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June 25th, 2002

If you read the newspaper, surf the net, or watch the evening news then you have heard a lot lately about global warming. Earlier this week, I linked to one of the more startling stories in The New York Times where Timothy Egan wrote an article about Alaska’s climate is which he stated that:

“The average temperature has risen dramatically in the past 30 years and where mosquitoes have shown up in normally frigid Barrow, the northernmost town in North America.

“Large portions of Alaska are melting and other strange things are happening. Just a few hours’ drive from Anchorage, a 1.6-million-hectare spruce forest has been killed by beetles. It is believed to be the largest loss of trees to insects ever recorded in North America. “Government scientists,” wrote Egan, “tied the event to rising temperatures, which allow the beetles to reproduce at twice their normal rate.”

“Meanwhile, enormous fires have been raging in bone-dry regions of western and south-western America. Fires whipped by high winds in Arizona have driven thousands of residents from their homes. In Colorado, which is enduring its worst drought in decades, residents have been trying to cope with at least five major fires, including the so-called Hayman fire, the largest in the state’s history.

“Big fires are becoming the rule. By late last week authorities reported that in the first six months of this year, nearly 800,000 hectares had burned or were burning in the US, which is almost twice the average of the past 10 years. Strange, indeed. Mosquitoes in northernmost Alaska. Much of the west and south-west ablaze. Extended droughts. Extreme heat waves.

“Can you blame global warming? The year 2001 was, globally, the second hottest on record. The hottest was 1998. Do you think, maybe, we should be paying more attention?”

Most of us assume correctly that global warming means the Earth is getting hotter, but why? What is really going on?

If we desire a positive future, we humans will need to really understand global warming so we can begin finding a solution. A good place to start is with this explanation from The WORLD GAME Institute.

What is Global Warming ?

Global Warming is the term used to describe the warming and changing of the Earth’s climate due to the buildup of certain heat-trapping, “greenhouse” gases in the atmosphere. Humanity has altered Earth’s natural climate controls, causing a warming process. Global temperatures have risen by at least .55 ∞C in the last century. Six of the ten hottest years of this century were found in the 1980s. Temperatures are expected to rise by at least .5 -1.5 ∞ C in the next half century as an after-effect of current gaseous build-ups.

Why is it dangerous?

BECAUSE a warmer Earth will cause agriculture to suffer. Record heat caused widespread crop loss and drought in 1988. Farmers on a warmer, drier earth will need to irrigate, a process which can increase salinity and waterlogging of soils, thereby decreasing soil quality. Because irrigation is the largest user of water in the world, it could cause water shortages and possibly water wars.
BECAUSE many plant and animal species, unable to withstand quick climate change, will face extinction.
BECAUSE a warmer Earth will adversely affect human welfare and safety. Incidences of heat attacks, respiratory disease and stroke will increase. Disease and pests are more likely to spread. Tropical storms, tornadoes, landslides, heatwaves and droughts will both increase in number and intensity. Air quality will become poorer.
BECAUSE coastal cities like Miami, New Orleans, Los Angeles and Bangkok will be flooded as ocean level rises due to melting glaciers.
BECAUSE as ocean levels rise, some inland drinking water sources will become contaminated by saltwater. Wetlands and coastal food stocks will be endangered.

The sun’s energy reaches the Earth as ultraviolet rays. This energy is either reflected by clouds back toward space, or absorbed by the Earth and later discharged as heat and infrared rays. Gases in the Earth’s atmosphere trap the exiting heat and infrared rays, making the Earth a warmer planet and thus able to sustain life. Because these gases absorb and trap heat inside the Earth’s atmosphere – a greenhouse’s glass traps the heat from the sun inside the greenhouse – they are called “greenhouse gases,” and their heating effect on the Earth is known as the “greenhouse effect.”

The dominant greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide(CO2); methane(CH4); nitrous oxide (N2O); water vapors(H2O); chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs); and the tropospheric ozones (O3)found in urban smog.

Contribution of Greenhouse Gases to Global Warming

Carbon dioxide is a colorless natural gas formed in animal respiration, and in the combustion and decomposition of organic substances. It is created by cars, factories, agricultural activities, and fossil fuel burning. Fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas are our main sources of energy. Much of the electricity we use is produced through the burning of coal. The burning of coal generates especially great amounts of CO2. Thus waste and inefficiencies in either the supply or use of energy, such as coal, causes high emission levels of CO2. Deforestation is responsible for 20% of current CO2 released.
Methane is a colorless, odorless flammable natural gas produced through wood burning, livestock raising, and rotting of organic material in bogs, wetlands, rice paddies and landfills.
Nitrous oxide (or laughing gas) is produced through coal burning, bacterial action, soil microbes digestion, and use of chemical fertilizers and aerosols.

7 Countries with Highest Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are synthetic gaseous compounds used in air conditioning and refrigeration, used as blowing agents for packing materials and foam containers, and used as cleaning agents for electric parts. Aerosols once accounted for 50% of all CFC used. Halons, similar to CFCs, are found in air conditioners.

CFCs are 20,000 times more capable of trapping heat than carbon dioxide, and have the fastest growth rate of all greenhouse gasses.

The level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has changed many times in the past, giving rise to changes in average temperature levels. These temperature changes occurred over long periods of time forcing evolutionary changes in plants and animals. Prehistoric ages are classified according to their climate and the resulting plant and animal life. There have been 35 ice ages and warmings on Earth so far.

Currently, man is artificially raising the level of greenhouse gases, forcing the average global temperature to rise at a faster pace than ever before. We are already committed to a .5 ∞ to 1.5 ∞C increase in average global temperature due to build-up of current emissions. If current rates continue average global temperatures will rise between 1 ∞ and 5 ∞ C. Seemingly small, this will create a dramatic effect. North America was covered by ice when the average temperature was only 5 ∞C colder. Silly picture

Higher average temperatures will cause evolutionary changes in plant and animal life, and change many facets of life including farming, forestry, fishing, and transportation. However, the exact nature of future changes are under debate due to the complexity of the subject matter. Increased heating of the earth’s surface will lead to increased evaporation and thus precipitation in northern high-latitude areas, even while precipitation in southern, low-latitude areas declines. Regional vegetation and animal life will change. Some fertile fields will become deserts while some northern lands will become usable for crop production. The temperature change may kill plant and animal life before they evolve or adapt to their new environment. A warmer and wetter atmosphere could lead to more frequent and more intense tropical storms. Twenty percent of the world’s population lives on lands likely to be dramatically changed by rising water levels and tropical storms.

Humans have been increasing the amounts of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere through inefficient and thoughtless use of energy sources and natural resources. Human activity accounts for 27 billion tons of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere each year. The atmospheric concentration of CO2 has increased by 10% since 1958, and by 25% since 1800s.

Meanwhile the environment’s ability to absorb excess carbon dioxide is reduced by the destruction of the forests.

What can we do?

We can reduce our level of greenhouse gas emissions without reducing our quality of life.

We can replace fossil fuels with renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, or geothermal energy.
We can take energy saving measures in our homes. It is estimated that 40- 70% of all home heating expenditures are wasted due to leaky windows and doors, and lack of insulation.
We can increase the efficiency of our energy use through development of new transportation methods and more fuel efficient technology.
We can reforest areas damaged by deforestation.
We can cut back on aerosol use, which once accounted for 50% of all CFC production, and support development of CFC substitutes.

By changing our behavior, we can lower carbon emissions and decrease the amount of CFC’s in our atmosphere.

In America, where the average person generates twenty tons of carbon dioxide per year, your decision to bicycle or buy a fuel-efficient car will make a difference. By 2010 if we do nothing to improve the fuel efficiency of the world’s 350 million cars, carbon emissions will double. If, however, we limit the auto population to 500 million cars and improve fuel efficiency to 50 miles per gallon, atmospheric carbon will be halved.