Owing to the overall rise in the temperature, the glaciers in the Antarctic region begin to melt which has increased the overall sea level. If this situation continues, many low-lying areas will submerge in the near future. Global warming also increases the occurrences of hurricanes.

There are many easy solutions to reduce global warming and its impact. First of all, people should understand the problem and take measures accordingly to save the world. 


  People should reduce the usage of electrical appliances which emits green house gases. For e.g. the refrigerator releases chloro fluro carbon (CFC) and the incandescent light lamp emits 300 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. This can be replaced by a compact fluorescent light bulb which saves much energy. 

  Follow RRR - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. People should not dump waste products on the ground. Plant products, food waste, vegetable dump undergoes anaerobic decomposition i.e. they break down to produce methane, a green house gas instead of oxygen. Hence the product usage and wastage should be reduced or recycled for a healthy atmosphere.


 Trees absorb a large amount of carbon dioxide. Many trees should be planted since they involve in photosynthesis, food preparation with the help of sunlight. During this process, trees absorb carbon dioxide and exhale oxygen. Also, existing forests should be saved and usage of plant byproducts should not be wasted.

 People should use only energy-efficient appliances. Thermostat should be used for air conditioners since it reduces the temperature automatically.

 Teach your neighborhood and friends about the cause and impacts of global warming and methods to reduce it. Conservation of forests also forms a factor to reduce global warming. Plant more trees and reduce the amount of paper used at homes and offices. Remember, every paper wasted, means 5 trees cut for nothing!

The major effects of global warming is the climatic change that is being absorbed on the earth. There are floods in the areas where the flood history is not very common. There are droughts in places, which were having good rainfall earlier. The atmosphere gets suddenly very harsh in the terms of cyclones and thunderstorms. The nature of earth's atmosphere is becoming even more unpredictable and hence a cause of attention. This in turn brings about a variation in the biological systems essentially the crops, forests, oceans, fresh waterways, and grasslands. As these are the building and breeding grounds of life, the life on earth is getting affected.
                                Then effect of Global Warming has been noticed in the behavior of the wild life. There has been extinction of various species due to global warming. Major changes are seen in the animals as they react to the warmer environment, which are caused due to global warming. A behavior pattern of the animals studied shows that the animals are beginning to shift their population towards north or towards a higher altitudes. A simple study that was made in the university of California on a small butterfly is enough to depict the changes in the availability of species in the warmer areas. A survey at one hundred and fifty one areas showed that the butterfly were getting less populated in the southern areas which were warmer as compared to the northern areas. Hence the butterflies have migrated from warm southern zone to cooler northern zone.



  The effect will be on the vegetation that is available on the earth surface. The tundra type of vegetation will turn to temperate, cold deciduous and evergreen type of forest. Woody plant population will tend to increase as a result of increased precipitation. There will be a drastic change in the type of vegetation available in the area, which will in turn effect the inhabitation of the area. 
species like golden toad, harlequin frog of Costa Rica has already become extinct. There are number of species that have a threat of disappearing soon as an effect of global warming. As an effect of global warming various new diseases have emerged lately. These diseases are occurring frequently due to the increase in earths average temperature since the bacteria can survive better in elevated temperatures and even multiplies faster when the conditions are favorable. The global warming is extending the distribution of mosquitoes due to the increase in humidity levels and their frequent growth in warmer atmosphere. Various diseases due to ebola, hanta and machupo virus are expected due to warmer climates. The global warming is expected to cause irreversible changes in the ecosystem and the behavior of animals. 



         The effects of global warming are very large in number and still there are so many that are still to be found out. But recently the problem has become visible and evident due to happening of the events that were before just talked off. 

Today, one of the most discussed and serious environmental issues is the ozone layer depletion, the layer of gas that forms a protective covering in the Earth's upper atmosphere. Ozone is formed when oxygen molecules absorb ultraviolet photons and undergo a chemical reaction known as photo dissociation or photolysis, where a single molecule of oxygen breaks down to two oxygen atoms. The free oxygen atom (O), then combines with an oxygen molecule (O2) and forms a molecule of ozone (O3). The ozone molecules, in turn absorb ultraviolet rays between 310 to 200 nm wavelength and thereby prevent these harmful radiations from entering the Earth's atmosphere. In the process, ozone molecules split up into a molecule of oxygen and an oxygen atom. The oxygen atom (O) again combines with the oxygen molecule (O2) to regenerate an ozone (O3) molecule. Thus, the total amount of ozone is maintained by this continuous process of destruction and regeneration. 
Ozone layer depletion first captured the attention of the whole world in the later half of 1970 and since then, many discussions and researches have been carried out to find out the possible effects and the causes of ozone depletion. Many studies have also been directed to find out a possible solution.

The cause of ozone depletion is the increase in the level of free radicals such as hydroxyl radicals, nitric oxide radicals and atomic chlorine and bromine. The most important compound, which accounts for almost 80% of the total depletion of ozone in the stratosphere are chlorofluorocarbons (CFC). These compounds are very stable in the lower atmosphere of the Earth, but in the stratosphere, they break down to release a free chlorine atom due to ultraviolet radiation. A free chlorine atom reacts with an ozone molecule (O3) and forms chlorine monoxide (ClO) and a molecule of oxygen. Now chlorine monoxide reacts with an ozone molecule to form a chlorine atom and two molecules of oxygen. The free chlorine molecule again reacts with ozone to form chlorine monoxide. The process continues and the result is the reduction or depletion of ozone in the stratosphere.

If you are wondering why is the ozone layer important, then the answer lies in the harmful effects of ultraviolet rays. The ozone layer is responsible for absorbing the ultraviolet rays and thereby preventing them from passing through the atmosphere of Earth. Ultraviolet rays of the Sun are associated with a number of health related and environmental issues. The most important of these is the association between ultraviolet rays and an increased risk of developing several types of skin cancers including malignant melanoma, basal and squamous cell carcinoma. Even the incidents of cortical cataracts can also increase significantly with the increased exposure to ultraviolet rays.

Another observation in this regard is that a decrease in the ozone in the stratosphere can lead to an increase in the ozone present in the lower atmosphere. Ozone present in the lower atmosphere is mainly regarded as a pollutant and a green house gas that can contribute to global warming and climate change. However, researches have pointed out that the lifespan of atmospheric ozone is quiet less as compared to stratospheric ozone. At the same time, increase in the surface level of ozone can enhance the ability of sunlight to synthesize vitamin D, which can be regarded as an important beneficial effect of ozone layer depletion.

The effects of ozone depletion are not limited to humans only, as it can affect animals and plants as well. It can affect important food crops like rice by adversely affecting cyanobacteria, which helps them absorb and utilize nitrogen properly. Phytoplankton, an important component of the marine food chain, can also be affected by ozone depletion. Studies in this regard have shown that ultraviolet rays can influence the survival rates of these microscopic organisms by affecting their orientation and mobility.

The increasing concern for the causes and effects of ozone depletion led to the adoption of the Montreal Protocol, in the year 1987, in order to reduce and control the industrial emission of chlorofluorocarbons. International agreements have succeeded to a great extent in reducing the emission of these compounds, however, more cooperation and understanding among all the countries of the world is required to mitigate the problem.


The UN declared 2010 the International Year of Biodiversity (IYB). Throughout the year countless initiatives will be organized to disseminate information, promote the protection of biodiversity and encourage organizations, institutions, companies and individuals to take direct action to reduce the constant loss of biological diversity worldwide. The celebrations for the International Year of Biodiversity are led by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Countdown 2010 is a partner of the CBD for the IYB.
In only a few years of activity, Countdown 2010 has been able to mobilize an increasing number of actors ranging from local authorities and businesses to civil society organizations. With a powerful network of nearly 1,100 partners, Countdown 2010 is one of the leading initiatives mobilizing action for the 2010 Target. Through its wide and well-established network, Countdown 2010 will be a key global actor for IYB in Europe and around the world. Countdown 2010 and its partners will provide one of the main information channels and will be a major vehicle for reaching target groups worldwide.

OBJECTIVES OF IYB:  

  • Raise awareness of the importance of conserving biodiversity for human well-being and promote understanding of the economic value of biodiversity
  • Enhance public knowledge of the threats to biodiversity and means to conserve it. 
  •  Encourage organizations (and through them individuals) to take direct or indirect biodiversity conservation activities.
    • Celebrate the achievements of Countdown 2010 partners and other stakeholders 
      •  Reporting on the possible failures for not achieving the Target  
      • Prepare the ground for communicating the post-2010 target(s)

      Glaciers are melting, sea levels are rising, cloud forests are drying, and wildlife is scrambling to keep pace. It's becoming clear that humans have caused most of the past century's warming by releasing heat-trapping gases as we power our modern lives. Called greenhouse gases, their levels are higher now than in the last 650,000 years.
      We call the result global warming, but it is causing a set of changes to the Earth's climate, or long-term weather patterns, that varies from place to place. As the Earth spins each day, the new heat swirls with it, picking up moisture over the oceans, rising here, settling there. It's changing the rhythms of climate that all living things have come to rely upon.
      What will we do to slow this warming? How will we cope with the changes we've already set into motion? While we struggle to figure it all out, the face of the Earth as we know it—coasts, forests, farms and snow-capped mountains—hangs in the balance.

      GREEN HOUSE EFFECT

      The "greenhouse effect" is the warming that happens when certain gases in Earth's atmosphere trap heat. These gases let in light but keep heat from escaping, like the glass walls of a greenhouse.
      First, sunlight shines onto the Earth's surface, where it is absorbed and then radiates back into the atmosphere as heat. In the atmosphere, “greenhouse” gases trap some of this heat, and the rest escapes into space. The more greenhouse gases are in the atmosphere, the more heat gets trapped.
      Scientists have known about the greenhouse effect since 1824, when Joseph Fourier calculated that the Earth would be much colder if it had no atmosphere. This greenhouse effect is what keeps the Earth's climate livable. Without it, the Earth's surface would be an average of about 60 degrees Fahrenheit cooler. In 1895, the Swedish chemist Svante Arrhenius discovered that humans could enhance the greenhouse effect by making carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas. He kicked off 100 years of climate research that has given us a sophisticated understanding of global warming.
      Levels of greenhouse gases (GHGs) have gone up and down over the Earth's history, but they have been fairly constant for the past few thousand years. Global average temperatures have stayed fairly constant over that time as well, until recently. Through the burning of fossil fuels and other GHG emissions, humans are enhancing the greenhouse effect and warming Earth.
      Scientists often use the term "climate change" instead of global warming. This is because as the Earth's average temperature climbs, winds and ocean currents move heat around the globe in ways that can cool some areas, warm others, and change the amount of rain and snow falling. As a result, the climate changes differently in different areas.


      SCIENTISTS TO FIGHT FOR AWARENESS

      Scientists all over the world are making predictions about the ill effects of Global warming and connecting some of the events that have taken place in the pat few decades as an alarm of global warming. The effect of global warming is increasing the average temperature of the earth. A rise in earth’s temperatures can in turn root to other alterations in the ecology, including an increasing sea level and modifying the quantity and pattern of rainfall. These modifications may boost the occurrence and concentration of severe climate events, such as floods, famines, heat waves, tornados, and twisters. Other consequences may comprise of higher or lower agricultural outputs, glacier melting, lesser summer stream flows, genus extinctions and rise in the ranges of disease vectors. As an effect of global warming species like golden toad, harlequin frog of Costa Rica has already become extinct. There are number of species that have a threat of disappearing soon as an effect of global warming. As an effect of global warming various new diseases have emerged lately. These diseases are occurring frequently due to the increase in earths average temperature since the bacteria can survive better in elevated temperatures and even multiplies faster when the conditions are favorable. The global warming is extending the distribution of mosquitoes due to the increase in humidity levels and their frequent growth in warmer atmosphere. Various diseases due to ebola, hanta and machupo virus are expected due to warmer climates. The marine life is also very sensitive to the increase in temperatures. The effect of global warming will definitely be seen on some species in the water. A survey was made in which the marine life reacted significantly to the changes in water temperatures. It is expected that many species will die off or become extinct due to the increase in the temperatures of the water, whereas various other species, which prefer warmer waters, will increase tremendously. Perhaps the most disturbing changes are expected in the coral reefs that are expected to die off as an effect of global warming. The global warming is expected to cause irreversible changes in the ecosystem and the behavior of animals. 

      Annual Greenhouse Gas Emissions


















      CAUSES OF GLOBAL WARMING

      Let us start our examination of Global warming with a study of its causes. Global warming is an overall state of existence that is the cumulative effect of hundreds of environmental factors. All of these join together in both a linear and random model to show global warming as a chain of events.
      Most modern attention to the problem of global warming began with discussion of depletion of the Earth’s Ozone layer. Ozone (O3) is a molecular form of Oxygen. The Ozone layer is a relatively thin strata of these molecules set in the lower portion of the Earth’s stratosphere.
      Depletion of the Earth’s Ozone layer has resulted in a large increase in Ultra Violet Radiation reaching the surface of the earth. Does this increase in UV rays equate to global warming? Not really. In fact most scientific opinion is that depletion of the Ozone layer results in cooling of both the stratosphere and troposphere. So why mention depletion of the Ozone layer as regards to global warming? Because it represents a needed balance between harmful radiation being allowed to reach the earth’s surface and our desire to stem the rapid increase in our air and water temperature. Remember, we are viewing global warming as a chain of events.

       MOST SIGNIFICANT CAUSE OF GLOBAL WARMING

      The primary cause of global warming is Carbon Dioxide emissions. CO2 is being pumped into our atmosphere at an insane pace; 8 billion tons of CO2 entered the air last year. Of course some of this is due to natural activity such as volcanic eruptions and people breathing. But the Earth is equipped to easily absorb those into the normal regenerative process. No, the beginning of global warming was caused by fossil fuels being burned and emitting plenty of CO2.
      Currently in the world 40% of all CO2 emissions are caused by power plants. These are burning coal, natural gas and diesel fuel. Some power plants burn garbage. Some burn methane made from garbage. And discounting those super green electrical generating plants designed to issue negligible pollutants, all of our power plants let loose into the atmosphere CO2.
      33% of all the CO2 sent forth is the product of cars and trucks. Internal combustion engines burning fossil fuels…gasoline and diesel spew forth a retching amount of CO2.
      3.5% of all CO2 emissions are released from aircraft traveling our friendly skies. Unfortunately, jets and other aircraft deliver their payload of pollutants directly into the troposphere.


      Clock

      Followers

      Powered by Blogger.

      Copyright 2009 - Think Green, Act Green, Go Green!

      Blogspot Theme designed by: Ray Creations, Ray Hosting.