Blog for a Better World

A group of 1,700 leading scientists called on the US government last June to take the lead in fighting global warming. Citing the unprecedented and unanticipated effects of global warming, the scientists, including six Nobel prizewinners, presented a letter calling for an immediate reduction in US carbon emissions. The letter warns if emissions continue unabated, the nation and the world will face more sea level rise, heatwaves, droughts, wildfires, snowmelt, flood risk, and public health threats, as well as increased rates of plant and animal species extinctions.  The scientists call on the government to reduce emissions on the order of 80% below 2000 levels by 2050; but as a first step, the scientists call for a 15-20% reduction on 2000 levels by 2020.

Global warming is disrupting wildlife and the environment on every continent, according to an unprecedented study that reveals the extent to which climate change is already affecting the world’s ecosystems. Scientists examined published reports dating back to 1970 and found that at least 90% of environmental damage and disruption around the world could be explained by rising temperatures.  Big falls in Antarctic penguin populations, fewer fish in African lakes, shifts in American river flows and earlier flowering and bird migrations in Europe are all likely to be driven by global warming, the study found.  This is the first to formally link some of the most dramatic changes to the world’s wildlife and habitats with human-induced climate change.

The Bush administration is proposing changes that would allow federal agencies to decide for themselves whether subdivisions, dams, highways and other projects have the potential to harm endangered animals and plants. Agencies also could not consider a project’s contribution to global warming in their analysis. Environmentalists complained the proposals would gut protections for endangered animals and plants. John Kostyack, executive director of the National Wildlife Federation, said that if adopted, these changes would seriously weaken the safety net of habitat protections that we have relied upon to protect and recover endangered fish, wildlife and plants for the past 35 years.

James Hansen, director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, has co-authored a paper saying that future global warming is likely to turn out worse than most people think. The most recent major report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2007 projects a temperature rise of three degrees Celsius, plus or minus 1.5 degrees—enough to trigger serious impacts on human life from rising sea level, widespread drought, changes in weather patterns, etc.  But according to Hansen and his nine co-authors, the correct figure is closer to six degrees C.  Although the full impact of this temperature increase will not be felt until the end of this century or even later, Hansen says, the point at which major climate disruption is inevitable is already upon us.  To preserve humanity, CO2 levels will need to be reduced from its current 385 ppm to at most 350 ppm.

Russian scientists have abandoned their polar research base after the ice it was floating on started melting faster than expected.  The 20 polar researchers and their two dogs climbed on board a research icebreaker and all scientific programs at the station have been stopped.  The research base was set up in September on a five kilometers by three kilometers ice flow which averaged 1.5 thick. By the time the scientists abandoned base on Sunday, it was just 600 meters by 300 meters. This year’s Arctic melt started early than usual and there’s a bit of a trend for less Arctic ice.

Some scientists seem to think so while others are not so sure.  Some scientists have suggested that throwing sulphate particles into the atmosphere could block sunlight and offset global warming. Now research by Simone Tilmes, of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, suggests this would mess up the ozone layer.  She states that their research indicates that trying to artificially cool off the planet could have perilous side effects.  Sulfate could cause a drastic increase in the extent of Arctic ozone depletion during the next century and would cause a considerable delay, between 30 and 70 years, in the expected recovery of the Antarctic ozone hole.  While climate change is a major threat, more research is required before society attempts global geoengineering solutions.

At the Global Climate Change Conference recently, scientists from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory presented a plan that could offset 44 gigatonnes of atmospheric carbon dioxide.  The study insists that if people whitewashed or painted their roofs white, this action would reflect more solar radiation, thus reducing global warming while saving money on air conditioning bills.  White-topping the roof of an average family home is like sucking 10 tons of carbon dioxide out of the air and it also cuts energy costs by 20 percent.  If major cities in tropical and temperate zones adopted paler roofs and pavements, it could offset 44 gigatonnes’ worth of atmospheric carbon dioxide. That’s more than the world emits in a year. 

The latest global carbon budget numbers are just out.  Most striking is that, despite years of effort, carbon dioxide emissions are increasing at an alarming rate of 3.5% a year– faster than the 2.7% predicted by the IPCC in their worst case scenario, and miles ahead of the 0.9% annual rise in the 1990s.  For the first time, we have hit 10 billion tons of carbon emitted annually.  The other thing to note is that China and India are galumphing their way up the table of biggest carbon dioxide emitters. Ten years ago the top four were: USA, China, Russia, Japan. Today that list reads: China, USA, Russia, India, with India coming up fast to become third place by next year.  China has, since 2002, jumped from being responsible for 14% of the global carbon dioxide emissions, to 21%. At the same time the US has been hovering at around 20%. 

In a long-term study conducted by the Delta Commission under the Dutch government, threats posed by global warming to large parts of the Dutch coastline and river plains are more serious than estimated and countermeasures requiring billions of euros are needed.  The study reports that sea levels are rising even quicker than feared.  By the year 2100, sea levels expect to rise between 65 and 130 centimeters and up by two meters by the year 2200.  Experts recommend that to avert serious flooding within the country, improvements are needed to thousands of kilometers of dykes as well as constructing new barriers to prevent flooding by the sea and both the Rhyne and Meuse Rivers.  Future action should include “intelligent water constructions” that take the natural environment into account.

Not surprisingly, the United States and Western Europe are by far the most responsible for the causes of global warming that we see today.  The following is a breakdown of the amount of CO2 emissions from each region:

USA: 30.3%, Europe: 27.7%, Russia: 13.7%, South East Asia: 12.2%, Japan: 3.7%, South/Central Americas: 3.8%, Middle East: 2.6%, Africa: 2.5%, Australia: 1.1%.

However, China and India will soon surpass the United States in the amount of greenhouse gas emissions due to their mega economies and burgeoning population numbers.  Both countries boast a population in excess of one billion each.  Although there are calls by the United States and Europe for developing nations to regulate and limit greenhouse gas emissions, China and India indigently protest they have the right to develop and advance as much as Europe and America did over the past 40 years.    

In general, global warming is caused when excess greenhouse gases, mostly carbon dioxide (CO2), gets trapped in the Earth’s atmosphere.  The excess greenhouse gases then block solar radiation from escaping back into the atmosphere thus trapping heat which warms the planet.  Specifically, the top 6 culprits of excess greenhouse gases include power plants (one of the largest contributors to global warming), automobiles (3 billion vehicles being used today), trucks (diesel used by trucks is less clean then gasoline), airplanes (contribute 10% of greenhouse gas emissions), buildings (most houses are built to burn oil or run on coal), and methane stored in water and ice (methane is 60 times stronger than CO2 as a greenhouse gas, thus with increase warming, oceans evaporate and polar ice melts which increases the amount of methane released in the air).

The Larsen B Ice Shelf was a 500 billion ton chunk of ice, 220 meters thick and covering the surface area of 3,250 square km.  Experts predicted that this ice shelf would still be around for the next 100 years, even after factoring in current global warming trends.  However, in 2002, this gigantic block of ice completely disintegrated in 35 days, an astounding event that has never been witnessed or documented before.  This destruction only reinforces the mounting scientific evidences and predictions that other huge ice masses are in line for complete annihilation as well.  In fact, two other even bigger ice masses are exhibiting the same disintegration characteristics as the Larsen B Ice Shelf.  These ice masses are Greenland and the West Antarctic Ice Shelf.  If these two huge ice masses collapse, sea levels could rise as much as 40 ft., devastating as much as 66% of the world’s largest cities lying in low-elevated coastal areas.

It’s quite possible that global warming may cause the new Ice Age.  This paradox can be explained briefly in that the Gulf Stream current and the North Atlantic Drift (both are major warm-water currents in the northern hemisphere in the Atlantic Ocean) heat up the air around them which in turn prevents the temperature from dipping precipitously.  However, with the currents being salt-based and with the rising temperatures causing massive ice melts, the onslaught of fresh water will dilute the salt therefore eliminating the warming effect of the two currents.  Once these currents are shut down, the temperature will drop precariously in the northern hemisphere thus possibly ushering in another Ice Age.

Global warming is a realistic threat to the very existence of life on earth. The unprecedented rise in earth’s average temperature is a cause for worry. Moreover, the rise in temperature is projected to continue in the same rate, if some urgent steps are not taken immediately. Global warming has already affected the pattern of climate in many places. Many of the recent floods, hurricanes and tsunamis are known to be a direct result of this phenomenon. Global warming is also contributing to the gradual rise in sea level in many places around the world. A collective effort on the part of all us is what is needed to stop global warming.

It is a well documented fact that large scale deforestation has had a devastating impact on our planet. Environmental pollution is a direct result of man’s greed to abuse earth’s natural resources. Growing urbanization is a bane of the modern times. It has resulted in rampant cutting down of forests since cities are bursting at their seams, all over the world. Forests which are vital for the well being of our ecosystem are vanishing at a rapid pace and resulting in global warming. It would require a combined effort on the part of humanity to stop deforestation and preserve precious natural resources.