the future, and how warming and related changes will vary from region to region around the globe.

Most national governments have signed and ratified the Kyoto Protocol aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but there is ongoing political and public debate worldwide regarding what, if any, action should be taken to reduce or reverse future warming or to adapt to its expected consequences.

The Kyoto Protocol, which requires the industrialised countries to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (GHGs), came into force today. India ratified the protocol in 2002. The industrialised countries would need to accelerate the introduction of renewables to meet these requirements, as well as reduce energy consumption by promoting efficiency of energy end use, and enhance the absorption of carbon dioxide through greater afforestation. Under the protocol, the developed countries are required to reduce emissions of GHGs by an average of 5.2 per cent below 1990 levels by 2012. This protocol was adopted in 1997 by the countries that ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC). The Convention seeks to stabilise greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would minimise interference with the climate system.

One of the provisions of the Kyoto Protocol, known as the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), establishes a framework within which the industrialised countries can meet a part of their carbon dioxide emissions reduction requirements by purchasing Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) from India and other developing countries. These CERs are generated through an international process that continuously monitors and verifies that clean energy projects in developing countries are indeed leading to lower carbon dioxide emissions than would occur otherwise. The price of the CERs is market determined, and is expected to rise as the demand for CERs increases with the coming into force of the Kyoto Protocol. The current price of CERs is about $6 for a tonne of carbon dioxide emission reductions, which is about $1 more than it was one year ago. Most assessments predict that this price would rise to about $8 to $10 in about three to five years.

This is because these projects collect the methane generated in landfills and burn it to produce electricity. By reducing emissions of methane, which is 20 times more potent a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, the project secures significant additional source of revenue. This increase makes it profitable for private investors to collect garbage and manage landfills — which could have a major impact on the management of solid waste in our cities

FOREST DESTRUCTION CREATES MORE HEAT:

Trees play a unique role in the global carbon cycle. They are the largest land-based natural mechanism for removing CO2 from the air. (CO2 is also removed by the oceans and ocean organisms.)
Trees are able to store a large amount of CO2 in their structures. An acre of forest will absorb about 10 times the CO2 amount absorbed by an acre of crop land or grassland. One tree absorbs about 13 pounds of CO2 per year, and each one acre of forest absorbs about 2.8 tons of CO2. However, when trees are burned, the carbon locked in the structure is released into the air in the form of CO2. Today, the shrinking world forests are not able to absorb all the CO2 created by human beings while burning fossil fuels. Everyday over 5500 acres of rain forest are destroyed, and over 50 million acres are destroyed every year. Global CO2 levels rise approximately 0.4 percent each year, to levels not experienced on this planet for millions of years. Planting more trees and reducing timber cuts world-wide will help restore the imbalance, and perhaps buy time as ways are found to reduce world greenhouse gas emissions.

POPULATION GROWTH CONTRIBUTES TO GLOBAL WARMING:

The intellectual powers that we enjoy has enabled us to make effective use of technology and thereby changed the environment. Technology is partly responsible for explosive population growth and responsible for the resulting damage to Earth's resources. The industrial revolution caused a rapid increase in the Population growth, as oil and gas fuels were exploited for our use. There is a clear link between the problems of global warming and overpopulation, as increases in CO2 levels follows growth in population. Presently, we have too many people on Earth, who are using technologies that are destructive for the Earth. We cannot continue to grow, and make use of limited natural resources.

In my opninion, everyone should see the movie " An Inconvenient Truth " presented by former US Vice President Al Gore and directed by David Guggenheim ,the documentary won Academy Awards for Best Documentary Feature and for Best Original Song. Perhaps this would awaken the generation next to save Planet Earth....Better late than never......
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