Posts Tagged ‘greenhouse gases’

If we modern humans prove wise enough to recognize that carbon footprint reduction cannot reduce the current levels of CO2 in the atmosphere, and we do it soon – and if we also prove focused enough to begin scrubbing the greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, a project that will probably take five years for congress to realize there is a problem, another five to get started and more than ten to complete – if all of that happens, we will still be sorely tested by increasingly extreme weather which will continue to worsen for the entire twenty, maybe thirty years it takes to complete this work. Just how much our lives will be disrupted will be measured by how well we can prepare to manage the host of emergencies that must now be considered unavoidable.

In addition to avoiding and reducing human suffering – another primary purpose of this next emergency management scheme will be preventing, or at least delaying mass migrations of domestic populations. Migration, away from the regions hammered the hardest and longest by extreme weather is a bigger concern than the hardships imposed by bad weather. Consider the real possibility that hurricanes might become so frequent and intense that Gulf Coast populations, unable to insure their homes, watching property values drop, businesses moving elsewhere, tourism curtailed and a cascade of other worries, simply give up and decide to move away. It has already begun. The Gulf Coast population numbers 87 million and if only half move away, cities in less affected areas will be experiencing millions of eco-refugees showing up on their doorstep looking for a roof, a meal and a job. If the Southwest is stricken by drought and wildfire to the point that it becomes “just too much” then there are 20-25 million more of us on the move. The hazards of centralization and globalization become reality and the economic disruption is off the charts – the impact is felt everywhere.

Frequent, pre-hurricane mandatory evacuations, if they happen often enough – maybe 2 or 3 per year – could motivate migration after a just a few years. To prevent this, mass evacuations will need to change from what we have seen too often on TV. Twelve to fourteen hours creeping along in the car, screaming babies, no place to take a leak, or get a drink, or buy gas or food, unknown difficulty that waits at the unknown destination, lost income, lost family members – that has to stop if we are to keep these folks where they are. Then there’s the damage if the storm does hit. Government money and clever design resources can create employment doing built infrastructure hardening projects. Cadres of relocatable repair resources from neighboring regions that can move in to start the rebuilding the day the skies clear.

Given our shared experience with Katrina we should expect the federal response to the great emergencies of the future to be a confused, unprofessional and deeply disappointing exhibition of incompetence. The states, quick to appeal to the federal government for assistance as soon as the emergency overwhelms local resources have been slow to expand their capacity to respond. At this moment there does not appear to be anything to build on that inspires even minimal confidence.

(Peer reviewed research, supporting the claims made in this Factoid, can be found at the website shown below)

Rich Albertson is a retired lawyer, author, builder, building designer, carpenter and long time amateur naturalist. He lives in Portland, Oregon.

Albertson’s most recent book (2009), “The Sky is the Limit – A Brief and Easy Explanation of Climate Change for Present and Future Voters” (134pp), is an explanation of the science, economics, politics and a discussion of the future of climate change written for people of average experience. Climate Change Factoids are drawn from the book. His first book (1978), “The Bio-Conversion of Waste to Resource” (4 Vols, 2624pp), was a treatise on methods for the sustainable management of solid and liquid waste in urban society. More about the Sky is the Limit book can be found at http://www.thecircleworks.org

As a Naturalist, Albertson’s primary interest is to understand and then explain the conflicts that result from modern human practices that interfere with the operation of the natural world on a planetary scale.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/environment-articles/climate-change-factoid-emergency-management-18-of-a-series-1710638.html

Technorati Tags: coast population, economic disruption, extreme weather, greenhouse gases, mass migrations

Global warming is a natural phenomenon and has been taking place over years and years. Recently in last decade it has become threatening ad people are more aware about it. The reason is recently there has been a rise in the rate of global warming. Global warming primarily is the effect of greenhouse effect.

Let us understand what greenhouse effect is all about. The main source of light and natural energy to earth is sun.  Almost half of the sun’s energy in rays is absorbed by earth’s surface. Earth in return, radiates back this energy in form of infrared rays. Now, when this heat is absorbed by greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and gets trapped, it results in global warming.

Global warming is the increase in the temperature of earth and its surface all across. The main contributor of carbon dioxide in atmosphere is power plants. These power plants burn fossil fuels and coal to generate power. Burning coal is the main contributor of carbon dioxide. With rise in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere the gas absorbs more and more heat around and thus increases the global warming.

The major threat from global warming is global climate change. Climate change can be life threatening also if people living in that area are not able to cope up with it. Glaciers around the globe are melting. Melting glaciers actually means rise in the sea level. If we think about it, then the rise in sea level in itself can pose a lot of threats to human kind. First and foremost, it can be a dangerous thing for all the tows and places near coastal areas. The life of people at such places can be in danger. Secondly, with rise in sea water level, there is threat to the ground level. When mixed with ground water, sea water can be a threat to the drinking water. Scarcity of drinking water in itself can result in lot of chaos.

With change in climate around the world, there will be more of natural calamities. Natural calamities like floods, droughts, cyclones, volcanoes etc. World will suffer a lot if global warming is not fought against today itself. We can also decrease the effect of global warming by controlling it. It can be done by a lot of things which we as individuals can start at home. Things like planting more and more trees around. Planting more trees will not just help in avoiding soil erosion. It will also help in releasing live saving gas i.e. oxygen. Apart from this, trees also help us in controlling the greenhouse effect by absorbing greenhouse gases.

However, if we look around we hardly find people planting trees. We can easily find people who want to cut trees and use them or use that land. We should also avoid using paper and go for electronic media. This will save trees as well.

Usage of plastic bags results in garbage and when this garbage is burnt, it releases more harmful gases in the atmosphere.

Do you want to know more about Global Warming and related issues? If yes, then simply visit http://www.webgreenworld.com for getting latest news on Global Warming effects.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/environment-articles/threats-from-global-warming-1626933.html

Technorati Tags: global climate change, greenhouse gases, melting glaciers, natural calamities, water scarcity

The Chamber of Industries of Costa Rica (CICR) announced that it was becoming concerned about the way in which trade will be impacted by measures which seek to combat global climate change.  ”Costa Rica has a good position with respect to the carbon footprint of its products, but you have to prove it and that’s expensive,” said chamber president Juan María González in a news conference.

According to industry representatives, at the next climate change summit which is to be held in Copenhagen from December 7 – 18, it is likely that guidelines will be implemented so that exported products will have to prove their carbon footprint in the future.

The carbon footprint is the total of greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted by the direct or indirect effect of an individual, organization, event or product.  Highly industrialized countries and countries which are rapidly developing and becoming highly industrialized, such as China and India, tend to have a larger carbon footprint than small countries such as Costa Rica.

The summit will be successful, depending on certain perspectives,  because people from different nations are demanding true commitments from their leaders. The USA has already announced that it will take important steps in this matter and this loudly announces that there is political will in countries to take real action on behalf of the environment.

Industry believes that Costa Rica should cautiously take actions to meet the future.  The measures being proposed have a high cost.  “It’s cheaper to meet environmental standards than to demonstrate compliance with them,” Gonzalez said.

The industrial sector produces about 800,000 tons of CO2, and it sits as the fifth sector in the country that emits the most greenhouse gases, according to the Ministry of the Environment, Energy and Telecommunications (MINAET).  The industrial sector’s Carbon intensity is increasing at an annual rate of 14%.

Given this figure, CICR proposed an industrial climate change strategy which would be a response to environmental challenges faced by industrial companies, which are increasingly demanding, said Gonzalez.

What is still uncertain is what the future holds for companies who fail certify their carbon footprint.  However, Costa Rica claims to be a green or environmentally friendly country and this comes with a responsibility to meet the requirements in order to be able to use this moniker.

Read more news about Costa Rica.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/environment-articles/environmental-requirement-for-companies-1528254.html

Technorati Tags: carbon intensity, climate change summit, global climate change, greenhouse gases, industrial climate