The IPCC Reports on Global Warming

The IPCC Reports on Global Warming

The Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change has issued its Fourth Assessment Report in 2007.  This report shows the effects and predictions concerning the issues surrounding global warming.  Due to the size of the report and the amount of information contained in it, it takes a good deal of study to thoroughly understand the entire document.  

However, some points can be made about the IPCC report.  Working Group I is a part of the IPCC that reported on its study of the Physical Science Basis of the report.  This dealt with the observations of global warming and the current state of how the sciences study global warming.  

Attention was given as to how much of the problem was due to human activity and how much to causes in nature.  Then, this section of the report makes predictions of how the course of global warming will run in the future.  

After being produced by over 600 writers from 40 countries, the report was reviewed by another 620.  The resulting findings were that global warming was indeed happening, and that human activity accounted for most of the cause of global warming.  

This report notes many climatic changes that are occurring due to global warming.  Some of these are changes in the make-up of the atmosphere, warming of the earth, and changes in ice, snow and permafrost.  Also included were notes about the different amounts of rainfall and flooding, along with the frequency of drought.  

The severity of hurricanes was discussed.  It is stated that humans have brought on the global warming that has caused the extreme hurricanes, and that the 21st century will see even more of them.  The portion of the study that blamed humans was a result of expert opinions more than a product of research.  

Different factors were discussed that could cause global warming or cooling.  The current era was defined as starting in 1750.  In the current era, the sun has radiated more intense heat, human activities have raised the temperature, and greenhouse gases have increased rapidly.  

Different models were given of the course global warming would take in the next century.  The models were run using different scenarios.  They all turned out somewhat different.  However, they all indicated significant global warming.  

The rises of temperature and of sea levels were explored fully.  All the different models based on different scenarios were run to determine the numbers for these aspects of global warming.  The prediction was that these levels would continue to rise for 1000 years, until all the excess greenhouse gases could be removed from the atmosphere.  

Working Group II was involved with determining the Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability surrounding global warming.  Working Group III had the task of determining what would be the best Mitigation of Climate Change.  This part of the report gave recommendations to world leaders on the subject of global warming initiatives.  

The IPCC's report is a lengthy study into the nature of global warming.  It covers the past, the current situation, and predictions about the future.  Then, it proceeds to discuss ways to curb global warming.  It is an important document, and it should be read by anyone interested in global warming.  

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The Effects of Extreme Events Caused by Global Warming

The Effects of Extreme Events Caused by Global Warming

When a hurricane becomes more intense because of global warming and wipes out a city, the effects are obvious.  Yet, there are some results of extreme events that are less apparent.  These situations can change life in many ways.  

Heat, of course, will be an important factor in global warming.  There will be more days that are hot, higher daytime highs, and many lasting heat waves.  This will affect people, animals, and the environment.  

There will be more people who will die as a result of intense heat.  Elderly people and poor people who cannot afford air conditioning will be most at risk.  The people who do have air conditioning will run theirs more.  The added energy use will increase global warming as more greenhouse gases are emitted into the air.  

Farmers and ranchers will notice problems with their operations due to global warming.  Crops will have a risk of being damaged by drought, flooding, or erosion.  The uncertainty has always been a part of farming, but now, it will be even worse.  

Farmers and ranchers will see that their livestock is suffering from the effects of global warming as well.  Their food and water supplies will be in jeopardy, and storms will put them in danger of injury.  Wildlife will be affected as habitats are changed.  

Another effect of the higher temperatures caused by global warming is that tourism will make gradual shifts. A region that had the ideal temperature one year might be too hot the next.  Then, tourists will move further north for their vacations.  

The effects of higher daytime lows are mostly good.  There will be fewer deaths related to cold weather, less reliance on fuels for heat, and some crops will benefit.  The bad news is that other crops will suffer, and pests and diseases will flourish due to global warming.  

As global warming gets worse, precipitation will become more intense.  This will lead to floods, mudslides, landslides, and avalanches.  Soil erosion will be a fact of life.  At the same time, there will be increased risk of drought.  This will lead to more forest fires.  It will also limit the quantity and quality of the water supply.  

Finally, the hurricanes intensified by global warming will have a great impact on the earth.  People will be injured or killed in the storms themselves and others will die as a result of infectious diseases that come as a result of the mess of the clean-up.  

Hurricanes also damage such natural wonders as coral reefs and mangroves.  These are two ecosystems that will be disrupted if global warming is allowed to continue.  The coast of any are with such hurricanes will be in bad shape.  There will be coastal erosion, and the coastal infrastructure will be weakened.  

The effects of extreme weather caused by global warming are tremendous.  It is only natural to want to try to avoid them.  To stop global warming, it will take a group effort combining the energies of individuals and governments alike.  

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The Kyoto Protocol and Global Warming

The Kyoto Protocol and Global Warming

The Kyoto Protocol was set up in a session of the United Nations in Japan in the year 1997.  This initiative was set forth to reduce harmful emissions and to lessen global warming.  It was adopted and contains goals for emissions that are legally binding for the countries involved.  

The aim of the Kyoto Protocol is to prevent countries from causing global warming through human activity.  There are some natural forces that contribute to global warming.  However, it is the disruption of the climate by humans that is most damaging.  This is what is addressed in the Kyoto Protocol.  

The developed countries of the world have made commitments to reducing emissions in a timely manner.  They have target dates and set levels they are supposed to reach by those times.  There are six greenhouse gases that are meant to be reduced by 5% in the next few years.  Three of these are carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide.  If these countries are successful, it will reduce global warming.  

It is interesting that, while many countries have agreed to reduce emissions, some countries will be allowed to raise emissions.  These countries are Norway, Australia, and Iceland.  These countries control global warming by keeping their increases to a certain level.  

Other countries are asked to simply maintain the levels of emissions they already have.  Countries such as Russia, Ukraine, and New Zealand do their part against global warming by maintaining the status quo.  

The goals of the Kyoto Protocol to decrease global warming are supposed to be realized between the years 2008-2012.  It seems that this will be a near impossibility at this point for many countries.  The US especially is turning its back on the provisions of the Kyoto Protocol.  The initiative is given lip service by the powers that be, but real progress has been slow coming.  

One way developed countries can receive credit under the Kyoto protocol is to help others.  If developed countries sponsor emissions reducing programs in developing countries, they receive credit for this.  It shows their commitment to the reduction of global warming.  

Yet, not all developed countries have adopted the Kyoto Protocol.  One glaring example is the US.  As of December 2006, the US was one of the 169 governments that had signed the agreement to cut down on global warming.  However, it did not ratify the agreement, so the treaty has no power in the US.  Another hold-out was Australia.  

There were two conditions that needed to be met to put this treaty into full legal force.  One was that 55 countries needed to sign up.  That condition was met in 2002.  In 2005, the other condition was met when 55% of the developed countries had joined the effort to stop global warming.  

The Kyoto Protocol was designed to hold developed countries up to a high standard.  Developed countries are not only expected to create ways to reduce global warming.  They are also rewarded if they help other countries to do the same.  When every developed country joins in the struggle to reduce global warming, the earth will reap the benefits.  

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The US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement on Global Warming

The US Mayors Climate 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.  

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Transportation Issues and Global Warming

Transportation Issues and Global Warming

There is great concern over the greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles that contribute to global warming.  Transportation has become a major issue.  New fuels, new cars, and new types of communities are being discussed as solutions.  

Gasoline-burning cars are a major contributor to global warming.  In fact, they are the second largest cause of global warming pollution in the United States.  It would be beneficial if the cars could be more efficient.  If they could burn cleaner fuels, it would even be better.  

It is predicted that Americans will continue to put gasoline-burning cars on the road at alarming rates over the next twenty years.  The number estimated is around 300 million new cars.  With this expectation, it is clear that cars should be made with energy efficiency in mind.  Otherwise, they will cause extensive global warming.  

Hybrid engines are being touted by many celebrities as a way to prevent global warming.  Many celebrities prefer the Prius hybrid car.  These hybrid cars do, in fact, double gas mileage.  At the same time, they reduce harmful emissions that lead to global warming.  

Future technologies for cars, such as fuel cells, may ease global warming even more.  Fuel cells change hydrogen fuel and oxygen into electricity.  Then, the electricity is used to run the vehicle.  This technology has already been used by NASA and is projected to help ease global warming in the future.  

Alternate fuels have been in the news for helping with reducing global warming as well.  One of the most interesting fuels is bio-diesel.  This type of fuel can be made from a variety of sources.  Vegetable oils such as soybean and rapeseed oils have been used successfully in regular diesel vehicles.  

Animal fats work, but are rarely used because they are too expensive.  However, used oil from fast food restaurants can be employed to do the same thing.  It is surprising that global warming can be slowed down by the use of fast food by-products.  

Ethanol is being used in many countries, now including the US, to decrease pollution and dependence on foreign oil.  Global warming is impacted, too.  Brazil, which uses ethanol almost exclusively, makes the fuel from sugar cane.  In the US, corn is the chief source of ethanol.  

Some cars are flex-fuel cars which can be run on different fuel sources.  They can use alcohol, gasoline, or a combination.  E85 is mostly ethanol with 15% of the fuel being gasoline.  This fuel performs a little better than pure ethanol, but is more conducive to cutting down on global warming than gasoline.  

Another way global warming can be addressed through transportation issues is in community planning.  Communities can be built so that people can spend more time walking or cycling than driving.  This cuts down dramatically on greenhouse gas emissions, thereby reducing global warming.  

The world, especially the US, can make some changes in the way they move about and transport their goods.  If people do nothing, greenhouse gasses will surely increase drastically.  However, if changes are made, global warming will be cut to a very large degree.  

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What the Other Side Is Saying About Global Warming

What the Other Side Is Saying About Global Warming

While the majority of celebrities and many scientists in the world view global warming as a disaster of epic proportions, not all agree.  Some people, even scientists, have opposing viewpoints that are based on their own formal observations and the data from many sources.  It is interesting to explore what these people have to say about global warming.  

One of the most talked-about aspects of global warming is the rise in sea levels.  If you are to believe most people who speak on global warming, you have to think that many habitable places on earth will soon be underwater.  There is some evidence to refute this.  

There is a professor of paleogeophysics and geodynamics at Stockholm University who presents interesting data.  According to this professor, the sea levels are in the same range they have been in over the last three hundred years.  There has not even been the slightest rise in sea levels in the last decade.  

While a sea level rise of .1 to .9 meters is predicted by the year 2100, it is not seen by this group of people as a dangerous situation.  After all, there was a .2 rise in the sea level during the past century and humans did not even seem to notice.  

When the global warming pundits talk about the rises in sea level that result from three sheets of ice that melt per year, it is the opponents of the movement that put it into terms that make sense.  If the ice continues to melt at that rate, it will take a thousand years to raise the sea level by 5 cm.  

The people who preach on the dangers of global warming believe that Hurricane Katrina and others were intensified by global warming.  Many experts on the other side of the fence claim that the extreme storms have not been unusual earth events.  They also say that better reporting of severe weather occurrences contributes to the impression that global warming is having an impact.  

While those dedicated to stopping global warming are worried about the recession of the snows of Mount Kilimanjaro, others believe there are reasons besides global warming.  These people say that you have to understand how glaciers interact with the climate around them.  Knowing that the air has been drier, they say, leads you to the fact that the glacial recession is a natural occurrence.  

Many people who fear global warming say that it will increase diseases like malaria by allowing disease-bearing mosquitoes into higher elevations.  Others realize that there are other reasons for the additional cases of malaria and other such diseases.  

These include the facts that 1) people from lowland areas are resistant to disease but carry it with them when they move to higher elevations, 2) deforestation leaves a breeding ground for mosquitoes, and 3) more pools and ditches will lead to more mosquitoes.  

For many reasons, global warming is not a subject that everyone agrees on.  People from all over the world have different opinions and they often do not wish to see another's viewpoint.  When the true facts about global warming are clear, people can begin to come together to address the problem.  

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What Can Nations Do To Combat Global Warming?

What Can Nations Do To Combat Global Warming?  

There are things individuals can do to help stop global warming.  Yet, when nations get involved, it is to everyone's benefit to see to it that the right steps are taken.  Nations can combat global warming by many different means.  

For one thing, a good forestry department can have a huge impact.  The carbon dioxide that is one cause of global warming is eaten up by trees.  If a country fosters the growth of its forests and does not allow them to be cut down indiscriminately, global warming will be slowed down.  

Another thing nations can do is to focus on energy efficiency.  The less energy is used, the less global warming has a chance to take hold.  A country can place efficiency standards on appliances and cars.  Even better, they can redesign cities so that walking and cycling can become an option instead of people having to drive everywhere.  

Alternative sources of energy emit little or no greenhouse gases.  Using them will help curb global warming.  Hydro-power, solar energy, and windmills can be used to take the place of burning gas, or coal for electricity.  Windmills, in fact, are already being set up by the scores in many fields in out-of-the-way places.  This is a good step to prevent global warming.  

Nations can also be quick to adjust their policies to the climatic changes of the times.  When one type of crop will no longer grow well because it needs a cooler climate, that crop can be replaced in that area with a different kind that will.  Nations can build aqueducts to transport water to drought-ridden areas.  

There are different ways that nations can get their message about global warming across.  First, they can make laws about it.  They can require people to use environmentally-friendly appliances, fuel sources, and vehicles.  They can make it a legal requirement for auto makers to reduce harmful emissions given off by their cars.  

Another way to change people's behavior is to make it financially advantageous to be concerned about global warming.  If gas prices are higher, people are spurred on to finding a more fuel-efficient vehicle, or even a different fuel source altogether.  

Tax incentives and government subsidies can also encourage people to think about global warming.  The only problem is that this approach usually favors those who have more money in the first place.  

Governments can make it their business to inform and educate the people of the country.  With news and data about global warming, people will be prompted to take it seriously.  When methods for reducing greenhouse gases are made known by the government, people have a chance to put those methods into practice.  

Finally, it is essential that governments get involved with making sure that research and development are done.  Global warming cannot be overcome without good information.   It is to the advantage of every citizen when the nation puts some of its focus on global warming.  When a country approaches global warming with a common sense, proactive sensibility, beneficial changes can be made.  

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