global warming?

The issue of global warming, and climate change in general, is not a simple one. We are
bombarded with headlines which often seem baffling and incompatible. These views are
frequently backed up by science and scientists. So, how can experts think so differently
about one subject?

The thing to realise is that these are just opinions about potential scenarios and that
nothing is certain. One thing is generally agreed upon, however: The world is getting
warmer. The question is how much of this is due to nature and how much is due to man's
influence.

Climate change & the greenhouse effect

Weather conditions – in any given place – will vary from day to day and year to year but
will generally stay in certain parameters over a long period of time. These parameters we
call 'climate'. When we think about the issue of climate change, we frequently refer to the
term 'the greenhouse effect'. Though it would be easy to think so, the greenhouse effect is
actually a good thing for us, the problem may be, however, that we are changing the
elements of the greenhouse effect.

The greenhouse effect occurs when atmospheric gases around the earth (greenhouse
gases) allow us to receive more heat from the sun than is lost back into space. This makes
the surface of the earth 30 – 35C warmer than it would otherwise be, therefore making it
habitable for us. The issue is that levels of gases responsible for the greenhouse effect are
changing.

Causes of global warming

Consensus has it that carbon dioxide contributes most to the changes in greenhouse gases,
with production of carbon dioxide (CO2) increasing significantly since the industrial
revolution. Other greenhouse gases include Nitrous Oxide, Methane, manmade CFCs and
Ozone, the problem being that these gases can remain in the atmosphere for decades.
Through the use of fossil fuels (coal, gas and oil) by heavy industry, and through usages
such as human transport, etc emissions of all of these gases has increased.

Evidence of global warming

Since records began, 8 out of ten of the hottest years have been in the last decade. This
has led to ice caps melting and decreasing snow cover. There have been hotter time
millions of years ago, but this is the most rapid rise in temperatures since the end of the
last ice age.
Many organisations have used climate modelling to try to predict the consequences of
global warmings and the impact on our planet. Some predictions suggest that global
temperature will rise by 3 degrees C over 100 years, and that sea levels will continue to
rise. The implications are enormous

The Definition of Global Warming:

There are various definitions available for global warming, here are a few
that we think are particularly good.

From Wikipedia:

Global warming is the increase in the average temperature of the Earth's

near-surface air and the oceans since the mid-twentieth century and its
projected continuation. Global surface temperature increased 0.74 ± 0.18 °C
(1.33 ± 0.32 °F) during the 100 years ending in 2005.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes that

anthropogenic greenhouse gases are responsible for most of the observed
temperature increase since the middle of the twentieth century, and that
natural phenomena such as solar variation and volcanoes probably had a
small warming effect from pre-industrial times to 1950 and a small cooling
effect afterward. These basic conclusions have been endorsed by more than
40 scientific societies and academies of science, including all of the national
academies of science of the major industrialized countries.

WHAT IS GLOBAL WARMING?

Global warming refers to the well-documented increase of global temperatures. The
majority of scientists agree that most of the observed warming over the last 50 years is
likely to have been caused by human activities”. A small number of scientists still dispute
this. The precise degree to which humans have caused global warming is still under
debate as well.

Although global warming is sometimes used interchangeably with climate change, global
warming is more correctly one aspect of climate change.
Why are people so worried about GLOBAL
WARMING?
lready having serious impacts on humans and the environment in many ways. An
increase in global temperatures can in turn cause other changes, including a rising sea
level and changes in the amount and pattern of precipitation. These changes may
increase the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, such as floods,
droughts, heat waves, hurricanes, and tornados.

Other consequences include higher or lower agricultural yields, glacial retreat, reduced
summer stream flows, species extinctions and increased spread of disease. Warming is
expected to affect the number and magnitude of these events; however, it is difficult to
connect particular events to global warming.

Although most studies focus on the period up to 2100, warming (and sea level rise due
to thermal expansion) is expected to continue past then, since CO2 has an estimated
atmospheric lifetime of 50 to 200 years.

Many scientists are also concerned about feedback loops, where certain factors could
lead to greatly increased rates of global warming. One example are tundra landscapes.
As tundra melts, previously frozen plant matter can decay and release huge amounts of
CO2 into the atmosphere. As this warms the Earth, more tundra will melt and could lead
to a feedback loop in global warming.
Stop Global Warming
October 16th, 2009

Paul Arnold asked: More frequently we are being given reminders that we are living on a
fragile and volatile planet. Many of our natural resources have been processed to near
depletion. As the world population grows more land and resources are being used to cope
with the increase in demands and deforestation, this in turn [...]

Lets Stop Global Warming

Save Our Earth - Fight

Global Warming has 2 interconnected parts - the warming created by humans and
Natures response to counteract the warming. The releasing of Greenhouse Gases is the
human disregard for nature, nature responds by the creation of severe weather systems
and changes to weather patterns attempting to counter act the warming. The more
warming the hard the counter reaction is.
Basic Global Warming Information - Global Warming is a result of the
Greenhouse gases we are exhausting into the atmosphere. This may seems
strange but a global warming trend ends in an Ice Age. Nature is trying to
counteract the warming trend created by man, unfortunately nature takes a long
time to respond to the warming event and therefore over reacts resulting in too
much cooling.

When a small area starts to overheat nature sets off a counter response to cool
the area, hurricanes and tornadoes are good example of counter measures taken
by nature to an area that is overheating. This is also a good example of
overreaction; the larger the area the larger the counter response such as a
hurricane; the more intense the area is the more focused the response is such as
a tornado. When nature responds it is swift and violent.

Global Warming is not just 1 small area or region but it encompasses the entire
planet and nature is starting to respond, almost every day the News is reporting
extraordinary events related to the affects of Global Warming.

Global Warming has 2 parts as follows:

Part 1 The Human Factor - sunlight provides the heating of land, water and air. In
a normal balanced condition heat is collected during the day and at night a large
portion of this heat is radiated back into space. The Greenhouse gases create a
lens or blanket that prevents this heat from escaping into space. As the land and
water masses increase in temperature the melting of snow and ice occurs much
faster, this exposes more darker surfaces which absorb more heat and as less
heat is being allowed to escape this compound the Global Warming Effect.

Part 2 Mother Nature Responds. Nature responds to this heating by using

cooling methods to cool down the area, but in the case of Global Warming this
will encompass the entire planet, in attempting to cool down, the weather
patterns are severely changed in that very large areas will be covered by clouds,
these large areas of cloud cover serve a dual purpose; the clouds reflects
sunlight back into space, they are also heavy with moisture ready to unload at
any hot spot in the form of rain or snow. Thus cooling is taking place above and
below. This multiplies the cooling effect and by the time the planet has cooled
enough to reduce the cloud cover, a majority of the planet surface is covered with
large areas of white snow and ice reflecting the warming sunlight back into
space. This is the new beginning of an Ice Age.

In short summary the more we allow Greenhouse Gas into the atmosphere the
more heating will occur, the price we are going to pay is the push back response
from Mother Nature, the more we heat the higher the price or punishment we
must pay.

If you are one of the people who believe this will not happen soon and that by the
time it occurs we will have developed a solution, you are creating and excuse to
taking no action. The majority of our carbon emissions have occurred since 1945
and the Global Carbon emissions are increasing every year. The warning signs
are clearly present; we see it every day on the News. At the current rate of
Carbon emissions we will go past the point of no return in the next 20 to 50
years. You could still be alive to experience this event and most certainly your
children will.

There are solutions to dramatically slow the effects of Global Warming giving us
more time to completely stop exhausting the greenhouse gases. There is more
Global Warming Information and on practical pollution free alternate home energy
systems at the links within this article.

We already will be paying a price for the destruction we have done in the last 80
years and the payback is starting now. How much we are going to pay depends
on if we start now to reduce the greenhouse gases, the longer we wait the higher
the price.

What is Global Warming?

Global warming is the average increase in temperature near surface air of the Earth, over a
period of time.

The average temperature rose 0.5°C over the last 100 years and in some parts this figure is
double. It is estimated that during the 21st century the surface temperature will increase between
1.1 to 6.4°C.

What causes Global warming?

The Earth is surrounded by Greenhouse gases, the way we live today increases the release of
Greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases are water, vapour, Carbon Dioxide,
Methane, nitrous oxide, CFC’s and ozone. Any increase in these gases works as a blanket and
traps the sun’s heat and therefore increases the temperature.

What is the Greenhouse effect?

The suns radiation reaches the earth’s atmosphere, some of the radiation is reflected back into
space and some passes through the atmosphere and this increases the earth’s temperature.
Heat from the earth is then radiated back towards space, the greenhouse gases prevents some
of the heat from disappearing and therefore keeps the earth warmer.