Global Warming
The actual phrase, " global warming " means climate change. And since there has been huge climate change throughout the world, many scientists are concern especially when climate change affects many, many things in the world.
Even though scientists know the world’s climate has changed, it is still unclear exactly what damage is done to the environment by increases in global temperatures.
For example, drought in Africa, this means food shortages. The losses of forests, which mean many animals become extinct each year. The spread of tropical diseases like malaria, a wetter Great Britain and a rise in sea levels leads to many devastative events.
Also the concern is the ozone hole which the ozone layer protects the earth from sun’s harmful UV rays. The ozone layer is eaten away by greenhouse gases and gases called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). These were banned in non-essential aerosols in the US in 1978.
There is still quite a debate about whether or not human activities have any effect on global warming and the ozone hole. Some people believe that global warming many exist in theory only many others would disagree.
All those issues had forced industries to look for alternative technologies. Here is a list of alternative technologies:
- Natural gas turbines
- Fuel cells,
- Solar power
- Wind power
- Nuclear energy
Here is an excerpt from Molly Lee at the American Council on Science and Health
Global warming and the most effective strategies to overcome it are topics of heated debate for scientists, environmentalists, and politicians.
Many of these debates include predictions of human suffering and complete global destruction.
What they don't usually include are the facts about our changing, and in many cases, improving environment.
The promise of new technologies to help reduce fossil fuel emissions over time also seems to be left out of the discussion.
Some believe that the only way to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions is to walk to work and read by candlelight. In fact, the environment is improving in some areas, and in other areas new technologies can help.
If Americans are "addicted" to technology, why not use it to our advantage, or at least to the advantage of our environment?
The idea of using technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is not a new one. These new technologies are showing more and more promise.
The researchers outline three major gains to be had from the development of new technologies:
- developing countries can "grow clean" (in other words, they won't have to decide between economic development and environmental protection if they start using improved technology as soon as possible);
- new technologies can help lower the costs of reducing greenhouse emissions for developed countries;
- if major problems occur globally due to climate change, we will be better suited to drastically reduce fuel emissions with the help of new technologies.
I agree with everything in this article except one of the underlying assumptions:
That reducing our carbon dioxide emissions can prevent global warming. That has yet to be proven. Don’t get me wrong. I am very much in favor of reducing the emission of pollutants.
What I am against is trying to use climate change as the driving force behind reducing pollutants when the degree of correlation has yet to be established.
Does the carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere affect our climate? Sounds reasonable, but to what extent? What other factors affect our planets temperature, and to what extents?
What we need are three things:
- A commitment to reducing the polluting of our planet simply because it is the right thing to do, period.
- Identifying what the dominant factors are that influence our planet’s climate.
- A strategy to accommodate global warming just in case it turns out that we have a much, much smaller ability to control it than we think that we do. I’d hate to see us go to the tremendous expense and trouble of scrubbing the entire atmosphere clean of every molecule of carbon dioxide only to discover that our globe keeps on warming anyway.
From global warming to organic sites
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