Archive for the ‘Global Warming’ Category

The IPCC Reports on Global Warming

The Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change has issued its Fourth Assessment Report in 2007. This report shows the effects and predictions concerning the issues surrounding global warming. Due to the size of the report and the amount of information contained in it, it takes a good deal of study to thoroughly understand the entire document.

However, some points can be made about the IPCC report. Working Group I is a part of the IPCC that reported on its study of the Physical Science Basis of the report. This dealt with the observations of global warming and the current state of how the sciences study global warming.

Attention was given as to how much of the problem was due to human activity and how much to causes in nature. Then, this section of the report makes predictions of how the course of global warming will run in the future.

After being produced by over 600 writers from 40 countries, the report was reviewed by another 620. The resulting findings were that global warming was indeed happening, and that human activity accounted for most of the cause of global warming.

This report notes many climatic changes that are occurring due to global warming. Some of these are changes in the make-up of the atmosphere, warming of the earth, and changes in ice, snow and permafrost. Also included were notes about the different amounts of rainfall and flooding, along with the frequency of drought.

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The severity of hurricanes was discussed. It is stated that humans have brought on the global warming that has caused the extreme hurricanes, and that the 21st century will see even more of them. The portion of the study that blamed humans was a result of expert opinions more than a product of research.

Different factors were discussed that could cause global warming or cooling. The current era was defined as starting in 1750. In the current era, the sun has radiated more intense heat, human activities have raised the temperature, and greenhouse gases have increased rapidly.

Different models were given of the course global warming would take in the next century. The models were run using different scenarios. They all turned out somewhat different. However, they all indicated significant global warming.

The rises of temperature and of sea levels were explored fully. All the different models based on different scenarios were run to determine the numbers for these aspects of global warming. The prediction was that these levels would continue to rise for 1000 years, until all the excess greenhouse gases could be removed from the atmosphere.

Working Group II was involved with determining the Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability surrounding global warming. Working Group III had the task of determining what would be the best Mitigation of Climate Change. This part of the report gave recommendations to world leaders on the subject of global warming initiatives.

The IPCC’s report is a lengthy study into the nature of global warming. It covers the past, the current situation, and predictions about the future. Then, it proceeds to discuss ways to curb global warming. It is an important document, and it should be read by anyone interested in global warming.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit this new site for my swedish customers: Billigt Webbhotell – from SEK 10:- per month!

Health Concerns Related to Global Warming

As global warming affects the environment, it should not be surprising that it affects the health of the people living in that environment. Changes in the climate are changes in the habitats not only for animals, but for people as well. Climate changes are already impacting people’s health.

Global warming has caused intense heating up of the environment. In areas where people are not prepared for extreme heat, there have been devastating heat waves recently. There were heat flare-ups in Europe in 2003 which lasted as long as two weeks at a time. Temperatures soared upwards of 104 degrees Fahrenheit.

Temperatures like this are common in parts of the American Southwest, for example. People are well-equipped to deal with the heat because that is the climate zone they are living in. However, Europe is usually much cooler. Residents there were not ready for such temperatures. Over 35,000 people died in Europe as a result of the heat waves that year. Global warming had changed their habitat, so to speak.

There have also been heat waves in North America. One in 2006 claimed 226 lives. Another probable result of global warming is increased pollen in the air. This happens because higher levels of carbon dioxide encourage the growth of more pollen-producing weeds. Because more pollen means worse air quality, those with allergies and asthma suffer.

Global warming can also affect the incidence of tropical disease. Mosquitoes have been found in places that were once too cold for them. High elevations, such as mountains were once free of disease-carrying mosquitoes.

You can see that there’s practical value in learning more about Global Warming. Can you think of ways to apply what’s been covered so far?

However, as the warmth climbs higher up the mountain, so do the mosquitoes. The mosquitoes carry malaria to new regions of Indonesia because of global warming. Dengue fever has reached elevations in the Andean Mountains of Colombia where it was never seen before.

Other health concerns related to global warming revolve around flooding. When sudden storms and flooding occur, it is often impossible to get ill or injured people to medical facilities in time to help them.

Often, people take dangerous risks during floods. They drive into water, thinking that they can make it across. When they do not, they can get swept away and drowned. There is no graver consequence of global warming than death, of course.

People are also left with messes to clean up after floods. This can result in exposure to high levels of mold. Many people will have intense allergic reactions to mold. The person can have hives all over the body. Sometimes, the tongue will swell and cut off breathing. It is a serious condition. Curtailing global warming would lessen the incidence of flooding and prevent this many times.
Since global warming can have an affect on the food supply, it is obvious that people can suffer from malnutrition because of this. This is especially true in agrarian societies in underdeveloped countries.

If all people knew how much global warming can affect their health, they might be more prone to working on a solution. Until then, those who understand the ramifications of global warming will have to work even harder.

As your knowledge about Global Warming continues to grow, you will begin to see how Global Warming fits into the overall scheme of things. Knowing how something relates to the rest of the world is important too.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit this new site for my swedish customers: Billigt Webbhotell – from SEK 10:- per month!

What the Other Side Is Saying About Global Warming

While the majority of celebrities and many scientists in the world view global warming as a disaster of epic proportions, not all agree. Some people, even scientists, have opposing viewpoints that are based on their own formal observations and the data from many sources. It is interesting to explore what these people have to say about global warming.

One of the most talked-about aspects of global warming is the rise in sea levels. If you are to believe most people who speak on global warming, you have to think that many habitable places on earth will soon be underwater. There is some evidence to refute this.

There is a professor of paleogeophysics and geodynamics at Stockholm University who presents interesting data. According to this professor, the sea levels are in the same range they have been in over the last three hundred years. There has not even been the slightest rise in sea levels in the last decade.

While a sea level rise of .1 to .9 meters is predicted by the year 2100, it is not seen by this group of people as a dangerous situation. After all, there was a .2 rise in the sea level during the past century and humans did not even seem to notice.

When the global warming pundits talk about the rises in sea level that result from three sheets of ice that melt per year, it is the opponents of the movement that put it into terms that make sense. If the ice continues to melt at that rate, it will take a thousand years to raise the sea level by 5 cm.

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The people who preach on the dangers of global warming believe that Hurricane Katrina and others were intensified by global warming. Many experts on the other side of the fence claim that the extreme storms have not been unusual earth events. They also say that better reporting of severe weather occurrences contributes to the impression that global warming is having an impact.

While those dedicated to stopping global warming are worried about the recession of the snows of Mount Kilimanjaro, others believe there are reasons besides global warming. These people say that you have to understand how glaciers interact with the climate around them. Knowing that the air has been drier, they say, leads you to the fact that the glacial recession is a natural occurrence.

Many people who fear global warming say that it will increase diseases like malaria by allowing disease-bearing mosquitoes into higher elevations. Others realize that there are other reasons for the additional cases of malaria and other such diseases.

These include the facts that 1) people from lowland areas are resistant to disease but carry it with them when they move to higher elevations, 2) deforestation leaves a breeding ground for mosquitoes, and 3) more pools and ditches will lead to more mosquitoes.

For many reasons, global warming is not a subject that everyone agrees on. People from all over the world have different opinions and they often do not wish to see another’s viewpoint. When the true facts about global warming are clear, people can begin to come together to address the problem.

If you’ve picked some pointers about Global Warming that you can put into action, then by all means, do so. You won’t really be able to gain any benefits from your new knowledge if you don’t use it.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit this new site for my swedish customers: Billigt Webbhotell – from SEK 10:- per month!

The US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement on Global Warming

If you have even a passing interest in the topic of Global Warming, then you should take a look at the following information. This enlightening article presents some of the latest news on the subject of Global Warming.

When the dust settled on February 16, 2005, 141 countries had ratified the Kyoto Protocol and put it into effect. The United States was not one of those countries who saw fit to join together to stop global warming. Many citizens were disappointed, but one US Mayor decided to do something about it.

Mayor Greg Nickels was serving his second term in Seattle when the Kyoto Protocol went into effect. He was concerned that the US should do something, and, failing that, that he should do what he could. He devised a plan to enlist other US Mayors to make the changes that were needed to reduce global warming.

Mayor Nickels sent out a challenge to mayors across the country urging them to start implementing the changes that the Kyoto Protocol demanded of its member nations. The idea was that if a grassroots network could be built to prevent global warming, it would essentially do the same job that the government was shirking by not ratifying the Kyoto agreement.

A letter and an endorsement agreement were sent out. Mayors across the country had the chance to accept entrance into this group. The letter was sent out on March 30, 2005, and the acceptances soon started pouring in. Mayors, it seemed, did want to do something about global warming.

If your Global Warming facts are out-of-date, how will that affect your actions and decisions? Make certain you don’t let important Global Warming information slip by you.

By June 13th of that year, the US Conference of Mayors met to discuss the agreement. It was passed as the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement on that date. However, the group did not close then. More mayors around the country continued, and still continue, to sign this agreement. Mayor Nickels has made a huge impact on the global warming prevention efforts of cities.

Mayor Nickels first thought of the agreement because of the United States’ contributions to the problem of global warming. The US greenhouse gas emissions make up 25% of those in the entire world. Yet, the population is nowhere near 25% of the world’s population. Mayor Nickels was outraged because he thought that the US could be such a large part of the problem and not want to be a part of the solution to global warming.

The goals of the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement were based on the Kyoto Protocol. They planned to meet the Kyoto goal of 7% less greenhouse gas emissions than 1990 by 2012. Just as the Kyoto Treaty was ratified with 141 member nations, the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement had a goal of signing up 141 mayors in their first year. The number was more like 500 cities by mid-2007.

A part of the agreement is that each mayor should speak on behalf of global warming prevention to members of the government, including local, state, and federal government leaders. Another part of the plan is to make sure people have up-to-date information on global warming.

Sometimes, it is amazing what one person can do. What is even more amazing is how people from all over a large nation such as the US can come together for a single purpose. With cooperation like this, there will be great strides in preventing global warming.

It never hurts to be well-informed with the latest on Global Warming. Compare what you’ve learned here to future articles so that you can stay alert to changes in the area of Global Warming.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit this new site for my swedish customers: Billigt Webbhotell – from SEK 10:- per month!

Forestry and Global Warming

The way land is used can have an affect on global warming. The kinds of plants, animals, or minerals set upon a plot of land render it different from other plots of land. It is these differences that can be explored to help you gain an understanding of global warming.

Forests are an important use of land in most countries. This is true for many reasons, but when it comes to global warming, it is particularly true. Plant life can scrub carbon dioxide from the air. Much of the very carbon dioxide that is one of the causes of global warming can be eliminated just by being in the vicinity of certain plants.

Trees are the best carbon dioxide scrubbers there are in nature. Old growth trees are especially good at removing carbon dioxide from the air and storing it within their cells. For this reason, old growth trees need to be protected from the lumber jack’s blade.

While the lumber trade argues that the old growth trees can be easily replaced by new trees, this is simply not the case. New trees do not possess the abilities that old trees have of preventing global warming by trapping carbon dioxide.

Some proponents of cutting suggest that certain new trees are capable of trapping more greenhouse gases than the old trees. The truth is that, even if this is true, it is not true when you compare the new special trees to any trees that have many decades of growth. To prevent global warming, you need trees with some substance to them.

Most of this information comes straight from the Global Warming pros. Careful reading to the end virtually guarantees that you’ll know what they know.

One law was proposed to stop logging and road building in the forest to prevent global warming. This particular law was to protect a large amount of forest-approximately 13 million acres on ancient forest. Most of this forest was so unspoiled that it did not even have any roads at all. This law would also ban clear-cutting, a practice that totally destroys acres upon acres of old growth trees.

Several studies have been done to estimate the amount potential global warming caused by the deforestation of tropical rainforests. Loggers do not just take out mature trees for lumber. People who want to clear a place to live, work, or farm in the jungle clear the forest by cutting and burning large portions of the rainforest.

As if this was not enough, other greenhouse gases are increased by deforestation. These include methane and nitrous oxide. Global warming is foreseeable when people greedily take the rainforest and other forests for their own purposes.

It seems that, by the figures in these studies, global warming prevention should focus on the green house emissions caused by the burning of fossil fuels first. However, the deforestation comes in a close second in causes for global warming.

People can stop this dependence on old growth trees for lumber. There are many different building materials available to be used. It does not upset the balance of nature when you build with stone, for example. Also, furniture can be made from other materials. When people learn that forests are important in stopping global warming, they can help the situation by refusing to use lumber that comes from old growth forests and the rainforest.

Take time to consider the points presented above. What you learn may help you overcome your hesitation to take action.