Global Warming Events

Global warming is a phenomenon that is way beyond and over the level of awareness of the man on the street, but whose impact is felt by him wherever he is.in every nook around the world, in our very residences, in every geographical location in fact. Everyone is starting to feel its impact in our daily lives. Already there are indications of the sad plight of the earth's climate in some areas of the US that are blessed with very good climate.

There is ample evidence of the effects of a changing climate in California, for example. Records show that in the half century that passed, temperatures in winter and spring have been warmer. There has also been a recorded drop in the level of spring snow in low elevation to mid-elevation mountains. Blooms show up a couple of weeks earlier, while snowpacks are also melting earlier by 1 to 4 weeks. This is very much related to the worldwide increase of average temperatures by 1 degree Fahrenheit over the last 100 years. It is important to note that the US is the biggest contributor to air pollution that traps heat (CO2 emissions from cars, trucks and industrial plants) and causes global warming. Such kind of activities is projected to be the gauge at how much warmer the state's climate will become as it is also a scientifically projected that California temperatures will rise by 4.7 10.5 degrees Fahrenheit in this century. If state laws and Washington declarations prevail, emissions could be cut and consequently contain the temperature rise to around 3 to 5.6 degrees Fahrenheit.

In addition to warmer climate, continued abuse and misuse of the environment can cause corollary incidents of widespread wildfires, as well as reduced production and quality of agricultural harvest.

San Joaquin Valley, according to climatologists, may also bear the brunt of global warming. There are existing problems, like water shortage, that can be aggravated by climactic change. At present, South of Fresno for instance, gets only 8 inches of rain annually; the residents depend on the melting of Sierra Nevada's snowpack to compensate. But this will be where the main problem would lie with warmer temperatures, the Sierras may not be able to hold that much water anymore. This spells disaster for California's $32 billion agriculture industry. San Joaquin Valley produces nearly 50% of the US supply of fruits and vegetables, San Joaquin County ranking 5th in the countries total agriculture production.

This is a painful eye-opener; global warming hurts not only the physical environment, but also society and the economy. Worst of all realizations is: mildly put, it was initiated by human activities and it is perpetrated by human indifference. 

San Joaquin Valley may, for the most part of the year, be dry. Not the case for the area north of the valley. Higher sea levels (another dangerous consequence of global warming) would pose a danger for the Delta areas like Stockton and Sacramento. They stand the risk of being flooded, especially Stockton which is at sea level. Seawater seeping inland would destroy agriculture that thrives on fresh water.

Another consequence that is not as highly felt as the effect of global warming on water and land resources, is the effect of warmer temperatures on the quality of air. San Joaquin Valley will suffer from poorer air quality; as it is, it is shoulder to shoulder with LA and Houston in not so healthy air quality. 

These are no laughing matters. Foreseeing the dismal developments, state leaders are starting to legislate to address global warming concerns by cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Last year saw California as the very first state to implement a law limit emissions of these dangerous gasses. 

Concerned agencies are also actively advocate awareness of global warming and encourage helpful measures. The University of the Pacific continually conducts campaigns for the cause. Recycling is highly recommended anything from bottles, to cans, to paper. So is lesser driving and the use of fluorescent bulbs over incandescent ones. These are very simple solutions which can be easily done by everyone, but are usually overlooked and disregarded. If only everyone would stand up to the challenge now!

The Reasons Of Global Warming

The atmosphere and surface of the system is like a huge "glass house" so that the surface has always maintained a certain temperature, produced for human and other organisms living environment. In this system, both to solar radiation through the atmosphere and reach the ground, while ground radiation to prevent loss, we have the atmosphere of this effect on the ground called the atmospheric greenhouse effect. Greenhouse gases called "greenhouse gases", which allows free passage of solar radiation, while absorbing surface long-wave radiation issue. These gases are carbon dioxide, methane, chlorofluorocarbons, ozone, nitrogen oxides and steam, etc., most notably carbon dioxide. The past century the global climate is gradually warming, with the same time, atmospheric levels of greenhouse gases are rapidly increasing. Many scientists agree that emissions of greenhouse gases caused by a large number of aggravating the greenhouse effect may be the underlying causes of global warming.

Greenhouse gas emissions of human activities include: fossil fuel burning activities, all carbon dioxide emissions. In the fossil fuels, the highest carbon content of coal, oil second, and natural gas lower; fossil fuel gas during the mining of coal, natural gas leakage emissions of carbon dioxide and methane; cement, lime, chemical emissions from industrial processes such as carbon dioxide; paddy fields cattle and sheep and other ruminant methane emissions from the digestive process; land-use change to reduce the absorption of carbon dioxide; waste methane and nitrous oxide emissions. 

Human burning of coal, oil, natural gas and trees, a large amount of carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere, warming the earth after, so the carbon cycle imbalances, changes in the Earth's biosphere energy conversion form. Since the industrial revolution, atmospheric carbon dioxide increased by 25%, far more than scientists can survey the past 16 years out of all the historical record, and no signs of slowing down now.

The main causes of global warming is nearly a century of human heavy use of fossil fuels (such as coal, oil, etc.), large amounts of carbon dioxide emissions and other greenhouse gases. These greenhouse gases on the short-wave radiation from the sun with a high degree of permeability, while the long-wave radiation reflected from the Earth are highly absorbent, it is often said that the "greenhouse effect", leading to global warming.

The world is divided into boreal forest (northern) forests, temperate forests and tropical forest categories. According to experts, today's forest ecosystems, is the natural evolution after 8000 years has been gradually formed.

Today, all of the forests have become a large-scale exploitation of the logging industry goals. In the tropics, many of the forest is now gone in the past 50 years have been cut empty. Only from 1960 to 1990, there more than 450 million hectares of tropical forest were engulfed, the world's tropical forests account for 20% of the total area; have millions of hectares of tropical forest in the deforestation, farmland degradation and mineral exploitation.

Moreover, the global illegal logging and illegal timber products trade continues to increase, especially in countries with tropical forests and lax government enforcement of Russia and other countries. The international market for cheap wood products demand, has further exacerbated the situation.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, climate models, according to projections to the year 2100, estimated that global temperatures will rise by about 1.4-5.8 degrees Celsius (2.5-10.4 degrees Fahrenheit). According to this forecast, global temperature will occur over the past 10,000 years, has never been great changes, and thus the potential to bring significant global environmental impact.

Global Environment And Global Warming

The global environment is the entirety of our planets natural systems. It encompasses ecosystems, climate, geology, regional environments, and human societies and artificial environments. It can also be termed as Mother Nature or Mother Earth in a broader perspective. It can also be described simply as the state of our surroundings.

Global Warming

Global warming is the phenomenon of abnormal changes in the global environment because of continuously increasing temperatures of the Earths near-surface air and oceans. One of the main causes of global warming is the thinning of the ozone layer due to the release of ozone destructive chemicals in the atmosphere that breakdown the O2 particles of the said layer. Such occurrence is also known as ozone depletion.

The green house effect is also considered a major, if not the biggest contributor to global warming. The green house effect warms the earth by trapping the heat from the sun, preventing it from rising out of our atmosphere. Carbon monoxide and other pollutants make heat remain near the earths surface, similar to how a green house absorbs heat and prevents it from getting out.

Through the years, global warming has become synonymous with climate change because experts believe that of all the effects of the earth surface heating up, climate change is the most disturbing and dangerous. 

Abnormal amounts of rainfall occur all over the world because of the change in weather patterns brought about by changes in temperature. Days or even weeks equivalent of rain sometime pour down in a matter of hours. Such heavy rainfall can cause destructive floodings.

Abnormally high temperatures can also cause very high evaporation rates that lead to more frequent and longer lasting droughts. Such droughts can lead to famine and food shortage in some areas.

The rapid changes in temperature have caused more and stronger hurricanes and storms.

Another abnormal change in the global environment brought about by global warming is the rapid rising of sea levels. This is because abnormally high temperatures are melting the polar ice caps. Sea levels have already risen severely in the past decades and some countries are beginning to become submerged in water. Ocean waters in some regions have also become acidic and dangerous to life. Acidic waters coupled with high sea-surface temperatures have already claimed the life of over a quarter of the worlds known coral reefs.

Changes in the global environment due to climate change have caused sudden changes in the planets ecosystems. Hundreds of plant and animal species which have failed to adapt to the abrupt changes have already faced extinction.

Measures need to be taken now before even mankind is pushed to the brink of extinction. One move being pushed by the United Nations is the use of green sources of energy instead of the conventional ones that pollute the environment. Support for the sustainability industry is being called for and waste-to-energy processes are under extensive research and development. The newest discovery in green technologies is the biosphere gasification process which involves the efficient and eco-friendly conversion of solid wastes into green electricity.

Effects Of Global Warming On The Climate Of Europe

Living in the 21st century, we are familiar with the phenomenon of global warming. It is responsible for adversely affecting the climate and posing a serious threat to the social and economic development of countries across the world. Since Europe is located in the northern part of the globe, there are peculiar changes in its climate in the past decade. This article will provide details about global warming-caused weather changes on the continent. 

What is Global Warming?

To put it simply, it means that our Earths atmosphere and oceans are getting warmer each year. This is due to the rise in greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, which absorbs the heat of the sun more than the required amounts and causes our planet to get warmer. These gases are emitted because of human activities like pollution, deforestation and the likes. 

What Does It Do? 

Global warming has a very severe impact on our lives. It creates floods, droughts, famines and even devastating hurricanes. Its long-term impact is even worse: rising levels of seawater, extreme weather changes, unbalanced ecology, and a lot more. For instance, the weather forecast in London predicted in 2010 was that UK would experience the coldest winter to date, and one of the main reasons behind this was global warming. 

How Does It Affect Europe? 

Being in the temperate zone, Europe usually has extreme and dry climate with less rainfall. However, UK and Ireland are strongly influenced by the sea. Hence, their climate is more humid and erratic as compared to North America, which is located around the same latitude. 

But, global warming has changed this scenario considerably. The heat wave of 2003 and the chilly winters of 2010 have severely affected London, Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds weather, amongst others. As each year sees more erratic weather, there has been a significant loss in the national economy. Agriculture, tourism, and industrial development have really taken a hit. 

Studies show that as compared to the global average, Europe is warmer, and the last decade (2001-2010) has seen a rise of 1.2 degree Celsius as compared to the previous decade. It is predicted that along with other cities, Bristol weather is going to experience frequent extremes, including frost days, dry spells, and heat waves. This time around, they will be more intense and last for longer periods of time. 

This issue is affecting people on a very large scale and international norms are being put into place to ensure that companies reduce their carbon footprint. On an individual level we all need to do our bit to save the ecology.