Archive for the ‘Global Warming’ Category

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 may not consider everything you just read to be crucial information about Global Warming. But don’t be surprised if you find yourself recalling and using this very information in the next few days.

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.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, still having the Free Adsense Templates available for instant download

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.

It seems like new information is discovered about something every day. And the topic of Global Warming is no exception. Keep reading to get more fresh news about Global Warming.

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.

I hope that reading the above information was both enjoyable and educational for you. Your learning process should be ongoing–the more you understand about any subject, the more you will be able to share with others.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, still having the Free Adsense Templates available for instant download

Research on Global Warming

The more you understand about any subject, the more interesting it becomes. As you read this article you’ll find that the subject of Global Warming is certainly no exception.

Research is constantly being done on global warming. The research is being done by studying statistics and by going directly to the source. Various scientists are coming up with different answers to the most basic questions about global warming.

Some scientists studying global warming in the Arctic have discovered thinning sea ice near the northern reaches of Alaska. The summer of 2007 showed the least sea ice since sea ice was first tracked in 1979. Scientists participating in the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s Gyre Exploration Project cruised aboard the Canadian Coast Guard’s ship, the Icebreaker, to see the effects of global warming for themselves.

When they reached the area where ice would usually be the thickest and heaviest, the ship sailed right through. When they did see ice, it was in a state of disintegration because of global warming. Most of the ice remaining was young ice, which is more vulnerable to thaw. The scientists took their data home to analyze during the colder months.

Another group, with the Arctic Modeling Group and the IJIS Research Group, set sail along the Alaskan coast in the Chukchi Sea. Their mission was to study different variables of the ocean water that might affect phytoplankton. They found that the water was warmer than the satellite statistics. The satellite showed 10 degrees Celsius, while their measurements showed 14 degrees Celsius. This is an example of global warming.

One study was done linking the Russian peat bogs with global warming. The bogs produce a large amount of methane gas. According to carbon dating that was done, this has been the case since the last ice age. Since methane is one of the greenhouse gases, this impacts global warming.

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, the studies also show that the peat bogs absorb carbon dioxide at an impressive rate. They contain the largest carbon stores on the planet. If the peat bogs dry up due to global warming, they would release this carbon dioxide into the air. The trade-off of carbon dioxide for methane would not be a good one, since methane stays in the atmosphere a shorter time.

Researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography have been busy proving that humans bear some culpability for the climate change in the oceans. They have done this both by observing and noting evidence, and by constructing computer models.

The computer models are based on the evidence that they do have, so they are thought to be quite accurate. With all the data in place, the evidence seems to point to definite global warming events. It also makes it clear that humans have played a part in causing this phenomenon.

An MIT professor has studied the effects of warming waters on hurricanes over the last fifty years. He studied statistics from past storms and generated computer models to test his theory. His specialty is meteorology, so his take on global warming is of interest. He found that the hurricanes have indeed been getting stronger since 1970.

Research is important to the field of global warming studies. It is only by knowing the problem in precise detail that people can adequately confront it.

Now that wasn’t hard at all, was it? And you’ve earned a wealth of knowledge, just from taking some time to study an expert’s word on Global Warming.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, still having the Free Adsense Templates available for instant download

The Economics of Global Warming

Global warming can prove to be a costly occurrence. For many reasons, financial considerations have already been impacted. For anyone who looks to the wallet for an indicator of disaster, trouble can be seen in global warming.

The deadly and destructive storms that are now being seen have caused tremendous financial losses. Hurricane Katrina cost roughly 81 billion dollars in damage, and the actual rebuilding has barely even begun. Storms like Katrina have most likely been boosted to their extreme levels of force by warm ocean waters. These are caused by global warming.

Agriculture can be spoiled by global warming. Crops die during droughts brought on by global warming. Storms intensified by global warming can damage agricultural buildings and injure animals. Floods resulting from these storms can drown out crops before they can be harvested.

This all translates into lost revenues for both farmers and investors. It also means higher prices for consumers of agricultural products. Consumers already know what it is like to pay exorbitant prices for foods that have been damaged while in the fields. If global warming continues on its present course, this will be a common occurrence.

Gasoline prices have an effect on the economics of communities. When gas prices are high, people will patronize business establishments that are close to their homes. This hurts the chances of success for a business that is not in a heavily populated area. Global warming is directly affecting the economics of businesses in this way.

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.

The family economics of global warming are undeniable, too. As the climate changes, more energy is needed to cool houses. Those extra degrees of heat in the atmosphere mean that families will have to set their thermostats higher, or pay a higher price.

Sometimes it is the poorer families that pay for global warming the most. For example, new cars are outfitted with a new kind of air conditioning system that uses environmentally friendly Freon. A poorer family might have an older car that does not have this type of system.

However, if their air conditioner needs Freon, they might have to pay several hundred dollars to have the new system put in to use the new Freon. This will help the cause of preventing global warming. At the same time, the family will be paying for the mistakes of the past.

In many regions, everyone pays for the energy mistakes of earlier times. Coal burning power plants are now being refitted to reduce emissions. This will have a big impact on preventing global warming. Yet, the economics of it show that people at the present time have to pay with higher utility bills to make this advantage come true.

There are thousands of ways that global warming is affecting the world’s economy at this moment. People are paying for the harm global warming is doing. They are also paying for adjustments to their homes, cars, and city infrastructures to reduce global warming. With time, changes will be completed. If everyone helps, these costs should go down.

That’s how things stand right now. Keep in mind that any subject can change over time, so be sure you keep up with the latest news.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, who just joined this Free Website Traffic generation site

Books that Support or Deny the Concept of Global Warming

So what is Global Warming really all about? The following report includes some fascinating information about Global Warming–info you can use, not just the old stuff they used to tell you.

Global warming is discussed in two main types of books. Some would have you believe there is no problem at all. Others speak of evidence of global warming, dangerous consequences, and solutions to global warming. Reading a variety of books on global warming gives a balanced perspective.

Probably the most well-known book on global warming is Al Gore’s book An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About It. Gore’s book shows reasons why people wan to save he earth from hazards such as global warming. It also implores world leaders to stands up and listens to the warnings of an environment in crisis.

An opposing viewpoint is presented in a book titled Unstoppable Global Warming: Every 1,500 Years. The book, written by Dennis T. Avery and S. Fred Singer, is an argument that global warming is a cyclical event that has happened gradually and systematically throughout history. Scientific data backs up the claims and demonstrates why no one should be concerned about global warming, in the authors’ opinions.

However, there is scientific information that supports the claims of global warming dangers. A book called Global Warming: The Complete Briefing gives facts and theories about the foundations of global warming and climate change. In it, the future of the world and ways to help minimize global warming are outlined.

You may not consider everything you just read to be crucial information about Global Warming. But don’t be surprised if you find yourself recalling and using this very information in the next few days.

Children can learn about the subject by reading a book called This Is My Planet: The Kids’ Guide to Global Warming. Jan Thornhill, the author or the book, gives the startling facts about the quickly occurring changes brought on by global warming, and how that is happening. Catering to the younger audience, though, she is careful to sprinkle the book with a lot of hope and ways for children to help change the situation.

The Down To Earth Guide To Global Warming, by Laurie David and Cambria Gordon, is another book that uses a bit of humor to discuss a serious subject. It not only has facts about the genesis of extreme global warming, but it is full of vivid pictures. As another book for elementary children, it gives ways for kids to fight global warming in every area of their lives.

A fun and interesting book on the subject of global warming is The Live Earth Global Warming Survival Handbook: 77 Essential Skills to Stop Climate Change. David de Rothschild, the author, constructed the book to be a tongue-in-cheek look at a survival guide aimed at surviving global warming. At the same time, it offers important information about ways to improve the environment. It is a companion book to the Live Earth Concerts in July of 2007 that took place during a 24-hour period around the world.

It is easy to find books about global warming. Many are aimed at the children who are next to inherit the earth. Some focus heavily on scientific data. Others rely on humor to tell their story. Some are even a simple call to arms to anyone who will help curb global warming. Global warming is a subject worth study and there are plenty of books to read about it.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson (Click on the link to learn more about me)

The Basics of Global Warming

Scientists, celebrities, and everyday people have been trying to understand the nature of global warming. Controversy is rampant and there is intense debate around the world on the subject. Since conclusions drawn could affect you profoundly, you may want to know some basic facts about the topic of global warming.

The most obvious thing that can be said about global warming is that the earth is getting warmer. Specifically, the temperatures near the surface of the earth and the temperatures in the ocean are rising. Since 1990, there have been 10 years that have been hotter than any others in recorded history.

The greenhouse effect is said to be responsible for global warming. The greenhouse effect causes certain vapors and gases to form a sort of blanket that covers and warms the earth. Water vapor, methane, carbon dioxide, and several other trace gases make up this blanket.

The greenhouse effect itself is not disputed. No controversy exists on this point because the greenhouse effect is recognized as an inherently beneficial process. If all the energy that struck the earth was reflected right back into space, no one could live on earth. This is what would happen without this blanket that is caused by acceptable levels of global warming.

The more authentic information about Global Warming you know, the more likely people are to consider you a Global Warming expert. Read on for even more Global Warming facts that you can share.

However, global warming is not all good. It can cause the earth’s covering to increase in density. With a denser blanket over the earth, less of the heat is reflected back into space. This upsets the delicate balance between heat and cold that is usually maintained on earth. It traps more heat inside the earth’s atmosphere.

Although there are people who argue against it, there seems to be a change in the climate in recent years. Climate change to a warmer climate is the result of excessive global warming.

There has been an overall rise in temperature of a little over one degree Fahrenheit during the last century. The figure for this century is expected to be more like seven degrees. It is this type of global warming that can lead to dire consequences if left unchecked.

People, their activities, and their industries have caused global warming to reach the levels it has today. Burning fossil fuels, powering electrical plants with coal, and irresponsible land use can all contribute to global warming. Carbon dioxide is produced by these activities, and global warming is perpetuated.

Global warming could result in rising sea levels and flooding. There could be more powerful storms. Heat waves could become intense. Droughts could severely damage the world’s crops and cause shortages of drinkable water. Extinction of species could become a problem because of changing habitats and the suitability of the climate for the animal.
The good news about global warming is that there are ways to slow the process down. Each person can take responsibility for doing their part in protecting the earth’s environment. With everyone helping, emissions of greenhouse gases can be cut drastically. This will give the earth a chance to begin to regain its balance of temperature. Knowing about global warming can make you a better citizen of the world.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson (Click on the link to learn more about me)

The IPCC Reports on Global Warming

Have you ever wondered if what you know about Global Warming is accurate? Consider the following paragraphs and compare what you know to the latest info 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.

Those of you not familiar with the latest on Global Warming now have at least a basic understanding. But there’s more to come.

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.

This article’s coverage of the information is as complete as it can be today. But you should always leave open the possibility that future research could uncover new facts.