Many Groups Organize Measures Against Global Warming

Many Groups Organize Measures Against Global Warming

Although there is much evidence that global warming is the result of human activity, this evidence is not completely accepted by all of the experts. The evidence does not have to be positive in order to take positive steps against global warming. There are many steps to take against global warming. First of all, people can work to reduce the use of fossil fuels including gasoline in their cars. People can join a carpool so they are not driving alone in their car. There are now fuel efficient cars that conserve on the fuel used to get any distance. More people should try to drive these cars that use less fuel. The companies that manufacture cars should concentrate on making cars that are more fuel efficient.

People can try to use alternative means to heat their water and their homes during the winter. Solar energy is from a renewable source of energy so people should try to use these alternatives if possible. People should try to recycle paper for these efforts could make a significant difference to the environment. People should try to make sure that their public servants in charge of the forests are replacing the trees that are taken from the forest.

Positive Actions Against Global warming

Positive Actions Against Global warming

Many people and their elected officials are taking positive steps against global warming so the world will be a better place for their children and grandchildren. There is a great deal of information on the effects of global warming, and the experts on the subject have provided positive steps that people can make against global warming. Scientists have studied the progress of global warming, and some of these scientists have come up with information on the problem to keep the public informed. Along with the information on the problem, these experts have also outlined the steps that people can take to work against global warming.

Global warming seems to be a problem, and the facts show that the temperatures are rising every year since the records were first kept sometime in the middle of the nineteenth century. The problem seems to be getting worse every year. Glaciers seem to be melting more rapidly, and the snow seems to be less every year. There also seems to be a rise in the level of the sea. This is particularly frightening because some of the populated land could one day become completely submerged. Many scientists now believe that these changes in the world are the result of human activity.

Steps taken by all the countries to reduce global warming?

Yes, the steps are :

1. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Do your part to reduce waste by choosing reusable products instead of disposables. Buying products with minimal packaging (including the economy size when that makes sense for you) will help to reduce waste. And whenever you can, recycle paper, plastic, newspaper, glass and aluminum cans. If there isn't a recycling program at your workplace, school, or in your community, ask about starting one. By recycling half of your househ

2. Use Less Heat and Air Conditioning

Adding insulation to your walls and attic, and installing weather stripping or caulking around doors and windows can lower your heating costs more than 25 percent, by reducing the amount of energy you need to heat and cool your home.

Turn down the heat while you're sleeping at night or away during the day, and keep temperatures moderate at all times. Setting your thermostat just 2 degrees lower in winter and higher in summer could save about 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide each year.

3. Drive Less and Drive Smart

Less driving means fewer emissions. Besides saving gasoline, walking and biking are great forms of exercise. Explore your community mass transit system, and check out options for carpooling to work or school.

When you do drive, make sure your car is running efficiently. For example, keeping your tires properly inflated can improve your gas mileage by more than 3 percent. Every gallon of gas you save not only helps your budget, it also keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.

5. Buy Energy-Efficient Products

When it's time to buy a new car, choose one that offers good gas mileage. Home appliances now come in a range of energy-efficient models, and compact florescent bulbs are designed to provide more natural-looking light while using far less energy than standard light bulbs.

Avoid products that come with excess packaging, especially molded plastic and other packaging that can't be recycled. If you reduce your household garbage by 10 percent, you can save 1,200 pounds of carbon dioxide annually.

6. Use Less Hot Water

Set your water heater at 120 degrees to save energy, and wrap it in an insulating blanket if it is more than 5 years old. Buy low-flow showerheads to save hot water and about 350 pounds of carbon dioxide yearly. Wash your clothes in warm or cold water to reduce your use of hot water and the energy required to produce it. That change alone can save at least 500 pounds of carbon dioxide annually in most households. Use the energy-saving settings on your dishwasher and let the dishes air-dry.

Antarctic ozone hole

Antarctic ozone hole

The seasonal thinning of the ozone layer of the earth's atmosphere above Antarctica, so allowing abnormal amounts of ultra-violet light to reach the earth's surface in those regions.

Fluorescent Light Bulbs

Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs: Change a Light Bulb and Change the World

If you want to change the world, start by changing a few light bulbs. It is one of the best things you can do for the environment—and your budget. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, if every U.S. household replaced just one regular incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb, it would prevent 90 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, the equivalent of taking 7.5 million cars off the road. And the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says that by replacing regular light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs at the same minimal rate, Americans would save enough energy to light more than 2.5 million homes for a year.

Reasons to Switch to Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs

On top of that, replacing one regular light bulb with an approved compact fluorescent light bulb would save consumers $30 in energy costs over the life of the bulb. Compact fluorescent light bulbs use at least two-thirds less energy than standard incandescent bulbs to provide the same amount of light, and they last up to 10 times longer. Compact fluorescent light bulbs also generate 70 percent less heat, so they are safer to operate and can also reduce energy costs associated with cooling homes and offices. The only real drawback to using compact fluorescent bulbs is that each one contains about 5 mg of mercury, a toxic heavy metal that can cause serious health problems if inhaled or ingested over a period of time or in large enough doses. As a result, many environmentalists and other experts recommend recycling compact fluorescent bulbs to make sure they don't end up in landfills.

How Much Can You Save by Using Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs?

For most people, switching from incandescent to compact fluorescent bulbs offers a lot of opportunity for energy and cost savings. Lighting accounts for 20 percent of the electric bill in the average U.S. home, and the average home has approximately 30 light fixtures. (Calculate your personal energy and cost savings with this handy online calculator, and find out how much you will be helping the environment.)

To save the most energy and money by using compact fluorescent light bulbs, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends replacing standard bulbs in areas where lights are used frequently and left on for a long time, such as family rooms, living rooms, kitchens, dining rooms, and porches.

Choosing the Right Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs

To make sure you get the same amount of light when replacing standard bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs, check the lumen rating on the light you are replacing and purchase a compact fluorescent light bulb with the same lumen rating. (A lumen rating is the measure of light the bulb puts out.) Wattage varies greatly between standard light bulbs and compact fluorescent light bulbs. Compact fluorescent light bulbs typically use about one-quarter of the wattage used by standard bulbs to produce the same amount of light. So to replace a traditional 60-watt bulb, look for a compact fluorescent light bulb that is about 15 watts. Compact fluorescent light bulbs are available in many different sizes and shapes to fit in almost any fixture—from three-way lamps to dimmer switches—for both indoor and outdoor use. Compact fluorescent light bulbs also come in a variety of color temperatures, which helps determine the color and brightness of the light each bulb provides. (Learn more about the brightness,color and light quality of compact fluorescent light bulbs.)

Keeping It Simple

None of this is as daunting as it may seem. But to make it really simple, the environmental group Environmental Defense has put together an easy-to-use web site that lets you search for the compact fluorescent light bulbs according to where you want to use them or by shape, brightness, color of light or other features. The site also features user reviews of specific bulbs, and side-by-side photos of energy-saving compact fluorescent light bulbs with incandescent bulbs to help you determine whether the fluorescent bulbs will fit your light fixture. With all of the choices now offered by compact fluorescent technology, saving energy, saving money, and protecting the environment is as easy as changing a light bulb.

Incandescent

Emitting visible light as a result of being heated.

Glowing or white with heat.

Consequences of Global Warming

It is a known scientific fact that higher levels of greenhouse gases will lead to higher world temperatures, which appears to be happening now. Despite the winter of 2008/9 being one of the coldest for many years, the world has in fact warmed by an average of 0.74 degrees Celsius during the last 100 years or so. We are now faced with melting ice caps, as well as Earth's land-based glaciers. This in time will cause sea levels to rise, floods, and the submersion of low-lying islands such as Tuvulu and even the Maldives, as well as the world’s coastal cities.

Causes of global warming, Effects of global warming:

Global warming and climate change are phrases that have been around for some time now, and refer to the warming of Earth's atmosphere resulting in higher world temperatures. Each chapter in this book deals with a specific and relevant aspect of the problem, from the Amazon Rainforest to How do hurricanes form. Earth's atmosphere comprises many gases, collectively called Greenhouse gases. The greenhouse effect created by these gases maintains the Earth at a comfortable 15 degrees Celsius. Without the greenhouse effect the Earth would be a chilly minus 18 degrees Celsius.

Since the industrial revolution we know from ice core records that carbon dioxide levels were about 280 parts of CO2 per million parts of air (ppm). As a result of industrialisation resulting in deforestation for agriculture and settlements and burning fossil fuels levels of greenhouse gases have increased by 37% to about 385 ppm.

Solar variation

Variations in solar output have been the cause of past climate changes, but solar forcing is generally thought to be too small to account for a significant part of global warming in recent decades. Greenhouse gases and solar forcing affect temperatures in different ways. While both increased solar activity and increased greenhouse gases are expected to warm the troposphere, an increase in solar activity should warm the stratophere while an increase in greenhouse gases should cool the stratosphere.

Observations show that temperatures in the stratosphere have been cooling since 1979, when satellite measurements became available. Radiosonde(weather balloon) data from the pre-satellite era show cooling since 1958, though there is greater uncertainty in the early radiosonde record.

A related hypothesis, proposed by Henrik Svensmark, is that magnetic activity of the sun deflects cosmic rays that may influence the generation of cloud condensation nuclei and thereby affect the climate. Other research has found no relation between warming in recent decades and cosmic rays. A recent study concluded that the influence of cosmic rays on cloud cover is about a factor of 100 lower than needed to explain the observed changes in clouds or to be a significant contributor to present-day climate change.

Greenhouse gases

The greenhouse effect is the process by which absorption and emission of infrared radiation by gases in the atmosphere warm a planet's lower atmosphere and surface. It was discovered by Joseph Fourier in 1824 and was first investigated quantitatively by Svante Arrhenius in 1896. Existence of the greenhouse effect as such is not disputed, even by those who do not agree that the recent temperature increase is attributable to human activity. The question is instead how the strength of the greenhouse effect changes when human activity increases the concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Naturally occurring greenhouse gases have a mean warming effect of about 33 °C (59 °F). The major greenhouse gases are water vapor, which causes about 36–70 percent of the greenhouse effect; carbon dioxide (CO₂), which causes 9–26 percent; methane (CH₄), which causes 4–9 percent; and ozone (O₃), which causes 3–7 percent. Clouds also affect the radiation balance, but they are composed of liquid water or ice and so are considered separately from water vapor and other gases.

Human activity since the Industrial Revolution has increased the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, leading to increased radiative forcing from CO₂, methane, tropospheric ozone, CFCs and nitrous oxide. The concentrations of CO₂ and methane have increased by 36% and 148% respectively since 1750. These levels are much higher than at any time during the last 650,000 years, the period for which reliable data has been extracted from ice cores. Less direct geological evidence indicates that CO₂ values higher than this were last seen about 20 million years ago. Fossil fuel burning has produced about three-quarters of the increase in CO₂ from human activity over the past 20 years. Most of the rest is due to land-use change, particularly deforestation.

CO₂ concentrations are continuing to rise due to burning of fossil fuels and land-use change. The future rate of rise will depend on uncertain economic, sociological, technological, and natural developments. Accordingly, the IPCC Special Report on Emissions Scenarios gives a wide range of future CO₂ scenarios, ranging from 541 to 970 ppm by the year 2100 (an increase by 90-250% since 1750). Fossil fuel reserves are sufficient to reach these levels and continue emissions past 2100 if coal,tar sands or methane clathrates are extensively exploited.

The destruction of stratospheric ozone by chlorofluorocarbonsis sometimes mentioned in relation to global warming. Although there are a few areas of linkage, the relationship between the two is not strong. Reduction of stratospheric ozone has a cooling influence, but substantial ozone depletion did not occur until the late 1970s. Ozone in the troposphere (the lowest part of the Earth's atmosphere) does contribute to surface warming.

Temperature changes

The most common measure of global warming is the trend in globally averaged temperature near the Earth's surface. Expressed as a linear trend, this temperature rose by 0.74 ± 0.18 °C over the period 1906–2005. The rate of warming over the last half of that period was almost double that for the period as a whole (0.13 ± 0.03 °C per decade, versus 0.07 °C ± 0.02 °C per decade). The urban heat island effect is estimated to account for about 0.002 °C of warming per decade since 1900. Temperatures in the lower troposphere have increased between 0.13 and 0.22 °C (0.22 and 0.4 °F) per decade since 1979, according to satellite temperature measurements. Temperature is believed to have been relatively stable over the one or tw0 thousand years before 1850, with regionally varying fluctuations such as the Medieval Warm Period and the Little Ice Age. Estimates by NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies and the National Climatic Data Center show that 2005 was the warmest year since reliable, widespread instrumental measurements became available in the late 1800s, exceeding the previous record set in 1998 by a few hundredths of a degree. Estimates prepared by the World Meteorological Organization and the Climatic Research Unit show 2005 as the second warmest year, behind 1998. Temperatures in 1998 were unusually warm because the strongest El Nino in the past century occurred during that year. Global temperature is subject to short-term fluctuations that overlay long term trends and can temporarily mask them. The relative stability in temperature from 2002 to 2009 is consistent with such an episode.

Temperature changes vary over the globe. Since 1979, land temperatures have increased about twice as fast as ocean temperatures (0.25 °C per decade against 0.13 °C per decade). Ocean temperatures increase more slowly than land temperatures because of the larger effective heat capacity of the oceans and because the ocean loses more heat by evaporation. The Northern Hemisphere warms faster than the Southern Hemisphere because it has more land and because it has extensive areas of seasonal snow and sea-ice cover subject to ice-albedo feedback. Although more greenhouse gases are emitted in the Northern than Southern Hemisphere this does not contribute to the difference in warming because the major greenhouse gases persist long enough to mix between hemispheres.

The thermal inertia of the oceans and slow responses of other indirect effects mean that climate can take centuries or longer to adjust to changes in forcing. Climate commitment studies indicate that even if greenhouse gases were stabilized at 2000 levels, a further warming of about 0.5 °C (0.9 °F) would still occur.

The relationship of Ozone Depletion and the green house effect:

Chloroflourocarbons (CFCs), initially raised no environmental questions when they were first marketed by Dupont Chemical during the 1930s under the trade name Freon. It was a time when such questions usually were not asked. At about the same time, asbestos was being proposed as a high-fashion material for clothing, and radioactive radium was being built into timepieces so that they would glow in the dark.
By 1976, manufacturers in the United States were producing 750 million pounds of CFCs a year, and finding all sorts of creative uses for them, from propellants in aerosol sprays, to solvents used to clean silicon chips, to automobile air conditioning, and as blowing agents for polystyrene cups, egg cartons, and containers for fast food. "They were amazingly useful," wrote Anita Gordon and David Suzuki. "Cheap to manufacture, non-toxic, non-inflammable, and chemically stable." (Gordon, 24) By the time scientists discovered, during the 1980s, that CFCs were thinning the ozone layer over the Antarctic, they found themselves taking on a $28-billion-a-year industry.
The ozone shield is important because it protects plant and animal life on land from the sun's ultraviolet rays, which can cause skin cancer, cataracts, and damage to the immune system. Thinning of the ozone layer also may alter the DNA of plants and animals. By the time they were banned internationally during the 1980s, CFCs had been used in roughly 90 million car and truck air conditioners, 100 million refrigerators, 30 million freezers, and 45 million air conditioners in homes and other buildings. Because CFCs remain in the stratosphere for up to 100 years, they will deplete ozone long after industrial production of the chemicals ceases.
These human-created chemicals do more than destroy stratospheric ozone. They also act as greenhouse gases, with several thousand times the per-molecule greenhouse potential of carbon dioxide. What's more, the warming of the near-surface atmosphere (the lower troposphere) seems to be related to the cooling of the stratosphere, which accelerates depletion of ozone at that level. An increasing level of carbon dioxide near the Earth's surface "acts as a blanket," said NASA research scientist Katja Drdla. "It is trapping the heat. If the heat stays near the surface, it is not getting up to these higher levels." (Borenstein)
During the middle 1990s, scientists were beginning to model a relationship between global warming and ozone depletion. A team led by Drew Shindell at the Goddard Institute for Space Studies created the first atmospheric simulation to include ozone chemistry. The team found that the greenhouse effect was responsible not only for heating the lower atmosphere, but also for cooling the upper atmosphere. The cooling poses problems for ozone molecules, which are most unstable at low temperatures. Based on the team's model, the buildup o f greenhouse gases could chill the high atmosphere near the poles by as much as 8 degrees C. to 10 degrees C. The model predicted that maximum ozone loss would occur between the years 2010 and 2019. (Shindell, et. al., 589)
At about the same time, scientists were looking for reasons why the ozone layers over the Arctic and Antarctic were failing to repair themselves as expected following the international ban on production of CFCs. They began to suspect that global warming near the surface might be related to ozone depletion in the stratosphere. In 1998, the Antarctic ozone hole reached a new record size roughly the size of the continental United States. Some researchers came to the conclusion that, as Richard A. Kerr describes in Science:

Unprecedented stratospheric cold is driving the extreme ozone destruction.... Some of the high-altitude chill...may be a counterintuitive effect of the accumulating greenhouse gases that seem to be warming the lower atmosphere. The colder the stratosphere, the greater the destruction of ozone by CFC.

"The chemical reactions responsible for stratospheric ozone depletion are extremely sensitive to temperature," Shindell, et. al. wrote in Nature. "Greenhouse gases warm the Earth's surface but cool the stratosphere radiatively, and therefore affect ozone depletion." (p. 589) By the decade 2010 to 2019, Shindell, et al. expect ozone loses in the Arctic to peak at two-thirds of the "ozone column," or roughly the same ozone loss observed in Antarctica during the early 1990s. "The severity and duration of the Antarctic ozone hole are also expected to increase because of greenhouse-gas-induced stratospheric cooling over the coming decades," Shindell, et al. assert.
During the middle 1990s, scientists began to detect ozone depletion in the Arctic after a decade of measuring a growing ozone "hole" over the Antarctic. By the year 2000, the ozone shield over the Arctic had thinned to about half its previous density during March and April. Ozone depletion over the Arctic reaches its height in late winter and early spring, as the Sun rises after the midwinter night. Solar radiation triggers reactions between ozone in the stratosphere and chemicals containing chlorine or bromine. These chemical reactions occur most quickly on the surface of ice particles in clouds, at temperatures less than minus 80 degrees C. (minus 107 degrees F.)
Space-based temperature measurements of the Earth's lower stratosphere, a layer of the atmosphere from about 17 kilometers to 22 kilometers (roughly 10 to 14 miles) above the surface, indicate record cold at that level as record surface warmth has been reported during the 1990s. Roy Spencer of NASA and John Christy of the University of Alabama at Huntsville and the Global Hydrology and Climate Center, obtained temperature measurements of layers within the entire atmosphere of the Earth from space, using microwave sensors aboard several polar-orbiting weather satellites. They found that, despite significant, short-livved warming following the eruptions of El Chichon in Mexico in 1982 and Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines in 1991, the stratosphere as a whole has been cooling steadily during the past fifteen years.
Steve Hipskind, atmospheric and chemistry dynamics branch chief at NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, has been quoted as saying that chlorine atoms use clouds as "a platform" to destroy stratospheric ozone. (Arctic Region, 4) Clouds form more frequently in the stratosphere at lower temperatures. Ice crystals, which form as part of polar stratospheric clouds, assist the chemical process by which ozone is destroyed. CFCs' appetite for ozone molecules rises notably below minus 80 degrees C. (minus 107 degrees F.), a level that was reached in the Arctic only rarely until the 1990s. During the winter of 1999-2000, temperatures in the stratosphere over the Arctic were recorded at 118 degrees F. or lower (the lowest on record), forming the necessary clouds to allow accelerated ozone depletion.

The pattern of climate trends during the past few decades is marked by rapid cooling and ozone depletion in the polar lower stratosphere of both hemispheres, coupled with an increasing strength of the wintertime westerly polar vortex and a poleward shift of the westerly wind belt at the Earth's surface....[I]nternal dynamical feedbacks within the climate system...can show a large response to rather modest external forcing....Strong synergistic interactions between stratospheric ozone depletion and greenhouse warming are possible. These interactions may be responsible for the pronounced changes in tropospheric and stratospheric climate observed during the past few decades. If these trends continue, they could have important implications for the climate of the twenty-first century. (Hartmann, et al., 1412)

Ozone depletion has been measured only for a few decades, so these researchers caution that they are not entirely certain that rapid warming at the surface is not caused by natural variations in climate, which is powerfully influenced by the interactions of oceans and atmosphere. "However," they conclude, "It seems quite likely that they are at least in part human-induced." (Hartmann, et al.,1416) Hartmann and associates also raise the possibility that the poleward shift in westerly winds may be accelerating melting of the arctic ice cap, part of what they contend may be a "transition of the Arctic Ocean to an ice-free state during the twenty-first century." (Hartmann, et al., 1416). A continued northward shift in these winds also could portend additional warming over the land masses of North America and Eurasia, they write. (Hartmann, et al., 1416)
The connection between global warming, a cooling stratosphere, and depletion of stratospheric ozone was confirmed in April, 2000, with release of a lengthy report by more than 300 NASA researchers as well as several European, Japanese, and Canadian scientists. The report found that while ozone depletion may have stabilized over the Antarctic, ozone levels north of the Arctic circle were still falling, in large part because the stratosphere has cooled as the troposphere has warmed. The ozone level over the some parts of the Arctic was 60 per cent lower during the winter of 2000 than during the winter of 1999, measured year over year.
In addition, scientists learned that as winter ends, the ozone-depleted atmosphere tends to migrate southward over heavily populated areas of North America and Eurasia. "The largest ultraviolet increases from all of this are predicted to be in the mid-latitudes of the United States," said University of Colorado atmospheric scientist Brian Toon. "It affects us much more than the Antarctic [ozone `hole']." (Borenstein)
Ross Salawitch, a research scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. said that if the pattern of extended cold temperatures in the Arctic stratosphere continues, ozone loss over the region could become "pretty disastrous." (Scientists Report, 3-A) Salawitch said that the new data has "really solidified our view" that the ozone layer is sensitive not only to ozone-destroying chemicals, but also to temperature. (Stevens, A-19) "The temperature of the stratosphere is controlled by the weather that will come up from the lower atmosphere," said Paul Newman, another scientist who took part in the Arctic ozone project. "If we have a very active stratosphere we tend to have warm years, when stratosphere weather is quiescent we have cold years." (Connor, 5) New research indicates that global warming will continue to cool the stratosphere, making ozone destruction more prevalent even as the volume of CFCs in the stratosphere is slowly reduced. "One year does not prove a case," said Paul Newman of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "But we have seen quite a few years lately in which the stratosphere has been colder than normal." (Aldhous, 531)
"We do know that if the temperatures in the stratosphere are lower, more clouds will form and persist, and these conditions will lead to more ozone loss," said Michelle Santee, an atmospheric scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena and co-author of a study on the subject in the May 26, 2000 issue of Science. (McFarling, A-20) The anticipated increase in cloudiness over the arctic could itself become a factor in ozone depletion. The clouds, formed from condensed nitric acid and water, tend to increase snowfall, which accelerates depletion of stratospheric nitrogen. The nitrogen (which would have acted to stem some of the ozone loss had it remained in the stratosphere), is carried to the surface as snow.

ozone layer

A region of the stratosphere, between 15 and 30 kilometres in altitude, containing a relatively high concentration of ozone; it absorbs most solar ultraviolet radiation. The "ozone layer" contains more than 90% of the earth's ozone. Ozone is a corrosive, light blue gas with a smell something like burning electrical wiring. The atmosphere at this altitude is still about 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and the peak ozone concentration is about 9 ppm (or 0.0009%). Other things (water vapor, carbon dioxide, argon, and so on) are present there in small concentrations too.

Ozone itself is a triatomic molecule, composed of three oxygen atoms that bonded, unlike the oxygen we breathe, which are diatomic molecules, meaning two oxygen atoms.
The ozone layer is a region high in the atmosphere, containing this ozone, (concentrated in the lower stratosphere to a maximum of 9 ppm) that filters out most of the sun's dangerous ultraviolet rays (UV-B). UV-B is also absorbed by the DNA in all surface dwelling life on Earth, which causes cataracts, cancer, mutation, and reduces crop yields, and arable land.
An ozone hole also periodically forms, since ozone is unstable. The word "hole" is somewhat misleading. This is actually a diminished concentration of ozone due to the lack of sunlight and not a complete absence. An ozone hole forms over a pole, then later heals, once each year at the pole that is not receiving UV-C light from the Sun. The southern polar hole is larger than the northern polar hole, due to the polarity of Earth's magnetic field. Contaminants are suspected of making the hole larger, last longer, and contain less ozone, which is only an indication of the general "health" of the ozone layer. The hole itself forms in areas that are receiving no UV-B from the Sun either, so there are no lifeforms at risk from our Sun "beneath the hole"... every surface organism is at risk from a thinned ozone layer, but only when the Sun is above them.
The ozone layer is a region of the atmosphere where enough oxygen (and nitrogen too for some ozone production) is present to interact with very short wave UV (UV-C), and recombine to form some ozone. The ozone then blocks longer wave UV (UV-B). This layer is located roughly between 10 and 4 miles above the surface of the earth (depending on whether above the equator or above the poles), with highest ozone concentrations in a region that is alternatively called the "lower stratosphere", the "tropopause", or the "ozone layer".
If you took all the ozone in an entire column from the ground to infinity, and compressed it to STP (standard temperature and pressure, or 0°C at 1 atmosphere pressure) it would be a layer about 3 mm thick. Less than 1/3 as much in the Antarctic ozone hole when it is winter there.

Implement steps against global warming

1. Change standard incandescent light bulbs in your home and place of work. Use compact fluorescent bulbs instead of incandescent bulbs. Compact fluorescent bulbs use less electricity, give off the same amount of light and are less expensive to use. This will help the environment and save you on your electric bill.

2. Replace old electronics and other appliances with energy efficient ones. Many stores carry energy efficient model appliances such as stoves, refrigerators, washer and dryers and air conditioners. You will be able to easily identify these appliances with the energy

3. Lessen your electrical usage. This can easily be accomplished by making sure lights are turned off in rooms where no one is present. Also, unplug all non-essential appliances (DVD players, stereos, televisions and more) when they are not being used and this will cut down on what is known as phantom load that occurs with appliance that still draw energy even when not being used.

4. Install water saving shower heads and faucets. These utilize a low-flow system that will allow the homeowner to use half the amount of water, while not hindering performance and function. Keeping with water conservation, it can benefit the environment and the consumer greatly to turn down the hot water heater temperature to 120 degrees F. This is a simple way to do your part in the fight against global warming, while seeing hot water costs going down.

5. Switch to environmentally and globally safe cleaning products. These products are commonly known as "green" products because they are safe for the environment. So, look for products that are "eco-friendly."

6. Learn to recycle. In most every community in the United States, there is a recycling program initiative. Recycling paper, plastics, glass products and metals can dramatically cut down on the pollutant gases that are emitted at landfills. Also, learn to buy products that are made from recycled material.

7. Plant some trees. One of the biggest problems about global warming stems from foresting practices like logging and slash and burn farming. Combine this with intensive livestock practices that are incorporated by big farm corporations and you have the main reason for 90 percent of forests in the United States being destroyed. Destroying forests only adds more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere since trees absorb carbon dioxide. So, plant a tree and shade your neighborhood naturally.

8. Tune up your car periodically. Make sure your tires are inflated properly because this can lessen the amount of gas your car has to burn. For two car families, try to drive the car that gets better gas mileage more often.

9. Leave the car at home. Whenever possible, walk, bicycle or use public transportation. This will cut down on harmful car emissions released into the environment.

10. Switch to organic food products. These products are produced through environmentally sound means and are healthier for human consumption. Many of these organic food products are commonly found in today's grocery store, making it easier to switch to these more nutritious and environmentally safe products. There are organic eggs, cheeses, milk, meats, fruits and vegetables and breads. The selection is in abundance; but it is up to you to make this simple switch which can send a strong message to corporate farms that utilize non-environmentally safe practices to produce food.

How to implement simple steps against global warming

Global warming already disrupts millions of lives daily in the forms of destructive weather patterns and loss of habitat. What is already happening is only the tip of the melting iceberg, for it is our children and grandchildren who may suffer most from the effects of global warming. Hundreds of millions of people may be exposed to famine, water shortages, extreme weather conditions and a 20 - 30% loss of animal and plant species if we do not reduce the rate of global warming and reduce GHG emissions.

On the other hand, having warmer winters means longer growing seasons in temperate and subarctic climes, sometimes allowing an additional crop to be planted and harvested each year, or simply making the existing crops more productive. This article outlines some ways that you can act to help prevent the Earth from warming further. While humankind has the ability to destroy the planet, we can also help protect and sustain it.

Reducing your carbon and greenhouse gas emissions will not only make your personal living space more sustainable but it will also save you money in both the short- and long-term. Global warming is occurring more rapidly than it was originally expected to -- only forty years ago, the big worry was global cooling. Even if you remain a cynic, however, and disagree with the consensus of scientists, you will benefit from reduced pollution, a more healthful lifestyle and increased savings from enacting these simple activities that will not reduce the quality of your life.

Get educated.

Educate yourself about global warming. The more facts that you have as to what mainstream science says about it, the more you can persuade others to make simple yet effective changes in daily behavior. Energy-saving techniques either are initially expensive (for example, solar power) or take extra time (for example, recycling), so many people need to be convinced that their efforts matter. Always keep in mind that you are aiming to demonstrate the benefits of these activities and highlight how each person can play a vital role in helping to reduce global warming. Remember that "civil society does not respond at all well to moralistic scolding." Use education to enlighten, not frighten.

But now I will do something about it. I pledge.

I will use CFLs, not incandescent bulbs.

I will set the AC to 25, not 22.

I will take a train or bus instead of a car.

I will use less energy that heats up the earth.

I will use bicycle always for short distance

Meaning of Global warming:

Global warming is the increase in the average temperature of Earth's near-surface air and oceans since the mid-20th century and its projected continuation. Global surface temperature increased 0.74 ± 0.18 °C (1.33 ± 0.32 °F) between the start and the end of the 20th century. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes that most of the observed temperature increase since the middle of the 20th century was very likely caused by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases resulting from human activity such as fossil fuel burning and deforestation.

The IPCC also concludes that variations in natural phenomena such as solar radiation and volcanic eruptions had a small cooling effect after 1950. These basic conclusions have been endorsed by more than 40 scientific societies and academies of science, including all of the national academies of science of the major industrialized countries.

Climate model projections summarized in the latest IPCC report indicate that the global surface temperature is likely to rise a further 1.1 to 6.4 °C (2.0 to 11.5 °F) during the 21st century. The uncertainty in this estimate arises from the use of models with differing sensitivity to greenhouse gas concentrations and the use of differing estimates of future greenhouse gas emissions. Most studies focus on the period leading up to the year 2100. However, warming is expected to continue beyond 2100 even if emissions stop, because of the large heat capacity of the oceans and the long lifetime of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

An increase in global temperature will cause sea levels to rise and will change the amount and pattern of precipitation, probably including expansion of subtropical deserts. Warming is expected to be strongest in the Arctic and would be associated with continuing retreat of glaciers, permafrost and sea ice. Other likely effects include changes in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, species extinctions, and changes in agricultural yields. Warming and related changes will vary from region to region around the globe, though the nature of these regional variations is uncertain.

Political and public debate continues regarding global warming and what actions to take in response. The available options are mitigation to reduce further emissions; adaptation to reduce the damage caused by warming; and, more speculatively, geoengineering to reverse global warming. Most national governments have signed and ratified the Kyoto Protocol aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The temperature is rising. Ice is melting.
Sea levels are rising, leading to coastal areas getting washed over.

Global Warming Likely to Significantly Affect Rainfall Patterns

Climate models project that the global average temperature will rise about 1°C by the middle of the century, if we continue with business as usual and emit greenhouse gases as we have been. The global average, though, does not tell us anything about what will happen to regional climates, for example rainfall in the western United States or in paradisical islands like Hawai'i. Analyzing global model warming projections in models used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a team of scientists headed by meteorologist Shang-Ping Xie at the University of Hawaii at Monoa's International Pacific Research Center, finds that ocean temperature patterns in the tropics and subtropics will change in ways that will lead to significant changes in rainfall patterns. The study will be published in the Journal of Climate this month, breaking ground on such regional climate forecasts.
Scientists have mostly assumed that the surfaces of Earth's oceans will warm rather evenly in the tropics. This assumption has led to "wetter-gets-wetter" and "drier-gets-drier" regional rainfall projections. Xie's team has gathered evidence that, although ocean surface temperatures can be expected to increase mostly everywhere by the middle of the century, the increase may differ by up to 1.5°C depending upon the region.
"Compared to the mean projected rise of 1°C, such differences are fairly large and can have a pronounced impact on tropical and subtropical climate by altering atmospheric heating patterns and therefore rainfall," explains Xie. "Our results broadly indicate that regions of peak sea surface temperature will get wetter, and those relatively cool will get drier."
Two patterns stand out. First, the maximum temperature rise in the Pacific is along a broad band at the equator. Already today the equatorial Pacific sets the rhythm of a global climate oscillation as shown by the world-wide impact of El Niño. This broad band of peak temperature on the equator changes the atmospheric heating in the models. By anchoring a rainband similar to that during an El Nino, it influences climate around the world through atmospheric tele connections. A second ocean warming pattern with major impact on rainfall noted by Xie and his colleagues occurs in the Indian Ocean and would affect the lives of billions of people. Overlayed on Indian Ocean warming for part of the year is what scientists call the Indian Ocean Dipole that occasionally occurs today once every decade or so. Thus, the models show that warming in the western Indian Ocean is amplified, reaching 1.5°C, while the eastern Indian Ocean it is dampened to around 0.5°C. "Should this pattern come about," Xie predicts, "it can be expected to dramatically shift rainfall over eastern Africa, India, and Southeast Asia. Droughts could then beset Indonesia and Australia, whereas regions of India and regions of Africa bordering the Arabian Sea could get more rain than today."
Patterns of sea surface temperature warming and precipitation change in 2050 as compared with 2000. Annual mean precipitation change is shown in green/gray shade and white contours in mm/month. Precipitation tends to increase over regions with ocean warming above the tropical mean and to decrease where ocean warming is below the tropical mean (contours of cool colors).

Rising Sea Levels: Environmental Impact

I discuss the ways in which rising tides can decimate local ecosystems and the environment.
One of the most discussed effects of global warming is the increased rate of sea level rise. The rise is due primarily to higher temperatures, which effect sea levels in two ways. First, if temperatures rise, water gets hotter, causing it to expand. Second, the heat melts ice sheets, caps, and glaciers, causing melt water to flow into the oceans. In a previous article, I discussed the impact of sea level rise on humans; in this article, I will discuss the impact on the environment.

Land Loss
Coastal wetlands are key ecosystems in the biosphere. They support a combination of oceanic species and land species- everything from seagulls to striped bass. They form a “transition zone”, where salt and freshwater fish species like the trout can pass from rivers and streams to the sea. However, rising sea levels are threatening these key habitats. As ocean levels rise, erosion occurs on the shore. As wetlands depend on solid ground for cattails and other aquatic plants to grow, the removal of earth can be devastating. Researchers suggest that by 2080 almost 33% of wetlands will be converted into open water.

Water Salinity
Most aquatic animal and plant species are highly sensitive to salinity levels in their water. As sea levels rise, they flood low-lying freshwater marshes and lakes, making them partially saline. This can kill and damage many native species. The Florida Everglades, for example, are in danger of become salty due to the encroachment of the Atlantic ocean. This would devastate the rich plant and animal life of the Everglades.

Storms
Rising sea levels increase the intensity of storms and floods throughout the world. In high-risk areas like Southeast Asia and Australia, floods could decimate much of the inland plant and animal population. Most ground and burrowing animals, for example, could drown in their dens. Australian researchers have modeled the effects of floods in the future and have discovered that, with the current rate of sea level rise, a storm that now floods 32 square kilometers will flood 71 square kilometers by 2050. So even though sea levels rise only a few millimeters per year, they can have disastrous effects on world ecosystems. It shows just how sensitive nature is- the smallest change can make a world of difference.

Global Warming: Is making carbon 'SAFE' the answer?

Mandating fossil fuel producers to sequester (bury) a steadily increasing fraction of the carbon they extract would be a simple, effective, and fair way of sharing out the pain of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, according to a leading group of climate researchers.

Urban 'green' spaces may contribute to global warming

Dispelling the notion that urban "green" spaces help counteract greenhouse gas emissions, new research has found -- in Southern California at least -- that total emissions would be lower if lawns did not exist.

Global warming increases flood risk in mountain areas

The world's mountainous regions are home to about 800 million people and the source of some of the world's major rivers. In these regions, runoff is strongly affected by temperature. This suggests that flooding could be quite sensitive to global warming, but there has been some lack of scientific consensus on the effects of temperature variations on floods.

The Future of Extinction of Plants and Wildlife

The last mass extinction of plant and animal species occurred 65 million years ago with the Dinosaurs. In all, five mass extinctions have occurred and scientists believe earth is in the sixth mass extinction. The author of the book “The Sixth Extinction”, Dr. Leakey states that 50% of the earth’s species will vanish within 100 years. The world as it is now is threatened, including people, who are responsible for earth’s deterioration.

The Damaged Earth
Pesticides contaminate water; overharvesting of animals and plants; air pollution; illegal fishing and the clearing of land are direct results of urbanization and deforestation. People have altered and/or damaged almost half of earth’s land, a very unsustainable rate.
Global warming is having a serious impact as well. A six-degree Celsius increase in global temperature killed 95% of all species on Earth 251 million years ago. An increase of six-degrees Celsius is forecast this century if a change is not made to reverse the damage done to earth. Home sapiens (people) will be one of the 95% of species lost. Noticeable changes of global warming include migration acceleration and the timing of seasons is changing. Migrating birds are migrating earlier, which in turn is causing them to hatch eggs and bear young earlier than they did at the beginning of this century.

Considerations
While this is just the tip of the iceberg, many, many issues need addressing regarding the extinction of plant and animal species. It is more important now than ever before to pull heads out of the sand and make a change for the better to earth. Future generations are threatened, as they are a species as well. This is a much bigger problem than just deciding to recycle plastic, as many believe. If you want to leave a legacy to your future generations, get involved in a program to save the planet. Whether it is on a personal level or a global level, find out what areas need help and what you can do to help.

Global warming forecast upto year 2100

The sun driven "Plant Kingdom" (named by Linné ~1750) is the governor of the planet from a mass balance point of view. The atmosphere is selectively desucked on its CO2 during photosynthesis in an amount corresponding to 120 Gt C fixed annually into global biomass. The total amount of atmospheric natural C during the 1850:ies was ~460 Gt C corresponding to 280 ppm atmospheric CO2. During last 150 years man has, however, added ~366 Gt C of fossil origin to the atmosphere by combustion of fossil C from several sources originally accumulated by "fossil photosynthesis". However, about 250 Gt of this fossil C amount has been absorbed by the ocean and the land area in high pH areas in a slow process. In 2009 annually further 9 Gt C of fossil origin is added to the 110 Gt C already present in the atmosphere after 150 years of fossil C burning. The CO2 content in the atmosphere is therefore today 390 ppm and is now increasing some ppm annually in a most dangerous way. Therefore it seems that each decade ahead at least ~100 Gt of fossil C will be added to the atmosphere due to antropogenic activities and political "laissez-fair" attitudes. Even with the current attitudes shown from e g current EU-leaders the total amount of fossil C in the atmosphere to be sequestered during 2030 - 2100 may be of the size 350 - 500 Gt C if a global heat shock is to be counterbalanced.

This is still possible and is rightly stressed by e g Azar et al 2001. This current observed carbon C fraction of fossil origin present in the atmosphere is the "driving force" or causal agent behind current observed global warmng and its future dynamics still to a high extent determined by man stoechiometrically( e g the energy and atom regrouping changes observed during the combustion or photosynthesis process) and politically. If we don´t "precipitate" the fossil C fraction present in the atmosphere by intensified photosynthesis followed by sequestering (=long term stable storage during 50 - 100 years) this will cause now observed initial phases of an accelerating global warming to easily turn into a cataclysmic global heat shock within perhaps just a few (3 - 4) decades after the global temperature has passed ~2°C over the natural global temperature average and we can not further control. Currently it is, however, controllable if manking act stoechiometrically adequate during a few decades further with start immediately - not in 2050. The current approaching global warming process is to at least 95% caused by antropogenic activities. Hadley Met Office, UK has publiched a series of detailed scenarious what is to be expected up till 2050 (Cox et al, Nature 2000). Peter Cox conclude that during a heat shock e g UK will thereby get a climate now known from northern Africa. This state will probably be observed for some hundred years.

Climatologists say that the final temperatures during a global heat shock are expected to be ~20°C warmer on average on Planet Earth than today. Climatologists also stress , however, that periodically and regionally this means temperatures on all parts of the planet up to ~40°C warmer than today. During these periods essentially all landlife will be killed. From the paleontologists we know of at least two major such heat shocks 55 and 251 million years ago. At these events up to 95% of also sea life was suddenly killed and forced evolution into brand new directions. The Hadley Meteorological Center (UK) climate modeling shows we have now in 2009 perhaps about 6 years to find a solution and a program plan, but within 30 years the final payback from the fossil era must have been done, Cox say, if we want to stop these cataclysmic scenarios (Prof Peter Cox, Hadley Center in BBC "Planet Earth" series with David Attenborrough narrator on 60 minutes about "Global Dimming", 2005 ).

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