All these changes, whether we recognize it or not, are connected to us. Anything that happens to the ocean will affect our lives. Sea levels rising and creating dozens of underwater cities will undoubtedly affect us, of course, because a quarter of the world’s population will be driven inward. All major cities will be filled up to unimaginable congestion; food and water will become in very short supply, good relations will break down, housing will be unavailable, homelessness and poverty will overwhelm. This could happen in twenty years or less. However, we will feel the impact in other ways, as well.
As sea life dwindles in the oceans, it will mean fewer and fewer jobs for anyone dependent on resources from the sea. As well, public aquarium centers and personal saltwater aquariums will become cathedrals for marine life that no longer exists. As major parts of world economies break down, the last remaining marine species preserved by humankind within glass enclosures will come to haunt us, as these isolated, ephemeral, and fleeting creatures make for us memories of a planet once defined not by its land, but by its ocean. Already today, hundreds of years of overfishing have resulted in an empty ocean through which immense populations of wildlife once swam. There is now less of everything, and more of nothing.
Global warming will make memories out of many living things, and as we remember the bounty of life that this planet used to support, we will feel shame. Unless we do everything we can to slow climate change, protect what is left and restore part of what we have lost.
However, none of this has to come to pass. We can protect the future by realizing that no one is born a conservationist. A conservationist is shaped and inspired by world events: these events, this world. Human beings have always been at their best when things are at their worst. We can no longer wait for the worst to come before we reveal what is best within us. Now is the only time for that.
Showing posts with label GLOBAL WARMING. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GLOBAL WARMING. Show all posts
Wednesday, 16 February 2011
HUMAN IMPACT ON CLIMATE CHANGING
All these changes, whether we recognize it or not, are connected to us. Anything that happens to the ocean will affect our lives. Sea levels rising and creating dozens of underwater cities will undoubtedly affect us, of course, because a quarter of the world’s population will be driven inward. All major cities will be filled up to unimaginable congestion; food and water will become in very short supply, good relations will break down, housing will be unavailable, homelessness and poverty will overwhelm. This could happen in twenty years or less. However, we will feel the impact in other ways, as well.
As sea life dwindles in the oceans, it will mean fewer and fewer jobs for anyone dependent on resources from the sea. As well, public aquarium centers and personal saltwater aquariums will become cathedrals for marine life that no longer exists. As major parts of world economies break down, the last remaining marine species preserved by humankind within glass enclosures will come to haunt us, as these isolated, ephemeral, and fleeting creatures make for us memories of a planet once defined not by its land, but by its ocean. Already today, hundreds of years of overfishing have resulted in an empty ocean through which immense populations of wildlife once swam. There is now less of everything, and more of nothing.
Global warming will make memories out of many living things, and as we remember the bounty of life that this planet used to support, we will feel shame. Unless we do everything we can to slow climate change, protect what is left and restore part of what we have lost.
However, none of this has to come to pass. We can protect the future by realizing that no one is born a conservationist. A conservationist is shaped and inspired by world events: these events, this world. Human beings have always been at their best when things are at their worst. We can no longer wait for the worst to come before we reveal what is best within us. Now is the only time for that.
Human Impact on Climate Change
Whether or not the planet is warming at accelerated rates, likely caused by human activity, is no longer a topic of debate. The data can no longer be disputed.
The terms "global warming" and "climate change" are used interchangeably. However, "global warming" implies the warming of our planet due to a direct human influence while "climate change" is more accurately used to describe changes in climate due to natural fluctuations, such as the processes that produce the Ice Ages.
The scientific evidence in support of global warming continues to mount and the media is increasingly highlighting the topic to inform us of the very real dangers involved in global warming. Common media images include polar bears that are no longer able to find enough ice to survive and often drown in search of food. Glaciers in the Arctic and Greenland are breaking apart at unprecedented speed, causing sea levels to rise. The ocean's temperature is rising; as a result, we are witnessing marine species forced to migrate from habitats they have lived in for at least thousands of years in search of more hospitable areas.
Recently, some island nations and communities have actually begun evacuation procedures as rising seas flood their homes and land. Rising sea levels caused by the expansion of sea water as it warms and the melting of glaciers has caused a 1 mm increase in sea level, which translates to a shoreline retreat of about 1.5 meters. This has been seen in the U.S. along the Atlantic Coast where erosion has narrowed beaches and washed out houses. In other countries, such as the Tuvalu Islands in the Pacific, communities are planning their moves as their homelands are slowly submerged. Other currently threatened nations include the Cook and the Marshall Islands, where one island (Majuro) has lost up to 20% of its beachfront already.
Human Impact on Climate Change
Whether or not the planet is warming at accelerated rates, likely caused by human activity, is no longer a topic of debate. The data can no longThe terms "global warming" and "climate change" are used interchangeably. However, "global warming" implies the warming of our planet due to a direct human influence while "climate change" is more accurately used to describe changes in climate due to natural fluctuations, such as the processes that produce the Ice Ages.
The scientific evidence in support of global warming continues to mount and the media is increasingly highlighting the topic to inform us of the very real dangers involved in global warming. Common media images include polar bears that are no longer able to find enough ice to survive and often drown in search of food. Glaciers in the Arctic and Greenland are breaking apart at unprecedented speed, causing sea levels to rise. The ocean's temperature is rising; as a result, we are witnessing marine species forced to migrate from habitats they have lived in for at least thousands of years in search of more hospitable areas.
Recently, some island nations and communities have actually begun evacuation procedures as rising seas flood their homes and land. Rising sea levels caused by the expansion of sea water as it wa
Scientists have recently discovered that the basic chemistry of the ocean is being altered by excess carbon dioxide absorption, which threatens marine organisms by increasing acidification. Acidification is caused by a reaction between CO2 and H2O, which forms carbonic acid (H2CO3). Carbonic acid increases the acidity of ocean waters by lowering the pH which inhibits the reaction organisms (e.g., coccolithophores - one of the most abundant phytoplankton in the ocean, corals, foraminifera, echinoderms, crustaceans, and some mollusks, especially pteropods) use to secrete skeletal structures and shells made of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). With increasing acidity, every marine species that constructs skeletons and shells of CaCO3 will find it more difficult to survive in shell-producing marine organisms could be disastrous for nearly all ocean ecosystems. Increasing acidity will also undoubtedly effect numerous reproductive and/or physiological processes in other marine species with unknown consequences.
As sea life dwindles in the oceans, it will mean fewer and fewer jobs for anyone dependent on resources from the sea. As well, public aquarium centers and personal saltwater aquariums will become cathedrals for marine life that no longer exists. As major parts of world economies break down, the last remaining marine species preserved by humankind within glass enclosures will come to haunt us, as these isolated, ephemeral, and fleeting creatures make for us memories of a planet once defined not by its land, but by its ocean. Already today, hundreds of years of overfishing have resulted in an empty ocean through which immense populations of wildlife once swam. There is now less of everything, and more of nothing.
Global warming will make memories out of many living things, and as we remember the bounty of life that this planet used to support, we will feel shame. Unless we do everything we can to slow climate change, protect what is left and restore part of what we have lost.
However, none of this has to come to pass. We can protect the future by realizing that no one is born a conservationist. A conservationist is shaped and inspired by world events: these events, this world. Human beings have always been at their best when things are at their worst. We can no longer wait for the worst to come before we reveal what is best within us. Now is the only time for that.
Human Impact on Climate Change
Whether or not the planet is warming at accelerated rates, likely caused by human activity, is no longer a topic of debate. The data can no longer be disputed.
The terms "global warming" and "climate change" are used interchangeably. However, "global warming" implies the warming of our planet due to a direct human influence while "climate change" is more accurately used to describe changes in climate due to natural fluctuations, such as the processes that produce the Ice Ages.
The scientific evidence in support of global warming continues to mount and the media is increasingly highlighting the topic to inform us of the very real dangers involved in global warming. Common media images include polar bears that are no longer able to find enough ice to survive and often drown in search of food. Glaciers in the Arctic and Greenland are breaking apart at unprecedented speed, causing sea levels to rise. The ocean's temperature is rising; as a result, we are witnessing marine species forced to migrate from habitats they have lived in for at least thousands of years in search of more hospitable areas.
Recently, some island nations and communities have actually begun evacuation procedures as rising seas flood their homes and land. Rising sea levels caused by the expansion of sea water as it warms and the melting of glaciers has caused a 1 mm increase in sea level, which translates to a shoreline retreat of about 1.5 meters. This has been seen in the U.S. along the Atlantic Coast where erosion has narrowed beaches and washed out houses. In other countries, such as the Tuvalu Islands in the Pacific, communities are planning their moves as their homelands are slowly submerged. Other currently threatened nations include the Cook and the Marshall Islands, where one island (Majuro) has lost up to 20% of its beachfront already.
Human Impact on Climate Change
Whether or not the planet is warming at accelerated rates, likely caused by human activity, is no longer a topic of debate. The data can no longThe terms "global warming" and "climate change" are used interchangeably. However, "global warming" implies the warming of our planet due to a direct human influence while "climate change" is more accurately used to describe changes in climate due to natural fluctuations, such as the processes that produce the Ice Ages.
The scientific evidence in support of global warming continues to mount and the media is increasingly highlighting the topic to inform us of the very real dangers involved in global warming. Common media images include polar bears that are no longer able to find enough ice to survive and often drown in search of food. Glaciers in the Arctic and Greenland are breaking apart at unprecedented speed, causing sea levels to rise. The ocean's temperature is rising; as a result, we are witnessing marine species forced to migrate from habitats they have lived in for at least thousands of years in search of more hospitable areas.
Recently, some island nations and communities have actually begun evacuation procedures as rising seas flood their homes and land. Rising sea levels caused by the expansion of sea water as it wa
Scientists have recently discovered that the basic chemistry of the ocean is being altered by excess carbon dioxide absorption, which threatens marine organisms by increasing acidification. Acidification is caused by a reaction between CO2 and H2O, which forms carbonic acid (H2CO3). Carbonic acid increases the acidity of ocean waters by lowering the pH which inhibits the reaction organisms (e.g., coccolithophores - one of the most abundant phytoplankton in the ocean, corals, foraminifera, echinoderms, crustaceans, and some mollusks, especially pteropods) use to secrete skeletal structures and shells made of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). With increasing acidity, every marine species that constructs skeletons and shells of CaCO3 will find it more difficult to survive in shell-producing marine organisms could be disastrous for nearly all ocean ecosystems. Increasing acidity will also undoubtedly effect numerous reproductive and/or physiological processes in other marine species with unknown consequences.
THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT
Evidence of global warming includes decreased snowfall, rising sea levels and changes to weather trends. Precipitation levels, precipitation patterns, cloud cover, severe weather, and other elements will be impacted by the increase in greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere. "Greenhouse gases" are so named because they trap radiant energy from the sun that would otherwise be radiated back into space.
Climate Change FAQ from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego »
The Kyoto Protocol was developed by theUnited Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change(UNFCCC) as an international agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. The Protocol was entered into force in February 2005, and signed by countries committed to reducing CO2 emissions and 5 other greenhouse gases. They may also engage in emissions trading, or the purchase of credits from other countries that remain under the limits of greenhouse gas emissions. In this way, countries that may exceed the limits can still comply with the protocol. To date, 141 countries have ratified the agreement. Unfortunately, neither the United States nor Australia have been participating, which has generated speculation as to whether the Kyoto Protocol will successfully reduce greenhouse gases, even if completely implemented by all signed countries.
Global climate change has been studied on a large scale based on analyses of global temperature fluctuations over thousands of years; for example, since the last Ice Age, which occurred approximately 12,000 years ago, global temperatures have been relatively stable. Studies on a smaller scale, however, show that temperatures in the lower troposphere have increased between 0.08 and 0.22°C per decade since 1979. Still these modern day changes are not always linear, which has created a source of debate within the scientific community and the news media.
The study of paleoclimatology (ancient climates) is increasingly linked to modern day climate study. For example, the Earth was in an ice age for the last 160,000 years prior to the end of the last Ice Age. Earlier studies of this time period showed little variability in temperatures, however more recent studies showed the variability to be about twice as great as previously published, indicating that temperature fluctuations are more frequent throughout time than first thought. However, this does not negate the impact of human activity on the current rate of global warming.
Climate change is caused by both through natural and external forces, the latter including both human—greenhouse gases—and non-human causes such as changes in the Earth's orbit around the Sun, solar activity, and volcanic emissions. Science is increasingly pointing to human activities as the reason that global warming is accelerating.
The greenhouse gas theory started in the 19th century when the Swedish chemist and 1903 Nobel Laureate, Svante Arrhenius, determined that increases in greenhouse gas concentration would lead to higher global mean temperatures while decreases would lead to colder global mean temperatures. His finding was a result of his research on ice ages, and was largely rejected by his peers at the time. A colleague of Arrhenius, Arvid Högbom, was one of the first scientists to study the carbon cycle. Arrhenius used his data to base his assessment that in 1890 emission and absorption of CO2 in the atmosphere were roughly in balance, and that burning fossil fuels would not cause problems. However, this was based solely on the use of coal, not on the use of fossil fuels in the automobile and other industries.
The acceptance that human greenhouse gas emissions are contributing to the warming of the Earth's atmosphere is increasing, however opponents to this theory remain, largely due to several confounding factors to the theory. For example, water vapor, naturally present in the Earth's atmosphere in the form of humidity and clouds, is also a strong greenhouse gas. The vapor affects the climate by cooling the Earth's surface by reflecting sunlight and blocking radiation of heat away from the surface. The presence of CO2 may alter the distribution of clouds, in which case the climate could be further affected by human generated greenhouse gases. However the extent to which CO2 emissions alter cloud cover is not well known. In the 2001IPCC report on climate change, changes in cloud cover were mentioned as an important factor in predicting future climate change.
Opponents to the global warming theory postulate that water vapor and clouds will cancel out warming effect of CO2 emissions. However, the warming trends over the past few decades are increasingly negating the cancellation hypothesis. Furthermore, sophisticated computer models of the climate, validated by the scientific community by demonstrating accurate simulations of known climate variations such as El Nino event have predicted that adding CO2 to the atmosphere will create a warmer climate in the future. The degree to which this warming will occur varies by model, however, and opponents of the global warming theory point out variables that models are not equipped to factor, such as changes in vegetation and cloud cover.
In spite of the dying debate, it is known that coal-burning power plants, automobile exhausts, factory smokestacks, and other waste vents contribute about 22 billion tons of carbon dioxide (6 billion tons of pure carbon) and other greenhouse gases into the earth's atmosphere each year. CO2 levels have increased by about 31% since 1750, about 75% of which can be attributed to fossil fuel burning. The remaining 25% is largely due to land-use change, particularly deforestation.
In their 2006 report, the IPCC stated that the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide has exceeded levels over the natural range for the last 650,000 years. The consensus is that human activity is, in almost all aspects of global warming, the most likely cause. This is a change from the previous report that stated human activity was merely a likely cause.
GLOBAL WARMING
What is Global Warming aka Climate Change?
Global warming is the increase of the average temperature in the atmosphere and oceans over time due primarily to human influences. Since the late 19th century, scientists have monitored the fluctuations in temperature and studied global warming theories and trends to determine the causes and to assess the extent to which they are due to human activity. The greenhouse effect is largely caused by human-generated carbon dioxide and, to some extent, by increases in solar activity. The term "global warming" is used to imply a human influence while "climate change" is most often used in association with changes in climate with no easily identifiable cause, such as the processes producing the Ice Ages.
Global warming is the increase of the average temperature in the atmosphere and oceans over time due primarily to human influences. Since the late 19th century, scientists have monitored the fluctuations in temperature and studied global warming theories and trends to determine the causes and to assess the extent to which they are due to human activity. The greenhouse effect is largely caused by human-generated carbon dioxide and, to some extent, by increases in solar activity. The term "global warming" is used to imply a human influence while "climate change" is most often used in association with changes in climate with no easily identifiable cause, such as the processes producing the Ice Ages.
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