Geology and Earth ScienceBBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Stark warning over climate change
BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Stark warning over climate change
Rising concentrations of greenhouse gases may have more serious impacts than previously believed, a major scientific report has said.
Rising concentrations of greenhouse gases may have more serious impacts than previously believed, a major scientific report has said.
6 Comments:
The enviroment is at a crucial point right now. For the past 150 years we have been dumping more and more greenhouse gases into our atmostphere on an increasing basis. ANd i admit that this was a needed step in the evolution of mechanics and engineering, it is time that we accept responsability and stop acting irresponsable. America produces more greenhouse gases then any other country, and we are also the country that is refusing to do its fair share to help cut down on gases in the Atsmosphere. It is a crime against humanity, and should be treated as such. We need to band together. Get rid of the huge trucks that your mother is driving around(Shes gonna kill someone eventually, so your just doing her a favor by putting her in a tiny toyota). It is time we all take up the call and start being more efficient, if we are not going to compleltly stop producing these gases we have to cut down, and it has to start NOW. all the gases we have put into our atmosphere has never even had a effect yet, we are only witnessing a part of the destruction we have caused at this point.
-chris wilson
"Rising concentrations of greenhouse gases may have more serious impacts than previously believed, a major scientific report has said". This is true; as humans have become more advanced we have built machines that spew harmful gases into our atmosphere. These gasses block solar rays from leaving our atmosphere ultimately heat up Earth has a whole. Also as these gases break up our ozone layer they allow ultra violet radiation to freely come though to earth causing increasing numbers of skin cancers and other sun related diseases. I think in the long run humans are a very adaptive species and will find new and inventive ways of solving the problems that will arise in the future. Also if underdeveloped and primitive humans could survive through ice ages and other major events, they can figure out how to stop global warming.
It is indeed a scary picture we are seeing around the bend of our modern day world and to be more proactive about solutions seems to fall short. It is also a battle I wage with myself, questioning certain realms of habit and so called necessity, whether it's driving to the corner (for some, it's driving to the mailbox) or leaving lights on, minimal and innocent litter or whatever falls into the category of a global footprint based on my carrying capacity as a human. It is in these daily shades of realization we should acknowledge that what we like to call essential to living can ultimately be detrimental to life. I simply cannot allow myself to fall victim to fire storms of aggression or sadness every time I see a hummer with one passenger drive by, because to be bitter of the fire does not shrink the flame. He or she simply either lacks the education/information that would surely shock any rational thinker who appreciates the earth in all of its aspects, so one must assume that this person is in fact the victim of absent knowledge, a lack of motivation to read up on what will effect his/her children. What DOES scare me is the possibility that this person in the hummer simply turns a cheek and admittedly does not care about the overabundant amount of toxic emissions his or her fortress on wheels is releasing into our atmosphere or the amount of gas it is guzzling, creating a pressure fold on gas prices all over. Now this hummer can serve as a metaphor for people that litter or people who use energy poorly, even people who vote against more eco-friendly methods of energy extraction other than burning coal in effort to save jobs and profits. We are getting down to the thin edge of possible "what ifs" that it is becoming a giant "when?" Will are kids even know what a glacier is? How many more storms will ravage the land as time progresses? When will we realize the responsibility sits square in our lap and we are in fact stretching out the ozone with our bare hands. My point in all this is general attitude and it's seemingly poor quality when it comes to the public. Creating more outlets to further education and to educate from every angle is paramount. If people are thinking to themselves "well, i'll be dead in a hundred years so it won't matter." That is a selfish thought pattern that will also rub off onto others very easily, and the truth is mother nature might just be turning her cheek to our crying and pleading sooner than we think.
I found this article very disturbing this is not the first time I have heard the phrase tipping point some people believe we are already there and some still choose to be in denial. As the worlds oil is being used up and becoming more and more expensive many developing countries such as China and India are building more coal-fired plants. These facilities burn coal and emit large quantities of carbon dioxide. In fact China’s coal needs will more than double by 2025 to keep up with their growing demands, the country also plans to convert coal to liquid motor fuel. It is believed that world wide consumption of will rise by 56% by 2025. China is not alone the United States currently burns more than a billion tons of coal a year and is planning to bring 40 new plants online by 2025. Of all fossil fuels, coal puts out the most carbon dioxide per unit of energy. So if something is not done to regulate power plant emissions on a global level I am afraid the outlook will be very grim.
What makes coal so bad is that carbon dioxide is only part of the problem, coal smoke produces sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides that cause acid rain. Mercury gets emitted in the exhaust, which reeks havoc on the wild life. Particulates from coal smoke can affect people who have heart and breathing disorders.
Energy conversion is not the only way these systems contribute to the problem of global warming. Coal mining has a devastating effect on the environment with controversial methods such as mountain top removal. Mountain top removal is a relatively new type of coal mining that involves clear cutting forests, using dynamite to blast away as much as 1000 feet of mountaintop. Mountaintop removal coal mining is widespread in West Virginia, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania. Compounds the problem. Remember trees take in large quantities of carbon dioxide and turn it into wood and in this process also produce oxygen. Both coal and oil also needs to be transported to the various power plants through out the country by truck or large tanker ships and this also causes emissions. So unless the United States and the rest of the world acknowledge that global warming is the most significant threat to us all the tipping point will be here sooner than you think and if things go on as is 2025 should be an interesting year
It's about time people started concerning themselves with issues other than what dress Paris Hilton is wearing and what version of the iPod is coming out next month. It would seem that to a certain degree people can finally talk about their interest in our environment without being called a green or a tree-hugger. Though I have found myself in situations where I've tried to explain to others how serious an issue global warming is only to find a blank face, someone rolling their eyes or an infuriatingly stupid smile aimed back at me. It's good to see that the idea of a serious apparent global problem is at least being flirted with. However, the real problem isn't that people aren't informed about global warming. It's that they simply don't care or choose to ignore the warnings. Unless global warming is melting the road in front of their house they'll continue not caring (for the most part). I'm relieved to see major "voices" on television and on the radio actually taking the time of day to point out that we have a serious problem on our hands that has to be dealt with now, it's just a shame that Rhode Island sized chunks of ice floating into the oceans and a catastrophic storm which destroyed a major American city were what it took for Time and Vanity Fair to put the issue on their front covers. And sure we may have a few decades before greenhouse gas emissions melt all the ice caps but is that any reason to wait? We can start right now and hopefully alleviate some of the urgency of the problem for our children and grandchildren. Also take into consideration that the original estimates of how long we had before global warming was a serious threat were wrong. The lack of white snow and ice to reflect some of the suns heat is heating up the planet even more, the higher temperatures melt the ice faster which allows more of the suns heat to linger. It's a self-sustaining problem, the "run-away greenhouse effect" some have dubbed it. The only solution I can see to this problem is a new wave of legislation with seriously harsher penalties. No longer should corporations be able to choose whether or not they will cut down on their greenhouse emissions, it should be mandatory. Some might argue that this could seriously hurt the economy...well my response would be there is no economy without the environment. Enough beating around the bush. We have to deal with global warming right away or else we can watch Europe freeze when the gulf stream is diluted and shuts down and the entire polar bear species drown without any ice to walk on. Maybe global warming isn't happening at all like some like to argue. It's better to be safe than sorry.
It's about time people started concerning themselves with issues other than what dress Paris Hilton is wearing and what version of the iPod is coming out next month. It would seem that to a certain degree people can finally talk about their interest in our environment without being called a green or a tree-hugger. Though I have found myself in situations where I've tried to explain to others how serious an issue global warming is only to find a blank face, someone rolling their eyes or an infuriatingly stupid smile aimed back at me. It's good to see that the idea of a serious apparent global problem is at least being flirted with. However, the real problem isn't that people aren't informed about global warming. It's that they simply don't care or choose to ignore the warnings. Unless global warming is melting the road in front of their house they'll continue not caring (for the most part). I'm relieved to see major "voices" on television and on the radio actually taking the time of day to point out that we have a serious problem on our hands that has to be dealt with now, it's just a shame that Rhode Island sized chunks of ice floating into the oceans and a catastrophic storm which destroyed a major American city were what it took for Time and Vanity Fair to put the issue on their front covers. And sure we may have a few decades before greenhouse gas emissions melt all the ice caps but is that any reason to wait? We can start right now and hopefully alleviate some of the urgency of the problem for our children and grandchildren. Also take into consideration that the original estimates of how long we had before global warming was a serious threat were wrong. The lack of white snow and ice to reflect some of the suns heat is heating up the planet even more, the higher temperatures melt the ice faster which allows more of the suns heat to linger. It's a self-sustaining problem, the "run-away greenhouse effect" some have dubbed it. The only solution I can see to this problem is a new wave of legislation with seriously harsher penalties. No longer should corporations be able to choose whether or not they will cut down on their greenhouse emissions, it should be mandatory. Some might argue that this could seriously hurt the economy...well my response would be there is no economy without the environment. Enough beating around the bush. We have to deal with global warming right away or else we can watch Europe freeze when the gulf stream is diluted and shuts down and the entire polar bear species drown without any ice to walk on. Maybe global warming isn't happening at all like some like to argue. It's better to be safe than sorry.
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