The Dangers of Global Warming

Published March 12, 2011 | By ">
Changes in sea level during the last 9,000 years

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If you use the internet, watch television, or listen to the radio, you may already be familiar with global warming. Global warming is an important issue that is widely discussed and debated, all around the world.

Global warming is a phrase that is used to describe the increase in the earth’s temperature.  This rise in temperature is attributed to an increase in greenhouse gases.  As important as it is to know that global warming is, it is also important to know the dangers that surround it.  After all, many Americans will not take steps to combat global warming unless they know for sure that it is real and poses a serious threat.

As for the threat that global warming poses, you will find that there is likely to be an increased risk of diseases and illnesses.  This is because mice, insects, and other rodents will be able to notice a change in the environment, namely their local temperatures and surroundings.  This will likely cause many to migrate to areas that may have previously been deemed uninhabitable.  After all, why wouldn’t they move, especially if the weather conditions were perfect for doing so?  Unfortunately, this is likely to lead to a spread of disease.  Although most of these diseases will be treatable, it may cause concern, especially when diseases and other health related issues impact areas previously left untouched.

Coastal flood is another one of the many dangers that can and will likely be associated with global warming.  Although we are noticing an increase in sea level right now, coastal flooding isn’t likely to be a significant problem for a few years now, but that still doesn’t mean that it should be ignored or pushed to the side.  Global warming is playing a role in the melting of glaciers, snow and other ice masses.  This melting will cause a significant rise in sea level overtime; thus leading to coastal flooding.  If the coastal flood is as bad as anticipated by many scientists and computer weather models, there is a good chance that billions of individuals will be displaced, all around the globe.

In addition to the melting of glaciers and other large ice and snow masses, many locations will likely receive smaller amounts of snow and ice during the wintertime, if they even do receive any at all.  This may have an impact on the activities that humans are able to participate in and it may have a significant impact on the economy, both locally and nationally.  Of course, it is important to remember that global warming not only causes the temperature to rise, but it also causes erratic weather.  So, it is common for one area of the world to receive little to no snowfall, while another area, at the same time, may be buried under two feet of snow.

As previously stated, coastal flooding is one of the many dangers associated with global warming.  With that in mind, so are droughts.  In areas on unaffected by coastal flooding and in areas where the temperature continues to rise, rivers, streams, lakes, and ponds are likely to dry up and possibly at an even quicker rate of speed.  Severe and widespread droughts and water shortages can have a huge negative impact on our way of life and economy.  Farmers rely on water to grow their crops and humans rely on water, as well as a farmer’s crops to survive.

Perhaps, the most horrific danger that may result from global warming is the panic that will likely set in.  How would you feel or react if you one day saw your coastal home flood?  If you were lucky enough to survive the flood or if you lived farther inland, you may still have your home, but a drought may result in a shortage of food and water.  How you would react to news that diseases previously not seen in your area were invading it?  There was a good chance that panic would set in almost immediately.  If global warming cases the changes that are being predicted, such as the ones outlined above, widespread panic is almost a certainty.

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Out of the Ordinary-Alternative Energy Sources

Published December 7, 2010 | By ">
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Alternative energy is often referred to as energy from a source other than the conventional fossil fuel source like oil, natural gas and coal. Alternative energy is not popularly used and is usually environmentally sound. It is also often times renewable energy. Several alternative energy sources are solar, wind, biomass, wave and tidal energy.

Population problem is not only a problem or concern about the number of people. People consume food, fresh water, wood, minerals, and energy every day. The increasing energy consumption is leading to the depletion of conventional energy sources as well as increasing pollution.

We are currently reliant on fossil fuel and other non-renewable energy. This causes great harm to out environment and will also tremendously affect future generations. Most of the current population relies on non-renewable energy source such as oil, natural gas, fossil fuel and coal.

Fossil fuels are non-renewable source of energy, it means it could run out. Also, when fossil fuels are burnt they produce the gas carbon dioxide (CO2). Carbon dioxide is known as a greenhouse gas since it traps heat from the sun and preventing it from escaping out of the Earth’s atmosphere into space. The amount of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere is increasing. It leads to rising Earth temperature called global warming.

Alternative and renewable source of energy is therefore a necessity. Renewable energy is derived from resources that are regenerative or regenerate after consumption. For this reason, renewable energy unlike fossil fuels do not produce as many greenhouse gases.

There are several countries that are providing incentives for private sector or personal efforts to use renewable energy by giving tax incentives and subsidies. Currently, just 14 percent of the world’s energy consumption comes from renewable energy sources. But there is great potential for alternative energy. It could be large enough to cover many times the current energy consumption.

Several sources of renewable or also called alternative energy are sunlight, wind, rain, tides and geothermal heat. Wind energy comes from wind power that is generated from wind turbines. Wind energy are non-polluting energy source with low maintenance cost although the initial expense may be high.

Solar energy come from the sun’s rays that reach the Earth. Solar energy can be converted into heat and electricity. Solar energy can be converted to thermal or energy generated from heat. It can be used to heat water and heat spaces like inside greenhouses, homes and other buildings.

Biomass energy comes from plants and animal material that are usable source of energy like wood from trees, waste from other plants, manure or animal wastes. Biomass energy has numerous benefits. It uses waste materials that are usually dumped and uses up methane gas (a greenhouse gas). Fuels like ethanol can be made from biomass and uses as an alternative to petrol.

Meanwhile, hydropower makes use of the energy the water gains when it drops in elevation. That is why hydropower plants are near waterfalls or dams. Hydropower has been used since the start of the electric age but unfortunately the value of this energy has not yet been developed and maximized.

Another alternative energy source would be geothermal energy or energy derived from the underwater heat the world is emitting. Geothermal power plants are unaffected of changing weather conditions. It is also price competitive and helps the people’s reliance on fossil fuels lessen.

These only show that we can choose alternative ways on using energy to lessesn its negative impact on our environment. Alternative energy sources provide us a choice for a bright and healthy future. It may something be out of the ordinary but it can also be useful.

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Alternative Energy Sources and Global Warming

Published November 24, 2010 | By ">
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Global warming is one of the “hottest” issues nowadays. The current climate change is the worst yet to happen. Global warming is an overall increase in world temperature which is attributed to the increasing number of greenhouse gases trapped in the atmosphere. Searching an alternative energy source is considered a way of reducing the toxic emissions.

Greenhouse gases can be produced both by natural and industrial processes. The most abundant greenhouse gases on earth’s atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone and CFCs.

There are several sources of greenhouse gases. Burning of fossil fuels and deforestation lead to higher concentration of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. Without the trees and plants to take in the carbon dioxide emitted by burning fossil fuels, natural gas and petroleum products, all of the CO2 emitted stays in the atmosphere.

Also the use of CFCs or chlorofluorocarbons in refrigeration systems and in fire suppression systems and other manufacturing processes also increase the greenhouse content of our atmosphere. While the use of non-organic fertilizers in agriculture also lead to higher nitrous oxide concentrations, another greenhouse gas.

In the United States, greenhouse gas emissions mainly come from the use of fossil fuels as energy source. Approximately 82 percent of the greenhouse gas emission in the United States in 2006 came from the combustion of coal, natural gas and petroleum (United States Energy Information Administration). Meanwhile in Asia, Chine is expected to increase its emission of greenhouse gas because of the construction of old-fashioned power plants in its internal provinces. Currently, the carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere are the highest in 150,000 years. The 1990s was most likely the warmest decade in history, while 1998 was the warmest year (Greenpeace).

Not controlling the greenhouse gas being emitted by human activity can increase climate change the next hundred years that will be much faster than anything known and recorded in history. There are necessary steps to be undertaken to control the toxic emission that will soon be killing us.

To minimize the consumption of oil, petroleum and other fossil fuel, we should use energy efficiently. Energy that we use should be generated from renewable energy source, which would mean harnessing the natural energy from the sun, winds, crops, tides and waves.

Green energy is another term used to describe sources of energy that are considered to be environmentally friendly, which is also similar to the renewable sources of energy.

There are numerous ways of generating electricity and energy from renewable and natural sources that generate clean and safe energy. Wind, sun, and heat can generate electricity for less price and less carbon emission than those of coal and even gas.

Shifting the world’s attention to alternative fuel source other than relying on fossil fuel is among the solutions in resolving the drastic climate change. Greenpeace cited that with renewable energy and using it smartly, can deliver half of the world’s energy needs by 2050. Greenpeace also cited that it is feasible to reduce carbon dioxide emission to almost 50 percent within the next 43 years.

Governments are taking steps to use and tap alternative energy sources as main source of energy. The European Union leaders made an agreement in March 2007 to ensure that 20 percent of their nation’s energy should come from renewable fuels by 2020. This is part of their effort to cut carbon dioxide emissions and other greenhouse gas. There are even governments offering incentives to their residents who are using green energy.

Alternative energy source may not be the only way to reduce the greenhouse emission that human activity produce. There are simple ways in which we can do to contribute in reducing toxic gas emission and mitigate global warming.

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Alternative Energy for the Home

Published November 12, 2010 | By ">
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The trend toward homes that are powered by alternative energy sources, ranging from wind turbines and solar collection cells to hydrogen fuel cells and biomass gases, is one that needs to continue in the 21st century and beyond. We have great need of becoming more energy independent, and not having to rely on the supplying of fossil fuels from unstable nations who are often hostile to us and our interests. But even beyond this factor, we as individuals need to get “off the grid” and also stop having to be so reliant on government-lobbying giant oil corporations who, while they are not really involved in any covert conspiracy, nevertheless have a stranglehold on people when it comes to heating their  homes (and if not through oil, then heat usually supplied by grid-driven electricity, another stranglehold).

As Remi Wilkinson, Senior Analyst with Carbon Free, puts it, inevitably, the growth of distributed generation will lead to the restructuring of the retail electricity market and the generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure. The power providers may have to diversify their business to make up for revenues lost through household energy microgeneration. She is referring to the conclusions by a group of UK analysts, herself included among them, who call themselves Carbon Free. Carbon Free has been studying the ever-growing trend toward alternative energy-using homes in England and the West. This trend is being driven by ever-more government recommendation and sometimes backing of alternative energy research and development, the rising cost of oil and other fossil fuels, concern about environmental degradation, and desires to be energy independent. Carbon Free concludes that, assuming traditional energy prices remain at their current level or rise, microgeneration (meeting all of one’s home’s energy needs by installing alternative energy technology such as solar panels or wind turbines) will become to home energy supply what the Internet became to home communications and data gathering, and eventually this will have deep effects on the businesses of the existing energy supply companies.

Carbon Free’s analysis also show that energy companies themselves have jumped in on the game  and seek to leverage microgeneration to their own advantage for opening up new markets for themselves. Carbon Free cites the example of electricity companies (in the UK) reporting that they are seriously researching and developing ideas for new geothermal energy facilities, as these companies see geothermal energy production as a highly profitable wave of the future. Another conclusion of Carbon Free is that solar energy hot water heating technology is an efficient technology for reducing home water heating costs in the long run, although it is initially quite expensive to install.  However, solar power is not yet cost-effective for corporations, as they require too much in the way of specialized plumbing to implement solar energy hot water heating. Lastly, Carbon Free tells us that installing wind turbines is an efficient way of reducing home electricity costs, while also being more independent. However, again this is initially a very expensive thing to have installed, and companies would do well to begin slashing their prices on these devices or they could find themselves losing market share.

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