Short Term Benefits of Global Warming

It is certain that enough global warming would be harmful to human beings.  If the temperatures were hot enough and the sea levels were high enough, it would spell an end to life as it is known at this time.  Yet, there may be some short-term benefits of global warming.

Few people would argue and say that a warm climate is not preferable to a cold one.  Not only are warm climates generally more pleasant, there are health benefits as well.  People who suffer from conditions that are affected by the cold, such as rheumatoid arthritis, often move to warmer climates.  A small amount of global warming would allow people to stay in their homes.

One scientist did an extensive study of statistics to find out the health benefits of warmer weather.  He studied the numbers of deaths in different months of the year in places that get cold in the winter and warm in the summer.  He determined that many more people die in the winter than in the summer.  This would seem to support the benefits of global warming.

However, he also noted that the statistics in this part of the study were not entirely accurate.  They were muddied by the fact that there are other considerations during season changes that would not occur in global warming.  For example, days were shorter in winter, but they would not be shorter if more global warming occurred.

In 2004, it was observed by lobster fishermen that the warmer temperatures caused by global warming had affected their work.  There seemed to be an abundance of Maine lobsters living and thriving in the warmer waters.  They were happy for the increase, but expected it to be short-lived as the optimal temperature for lobsters probably has a very small range.

It has been thought for quite some time that global warming would increase the amount of corn, wheat, barley, and other grains that could be grown.  Not only the warmer weather and the longer growing seasons were anticipated to yield this result.  Carbon dioxide exposure was expected to increase productivity along with global warming.

Studies have shown, though, that the carbon dioxide benefits are very minimal.  Current projections are that farmers will only be able to keep up with demand for crops for a few more decades.  Then, it is predicted that world-wide shortages will take hold.

Furthermore, agriculture in tropical zones is expected to decline rapidly as the temperature becomes too hot to support plant life.  The temperate zones will be able to have better farming, and more of the world’s crops will be grown there.

Some economists point to global warming as a boon to international trade.  They feel that the loss of ice sheets in the Arctic will open up routes that have not been accessible in the past.  This will provide faster travel between Europe, America, and Asia, they say.

People give plenty of reasons to embrace global warming.  They see only promise in the climate change of their planet.  Perhaps they just do not want to feel required to do anything about global warming.  Or, perhaps there is some room for hope.

Protection Agreement on Global Warming

When the dust settled on February 16, 2005, 141 countries had ratified the Kyoto Protocol and put it into effect.  The United States was not one of those countries who saw fit to join together to stop global warming.  Many citizens were disappointed, but one US Mayor decided to do something about it.

Mayor Greg Nickels was serving his second term in Seattle when the Kyoto Protocol went into effect.  He was concerned that the US should do something, and, failing that, that he should do what he could.  He devised a plan to enlist other US Mayors to make the changes that were needed to reduce global warming.

Mayor Nickels sent out a challenge to mayors across the country urging them to start implementing the changes that the Kyoto Protocol demanded of its member nations.  The idea was that if a grassroots network could be built to prevent global warming, it would essentially do the same job that the government was shirking by not ratifying the Kyoto agreement.

A letter and an endorsement agreement were sent out.  Mayors across the country had the chance to accept entrance into this group.  The letter was sent out on March 30, 2005, and the acceptances soon started pouring in.  Mayors, it seemed, did want to do something about global warming.

By June 13th of that year, the US Conference of Mayors met to discuss the agreement.  It was passed as the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement on that date.  However, the group did not close then.  More mayors around the country continued, and still continue, to sign this agreement.  Mayor Nickels has made a huge impact on the global warming prevention efforts of cities.

Mayor Nickels first thought of the agreement because of the United States’ contributions to the problem of global warming.  The US greenhouse gas emissions make up 25% of those in the entire world.  Yet, the population is nowhere near 25% of the world’s population.  Mayor Nickels was outraged because he thought that the US could be such a large part of the problem and not want to be a part of the solution to global warming.

The goals of the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement were based on the Kyoto Protocol.  They planned to meet the Kyoto goal of 7% less greenhouse gas emissions than 1990 by 2012.  Just as the Kyoto Treaty was ratified with 141 member nations, the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement had a goal of signing up 141 mayors in their first year.  The number was more like 500 cities by mid-2007.

A part of the agreement is that each mayor should speak on behalf of global warming prevention to members of the government, including local, state, and federal government leaders.  Another part of the plan is to make sure people have up-to-date information on global warming.

Sometimes, it is amazing what one person can do.  What is even more amazing is how people from all over a large nation such as the US can come together for a single purpose.  With cooperation like this, there will be great strides in preventing global warming.

The Economics of Global Warming

Global warming can prove to be a costly occurrence.  For many reasons, financial considerations have already been impacted.  For anyone who looks to the wallet for an indicator of disaster, trouble can be seen in global warming.

The deadly and destructive storms that are now being seen have caused tremendous financial losses.  Hurricane Katrina cost roughly 81 billion dollars in damage, and the actual rebuilding has barely even begun.  Storms like Katrina have most likely been boosted to their extreme levels of force by warm ocean waters.  These are caused by global warming.

Agriculture can be spoiled by global warming.  Crops die during droughts brought on by global warming.  Storms intensified by global warming can damage agricultural buildings and injure animals.  Floods resulting from these storms can drown out crops before they can be harvested.

This all translates into lost revenues for both farmers and investors.  It also means higher prices for consumers of agricultural products.  Consumers already know what it is like to pay exorbitant prices for foods that have been damaged while in the fields.  If global warming continues on its present course, this will be a common occurrence.

Gasoline prices have an effect on the economics of communities.  When gas prices are high, people will patronize business establishments that are close to their homes.  This hurts the chances of success for a business that is not in a heavily populated area.  Global warming is directly affecting the economics of businesses in this way.

The family economics of global warming are undeniable, too.  As the climate changes, more energy is needed to cool houses.  Those extra degrees of heat in the atmosphere mean that families will have to set their thermostats higher, or pay a higher price.

Sometimes it is the poorer families that pay for global warming the most.  For example, new cars are outfitted with a new kind of air conditioning system that uses environmentally friendly Freon.  A poorer family might have an older car that does not have this type of system.

However, if their air conditioner needs Freon, they might have to pay several hundred dollars to have the new system put in to use the new Freon.  This will help the cause of preventing global warming.  At the same time, the family will be paying for the mistakes of the past.

In many regions, everyone pays for the energy mistakes of earlier times.  Coal burning power plants are now being refitted to reduce emissions.  This will have a big impact on preventing global warming.  Yet, the economics of it show that people at the present time have to pay with higher utility bills to make this advantage come true.

There are thousands of ways that global warming is affecting the world’s economy at this moment.  People are paying for the harm global warming is doing.  They are also paying for adjustments to their homes, cars, and city infrastructures to reduce global warming.  With time, changes will be completed.  If everyone helps, these costs should go down.

Fight Global Warming at Home

There are steps you can take to fight global warming in your home and car.  You do not have to wait for the government or big businesses to do something about it.  It is better to take the initiative and do your part.

In your home, you can begin by changing your light bulbs.  You do not have to do it all at once.  Every time you change a bulb, though, you can replace the old incandescent bulb with a compact fluorescent.  Not only does this reduce greenhouse gases, it also saves you money in the long run.

It has always been wise to seal and insulate your home, just for comfort’s sake.  Now, it is even more important.  You can stop your home from emitting greenhouse gases and contributing to global warming by doing this.  If you have any doubts about where your home needs insulation, you can hire an energy auditor to help you decide.

You can reduce global warming by simply taking care of the cooling and heating equipment in your home.  You can change filters and have the equipment cleaned.  Most importantly of all, when the heater or air-conditioner needs to be replaced, get an efficient model that is big enough for your dwelling.

In fact, it makes sense to buy all your appliances with energy efficiency in mind.  Energy Star is a rating system that is reserved for efficient products.  Buying such products will help decrease global warming.

Recycling is one of the easiest ways to help reduce global warming.  Everyone can do it with little effort.  You can also further the process by using products that are made from recycled materials.

You can help reduce global warming in your lawn, too.  For one thing, you can use a push mower instead of a power mower.  Since a push mower uses no energy but your own, this is a great savings.  Even if you do use a power mower, you can still help.  Use a mower that catches the grass clippings so you can mulch them.

As far as transportation, you can do so much more than buying a green car.  You can drive it sensibly, with no rapid starts for instance, to help prevent global warming.  If you keep your car well-maintained, it will be beneficial, too.  Things like changing your oil and keeping your car tuned up can make a big difference in global warming.

Surprisingly, poorly inflated tires can lead to global warming.  This happens because tires must have the proper amount of air in them for the car to reach maximum fuel efficiency.  The less efficient your car is, the more it adds to global warming.

The best way to slow global warming by the way you use your car, is to make as few trips as possible.  Walk when you can.  When you have to drive, combine as many errands into one trip as possible.

If you fight global warming in your home and your car, you can make a difference.  Some basic changes can be easily made.  If everyone makes these simple changes, it can have a powerful impact on global warming.

Global Warming causes rise in Water Temperature

A part of the alarm that is being raised about global warming has to do with rising water temperatures, especially in the ocean.  Scientists are studying warming waters all over the globe to determine the extent of the change.

The consequences of this global warming are far-reaching.  One of the most devastating effects of global warming is that, as the ocean water warms, it impacts tropical storms.  Hurricanes that would have been category 3 storms in past years are now category 4 or above.  This is because they are energized when they pick up the warmer ocean water.

In fact, there has been a significant increase in these higher intensity storms in the last 35 years.  This could be due to global warming.  In 2005, the Atlantic was bombarded with 27 tropical storms powerful enough to receive a name.  15 of them developed into hurricanes.

Five of these storms reached the force of category 4 hurricanes.  Four of them actually became worse, at category five.  Hurricane Katrina made a terrible mark on history in August of 2005.  It became the costliest hurricane in American history.  It was also one of most lethal.  Global warming has left destruction in the form of more intense hurricanes.

As global warming causes temperatures to rise in the oceans, glaciers and icecaps are melting more rapidly.  One particular ice shelf in Antarctica, the northern section of the Larson B shelf, collapsed in recent years.  Scientists got a rude awakening when they realized how fast the ice shelf could disintegrate.

The polar ice cap is disappearing at an astonishing rate as well.  It is dissolving at 9% per decade.  This aspect of global warming is a definite cause for alarm.  In the last 40-50 years, the thickness of ice in the Arctic has decreased by 40%.  The ice that is present on earth is beneficial to maintain the delicate balance of the environment.

Perennial sea ice in the Arctic has been receding as well.  There was a record low in the square miles of this sea ice in 2005.  Just two years later, in 2007, the record was broken with a half of a million square miles less perennial ice than in 2005.  Global warming has truly had an impact on the sea ice of the Arctic.  Some scientists predict that all the sea ice will be gone by 2040.

Global warming could also cause the sea level to rise as ice melts.  When this happens, islands are lost and coastal communities are flooded.  Various suggestions have been made about the levels that the water level could reach, anywhere from 10 to 23 inches by 2100.

Global warming has the potential to make the earth a very inhospitable place to live.  Rising temperatures in the oceans’ waters are a clear indication that the process has begun.  With the melting of ice in the glaciers, icecaps, and on the sea, it is only a matter of time before global warming has much more harmful effects.  It is up to the people of the world to do what they can to make the future look brighter.

Global Warming and Building Green

Building green is one of the solutions to global warming that many people do not think about.  Building green is designing and constructing buildings with the environment in mind.  It is these practices that can have an impact on stopping global warming.

Houses give off a high percentage of a country’s total carbon dioxide emissions.  In the United States, the figure is about 38%.  Since carbon dioxide is one of the greenhouse houses gases, contribute strongly to global warming.

One way to cut the greenhouse emissions of houses, and therefore help stop global warming, is to minimize the energy use needed to sustain comfortable living in a house.  There are several ways to do this.

One way is to be careful about what building materials are used.  Some building materials can be from quickly renewable sources.  These include bamboo and straw.  Also, building materials can be used that originates near the building site.  This cuts down on transportation, and so cuts down on emissions of greenhouse gases and global warming.  One example is stone houses built with local stone.

Buildings are also often built using recycled materials.  Wood can be used from an older home that has been torn down.  This will prevent the need to cut down other trees.  Since the deforestation of the land contributes to global warming, this will help the situation.

Heating and cooling have a big effect on the amount of global warming caused by a house.  Some ways to help this are very simple.  One is to design the house to sit on the lot so that sunlight will come in through the windows and warm the house.  It can also be oriented so that breezes will blow through the windows more naturally for cooling.

In this way, passive solar energy can be used to heat and cool the house.  This will cut down on the greenhouse emissions from a house. Global warming will be lessened.  Insulation is important to maximize on the cool or heat that is in the house.  With good insulation, you will need a less intense heat or cooling source.

The main heating and cooling source in most green houses will be solar panels, wind power, or hydropower.  Any of these sources will power a house with minimal effects on global warming.  At the same time, these sources of energy will sustain a household in a comfortable style.

There are several organizations in the US that aid in the cause of stopping global warming by encouraging green building.  One non-profit organization makes it their business to foster green building methods in both houses and commercial buildings.  This group of people from the building industry is a part of the Green Building Initiative.

The state of Washington has required builders of buildings larger than 5000 square feet to use green building practices.  Their law was enacted in 2005.  It should help to keep a cap on global warming.

Green building is important for a number of reasons. One just happens to be that it can reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases.  If green building can help stop global warming, perhaps it is time for everyone to build green.

Global Warming and Ecosystem

Since global warming has such a profound impact on the earth’s surface and oceans, it is not surprising that it affects the ecosystems of earth.  Species depend on a fairly consistent habitat in which to live.  Global warming changes habitats and endangers these species.

One of the habitats already being affected by global warming is the Polar Regions.  Vast amounts of ice are melting at both poles.  This makes it hard for the species in these regions to survive.  For instance, polar bears’ habitat is altered.  Where once they could swim a short distance from ice floe to ice floe, that is no longer the case.

Now, the ice floes are so far apart that many polar bears drown trying to make the swim.  According to the US Geological Survey, their numbers will decrease by half in the next forty or so years.  The melting polar ice cap will be too much for most polar bears to survive.  Global warming will eventually lead to their extinction if left unchecked.

Global warming is pushing a reported 2000 species toward the poles.  The climate becomes warmer in the habitats the plants and animals are used to.  They naturally gravitate towards a cooler climate that will match the earlier climate of the region they left.  They were moving at a rate of 3.8 miles per decade.

Another ice habitat being ruined by global warming is the penguins’ home in Antarctica.  They have been declining in number rapidly for the last 25 years.  In fact, in that amount of time, 33% of the penguins are gone.  The global warming melting the ice has made their habitat inhospitable to them.

Global warming may soon make alpine meadows a thing of the past.  Already, in Washington’s Olympic Mountains, sub-alpine forests have come in and taken over where alpine meadows once lay.  In the last 60 years, species in alpine areas have moved up the mountains at a rate of 20 feet per decade.  This leaves little doubt that global warming is having an impact on alpine areas.

The health of sea creatures in their habitats is also being threatened by global warming.  In California, sea life is moving northward.  This is a behavior designed to keep the creatures at a temperature that is most like the one they are adapted to.  They naturally do this as a means of survival.  When all the water is too warm, they will have nowhere to go.

Other sea creatures are being put in danger of extinction because of global warming.  This happens because the extra carbon dioxide in the air mixes with the ocean water.  It changes the acidity of the water.

The sea plants and animals are then in an environment for which they are not suited. If this global warming goes on, many will not be able to survive.  For example, 97% of the earth’s coral reefs could disappear if there is a 3.6 degree Fahrenheit rise in temperature.

The destruction of ecosystems by global warming has begun.  Since all the species are needed to support each other, the whole world will suffer when species are lost.  Only a concerted effort on the parts of all human beings will help the situation.

Forestry and Global Warming

The way land is used can have an affect on global warming.  The kinds of plants, animals, or minerals set upon a plot of land render it different from other plots of land.  It is these differences that can be explored to help you gain an understanding of global warming.

Forests are an important use of land in most countries.  This is true for many reasons, but when it comes to global warming, it is particularly true.  Plant life can scrub carbon dioxide from the air.  Much of the very carbon dioxide that is one of the causes of global warming can be eliminated just by being in the vicinity of certain plants.

Trees are the best carbon dioxide scrubbers there are in nature.  Old growth trees are especially good at removing carbon dioxide from the air and storing it within their cells.  For this reason, old growth trees need to be protected from the lumber jack’s blade.

While the lumber trade argues that the old growth trees can be easily replaced by new trees, this is simply not the case.  New trees do not possess the abilities that old trees have of preventing global warming by trapping carbon dioxide.

Some proponents of cutting suggest that certain new trees are capable of trapping more greenhouse gases than the old trees.  The truth is that, even if this is true, it is not true when you compare the new special trees to any trees that have many decades of growth.  To prevent global warming, you need trees with some substance to them.

One law was proposed to stop logging and road building in the forest to prevent global warming.  This particular law was to protect a large amount of forest-approximately 13 million acres on ancient forest.  Most of this forest was so unspoiled that it did not even have any roads at all.  This law would also ban clear-cutting, a practice that totally destroys acres upon acres of old growth trees.

Several studies have been done to estimate the amount potential global warming caused by the deforestation of tropical rainforests. Loggers do not just take out mature trees for lumber.  People who want to clear a place to live, work, or farm in the jungle clear the forest by cutting and burning large portions of the rainforest.

As if this was not enough, other greenhouse gases are increased by deforestation.  These include methane and nitrous oxide.  Global warming is foreseeable when people greedily take the rainforest and other forests for their own purposes.

It seems that, by the figures in these studies, global warming prevention should focus on the green house emissions caused by the burning of fossil fuels first.  However, the deforestation comes in a close second in causes for global warming.

People can stop this dependence on old growth trees for lumber.  There are many different building materials available to be used.  It does not upset the balance of nature when you build with stone, for example.  Also, furniture can be made from other materials.  When people learn that forests are important in stopping global warming, they can help the situation by refusing to use lumber that comes from old growth forests and the rainforest.

Agriculture and GlobalWarming

When you think of global warming, you might envision dramatic scenes like hurricanes and melting glaciers.  The truth is that something as commonplace as agriculture is already showing signs of the effects of global warming.

Some studies show that the news of global warming is not all bad for farming, at least not in the short run.  While humans have changed many environmental factors by their activities, the short term effects of these changes often lead to better crops.

Because of global warming, temperatures obviously increase.  This has some temporary benefits.  For awhile, it will simply mean more time for crops to mature because of a longer growing season.  This is especially true of regions where the spring and fall were once quite cool.

On the other hand, these higher temperatures can bring problems in other areas.  In regions that are already warm, global warming will cause the plants to languish in the heat.  Soil evaporation rates will be very high, leaving very dry earth.  Add to that, droughts that will make both the soil and the air dry and might even lead to burning of some crops.

Global warming is sure to bring about changes in precipitation.  This will lead to changes in the soil moisture.  Especially with the severe weather predicted with global warming, rain will come down hard when it does come.  This will lead to more than usual soil erosion.  These factors greatly affect agriculture.

Strangely enough, all the extra carbon dioxide in the air that brings about global warming also has a fertilizing affect on crops.  This type of fertilization is most helpful for crops such as wheat, soybeans, and rice.  CO2 fertilization is a beneficial by-product to global warming.

However, this benefit may all be in vain.  When global warming pushes ground level ozone to higher stages, the carbon dioxide fertilization is voided out by tropospheric ozone.  These ozone levels are influenced by both emissions and temperature.  The result is that when the climate changes, the ground ozone levels will rise as well.

There have always been many obstacles to farming.  Global warming just makes them more intense.  Now, it is even more likely that a farmer will face droughts, floods, heat waves, and hurricanes, to name a few.  They will be harder to overcome than ever before and they will certainly be less rare.

The overall predictions for the US are neither all bad nor all good.  Crops are expected to benefit from the effects of global warming in many regions for awhile.  In some areas, though, crops will suffer because of regional variations.

The Great Plains are now more susceptible to drought, thanks to global warming.  However, Canada will probably benefit from the added heat as farming will take a Northward shift.

Right now, and in the near future, global warming does not seem to be a very dangerous situation for North American farmers.  There might even be some positive effects.  However, in the long run, nothing will be able to mitigate the damage that will be caused by global warming if it is not stopped.

Global Warming

It seems that people are coming from all directions to make movies about global warming.  Many people are moved to educate people about the subject and want to reach the widest possible audience.  Books do not hold the appeal they once did.  Now, people want to sit down and watch a movie to understand subjects like global warming.

Although Al Gore has a book by the same name, most people know An Inconvenient Truth as a feature length documentary movie.  The movie boils down to a power-point presentation that Gore has given many times on the subject of global warming. Al Gore simply presents facts in a low-key, personable way.  The film includes some biographical information about Al Gore, too.

The 60 Minutes documentary, The Age of Warming, which aired April 1, 2007, is a must-see for those interested in global warming.  In it, correspondent Scott Pelley explores Antarctica to find evidence of global warming. There, Pelley finds that the Adelie and Chinstrap penguins are being endangered by loss of habitat.  He also finds glaciers that are in the process of rapid melting into lakes.  It is an eye opener.

Some fictional movies have been made with the theme of global warming.  One is The Day After Tomorrow, starring Dennis Quaid and Jake Gyllenhaal.  While the science may not be precisely or even nearly right, the special effects are fantastic.  It is a good old-fashioned disaster flick with all kinds of natural disasters.  Bring out the popcorn, but do not expect to be educated.

An Earth Story, starring Ross Gelbspan and John Hutchison is another of those documentary-type movies.  It tells the story about all those scary predictions of climate change due to global warming.  The sub-title is An Alternative to Extinction.  That alone should explain how dramatic this movie is.  The solutions to global warming are equally dramatic.

Not exactly a traditional movie, Dr. Elisabet Sahtouris’ Crisis as Opportunity: Living Better on a Hotter Planet is unique.  Instead of being distraught and woeful, Sahtouris views global warming as a natural evolutionary process.  She sees it as a beneficial challenge that will help people learn to live together as they never have before.

Energy Crossroads: A burning need to change course, is a documentary movie about the energy crisis.  It deals with the amount of oil that will be left in the future and the different ways to overcome that crisis.  However, a good part of this movie is devoted to a study of how energy issues are tied to global warming.  It points to global warming as one of the reasons humans need to make changes.

There is a set of movies called the Secrets of the Millennium.  Probably the best of this series is the one with information on global warming.  It is titled Secrets of the Millennium: Man vs. Nature: Who Will Win?  It dramatically exposes humans’ desires to control earth, while letting things get out of hand environmentally at the same time.

Many celebrities have made their own movies on global warming.  Some of them are not available for viewing yet, and some of them can be seen on the internet.  One example is global warming films by Leonardo DiCaprio that can be viewed on his website.  As the reality of global warming sets in, more movies will certainly deal with the subject.