In order to truly know the effects of human population growth on the world, we would have to trace it right back to the time when humans first appeared. This, however, is impossible due to the fact that a lot of this time in unaccounted for. For this reason, we will look at the time frame that us and our ancestors have been able to record.
The real population of Earth is still unknown to this day. Estimates, however, are much closer now than they were back thousands of years ago. This has a lot to do with technology and modern research. Birth rates are also always changing. It is estimated that they were 80/100 in 80 000 BC, 50/1000 in 1750 AD, and 23/1000 at the present. As you can see, these are dramatic changes. It would make you think the population id actually getting smaller, but those thoughts are deceiving. Population growth is occurring exponentially, which means there are many more thousands of people in the world to judge by. Another factor is that modern technology and advanced medicine have caused the survival rate to dramatically increase. (C. Haub 2002)
Concern over this increase has abated somewhat as birthrates have fallen right across the world. This may be true, but we are still a long way away from stabilizing. This is estimated to occur at somewhere between eight and eleven billion.
Many experts are concerned that the earth’s carrying capacity is already over-strained. This leads to other worries such as greenhouse gas emissions. Over-population will put a lot of strain on the earth’s natural systems. (T. Obaid 2003)
As our population increases, so does the demand we put on our natural resources. More is needed to keep everyone alive and happy. Farmers and fishermen are pressured into dangerously over-exploiting fragile ecosystems, urbanization increases rapidly, and certain land structures are being totally destroyed. As the world grows rapidly, it causes unplanned settlements to spring up. This leads to things being done in a hurry, with little thought and care put into it. It causes poor sanitation and a lack of clean water. It also causes a lot of air pollution.
With an increase in people, there comes an increased need for jobs. That may be ok in newly developing countries, but in already highly industrialized countries with under-employment, it can be a major problem. You need a job in order to have money, and you need money in order to survive. So if there are no jobs, your chance of survival is pretty slim.
Human population growth also has effects or other organisms. About 27 000 plant, animal and insect species become extinct every year. About 24 percent of mammals and 12 percent of birds are currently regarded as globally threatened. Most of these extinctions can be traced to human contribution. Everything from the water to the forests are being affected. (E. Wilson 2003)
Poverty is also a big effect of over-population. As the amount of people increase, so does the demand for food and shelter. In order to produce food, more land is needed for farming. This destroys habitats for other organisms. More land is also needed for shelter. If you take the land for shelter, that decreases the amount of land left for farming. Either way, you can’t use all the land. If you did, many important ecosystems would be destroyed, and that would have a major effect on the world. Even the loss of one organism can have a major effect. Mother nature created the world so that everything has a purpose. If we cut down all the trees, there would be little oxygen left to breath. If we contaminated all the water, there would be little left to replenish our bodies. All of these things have to be taken into consideration.
Another big concern of population growth is global warming. During the 1960's a succession of bitterly cold winters in the northern hemisphere led climatologists to predict that the world was heading for another ice age. This led to a major concern of global cooling. By the mid-70's however, climate experts realized that average global temperature was actually increasing. Since then, global warming has become a major issue of concern. (People and the Planet 2003)
Some scientists have speculated that global warming could lead to the wiping out of the Amazon rainforest, and the melting of the polar ice caps. This would cause sea levels to dramatically rise. It may also cause tropical diseases such as malaria to spread to temperate climates. This increase in temperature has been identified as a result of human activities. There is no knowledge of what measures are needed to be taken to slow or reverse this process.
The greenhouse effect is caused by a blanket of water vapour and greenhouse gases about the earth. The gases are mostly carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. These gases help tp trap some of the sun’s radiation as it bounces off the surface of the earth. The natural greenhouse effect has enabled life to develop on earth in the complexity that it has. Without it, the planet would be 30EC colder. Due to the increase in industrialization, the amount of greenhouse gas has dramatically risen. This is causing more heat to be trapped, causing a warming of the atmosphere.
The main gas is carbon dioxide. This is produced by burning fossil fuels.
Concentrations of it in the air have risen by a third. At the rate we are going, by 2030, carbon dioxide concentrations will have doubled. The burning of fossil fuels seems to be constantly increasing. This is due to industrialization, and more people driving cars.
Another major greenhouse gas is methane. Scientists have suggested that it traps heat 30 times more efficiently than carbon dioxide. Over the past two centuries, methane concentrations have more than doubled. It comes mainly from harvesting rice. It also comes from pipe leaks and cattle flatulence. (People and the Planet 2003)
If global warming continues, it cam have devastating effects on the earth. The Arctic ice cap is already starting to melt. The depth of it has shrunk about 40% in the past few decades. If this melting continues, it is estimated that the sea levels will rise by between 0.09 and 0.88 meters by 2100. Even a half-meter sea rise would be devastating to many low rise islands, especially in the Pacific.
Global warming will cause massive flooding, greater spread of disease (better living conditions for the bacteria), and a major economic downfall. Tourism rates will fall, and farming will be harder due to an increase in pests. (Climate Change 2003)
Scientists are looking for a possible solution to this problem. Although the process is going rather slow, no one has stopped looking for progress. A major factor in solving this problem stems from the Kyoto Accord. Kyoto has put strains on countries to reduce gas emissions over a period of time. This may give the atmosphere some time to replenish. Many environmentalists argue that the cuts are much to small to make any significant difference, but whether they realize it or not, every little action, no matter how big or small, makes a difference. After all, you can’t quit anything cold turkey without having major consequences.
Many countries are against the Kyoto Accord because it will has major economic effects on them. This is true. Car companies and many other industries will see a decrease in business, which will cause a certain degree of poverty, but if we look for other ways to create energy, maybe this can be counteracted. Kyoto isn’t asking that countries totally give up gas emissions, but only to decrease them. Unless countries comply with this, we will never know if it would work or not. (S. Mehanna 2001)
There are ways we can help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The major issue is to reduce the burning of fossil fuels. We can do this by switching to other sources of energy such as solar and wind power. Countries also have to try and improve the fuel efficiency in cars.
Although many people would like to abolish the thought of global warming, it is there, and it’s time we do something about it.
The depletion of the ozone layer and the protection of coral reefs and rainforest have become very popular in Egypt. They have realized that it has become a major problem, and are worried about the effects it will have on their country. The major concerns are that of immediate environmental degradation, such as garbage, sewage, and noise pollution. Just think about it. As the population increases, so does the amount of sewage being released. This leads to contaminated water and many diseases. How would you like our oceans to turn into sess-pools of filth and sludge. It doesn’t paint a pretty picture. This is reason enough to make people want to do what they can. (N. Hopkins 2001)
The degradation of the ozone layer has also had a big impact on the earths functions. It’s designed to protect all life from the sun’s harmful radiation. Human activities however, have majorly damaged it. There is now less protection from ultraviolet rays, and over time, it will lead to higher skin cancer and cataract rates. It will also result in major crop damage. Many countries are trying to phase out the production of ozone-depleting substances. It has become a major world issue.
The Earth’s atmosphere is divided into several parts. The harmful substances are produced in the troposphere, where virtually all human activities take place. Some are also produced in the stratosphere, where planes usually fly.
Ozone is composed of three oxygen atoms in a molecule. It is blue in colour and has a strong odor. Normal oxygen has only two oxygen atoms, and is colorless and odorless. This is what we breathe. Out of each 10 million air molecules, about two million are normal oxygen, and only three are ozone. This small amount still plays a major role in the atmosphere.
Many countries are now taking action to reduce ozone depleting substances. CFC’s and aerosol use is majorly reduced. These were very effective products, but were found to be too harmful to the ozone layer. This is a major step in solving the problem. (U.S. Environment Protection Agency 2002)
Although there are no real answers to these problems, many actions are being taken to try and preserve our environment. The solution may be far a way, but it is coming, as long as there are people in the world those still cares. Over-population is a major problem, but it is possible to be controlled. Technology and education are preparing people for the dramatic changes, and it possible to win this treacherous battle. After all, our worst enemy is ourselves.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Pollution Challenges
Selecting Sustainable Solutions
The fundamental challenge for developing countries is to select, from the wide range of techniques and technologies available, those which are most relevant and applicable to the realities and constraints of their local situation. While there is usually limited access to capital and supplies, what is available in many developing countries is labor and, in many cases, time. This leads us in the direction of simple approaches to achieve the needed improvements.
Lack of Financing
The "Polluter Pays" principle should obviously apply but bankrupt companies or legal battles can often delay the implementation of urgently needed clean-up. In many cases, the original polluter can no longer be identified or is unable to pay.
Lack of Recovery Value of Toxic Sites
In some places such as China and India, a number of major schemes have been started where the high cost of the remediation work can be recovered in the land value and a new use. As a result, there is an increasing level of interest and growing expertise available for cleanups in large and valuable urban sites, often using the best of international technology. Unfortunately, relatively few of the many polluted sites have the potential value to justify the cost of remediation. Small sites, often in urban fringe or rural areas, are unlikely to see any interest from a commercial angle and limited support from the regulatory system, leaving them truly orphaned.
The fundamental challenge for developing countries is to select, from the wide range of techniques and technologies available, those which are most relevant and applicable to the realities and constraints of their local situation. While there is usually limited access to capital and supplies, what is available in many developing countries is labor and, in many cases, time. This leads us in the direction of simple approaches to achieve the needed improvements.
Lack of Financing
The "Polluter Pays" principle should obviously apply but bankrupt companies or legal battles can often delay the implementation of urgently needed clean-up. In many cases, the original polluter can no longer be identified or is unable to pay.
Lack of Recovery Value of Toxic Sites
In some places such as China and India, a number of major schemes have been started where the high cost of the remediation work can be recovered in the land value and a new use. As a result, there is an increasing level of interest and growing expertise available for cleanups in large and valuable urban sites, often using the best of international technology. Unfortunately, relatively few of the many polluted sites have the potential value to justify the cost of remediation. Small sites, often in urban fringe or rural areas, are unlikely to see any interest from a commercial angle and limited support from the regulatory system, leaving them truly orphaned.
Pollution Facts
Pollution is a Global Killer
Pollution likely affects over a billion people around the world, with millions poisoned and killed each year. The World Heath Organization estimates that 25 percent of all deaths in the developing world are directly attributable to environmental factor.1 Some researchers estimate that exposure to pollution causes 40 percent of deaths annually.2
Pollution is Regarded as a Major (and quickly emerging) Factor in Disease
People affected by pollution problems are much more susceptible to contracting other diseases. Others have impaired neurological development, damaged immune systems, and long-term health problems.
Women and Children are Especially at Risk, Children are Most Susceptible
Children are physiologically different and more vulnerable than adults. In some cases they have higher exposures since they eat, drink and breathe more per kilogram of body weight than adults and tend to ingest a lot more dirt and house dust than adults from their crawling around and playing outside.
While children only make up 10 percent of the world’s population, over 40 percent of the global burden of disease falls on them. Indeed, more than three million children under age five die annually from environmental factors.
Death is Not the Only Toll of Exposure to Pollutants
Pollution causes chronic illness, neurological damage and shortened lifespan. For instance, the presence of lead in children lowers I.Q. by an estimated 4-7 points for each increase of 10 μg/dL.3 Our database identifies populations around the globe with blood lead levels ranging from 50 -100 μg/dL, up to 10 times the WHO reference levels for protection against neurological damage.
Pollution is Worst in the Developing World
The world’s worst polluted places are in the developing world. Similar conditions no longer exist in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Japan and Australia today. In wealthier countries, there are sufficient legal, political, cultural and economic disincentives for polluters to allow their activities to affect human health on a massive scale. Unfortunately, many of these tactics do not work in developing countries that are trying to increase their industrialization and make themselves economically competitive for manufacturing and processing.
Pollution Contributes to Global Warming
Toxic emission from industry and other sources may contain greenhouse gases. Therefore some sources of pollution contribute to global warming. Unlike global warming, where the negative effects are evolutionary and solutions elusive, the effects of pollution are immediate and deadly, and the solutions are well-known and available.
Pollution: A Global Killer, a Solvable Problem
The understanding and the technology for remediation of all types of pollution sites is well established in the industrialized world, where life-threatening toxic pollution has almost been eliminated. All that is needed to eliminate pollution worldwide is resources and commitment.
Pollution likely affects over a billion people around the world, with millions poisoned and killed each year. The World Heath Organization estimates that 25 percent of all deaths in the developing world are directly attributable to environmental factor.1 Some researchers estimate that exposure to pollution causes 40 percent of deaths annually.2
Pollution is Regarded as a Major (and quickly emerging) Factor in Disease
People affected by pollution problems are much more susceptible to contracting other diseases. Others have impaired neurological development, damaged immune systems, and long-term health problems.
Women and Children are Especially at Risk, Children are Most Susceptible
Children are physiologically different and more vulnerable than adults. In some cases they have higher exposures since they eat, drink and breathe more per kilogram of body weight than adults and tend to ingest a lot more dirt and house dust than adults from their crawling around and playing outside.
While children only make up 10 percent of the world’s population, over 40 percent of the global burden of disease falls on them. Indeed, more than three million children under age five die annually from environmental factors.
Death is Not the Only Toll of Exposure to Pollutants
Pollution causes chronic illness, neurological damage and shortened lifespan. For instance, the presence of lead in children lowers I.Q. by an estimated 4-7 points for each increase of 10 μg/dL.3 Our database identifies populations around the globe with blood lead levels ranging from 50 -100 μg/dL, up to 10 times the WHO reference levels for protection against neurological damage.
Pollution is Worst in the Developing World
The world’s worst polluted places are in the developing world. Similar conditions no longer exist in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Japan and Australia today. In wealthier countries, there are sufficient legal, political, cultural and economic disincentives for polluters to allow their activities to affect human health on a massive scale. Unfortunately, many of these tactics do not work in developing countries that are trying to increase their industrialization and make themselves economically competitive for manufacturing and processing.
Pollution Contributes to Global Warming
Toxic emission from industry and other sources may contain greenhouse gases. Therefore some sources of pollution contribute to global warming. Unlike global warming, where the negative effects are evolutionary and solutions elusive, the effects of pollution are immediate and deadly, and the solutions are well-known and available.
Pollution: A Global Killer, a Solvable Problem
The understanding and the technology for remediation of all types of pollution sites is well established in the industrialized world, where life-threatening toxic pollution has almost been eliminated. All that is needed to eliminate pollution worldwide is resources and commitment.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
A new variable in the Climate Change formula?
Scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have discovered a key element of the climate science behind global warming… water vapor. Water vapor has long played a part in the formula for climate modeling. In fact water vapor is considered to be one of the most prevalent greenhouse effect creating emissions. The difference provided by this report is the importance of where water vapor was and is located. Previous climate modeling measured and accounted for the water vapor that appeared near the Earth’s surface, the water vapor discovered by the NOAA is at the outer edge of the atmosphere in the stratosphere.
The report states that water vapor in the stratosphere has decreased by nearly 10% since the year 2000. This may explain why the rate of global warming attributed to water vapor started to decrease during that same time. The NOAA scientists are not sure what the precise variables are that create changes in the amount of water vapor present in the stratosphere, however this is a key find that could help climate scientists with future climate modeling and predictions as well as understanding the affects of water vapor and other directly introduced to the upper atmosphere particles on global warming and cooling.
The report states that water vapor in the stratosphere has decreased by nearly 10% since the year 2000. This may explain why the rate of global warming attributed to water vapor started to decrease during that same time. The NOAA scientists are not sure what the precise variables are that create changes in the amount of water vapor present in the stratosphere, however this is a key find that could help climate scientists with future climate modeling and predictions as well as understanding the affects of water vapor and other directly introduced to the upper atmosphere particles on global warming and cooling.
Global warming as a chain of events
Once again remember we are attempting to define global warming as a chain of events. The first several of these links is an over abundance of solar radiation absorbing gases and other particles floating about in our atmosphere.
The next grouping of events concerns what happens when the small percentage of increased heat on our planet’s surface and in our air begins to effect long standing conditions.
Currently the measured effect of global warming as caused by the greenhouse effect on the planet overall is approximately a 1 degree Celsius increase over the last 50 years. This would seem to mean nothing. One asks, “How could one degree more or less effect anyone or anything.” In terms of that “anyone”, the effect of a one-degree difference in ambient temperature will probably go unnoticed. Our bodies are designed to adjust to a huge range of climatic conditions. No one of us will notice that today it is 71 degrees outside and fifty years ago it would have been 70. The human body will adjust and adapt even if the average temperature globally were to increase by ten degrees. Chances are we would set off a huge oblivious migration to more temperate areas. But that little one-degree change manages to set out of kilter an incredible array of environmental forces.
The next grouping of events concerns what happens when the small percentage of increased heat on our planet’s surface and in our air begins to effect long standing conditions.
Currently the measured effect of global warming as caused by the greenhouse effect on the planet overall is approximately a 1 degree Celsius increase over the last 50 years. This would seem to mean nothing. One asks, “How could one degree more or less effect anyone or anything.” In terms of that “anyone”, the effect of a one-degree difference in ambient temperature will probably go unnoticed. Our bodies are designed to adjust to a huge range of climatic conditions. No one of us will notice that today it is 71 degrees outside and fifty years ago it would have been 70. The human body will adjust and adapt even if the average temperature globally were to increase by ten degrees. Chances are we would set off a huge oblivious migration to more temperate areas. But that little one-degree change manages to set out of kilter an incredible array of environmental forces.
What is the 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.
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.
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 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.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
13 Very Important Things to Do about Global Warming...from the individual to the national
1. Learn about it -- start with this Web site and see the References.
2. Sell the SUV and choose cleaner, more efficient vehicles. Reduce your driving: one gallon of gas burned creates 20 pounds of CO2. Slow down for much better mileage. (Avoid biofuels like corn ethanol that can steal food from a hungry world.)
3. Use efficient appliances, replace light bulbs with low-voltage compact fluorescents, check your home insulation. Buy renewable energy, like wind and solar, from your power company.
4. Companies -- the one you work for and the ones you buy from -- can save lots of money and reduce global warming by taking similar steps toward energy efficiency.
5. Shop smart: Look for products made from recycled materials, created with renewable energy, and which help you save money and reduce pollution. Let the corporations who make our cars, fuels, goods and power know you want their products to be as ecological as possible.
6. Use your vote and influence as a citizen to elect responsive leaders; help them organize the neighborhood and town for energy efficiency.
7. Invite neighbors and schools to cooperate in climate cooling actions: Make pathways for walking and biking; put solar panels on roofs; plant community gardens; combine trips or use electric buses for daily errands and kid transport.
8. Suburban sprawl makes for lots of global warming pollution; plan for walkable communities, lots of trees, open spaces, and public transportation in and between cities.
9. Build new homes and buildings for efficiency and solar power.
10. Support sustainable farming and forestry, including non-food crops to make into ethanol and other biofuels
11. At all government levels, develop an efficient energy policy, moving away from fossil fuels and wasteful practices like air shipment of non-urgent parts and products.
12. Export new energy technology for efficiency and renewable energy sources to the rest of the world.
13. ....and start doing these things today.
2. Sell the SUV and choose cleaner, more efficient vehicles. Reduce your driving: one gallon of gas burned creates 20 pounds of CO2. Slow down for much better mileage. (Avoid biofuels like corn ethanol that can steal food from a hungry world.)
3. Use efficient appliances, replace light bulbs with low-voltage compact fluorescents, check your home insulation. Buy renewable energy, like wind and solar, from your power company.
4. Companies -- the one you work for and the ones you buy from -- can save lots of money and reduce global warming by taking similar steps toward energy efficiency.
5. Shop smart: Look for products made from recycled materials, created with renewable energy, and which help you save money and reduce pollution. Let the corporations who make our cars, fuels, goods and power know you want their products to be as ecological as possible.
6. Use your vote and influence as a citizen to elect responsive leaders; help them organize the neighborhood and town for energy efficiency.
7. Invite neighbors and schools to cooperate in climate cooling actions: Make pathways for walking and biking; put solar panels on roofs; plant community gardens; combine trips or use electric buses for daily errands and kid transport.
8. Suburban sprawl makes for lots of global warming pollution; plan for walkable communities, lots of trees, open spaces, and public transportation in and between cities.
9. Build new homes and buildings for efficiency and solar power.
10. Support sustainable farming and forestry, including non-food crops to make into ethanol and other biofuels
11. At all government levels, develop an efficient energy policy, moving away from fossil fuels and wasteful practices like air shipment of non-urgent parts and products.
12. Export new energy technology for efficiency and renewable energy sources to the rest of the world.
13. ....and start doing these things today.
10 MYTHS about Global Warming
Don't believe these commonly heard statements:
* It isn't really happening (documented science overwhelmingly shows temperatures rising rapidly)
* It's natural (temperature increases, especially since the 1970's, are far above natural variations)
* Any effects well be very gradual (not only are severe storms getting stronger, but climate history shows sharp climate changes can occur abruptly, in only a few years)
* It does not affect the U.S. (The U.S. is experiencing rising sea levels, more severe storms and droughts, die-off of forests, altered animal migrations, and loss of glaciers such as those in Glacier National Park)
* It will be good for us (some areas may become more pleasantly warm, but the cost of negative effects will far outweigh any benefits; disease and heat deaths are increasing)
* Agriculture will benefit (CO2 may make some crops grow faster, but also will accelerate weeds, pests and droughts; crops may not grow well where they once did as climate zones shift.)
* It's being handled by our government Changes we make to how we get and use energy will cost billions and throw millions out of work. (There are costs to any change, but study after study shows the net effect of conservation, efficiency and less-polluting energy will be more local jobs, less cost for power, and savings in health and local pollution control. The cost of severe climate change effects like seacoast erosion is far greater than working to reduce them.)
* It's not a big deal compared to national security (Global warming is actually the most serious threat to the widest range of human concerns. Our national and world security is directly threatened by negative climate effects on weather, water supply, disease, agriculture, marine resources, and health)
* Technology will solve the problem for us (Massive "fixes" like burying greenhouse gases are very unlikely, but many smaller changes can make a difference AND are available now)
* There's nothing to be done anyway (Everyone can make a difference today --)
* It isn't really happening (documented science overwhelmingly shows temperatures rising rapidly)
* It's natural (temperature increases, especially since the 1970's, are far above natural variations)
* Any effects well be very gradual (not only are severe storms getting stronger, but climate history shows sharp climate changes can occur abruptly, in only a few years)
* It does not affect the U.S. (The U.S. is experiencing rising sea levels, more severe storms and droughts, die-off of forests, altered animal migrations, and loss of glaciers such as those in Glacier National Park)
* It will be good for us (some areas may become more pleasantly warm, but the cost of negative effects will far outweigh any benefits; disease and heat deaths are increasing)
* Agriculture will benefit (CO2 may make some crops grow faster, but also will accelerate weeds, pests and droughts; crops may not grow well where they once did as climate zones shift.)
* It's being handled by our government Changes we make to how we get and use energy will cost billions and throw millions out of work. (There are costs to any change, but study after study shows the net effect of conservation, efficiency and less-polluting energy will be more local jobs, less cost for power, and savings in health and local pollution control. The cost of severe climate change effects like seacoast erosion is far greater than working to reduce them.)
* It's not a big deal compared to national security (Global warming is actually the most serious threat to the widest range of human concerns. Our national and world security is directly threatened by negative climate effects on weather, water supply, disease, agriculture, marine resources, and health)
* Technology will solve the problem for us (Massive "fixes" like burying greenhouse gases are very unlikely, but many smaller changes can make a difference AND are available now)
* There's nothing to be done anyway (Everyone can make a difference today --)
Report on the latest United Nations scientific report, the 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
The world's climate scientists reported unequivocally in 2007 that the Earth's climate system is increasingly heating up and that it likely has not been this warm for at least 1300 years. The fourth report of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says that evidence for this includes more than increases in global average air and ocean temperatures.
As has been reported on this site, heating effects are strong in melting of snow and ice, rising global mean sea level, widespread changes in precipitation amounts, ocean salinity, wind patterns and aspects of extreme weather including droughts, heavy precipitation, heat waves and the intensity of tropical cyclones. With much stronger language and more assurance than in previous reports, the IPCC members said there was less than 10 percent chance that this global warming was natural -- they pinned it directly on human greenhouse gas emissions. The amount of CO2 spewed out per year from fossil fuel burning is 12 percent greater now than in the 1990s, their report indicated, and the amount of the greenhouse effect is the greatest in 10,000 years.
he forecast range of possible temperatures by the end of the century reaches higher in this report than did the previous one in 2001 --11.5 degrees F -- but the more probable range is between 3.2 and 7 degrees F. The rate of rise depends on if and how fast emissions are reduced and on possible adverse feedbacks in the climate system. All probable temperatures are far beyond the increase in the 20th C and will take modern civilization into uncharted territory. Temperatures are sure to rise faster in the next decades, the IPCC said, than they did during the same time span in the last half of the 20th century.
Even now, the scientists reported, the last time the Arctic was significantly warmer was about 125,000 years ago, before the last ice age. At that time, sea level rose 4 to 6 meters as polar ice melted. For this coming century the IPCC is forecasting sea level to rise from 7 inches to about half a meter, depending on emissions and warming. The scientists expressed uncertainty about rapid melting of the Greenland ice cap, citing a lack of enough research so far; this is sure to be one of the more controversial parts of the report since some glaciologists think Greenland and possibly Western Antarctica glacier melt will add considerably more to sea level.
Scientists said "it is very likely that hot extremes, heat waves, and heavy precipitation events will continue to become more frequent," that it was very certain that the ocean would become more acid from taking up more CO2 and that the great currents in the North Atlantic were likely to slow but not stop.
If CO2 emissions can be reduced far enough, the report estimated, the atmosphere could be stabilized at a much lower level of greenhouse effect than is forecast now. Still, the effects of global warming will be with us for many centuries, the IPCC said, because of the inertia of the atmosphere and oceans and the 100 + year persistence of greenhouse gases.
The significance of this report is less its absolute numbers, than in the strength of its judgments and its acceptance, in the UN's consensus procedure, by the world's nations including the U.S. and China. The IPCC also reported on changes to the natural world and on mitigation and adaptation strategies to reduce the impact of climate change.
As has been reported on this site, heating effects are strong in melting of snow and ice, rising global mean sea level, widespread changes in precipitation amounts, ocean salinity, wind patterns and aspects of extreme weather including droughts, heavy precipitation, heat waves and the intensity of tropical cyclones. With much stronger language and more assurance than in previous reports, the IPCC members said there was less than 10 percent chance that this global warming was natural -- they pinned it directly on human greenhouse gas emissions. The amount of CO2 spewed out per year from fossil fuel burning is 12 percent greater now than in the 1990s, their report indicated, and the amount of the greenhouse effect is the greatest in 10,000 years.
he forecast range of possible temperatures by the end of the century reaches higher in this report than did the previous one in 2001 --11.5 degrees F -- but the more probable range is between 3.2 and 7 degrees F. The rate of rise depends on if and how fast emissions are reduced and on possible adverse feedbacks in the climate system. All probable temperatures are far beyond the increase in the 20th C and will take modern civilization into uncharted territory. Temperatures are sure to rise faster in the next decades, the IPCC said, than they did during the same time span in the last half of the 20th century.
Even now, the scientists reported, the last time the Arctic was significantly warmer was about 125,000 years ago, before the last ice age. At that time, sea level rose 4 to 6 meters as polar ice melted. For this coming century the IPCC is forecasting sea level to rise from 7 inches to about half a meter, depending on emissions and warming. The scientists expressed uncertainty about rapid melting of the Greenland ice cap, citing a lack of enough research so far; this is sure to be one of the more controversial parts of the report since some glaciologists think Greenland and possibly Western Antarctica glacier melt will add considerably more to sea level.
Scientists said "it is very likely that hot extremes, heat waves, and heavy precipitation events will continue to become more frequent," that it was very certain that the ocean would become more acid from taking up more CO2 and that the great currents in the North Atlantic were likely to slow but not stop.
If CO2 emissions can be reduced far enough, the report estimated, the atmosphere could be stabilized at a much lower level of greenhouse effect than is forecast now. Still, the effects of global warming will be with us for many centuries, the IPCC said, because of the inertia of the atmosphere and oceans and the 100 + year persistence of greenhouse gases.
The significance of this report is less its absolute numbers, than in the strength of its judgments and its acceptance, in the UN's consensus procedure, by the world's nations including the U.S. and China. The IPCC also reported on changes to the natural world and on mitigation and adaptation strategies to reduce the impact of climate change.
GLOBAL WARMING AND CLIMATE CHANGE EXPLAINED
Global warming refers to an increase in the Earth’s average surface air temperature. Global warming and cooling in themselves are not necessarily bad, since the Earth has gone through cycles of temperature change many times in its 4.5 billion years. However, as used today, global warming usually means a fast, unnatural increase that is enough to cause the expected climate conditions to change rapidly and often cataclysmically.
Our planet is warmed by radiant energy from the sun that reaches the surface through the atmosphere. As the surface warms, heat energy reflects back toward space; meanwhile, gases in the atmosphere absorb some of this energy and reradiate it near the surface. This is often called the greenhouse effect, named for the way heat increases inside a glass enclosure. In the greenhouse effect around Earth, the atmosphere can be visualized as a blanket that is made thicker by the action of a small amount of water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, ozone, nitrous oxide, other gases, and soot; it thus holds in more heat, forcing air temperature higher. The scientific term for this action is, in fact, “forcing.”
On an average day, this effect is caused by water vapor and clouds (75 percent) and carbon dioxide (20 percent), with the rest fthe heating caused by other gases. Relatively small additions of carbon dioxide and methane force more heat, and that heat allows the air to hold more water vapor, creating a feedback loop that magnifies the effect. Although water vapor is naturally prevalent in the atmosphere, it does not trap as much heat per molecule as carbon dioxide and methane. Also, water vapor molecules cycle through the atmosphere in only a few days, a brief period compared to the residence time of CO2,which persists for many decades and creates some warming even after as long as three hundred years. Dust and aerosol chemicals in the air cause some cooling (negative forcing); they are also very short lived. Even though the gases are measured only in parts per million (ppm) or billion (ppb), they have been powerfully, and naturally, influencing the Earth’s temperature for millions of years. Without them, instead of an average air temperature of about 58°F (14.5°C), the Earth would be below the freezing point. Life as we know it now would be impossible.
Earth’s temperature is also subject to natural forcing cycles from solar radiation and the movement of the planet around the sun. Scientists think these cycles, which have left a visible signature extending back millions of years, arewhat led to past iceages and the warming that ended them. Currently, we are in a period between major iceages. The last great glaciation, when temperatures were about 10°to 12°F (6°to7°C) cooler than today, began fading away about 18,000 yearsago. The initial transition out of the ice age was unstable,with many rapid temperature shifts. As temperatures warmed, climate was affected.
Climate is the accumulation of weather effects—wind, rainfall, heat, cold—experienced in a place over many years, an average of thousands of days’ worth of weather. Climate is what one expects in a certain place; weather is what occurs day by day. One result of global temperature increase or decrease is climate change, referring to a shift in not only average local temperature but also rain- and snowfall, cloudiness and storms, the seasons, and river flow, with associated impacts on the biosphere, the portion of the Earth and its atmosphere that supports life. Although in our daily lives we are attuned to day-by-day swings of temperature and weather, the long-term changes of climate and average Earth temperature are more difficult to apprehend.
During most of the more recent past (say, 10-11,000 years), the concentration of greenhouse gases remained relatively stable, and so did the Earth’s temperature and climate. This was the time when humans developed civilizations and learned how to build cities, grow food, and invent machines. It is possible that early farming and forest clearing had a warming effect on the Earth beginning five thousand to eight thousand years ago. There are also a few examples of natural temperature shifts, such as the Medieval Warm Period, which was followed by the Little Ice Age in the fifteenth through eighteenth centuries. These were possibly not global in extent, and there is scientific disagreement over their causes which seem to have included periods of solar radiation increase and decrease and volcanic eruptions.
During the Industrial Revolution, people began to use coal and, later, petroleum, to heat cities and run machines. Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, a by-product of burning both coal and oil, began to increase. Since then, levels of carbon dioxide have risen by almost 35 percent, methane concentrations (coming from ricefields, cattle, landfills, and leaks of natural gas) have more than doubled, and nitrous oxide concentrations (another by-product of oil) have gone up by about 15 percent. Some chemicals invented by humans, like chlorofluorocarbons, are also greenhouse gases. Increased greenhouse gases mean more heat is kept in the atmosphere, which led beginning in the late 1800s to arise in both ocean and air temperature. Between then and 1945, world temperature rose but then leveled off and even decreased a little through the 1960s. The best explanation for that dip appears to be the rise in industrial air pollution during and after the war years, including dust and sulfur, which, as aerosols, cool the atmosphere. Beginning in the 60s, laws mandated the reduction of aerosol pollution. The sun’s luminosity varied a little through these years, but this appears to have had only minor influence.
The recent increase in atmospheric CO2 is 200 times as great as any previous change known and the current level is 385 parts per million, the highest seen in 800,000 years of deep glacier ice core records. It shows no signs of decreasing. Since the 1970s atmospheric heat has been rapidly increasing. Whereas the average temperature of the planet rose about 1°F (0.6°C) between the mid-nineteenth century and the end of the twentieth, in the past twenty-five years alone the temperature has risen just over 0.8°F (0.5°C). (The last ice age would have ended in only four hundred years—instead of many thousands—at this rate of heating.) The total heating from the late nineteenth century to 2005 is 1.4°F (0.8°C). The ocean has actually absorbed most of the added CO2 and heat -- becoming warmer and very slightly more acidic. The only explanation that comports with data and observations of sun, atmosphere and ocean is the steep rise in greenhouse gases. This rise has been shown to be the result not of natural changes but of human activities (“anthropogenic"), primarily the burning of fossil fuels but also farming and forest clearing. Extensive urbanization, air pollution, forrest fires and increased pumping of water have caused regional change as well. Furthermore, scientists know the added carbon dioxide comes from our actions because this CO2 has an unmistakable chemical signature.
This research has created what has become the single most powerful icon of climate change, the so-called "hockey-stick" graph of temperatures. In 2005-6 it was subjected to intense re-analysis. Evidence of previous cool and warm periods has increased, but the rapid and sustained heat gain especially since the 1970s remains unparalleled in recent earth history. All this evidence, plus the vast range of changes to plants, animals, storms and glaciers which correlate strongly to the measured temperature rise, caused world climate scientists to declare in 2007 that "Warming of the climate system is unequivocal," and that there is more than a 90 percent assurance that "most of the observed increase in global average temperatures since the mid-20th century is ... due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations."
These increases have a giant effect on weather, climate zones, plants and animals, sea life, glaciers and river flow. In response, our planet has been changing with warming winds and rising seas. The 10 warmest years on record have all occurred since 1997, according to meteorologists. 2005 and 1998 were the warmest. At the poles and in mountains, ice is melting and glaciers are receding. Arctic sea ice reach the smallest summer extent ever recorded in the past few years. Even in Antarctica, where winter sea ice has been larger in extent recently, it melts back much more than before in the summers, affecting the food supply of whales and penguins. The planet has heavier downpours now but also deeper droughts. Down into the temperate zone, change is rearranging the boundaries of life. The plants and animals with whom we share the planet are adapting and moving -- some even going extinct -- because they have no choice.
We six billion humans are being affected, too. Coastal towns are suffering from rising sea level, storms are getting more intense and 35,000 people died in European heat waves in 2003. However, we have choices to make to help correct and ameliorate global warming. This is a story of frightening scale and and great urgency that is just beginning to be told.
Our planet is warmed by radiant energy from the sun that reaches the surface through the atmosphere. As the surface warms, heat energy reflects back toward space; meanwhile, gases in the atmosphere absorb some of this energy and reradiate it near the surface. This is often called the greenhouse effect, named for the way heat increases inside a glass enclosure. In the greenhouse effect around Earth, the atmosphere can be visualized as a blanket that is made thicker by the action of a small amount of water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, ozone, nitrous oxide, other gases, and soot; it thus holds in more heat, forcing air temperature higher. The scientific term for this action is, in fact, “forcing.”
On an average day, this effect is caused by water vapor and clouds (75 percent) and carbon dioxide (20 percent), with the rest fthe heating caused by other gases. Relatively small additions of carbon dioxide and methane force more heat, and that heat allows the air to hold more water vapor, creating a feedback loop that magnifies the effect. Although water vapor is naturally prevalent in the atmosphere, it does not trap as much heat per molecule as carbon dioxide and methane. Also, water vapor molecules cycle through the atmosphere in only a few days, a brief period compared to the residence time of CO2,which persists for many decades and creates some warming even after as long as three hundred years. Dust and aerosol chemicals in the air cause some cooling (negative forcing); they are also very short lived. Even though the gases are measured only in parts per million (ppm) or billion (ppb), they have been powerfully, and naturally, influencing the Earth’s temperature for millions of years. Without them, instead of an average air temperature of about 58°F (14.5°C), the Earth would be below the freezing point. Life as we know it now would be impossible.
Earth’s temperature is also subject to natural forcing cycles from solar radiation and the movement of the planet around the sun. Scientists think these cycles, which have left a visible signature extending back millions of years, arewhat led to past iceages and the warming that ended them. Currently, we are in a period between major iceages. The last great glaciation, when temperatures were about 10°to 12°F (6°to7°C) cooler than today, began fading away about 18,000 yearsago. The initial transition out of the ice age was unstable,with many rapid temperature shifts. As temperatures warmed, climate was affected.
Climate is the accumulation of weather effects—wind, rainfall, heat, cold—experienced in a place over many years, an average of thousands of days’ worth of weather. Climate is what one expects in a certain place; weather is what occurs day by day. One result of global temperature increase or decrease is climate change, referring to a shift in not only average local temperature but also rain- and snowfall, cloudiness and storms, the seasons, and river flow, with associated impacts on the biosphere, the portion of the Earth and its atmosphere that supports life. Although in our daily lives we are attuned to day-by-day swings of temperature and weather, the long-term changes of climate and average Earth temperature are more difficult to apprehend.
During most of the more recent past (say, 10-11,000 years), the concentration of greenhouse gases remained relatively stable, and so did the Earth’s temperature and climate. This was the time when humans developed civilizations and learned how to build cities, grow food, and invent machines. It is possible that early farming and forest clearing had a warming effect on the Earth beginning five thousand to eight thousand years ago. There are also a few examples of natural temperature shifts, such as the Medieval Warm Period, which was followed by the Little Ice Age in the fifteenth through eighteenth centuries. These were possibly not global in extent, and there is scientific disagreement over their causes which seem to have included periods of solar radiation increase and decrease and volcanic eruptions.
During the Industrial Revolution, people began to use coal and, later, petroleum, to heat cities and run machines. Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, a by-product of burning both coal and oil, began to increase. Since then, levels of carbon dioxide have risen by almost 35 percent, methane concentrations (coming from ricefields, cattle, landfills, and leaks of natural gas) have more than doubled, and nitrous oxide concentrations (another by-product of oil) have gone up by about 15 percent. Some chemicals invented by humans, like chlorofluorocarbons, are also greenhouse gases. Increased greenhouse gases mean more heat is kept in the atmosphere, which led beginning in the late 1800s to arise in both ocean and air temperature. Between then and 1945, world temperature rose but then leveled off and even decreased a little through the 1960s. The best explanation for that dip appears to be the rise in industrial air pollution during and after the war years, including dust and sulfur, which, as aerosols, cool the atmosphere. Beginning in the 60s, laws mandated the reduction of aerosol pollution. The sun’s luminosity varied a little through these years, but this appears to have had only minor influence.
The recent increase in atmospheric CO2 is 200 times as great as any previous change known and the current level is 385 parts per million, the highest seen in 800,000 years of deep glacier ice core records. It shows no signs of decreasing. Since the 1970s atmospheric heat has been rapidly increasing. Whereas the average temperature of the planet rose about 1°F (0.6°C) between the mid-nineteenth century and the end of the twentieth, in the past twenty-five years alone the temperature has risen just over 0.8°F (0.5°C). (The last ice age would have ended in only four hundred years—instead of many thousands—at this rate of heating.) The total heating from the late nineteenth century to 2005 is 1.4°F (0.8°C). The ocean has actually absorbed most of the added CO2 and heat -- becoming warmer and very slightly more acidic. The only explanation that comports with data and observations of sun, atmosphere and ocean is the steep rise in greenhouse gases. This rise has been shown to be the result not of natural changes but of human activities (“anthropogenic"), primarily the burning of fossil fuels but also farming and forest clearing. Extensive urbanization, air pollution, forrest fires and increased pumping of water have caused regional change as well. Furthermore, scientists know the added carbon dioxide comes from our actions because this CO2 has an unmistakable chemical signature.
This research has created what has become the single most powerful icon of climate change, the so-called "hockey-stick" graph of temperatures. In 2005-6 it was subjected to intense re-analysis. Evidence of previous cool and warm periods has increased, but the rapid and sustained heat gain especially since the 1970s remains unparalleled in recent earth history. All this evidence, plus the vast range of changes to plants, animals, storms and glaciers which correlate strongly to the measured temperature rise, caused world climate scientists to declare in 2007 that "Warming of the climate system is unequivocal," and that there is more than a 90 percent assurance that "most of the observed increase in global average temperatures since the mid-20th century is ... due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations."
These increases have a giant effect on weather, climate zones, plants and animals, sea life, glaciers and river flow. In response, our planet has been changing with warming winds and rising seas. The 10 warmest years on record have all occurred since 1997, according to meteorologists. 2005 and 1998 were the warmest. At the poles and in mountains, ice is melting and glaciers are receding. Arctic sea ice reach the smallest summer extent ever recorded in the past few years. Even in Antarctica, where winter sea ice has been larger in extent recently, it melts back much more than before in the summers, affecting the food supply of whales and penguins. The planet has heavier downpours now but also deeper droughts. Down into the temperate zone, change is rearranging the boundaries of life. The plants and animals with whom we share the planet are adapting and moving -- some even going extinct -- because they have no choice.
We six billion humans are being affected, too. Coastal towns are suffering from rising sea level, storms are getting more intense and 35,000 people died in European heat waves in 2003. However, we have choices to make to help correct and ameliorate global warming. This is a story of frightening scale and and great urgency that is just beginning to be told.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
HUMAN POPULATION
"Go Forth And Multiply!" That's what the human population has successfully been doing for thousands and thousands of years, expanding, exploring, migrating, conquering, utilizing, evolving, civilizing, industrializing, and now, destroying the very land upon which we live.
Many feel (as has been the case throughout history) that the major international wars to be fought in the future will continue to be over natural resources. Power conflicts and self-interest will perhaps mean that there will be gross violation of basic rights and death or misery for millions of innocent people. Throughout history, most wars have had trade and resources at their core (leading to ideological battles) fueled by imperialistic motives. In the future, while this pattern is likely to continue, as resources get depleted and wasted in these wars (hot and cold), additional conflicts and contention will arise through access to even more limited resources.
Many of us have grown up learning and being told that 6 billion is too much and this "over population" is primarily impacting the planet's ability to cope. But is that really the case? Sure, the planet is facing incredible stress. But how much of that is due to large populations, and how much is based on other factors, such as how we choose to live, how we produce, consume and waste our resources? The poor are numerous, but as we shall see, consume far less resources of the planet, for example.
Studies point to ecological limits to sustain people, but these limits can be different, based on the way we consume resources etc so it is hard to say for sure what over population means let alone if we are at some threshold, below, or above it. The information understood so far provides valuable insights and is very important to consider, nonetheless. Yet, the figure of 6 billion and literature about over-population naturally looks to the poor regions where there are high populations and environmental degradation as the problem.
In the poverty section of this web site, we see numerous causes of poverty, and many are found in unfair economic and trade agreements from wealthier nations and institutions. While it might be an oversimplification to say the poor are victims, a lot of poverty, if not the majority is caused by factors which the poor themselves often have no control or choice over. Yet, at the same time the poor seem to get the blame for burdening the planet. Is this the case? While the concern for the environment and the planet's health is usually the central issue here, is there a risk of addressing the issue in ways that may not get to the root causes of any problems that are perceived to require serious attention? This section of the globalissues.org web site attempts to look at and introduce some of these issues.
Many feel (as has been the case throughout history) that the major international wars to be fought in the future will continue to be over natural resources. Power conflicts and self-interest will perhaps mean that there will be gross violation of basic rights and death or misery for millions of innocent people. Throughout history, most wars have had trade and resources at their core (leading to ideological battles) fueled by imperialistic motives. In the future, while this pattern is likely to continue, as resources get depleted and wasted in these wars (hot and cold), additional conflicts and contention will arise through access to even more limited resources.
Many of us have grown up learning and being told that 6 billion is too much and this "over population" is primarily impacting the planet's ability to cope. But is that really the case? Sure, the planet is facing incredible stress. But how much of that is due to large populations, and how much is based on other factors, such as how we choose to live, how we produce, consume and waste our resources? The poor are numerous, but as we shall see, consume far less resources of the planet, for example.
Studies point to ecological limits to sustain people, but these limits can be different, based on the way we consume resources etc so it is hard to say for sure what over population means let alone if we are at some threshold, below, or above it. The information understood so far provides valuable insights and is very important to consider, nonetheless. Yet, the figure of 6 billion and literature about over-population naturally looks to the poor regions where there are high populations and environmental degradation as the problem.
In the poverty section of this web site, we see numerous causes of poverty, and many are found in unfair economic and trade agreements from wealthier nations and institutions. While it might be an oversimplification to say the poor are victims, a lot of poverty, if not the majority is caused by factors which the poor themselves often have no control or choice over. Yet, at the same time the poor seem to get the blame for burdening the planet. Is this the case? While the concern for the environment and the planet's health is usually the central issue here, is there a risk of addressing the issue in ways that may not get to the root causes of any problems that are perceived to require serious attention? This section of the globalissues.org web site attempts to look at and introduce some of these issues.
GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS
Following a period of economic boom, a financial bubble—global in scope—has now burst. The extent of this problem has been so severe that some of the world’s largest financial institutions have collapsed. Others have been bought out by their competition at low prices and in other cases, the governments of the wealthiest nations in the world have resorted to extensive bail-out and rescue packages for the remaining large banks and financial institutions.
Some of the bail-outs have also led to charges of hypocrisy due to the apparent socializing of the costs while privatizing the profits. Furthermore, the institutions being rescued are typically the ones got the world into this trouble in the first place. For smaller businesses and poorer people, such options for bail out and rescue are rarely available when they find themselves in crisis. There is the argument that when the larger banks show signs of crisis, it is not just the wealthy that will suffer, but potentially everyone because of the ripple effect that problems at the top could have throughout the entire economy.
Plummeting stock markets have wiped out 33% of the value of companies, $14.5 trillion. Taxpayers will be bailing out their banks and financial institutions with large amounts of money. US taxpayers alone will spend some $9.7 trillion in bailout packages and plans. The UK and other European countries have also spent some $2 trillion on rescues and bailout packages. More is expected. Much more.
Such numbers, made quickly available, are enough to wipe many individual’s mortgages, or clear out third world debt many times over. Even the high military spending figures are dwarfed by the bailout plans to date.
CLIMATE CHANGE AND GLOBAL WARMING
The climate is changing. The earth is warming up, and there is now overwhelming scientific consensus that it is happening, and human-induced. With global warming on the increase and species and their habitats on the decrease, chances for ecosystems to adapt naturally are diminishing. Many are agreed that climate change may be one of the greatest threats facing the planet. Recent years show increasing temperatures in various regions, and/or increasing extremities in weather patterns.
This section explores some of the effects of climate change. It also attempts to provide insights into what governments, companies, international institutions, and other organizations are attempting to do about this issue, as well as the challenges they face. Some of the major conferences in recent years are also discussed.
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