Global Warming

From Future

Global warming is now recognized by all scientists. Global warming is increasing each year. It is caused by greenhouse gases, mainly carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4), which prevent heat from escaping the earth. The result is increasing temperatures across the planet. In such a condition, various forms of plant and animal life can perish.

Per unit of mass, methane has 25 times the greenhouse effect as carbon dioxide, but there is more than 50 times as much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere as methane, so carbon dioxide has the larger overall greenhouse effect.

We now stand at a fork in the road:

• One path leads to more money for entrepreneurs and politicians influenced by major corporations, but may further damage our world for our posterity. This is the easy route. We do nothing different.
• The other path leads to recognizing the threat that global warming is, and its effects on climate change. Should the United States sign the Kyoto protocols at last, so will many other nations, as the United States is the example that many other nations follow.

Table of Contents 1 Causes of global warming 2 Consequences of global warming 3 Technologies to fix the problem 4 Risk 5 See also 6 Links

[edit] Causes of global warming

There are 3 major causes of greenhouse gas emissions. They are:

• use of oil by airplanes, ships, and automobiles. This produces CO2.
• use of coal to produce electrical power. This produces CO2.
• use of large quantities of cattle and some other livestock animals. This produces methane.

[edit] Consequences of global warming

Global warming has become a major issue. The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is so far beyond normal that the ice caps will continue to melt way past 2050 and we are continuing to add more. This will speed up global warming, giving us less time to prepare for the consequences or to invent new technology to prevent it.

• There have been 5 ice ages in the past 600,000 years. In the past 600,000 years carbon dioxide has never exceeded 300 parts per million. Today it is 450ppm, and in 2050 it will be 700ppm.
• Ocean ice at the North Pole does not raise sea levels when melted. Land ice like Antarctica and Greenland does increase sea level when melted.
• The ice thickness at the North Pole has decreased 40% in the last 40 years. The polar ice reflects 90% of sunlight. Without the ice only 10% will be reflected. 90% will be absorbed by the ocean.
• Greenland ice would raise sea levels by 20 feet. A sea level rise of 20 feet will displace 100 million people.
• The ice on the entire continent of Antarctica has never completely melted in recorded history of 500,000 years. In 100 years it will completely melt and ocean levels will raise by 150 feet.

The only two nations that have not ratified The Kyoto Protocol are The United States(and sometimes Canada). 11 states and 86 U.S. cities are implementing The Kyoto Protocol.

The average American car gets 20 miles to the gallon. We can't sell our cars in China because they don’t meet the Chinese environmental standards. California passed a law stating that by 2017 all cars sold in California must get 30 miles to the gallon.

See also: Gas Mileage Standards

Weather

• More hurricanes will be category 5 or above.
• Hurricanes will happen every year in the South Atlantic affecting Brazil. Which never was supposed to happen until the Hurricane that occured there in 2004.
• Rain fall will become more frequent in some regions and less frequent in others. Droughts and flash floods will occur more often.

Natural disasters cause economic problems. Leading to a rise in "damage costs"

Disease

• Diseases under control by the cold will become uncontrollable. West Nile virus spread in just 5 years across the United States.
• Parasites that cause diseases will be able to survive at higher elevations.
• Parasites will be able to survive for a longer periods of time during the year, and year round in some places.
• Heat waves will kill the weak, the old, and small children.

Natural Recourses

• Pollution is increasing.
• Deforestation is containing.
• Forest fires happen more frequently.
• Topsoil is disappearing.
• The permafrost is melting. Billions of tons of methane & carbon dioxide are being released from methane hydrates & the permafrost.
• 50% of all species since 1492 will be extinct. Polar bears are drowning because of melting polar ice.
• Non-native species disrupted the ecosystem of the environment. African ants and other non-native animals have killed many local animals in America.
• Coral reefs are in trouble. 25 million tons of carbon dioxide is being absorbed into the ocean every day. This increases the pH level and makes the ocean more acidic. Hot water that holds more carbon dioxide holds less oxygen. Fish need oxygen. Red tide is also terrible for fish. Less fish means less sea food.
• Brazil is energy independent. 86% comes from renewable resources. There is a 59 cents per gallon United States tariff on Brazilian ethanol.
• 40% of the world’s water supply comes from rivers and lakes. That water comes from mountain ice. All mountain ice will be gone. The Rio Grand almost never reaches the ocean. Lake Chad is gone. Kilimanjaro ice will be gone by 2010.
• The Amazon River dried up for the first time in 2005. The rainforest will turn into grassland, then desert.
• Ground water in desert regions is very low and will soon be gone.
• Crop yields will decrease with less water. Insects that eat crops are increasing with warmer winters.
• Less oil means higher oil prices. Higher oil prices mean higher fertilizer prices. Higher fertilizer prices mean higher food prices.
• Instead of riding bikes people drive cars.
• Trees are being cut down and burned which gives off CO2 which is one of the greenhouse gases.

[edit] Technologies to fix the problem

Plans are currently under way to avert the effects of global warming and greenhouse gases. Since the primary culprits are carbon dioxide and methane, all of these plans involve carbon/methane “sinks”—ways of storing atmospheric carbon dioxide and methane in various locations, both natural and artificial. These involve the following:

1. A project known as “iron seeding” involves dispersing bits of iron across the oceans to stimulate plankton growth as a biological carbon sink. You can read more about this topic at iron seeding.
2. Currently a method under investigation involves pumping carbon dioxide into underground oil stores. This process will force the oil out of the underground caves for commercial use while simultaneously trapping carbon dioxide under the ground.
3. In most developed nations, forest/tree restoration projects are underway. It is hoped that these trees would not only beautify their surroundings, but also act as an effective carbon sink.
4. Some chemical processes are able to convert methane into carbon dioxide. Since methane is about 25 times as effective a greenhouse gas as carbon dioxide, this will greatly reduce the effects of the gas on world temperature.
5. 'Cloud seeding' —forming clouds by starter molecules dispersed by aircraft. These clouds will help to reflect sunlight and thereby reduce the effects of global warming.

[edit] Risk

While many scientists warn of the risk of a 1 to 10 meter rise, few speak of the nightmare scenario, a rise in ocean levels by 100 meters. This rise in water will soon gradually build up and over come the land.

[edit] See also

• Climate Change - Believed to be a consequence of global warming, more extreme weather already seems to be happening. It is notable that the length and severity of the hurricane season depends on the temperature of water in equatorial lattitudes. A increase of just 1 degree celcius in the temperature of the water represents a huge increase in the energy and potential severity of tropical storm!!!

[edit] Links

• The Canary Project is a superb website with photos of landscapes undergoing extreme change as a result of global warming.