Top Banner

of 24

man now endagered species:Global Warming

May 30, 2018

Download

Documents

Dennis Dale
Welcome message from author
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
  • 8/14/2019 man now endagered species:Global Warming

    1/24

    Man now endangered Species:We are in urge of Extinction

    (A global Warming threat)

    Topic outline:

  • 8/14/2019 man now endagered species:Global Warming

    2/24

    I. Introduction.defintion of global warming,and thesis statement.

    II. The Challenge of Global Warming

    A. Issues ,impacts,responses.

    B. greenhouse Effect

    C. The changing atmosphere

    III. Development

    IV. Global warming :Biotic system

    A. Biotic causes and effect of the disruption of the Global Carbon Cycle

    B.Effects of global Warming on biological Diversity

    V. Physical Impacts

    A. Greenhouse effects:Acid rain, ozone depletion,methanes,CFCs

    B. changes in Soil Moisture

    C. Effects of Climatic Changes

    D. Causes and effects of sea level rise.

    VI. Responses

    A. Dangers

    B. National Energy Policy

    C. Montreal Protocol

    D. Near Term Congressional options for responding to Global Climate

    change

    E. Geo-Engineering

    VII. What can We Do to Heal-p

  • 8/14/2019 man now endagered species:Global Warming

    3/24

    Global warming refers to a long-term increase in the earths average surface

    temperature. Global warming is an increase in the average temperature

    of Earth's surface. Since the late 1800's, the global average

    temperature has increased about 0.4 to 0.8 degrees C. Many experts

    estimate that the average temperature will rise an additional 2.5 to

    10.4 degrees by 2100. That rate of increase would be much larger than

    most past rates of increase. This temperature rise is expected to melt

    polar ice caps and glaciers as well as warm the oceans, all of which will

    expand the volume of the ocean and raise sea levels by an estimated 9

    to 100 cm causing flooding in some coastal regions and even lead to

    the submerging of entire islands. Some regions with warmer climates

    will receive more rainfall than before, but the soil will dry out faster

    between storms; this may damage food crops, disrupting food supplies

    in some parts of the world. Plant and animal species will shift their

    ranges toward the poles or to higher elevations seeking cooler

    temperatures and species that cannot do so may become extinct. The

    potential consequences of global warming are so great that many of

    the world's leading scientists have called for international cooperation

    and immediate action to counteract the problem. Warming and sea

    level rise are expected to continue for more than a millennium even if

  • 8/14/2019 man now endagered species:Global Warming

    4/24

    greenhouse gas levels are stabilized. This reflects the large heat

    capacity of the oceans.

    Human activities since the Industrial Revolutionprimarily fossil fuel

    use, deforestation, and agriculturehave nearly doubled the amount of

    greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. Global scientific consensus confirms

    that the effects of

    these heat-trapping gases have already caused global temperatures to rise

    by 0.5 C, and if current development trends continue, temperatures will

    increase by 1.45.8 C by 2100. Historically, countries belonging to the

    Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)have been

    responsible for the majority of global emissions; however, developing

    countries are the fastest-growing source of new emissions, and they will

    soon be the largest absolute source.India, Indonesia, and the Peoples

    Republic of China (PRC) rank in the top 10 emitting countries globally due to

    the combined effects of their fossil fuel consumption and deforestation

    (International Energy Agency 2007).

    The combined effects of global warming may have particularly harsh

    effects on people and countries without the resources to mitigate those

    effects. This may slow economic development and poverty reduction, and

    make it harder to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. In October

    2004 the Working Group on Climate Change and Development, a coalition of

    development and environment NGOs, issued a report Up in Smoke on the

    effects of climate change on development. This report, and the July 2005

  • 8/14/2019 man now endagered species:Global Warming

    5/24

    report Africa - Up in Smoke.Predicted increased hunger and disease due to

    decreased rainfall and severe weather events, particularly in Africa. These

    are likely to have severe impacts on development for those affected.

    Rapid economic growth, increases in personal vehicle ownership, and

    the changing face of the regions populationfrom rural to urbanare

    primarily responsible for the dramatic upward trends in regional emissions.

    Energy demand growth in Asia and the Pacific rose 9.7% from 2000 to 2005,

    and corresponding greenhouse gas emissions rose by nearly 8%

    (International Energy Agency 2002, 2007) over the same period. By 2030,

    Asia will demand more than half of the worlds primary energy resources

    (International Energy Agency 2007), will be home to more than half of the

    worlds urban populationaround 2.7 billion people (UN Habitat 2006)and

    will be responsible for more than 50% of global emissions.

    In addition to causing climate-altering emissions, increasing use of

    fossil fuelsand especially oil for transportwill decrease global energy

    security and raise energy prices for countries inAsia and the Pacific. Island

    states of the Pacific,Southeast Asia, and the Indian Ocean are some of the

    most vulnerable to energy price hikes. When compounded with their

    vulnerability to the impacts

    of climate change, these nations stand to lose the most if energy and

    emissions trends do not change.

    There have been predictions, and some evidence, that global warming

    might cause loss of carbon from terrestrial ecosystems, leading to an

  • 8/14/2019 man now endagered species:Global Warming

    6/24

    increase of atmospheric CO2 levels. Several climate models indicate that

    global warming through the 21st century could be accelerated by the

    response of the terrestrial carbon cycle to such warming . All 11models in

    the C4MIP study found that a larger fraction of anthropogenic CO2 will stay

    airborne if climate change is accounted for. By the end of the twenty-first

    century, this additional CO2 varied between 20 and 200 ppm for the two

    extreme models, the majority of the models lying between 50 and 100 ppm.

    The higher CO2 levels led to an additional climate warming ranging between

    0.1 and 1.5 C. However, there was still a large uncertainty on the

    magnitude of these sensitivities. Eight models attributed most of the

    changes to the land, while three attributed it to the ocean . The strongest

    feedbacks in these cases are due to increased respiration of carbon from

    soils throughout the high latitude boreal forests of the Northern Hemisphere.

    One model in particular (HadCM3) indicates a secondary carbon cycle

    feedback due to the loss of much of the Amazon rainforest in response to

    significantly reduced precipitation over tropical South America. While models

    disagree on the strength of any terrestrial carbon cycle feedback, they each

    suggest any such feedback would accelerate global warming. Observations

    show that soils in England have been losing carbon at the rate of four million

    tonnes a year for the past 25 years. according to a paper in Nature by

    Bellamy et al. in September 2005, who note that these results are unlikely to

    be explained by land use changes. Results such as this rely on a dense

    sampling network and thus are not available on a global scale. Extrapolating

  • 8/14/2019 man now endagered species:Global Warming

    7/24

    to all of the United Kingdom, they estimate annual losses of 13 million tons

    per year. This is as much as the annual reductions in carbon dioxide

    emissions achieved by the UK under the Kyoto Treaty (12.7 million tons of

    carbon per year). It has also been suggested (by Chris Freeman) that the

    release of dissolved organiccarbon (DOC) from peat bogs into water courses

    (from which it would in turn enter the atmosphere) constitutes a positive

    feedback for global warming. The carbon currentlystored in peatlands (390-

    455 gigatonnes, one-third of the total land-based carbon store) is over half

    the amount of carbon already in the atmosphere.DOC levels in water courses

    are observably rising; Freeman's hypothesis is that, not elevated

    temperatures, but elevated levels of atmospheric CO2 are responsible,

    through stimulation of primary productivity.Global temperature will increase

    from 1.1 to 6.4 degrees in next 100 years:Rise by 0.8 degrees- ocean

    warming, arctic ice cap melting, species extinction , extreme weather

    events;1 degree rise- coral reefs destroyed, island nations under water;2

    degree rise- Greenland melts, polar bears extinct, water supply affected;3

    degree rise- environmental refugees, food shortage, amazon collapses;4

    degree rise- millions of refugees, 1/3 rd of bangladesh under water,

    permafrost melts releasing gases;5 degree rise- most of the world

    uninhabitable, earth hotter than in 55 million years;6 degree rise- mass.

    Storm strength leading to extreme weather is increasing, such as the

    power dissipation index of hurricane intensity.Kerry Emanuel writes that

    hurricane power dissipation is highly correlated with temperature, reflecting

  • 8/14/2019 man now endagered species:Global Warming

    8/24

    global warming.However, a further study by Emanuel using current model

    output concluded that the increase in power dissipation in recent decades

    cannot be completely attributed to global warming. Hurricane modeling has

    produced similar results, finding that hurricanes, simulated under warmer,

    high-CO2 conditions, are more intense, however, hurricane frequency will be

    reduced.Worldwide, the proportion of hurricanes reaching categories 4 or 5

    with wind speeds above 56 metres per second has risen from 20% in the

    1970s to 35% in the 1990s.Precipitation hitting the US from hurricanes has

    increased by 7% over the twentieth century. The extent to which this is due

    to global warming as opposed to the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation is

    unclear. Some studies have found that the increase in sea surface

    temperature may be offset by an increase in wind shear, leading to little or

    no change in hurricane activity.

    Increases in catastrophes resulting from extreme weather are mainly

    caused by increasing population densities, and anticipated future increases

    are similarly dominated by societal change rather than climate change. The

    World Meteorological Organization explains that though there is evidence

    both for and against the existence of a detectable anthropogenic signal in

    the tropical cyclone climate record to date, no firm conclusion can be made

    on this point.They also clarified that no individual tropical cyclone can be

    directly attributed to climate change. However, Hoyos et al. (2006) have

    linked the increasing trend in number of category 4 and 5 hurricanes for the

    period 1970-2004 directly to the trend in sea surface temperatures.Thomas

  • 8/14/2019 man now endagered species:Global Warming

    9/24

    Knutson and Robert E. Tuleya of NOAA stated in 2004 that warming induced

    by greenhouse gas may lead to increasing occurrence of highly destructive

    category-5 storms.Vecchi and Soden find that wind shear, the increase of

    which acts to inhibit tropical cyclones, also changes in model-projections of

    global warming. There are projected increases of wind shear in the tropical

    Atlantic and East Pacific associated with the deceleration of the Walker

    circulation, as well as decreases of wind shear in the western and central

    Pacific.The study does not make claims about the net effect on Atlantic and

    East Pacific hurricanes of the warming and moistening atmospheres, and the

    model-projected increases in Atlantic wind shear. A substantially higher risk

    of extreme weather does not necessarily mean a noticeably greater risk of

    slightly-above-average weather.However, the evidence is clear that severe

    weather and moderate rainfall are also increasing. Increases in temperature

    are expected to produce more intense convection over land and a higher

    frequency of themost severe storms.

    Stephen Mwakifwamba, national co-ordinator of the Centre for Energy,

    Environment,Science and Technology which prepared the Tanzanian

    government's climate change report to the UN says that change is

    happening in Tanzania right now. "In the past, we had a drought about every

    10 years", he says. "Now we just don't know when they will come. They are

    more frequent, but then so are floods. The climate is far less predictable. We

    might have floods in May or droughts every three years. Upland areas, which

    were

  • 8/14/2019 man now endagered species:Global Warming

    10/24

    never affected by mosquitoes, now are. Water levels are decreasing every

    day. The rains come at the wrong time for farmers and it is leading to many

    problems"

    Greg Holland, director of the Mesoscale and Microscale Meteorology Division

    at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, said

    on April 24, 2006, "The hurricanes we are seeing are indeed a direct result of

    climate change," and that the wind and warmer water conditions that fuel

    storms when they form in the Caribbean are, "increasingly due to

    greenhouse gases. There seems to be no other conclusion you can logically

    draw." Holland said, "The large bulk of the scientific community say what we

    are seeing now is linked directly to greenhouse gases."

    Over the course of the 20th century, evaporation rates have reduced

    worldwide ; this is thought by many to be explained by global dimming. As

    the climate grows warmer andthe causes of global dimming are reduced,

    evaporation will increase due to warmer oceans. Because the world is a

    closed system this will cause heavier rainfall, with more erosion. This

    erosion, in turn, can in vulnerable tropical areas (especially in Africa) lead to

    desertification. On the other hand, in other areas, increased rainfall lead to

    growth of forests in dry desert areas. Scientists have found evidence that

    increased evaporation could result in more extreme weather as global

    warming progresses. The IPCC Third Annual Report says: "...global average

    water vapor concentration and precipitation are projected to increase during

    the 21st century. By the second half of the 21st century, it is likely that

  • 8/14/2019 man now endagered species:Global Warming

    11/24

    precipitation will have increased over northern mid- to high latitudes and

    Antarctica in winter. At low latitudes there are both regional increases and

    decreases over land areas. Larger year to year variations in precipitation are

    very likely over most areas where an increase in mean precipitation is

    projected."

    In the northern hemisphere, the southern part of the Arctic region

    (home to 4,000,000 people) has experienced a temperature rise of 1 C to 3

    C (1.8 F to 5.4 F) over the last 50 years. Canada, Alaska and Russia are

    experiencing initial melting of permafrost. This may disrupt ecosystems and

    by increasing bacterial activity in the soil lead to these areas becoming

    carbon sources instead of carbon sinks . A study (published in Science) of

    changes to eastern Siberia's permafrost suggests that it is gradually

    disappearing in the southern regions, leading to the loss of nearly 11% of

    Siberia's nearly 11,000 lakes since 1971 . At the same time, western Siberia

    is at the initial stage where melting permafrost is creating new lakes, which

    will eventually start disappearing as in the east. Furthermore, permafrost

    melting will eventually cause methane release from melting permafrost peat

    bogs. Hurricanes were thought to be an entirely North Atlantic phenomenon.

    In late March 2004, the first Atlantic cyclone to form south of the equator hit

    Brazil with 40 m/s (144 km/h) winds, although some Brazilian meteorologists

    deny that it was a hurricane. Monitoring systems may have to be extended

    1,600 km (1,000 miles) further south. There is no agreement as to whether

    this hurricane is linked to climate change,but one climate model exhibits

  • 8/14/2019 man now endagered species:Global Warming

    12/24

    increased tropical cyclone genesis in the South Atlantic under global

    warming by the end of the 21st century.

    The loss of glaciers not only directly causes landslides, flash floods and

    glacial lake overflow,but also increases annual variation in water flows in

    rivers. Glacier runoff declines in the summer as glaciers decrease in size, this

    decline is already observable in several regions. Glaciers retain water on

    mountains in high precipitation years, since the snow cover accumulating on

    glaciers protects the ice from melting. In warmer and drier years, glaciers

    offset the lower precipitation amounts with a higher meltwater input. Of

    particular importance are the Hindu Kush and Himalayan glacial melts that

    comprise the principal dry-season water source of many of the major rivers

    of the Central, South, East and Southeast Asian mainland. Increased melting

    would cause greater flow for several decades, after which "some areas of the

    most populated regions on Earth are likely to 'run out of water'" as source

    glaciers are depleted.

    According to a UN climate report, the Himalayan glaciers that are the

    sources of Asia's biggest riversGanges, Indus, Brahmaputra, Yangtze,

    Mekong, Salween and Yellow could disappear by 2035 as temperatures

    rise. Approximately 2.4 billion people live in the drainage basin of the

    Himalayan rivers.India, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar

    could experience floods followed by droughts in coming decades. In India

    alone, the Ganges provides water for drinking and farming for more than 500

    million people.It has to be acknowledged, however, that increased seasonal

  • 8/14/2019 man now endagered species:Global Warming

    13/24

    runoff of Himalayan glaciers led to increased agricultural production in

    northern India throughout the 20th century.

    The recession of mountain glaciers, notably in Western North America,

    Franz-Josef Land, Asia, the Alps, the Pyrenees, Indonesia and Africa, and

    tropical and sub-tropical regions of South America, has been used to provide

    qualitative support to the rise in global temperatures since the late 19th

    century. Many glaciers are being lost to melting further raising concerns

    about future local water resources in these glacierized areas. The Lewis

    Glacier, North Cascades pictured at right after melting away in 1990 is one of

    the 47 North Cascade glaciers observed and all are retreating.

    The role of the oceans in global warming is a complex one. The oceans

    serve as a sink for carbon dioxide, taking up much that would otherwise

    remain in the atmosphere, but increased levels of CO2 have led to ocean

    acidification. Furthermore, as the temperature of the oceans increases, they

    become less able to absorb excess CO2. Global warming is projected to have

    a number of effects on the oceans. Ongoing effects include rising sea levels

    due to thermal expansion and melting of glaciers and ice sheets, and

    warming of the ocean surface, leading to increased temperature

    stratification. Other possible effects include large-scale changes in ocean

    circulation.

    From 1961 to 2003, the global ocean temperature has risen by 0.10C

    from the surface to a depth of 700 m. There is variability both year-to-year

    and over longer time scales, with global ocean heat content observations

  • 8/14/2019 man now endagered species:Global Warming

    14/24

    showing high rates of warming for 1991 to 2003, but some cooling from 2003

    to 2007.The temperature of the Antarctic Southern Ocean rose by 0.17 C

    (0.31 F) between the 1950s and the 1980s, nearly twice the rate for the

    world's oceans as a whole . As well as having effects on ecosystems (e.g. by

    melting). sea ice, affecting algae that grow on its underside), warming

    reduces the ocean's ability to absorb CO2.

    The worlds oceans soak up much of the carbon dioxide produced by

    living organisms, either as dissolved gas, or in the skeletons of tiny marine

    creatures that fall to the bottom to become chalk or limestone. Oceans

    currently absorb about one tonne of CO2 per person per year. It is estimated

    that the oceans have absorbed around half of all CO2 generated by human

    activities since 1800 (118 19 petagrams of carbon from 1800 to 1994).

    But in water, carbon dioxide becomes a weak carbonic acid, and the

    increase in the greenhouse gas since the industrial revolution has already

    lowered the average pH (the laboratory measure of acidity) of seawater by

    0.1 units, to 8.2. Predicted emissions could lower it by a further 0.5 by 2100,

    to a level probably not seen for hundreds of millennia and, critically, at a rate

    of change probably 100 times greater than at any time over this period.

    Widespread shifts might occur in the natural habitats of animals

    and plants. Many species would have difficulty surviving in the regions

    they now inhabit. For example, many flowering plants will not bloom

    without a sufficient period of winter cold. And human occupation has

  • 8/14/2019 man now endagered species:Global Warming

    15/24

    altered the landscape in ways that would make new habitats hard to

    reach or unavailable altogether.

    Continued global warming might, over centuries, melt large

    amounts of ice from a vast sheet that covers most of West Antarctica.

    As a result, the sea level would rise throughout the world. Many coastal

    areas would experience flooding, erosion, a loss of wetlands, and an

    entry of seawater into freshwater areas. High sea levels would

    submerge some coastal cities, small island nations, and other

    inhabited regions. Sparse records indicate that glaciers have been

    retreating since the early 1800s. In the 1950s measurements began that

    allow the monitoring ofglacial mass balance, reported to the WGMS and the

    NSIDC.

    Tropical diseases, such as malaria and dengue, might spread to

    larger regions. Longer-lasting and more intense heat waves could

    cause more deaths and illnesses. Floods and droughts could increase

    hunger and malnutrition.

    Canada and parts of Russia might benefit from an increase in

    crop yields. But any increases in yields could be more than offset by

    decreases caused by drought and higher temperatures -- particularly if

    the amount of warming were more than a few degrees Celsius. Yields

    in the tropics might fall disastrously because temperatures there are

    already almost as high as many crop plants

  • 8/14/2019 man now endagered species:Global Warming

    16/24

    can tolerate.

    Green plants absorb CO2 from the atmosphere as they grow.

    They combine carbon from CO2 with hydrogen to make simple sugars,

    which they store in their tissues. After plants die, their bodies decay

    and release CO2. Ecosystems with abundant plant life, such as forests

    and even cropland, could tie up much carbon. However, future

    generations of people would have to keep the

    ecosystems intact. Otherwise, the sequestered carbon would reenter

    the atmosphere as CO2.

    There is some speculation that global warming could, via a shutdown

    or slowdown of the thermohaline circulation, trigger localized cooling in the

    North Atlantic and lead to cooling or lesser warming, in that region. This

    would affect in particular areas like Scandinavia and Britain that are warmed

    by the North Atlantic drift. More significantly, it could lead to an oceanic

    anoxic event.

    The chances of this near-term collapse of the circulation are unclear;

    there is some evidence for the short-term stability of the Gulf Stream and

    possible weakening of the North Atlantic drift. However, the degree of

    weakening, and whether it will be sufficient to shut down the circulation, is

    under debate. As yet, no cooling has been found in northern Europe or

    nearby seas.

  • 8/14/2019 man now endagered species:Global Warming

    17/24

    By far the largest amount of political time and effort has gone

    into reducing in greenhouse gas emissions, principally through the

    Kyoto protocol. These efforts have been largely unsuccessful. Other

    approaches include carbon sequestration and certain geoengineering

    techniques. The world's primary international agreement on combating

    global warming is the Kyoto Protocol, an amendment to the UNFCCC

    negotiated in 1997. The Protocol now covers more than 160 countries

    globally and over 55 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Only

    the United States and Kazakhstan have not ratified the treaty, with the

    United States historically being the world's largest emitter of

    greenhouse gases. This treaty expires in 2012, and international talks

    began in May 2007 on a future treaty to succeed the current one. Many

    environmental groups encourage individual action against global

    warming, often by the consumer, but also by community and regional

    organizations. Others have suggested a quota on worldwide fossil fuel

    production, citing a direct link between fossil fuel production and CO2

    emissions. There has also been business action on climate change,

    including efforts at increased energy efficiency and limited moves

    towards use of alternative fuels. In January 2005 the European Union

    introduced its European Union Emission Trading Scheme, a greenhouse

    gas emissions trading scheme through which companies, in

  • 8/14/2019 man now endagered species:Global Warming

    18/24

    conjunction with government, agree to cap their emissions or to

    purchase credits from those below their allowances. Australia

    announced its Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme in 2008. United

    States President Barack Obama has announced he will introduce an

    economy wide cap and trade scheme. The IPCC's Working Group III is

    responsible for crafting reports that deal with the mitigation of global

    warming and analyzing the costs and benefits of different approaches.

    In the 2007 IPCC Fourth Assessment Report, they conclude that no one

    technology or sector can be completely responsible for mitigating

    future warming. They find there are key practices and technologies in

    various sectors, such as energy supply, transportation, industry, and

    agriculture, which should be implemented to reduced global emissions.

    They estimate that stabilization of carbon dioxide equivalent between

    445 and 710 ppm

    by 2030 will result in between a 0.6 percent increase and three

    percent decrease in global gross domestic product.

    Geo-engineering would involve the deliberate modification of

    Earth's environment on a large scale "to suit human needs and

    promote habitability". It can be divided two major approaches. The first

    is remediation, in which greenhouse gases would be removed from the

    atmosphere, principally by carbon sequestration methods such as air

  • 8/14/2019 man now endagered species:Global Warming

    19/24

    capture. The second is solar radiation management, in which incoming

    solar radiation would be reduced, such as by the insertion of

    stratospheric sulfur aerosols. The slow pace of action to reduce

    greenhouse gas emissions have led some scientists to suggest that

    these techniques may be necessary. Whilst some cool roof and tree

    planting projects are underway, no planetary-scale geo-engineering

    has yet been attempted.

    The effects of global warming are wide in their scope, and a

    similarly wide variety of measures have been suggested for adaptation

    to global warming. These range from the trivial, such as the installation

    of air-conditioning equipment, up to major infrastructure projects, such

    as abandonment of settlements threatened by rising sea levels.

    Measures including water conservation, changes to agricultural

    practices, construction of flood defenses, changes to medical care, and

    interventions to protect threatened species have all been suggested. A

    wide ranging study of the possible opportunities for adaptation of

    infrastructure has been published by the Institute of Mechanical

    Engineers

    Solar Towers can be constructed to power an entire city. The tower has

    photo-sensitive cells on all sides .The tower is surrounded by mirrors ;The

    cost of such towers is too steep, hence it has become a challenge for

    engineers;The only technology comparable inefficiency of conversion of

  • 8/14/2019 man now endagered species:Global Warming

    20/24

    sunlight is the solar engine running on high-temperature heat, produced by a

    solar concentrator (a focusing trough or dish). This technology was

    commercialized for a brief time not very long ago with the help of subsidies

    and will probably return. Portable Solar Chargers :These small size chargers

    are handy and portable ;They can fit into your pocket and charge everything

    from mobile phones to ipods ;Wind Energy: Wind powergrowing globally for

    the past decade at about 30 percent per yearis playing a substantial role in

    several countries, notably Germany and Denmark;The spaces between

    turbines on land can be used in many ways, including for agriculture and

    grazing;To be practical for large-scale use in electrical grids, intermittent

    renewable energy sources are best combined with energy storage

    technologies as well as energy supply technologies that can fluctuate in

    output yet can also operate a large fraction of the time;Vertical Farms: With

    increase in urbanization arable land is decreasing quickly;A Feasible solution

    for the future is construction of vertical farms which will solve the problem of

    food scarcity for under developed nations and provide clean air at the same

    time; The construction of such farms will be a civil engineering challenge but

    its results will be phenomenal;Cloud seeding;A fleet of unmanned , self

    propelled vessels crossing the worlds oceans and seeding clouds by misting

    sea water high into the air has been proposed to reduce sunlight and hence

    global warming;Just a thousand ships like these (called the albedo yachts by

    the designers) will check temperature rise due to global CO2 doubling

    .Scientists still have to determine the side effects on the rain cycle due to

  • 8/14/2019 man now endagered species:Global Warming

    21/24

    excess clouds; Blackle is a custom whose screen is predominantly

    black;Saves fair bit of energy due to its popularity, 750 Megawatt to be

    precise;According to the website the site has saved around 413,523.067 watt

    hours till date;CO2 gobbling Plankton: By adding nutrients like iron or urea

    ,or by pumping deep-sea water to the ocean surface ,ocean fertilizers could

    stimulate CO 2 gobbling plankton blooms ,like the natural red tides in New

    Zealand;Bio-fuels: The extra plankton produced by artificial means can be

    put to good use due to a new development in the technology used for

    producing bio-fuels from algae;Carbon capture and storage; Carbon capture

    and storage (CCS) is a plan to mitigate climate change by capturing carbon

    dioxide (CO2) from large point sources such as power plants and

    subsequently storing it away safely instead of releasing it into the

    atmosphere. Technology for capturing of CO2 is already commercially

    available for large CO2 emitters, such as power plants. Storage of CO2, on

    the other hand is a relatively untried concept and as yet (2007) no

    powerplant operates with a full carbon capture and storage system;Carbon

    storage;Acid gas injections in Alberta, Canada, As a sulfur disposal strategy

    co-store hydrogen sulphide & carbondioxide;Studying cement seals in old

    wells ;clarifies risks of CO2 leakage underground.Advantages of carbon

    storage: CCS applied to a modern conventional power plant could reduce

    CO2 emissions to the atmosphere by approximately 80-90% compared to a

    plant without CCS. Storage of the CO2 is envisaged either in deep geological

    formations, deep oceans, or in the form of mineral carbonates. Geological

    http://../wiki/Carbon_dioxidehttp://../wiki/Carbon_dioxidehttp://../wiki/Geological_formationhttp://../wiki/Geological_formationhttp://../wiki/Oceanhttp://../wiki/Carbonate_mineralhttp://../wiki/Geological_formationhttp://../wiki/Geological_formationhttp://../wiki/Oceanhttp://../wiki/Carbonate_mineralhttp://../wiki/Carbon_dioxidehttp://../wiki/Carbon_dioxide
  • 8/14/2019 man now endagered species:Global Warming

    22/24

    formations are currently considered the most promising, and these are

    estimated to have a storage capacity of at least 2000 Gt CO2. IPCC (Inter

    governmental Panel on Climate Change) estimates that the economic

    potential of CCS could be between 10% and 55% of the total carbon

    mitigation effort until year 2100;Enhanced natural Sinks:Enhancing natural

    sinks entails fostering the biological absorption of carbon and increasing its

    storage above and below the ground by, for example, reducing

    deforestation, creating new forest plantations on non-forested land, or

    expanding conservation tillage;Conversion of natural vegetation annually

    tilled cropland has resulted in the loss of more than 50 billion tons of carbon

    from the worlds soils over historical time;Modifying agricultural

    practices;The world could take some pressure off the energy system by

    modifying the agricultural practices on nearly one-fifth of all cropland to

    bring about conservation tillage;It could create 60 million hectares of

    sustainable plantations on nonforested land and set a new course to

    eliminate tropical deforestation within 50 years.

    What can We do as ordinary individuals help in this global chaos? Our

    simple things mean a lot. What difference can we make? When faced

    with this question, individuals should recognize that, collectively, they

    can make a difference. Think back to the days before recycling became

    popular when everyone threw everything out in the trash. In less

    than 20 years, most households have gone from recycling little to

    http://../wiki/Gigatonhttp://../wiki/Intergovernmental_Panel_on_Climate_Changehttp://../wiki/Gigatonhttp://../wiki/Intergovernmental_Panel_on_Climate_Change
  • 8/14/2019 man now endagered species:Global Warming

    23/24

    nothing to recycling newspapers, plastics, glass and metal. Many

    businesses recycle paper and buy recycled products and many

    industries practice source reduction in their packaging efforts. An

    entire mindset has changed in one generation! Taking action on global

    warming or climate change is similar. In some cases, it only takes a

    little change in lifestyle and behavior to make some big changes in

    greenhouse gas reductions. For other types of actions, the changes are

    more significant. When that action is multiplied by the 6 billion people

    worldwide, the savings are significant. First reduce what you can and

    join one or more environmental organizations that fight for you and

    your environment. Volunteer your time and talk to people about the

    importance of climate change and the effects that it would have on our

    environment. You dont have to wait until you are grown to do

    something about global warming. Scientists agree that the burning of

    fossil fuels is causing global warming. Since these fuels are burned for

    energy, and everyone uses energy, everyone can help stop global

    warming just by using less energy. Think about the things you do each

    day that use energy. The lights in your house use electricity. The TV

    and computer use electricity. The washing machine, dishwasher and

    dryer all use gas or electricity. Every time you ride in your car, it uses

    gasoline. There are some very simple things that everyone can do to

  • 8/14/2019 man now endagered species:Global Warming

    24/24

    help stop global warming: Turn off the lights when you leave a room,

    use fluorescent bulbs; Plant trees and avoid cutting tress; Turn off your

    computer or the TV when youre not using it, theTV even in standby

    mode uses considerable amount of power; Wait until you have a lot of

    clothes to wash before using the washing machine; Dont use the

    machine for one item just because its your favorite shirt. Take shorter

    showers. Heating water uses energy; Close the blinds on a hot day if

    the sun is shining in; Dress lightly instead of turning up the air

    conditioning. Or use a fan; Walk short distances instead of asking for a

    ride in a car; Try using public transport instead of using private

    vehicles; Dress warmly when its cold, instead of turning up the heat.

    Offer to help your parents keep the air filters on your AC and furnace

    clean; Bury leaves and other biodegradable substances instead of

    burning them Recycle: this would not only help to reduce pollution but

    also to save money ;Use environment-friendly items. Sometimes they

    may be a little bit more expensive, but they do not contribute to

    pollution and Share this list!

    We can take an Action now before its to late.We can Heal and help

    (Heal-p )this ailing environment .The decision is all yours..