Global Warming 101 - Learn What Global Warming is

Global warming could do more than just melt polar ice. It could change our maps, and displace people from cities and tropical islands.

What Is Global Warming? Video

A short explanation of Global Warming for anyone who is unsure about it's causes and effects, and how to help prevent it. No, this is not a joke video, but neither is it a 'tree hugger' video.

Global Warming Facts Video

Sure we can save the world !!!

İs Weather Extremities might be another case of Global Warming?

The recent spate of disasters in far-flung areas – successive floods in New England, Nashville, Arkansas, and Oklahoma; and a torrent in Pakistan – have, once again, revived the much-debated-about issue pertaining to the effect of global warming in causing extreme weather conditions.

The extremities of weather have become evident from the fact that while the floods toppled the lives of more than 20 million people; the summer heat in the eastern US, parts of Africa and eastern Asia, as well as Russia, led to the loss of millions of acres of wheat and thousands of lives in the worst-ever drought in history.
With such extreme weather conditions being clearly disquieting, the scientific community more or less is collective in expressing the opinion that global warming “probably” is taking its toll on the weather round the world.
Noting that “the climate is changing,” Jay Lawrimore – the climate analysis head at the National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N. C. – said: “Extreme events are occurring with greater frequency and, in many cases, with greater intensity.”
Lawrimore further added that the excessive heat, in particular, is apparently “consistent with our understanding of how the climate responds to increasing greenhouse gases.” Scientists believe that the theory about greenhouse gases underscores more weather extremes in the future – like heavier rainstorms in summer, bigger snowstorms in winter, and more intense droughts due to more record-breaking heat waves – most of which, as per reports, are already being experienced!

global warming signs in extreme weather events

Fires across Russia, record floods in Pakistan, a huge Greenland iceberg - this current unprecedented sequence of extreme weather events "matches" scientific projections of more frequent and intense extreme weather events due to global warming, says an organization of meteorologists from 189 countries.

"Several diverse extreme weather events are occurring concurrently around the world, giving rise to an unprecedented loss of human life and property. They include the record heatwave and wildfires in the Russian Federation, monsoonal flooding in Pakistan, rain-induced landslides in China, and calving of a large iceberg from the Greenland ice sheet," said the World Meteorological Organization in a statement August 11.

"These should be added to the extensive list of extreme weather-related events, such as droughts and fires in Australia and a record number of high-temperature days in the eastern United States of America, as well as other events that occurred earlier in the year," said the WMO, a specialized agency of the United Nations.

The World Meteorological Organization is the UN system's voice on the state and behavior of the Earth's atmosphere, its interaction with the oceans, the climate it produces and the resulting distribution of water resources.

"The occurrence of all these events at almost the same time raises questions about their possible linkages to the predicted increase in intensity and frequency of extreme events, for example, as stipulated in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Fourth Assessment Report published in 2007," the WMO said.

The 2007 IPCC Summary for Policy Makers stated that "tthe type, frequency and intensity of extreme events are expected to change as Earth's climate changes, and these changes could occur even with relatively small mean climate changes. Changes in some types of extreme events have already been observed, for example, increases in the frequency and intensity of heat waves and heavy precipitation events."

"While a longer time range is required to establish whether an individual event is attributable to climate change, the sequence of current events matches IPCC projections," the WMO said.

The meteorologists explained how each of the current extreme weather events arose.

The heatwave in the European part of the Russian Federation is associated with a persistent pressure ridge that appeared in June 2010. Initially, it was associated with the Azores high, but later was reinforced by a strong inflow of warm air from the Middle East.

More than 20 daily temperature records were broken including the absolute maximum temperature in Moscow. The high temperatures triggered massive forest and peat fires in the European part of the country. Some villages were burned completely, with smoke and smog adversely and greatly affecting the health and well-being of tens of millions of people.

The floods in Pakistan were caused by strong monsoon rains. According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department, the instant rain intensity reached 300 millimeters over a 36-hour period. The strong monsoon rains led to the highest water levels in 110 years in the Indus River in the northern part of the country, based on past records available from 1929. More areas in central and south Pakistan are affected by the floods.

In Pakistan, the death toll to date exceeds 1,600 people and more than six million others have been displaced. Some reports indicate that 40 million citizens have been affected by the floods.

The monsoon activity in Pakistan and other countries in Southeast Asia is aggravated by the La Nina phenomenon, now well established in the Pacific Ocean.

China also is experiencing its worst floods in decades. The recent death toll due to the mudslide in the Zhouqu county of Gansu province on August 7, exceeded 700, with more than 1,000 people missing. In addition, 12 million people are reported to have lost their homes owing to the recent floods.

On August 5, 2010, the MODIS sensor on NASA's Aqua satellite detected calving from the Petermann Glacier in northern Greenland. The largest chunk of ice to calve from the glacier in the past 50 years of observations and data (since 1962) measures more than 200 sq. km.

Tens of thousands of icebergs calve yearly from the glaciers of Greenland, but this one is very large and because of its size more typically resembles icebergs in the Antarctic.

Climate extremes have always existed, said the WMO, "but all the events cited above compare with, or exceed in intensity, duration or geographical extent, the previous largest historical events."

According to Roshydromet, Russia's Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring, studies of the past climate show no record of similar high temperatures in Russia since the 10th and 11th centuries more than 1,000 years ago.

(Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2010. All rights reserved.)

The Pakistan flood and Global Warming

The Pakistan flood may be linked to global warming.

More difficult to prove is a possible connection between the disaster and global warming, which is being bandied about in the media. As climate scientists are often quick to point out, there is danger in ascribing any particular weather event to longer term trends, such as a rise in the Earth's temperatures. Still, there is some cause for concern.
Climate scientist Gavin Schmidt, who works for NASA and Columbia University, told The Daily Green that the Pakistan disaster, "Demonstrates that people are very vulnerable to weather-based changes. It's something that I don't think has been stressed enough." Schmidt added, "We're talking about more people affected than the entire population of New York City."
Schmidt acknowledged that it's very hard to make a connection to a single event when it comes to global warming, but he said we often see a statistical correlation between rising greenhouse gases and increasing frequency and severity of these types of disasters. He pointed to analysis published in the journal Nature that showed there was a much higher likelihood of the devastating European heat wave of 2003 as a result of our post-industrial atmosphere. "Things that used to be one-in-100 year events maybe now are one-in-25-year events," he explained. "It's important to remember that these kinds of anomalies increase in likelihood much faster than you might expect just looking at the few degrees of warming."
According to National Geographic, the northern Indian Ocean has warmed two degrees Fahrenheit since the 1970s. Warmer water releases more moisture into the air, which can lead to bigger monsoon rains. It's also true that the ongoing El Nino cycle is probably a factor, as the periodic warming of ocean waters can also intensify storms. "The key message is that it's not just natural variability and not just global warming," but a combination of both, Trenberth said.

Read more: http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/pakistan-flood-460810#ixzz0xLfU1aRC

Reduce your vehicle's Contribution to Global Warming

How can you help reduce your vehicle's contribution to global warming?

While most of us would like to think that we aren’t part of the problem, the fact remains that if you drive one of the many vehicles on the road, you’re contributing to global warming. And America is home to the largest passenger vehicle market in the world—with over 243 million. The burning of gasoline and diesel fuel releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere—and that means every time you drive, you up the ante.

The actual amount of miles driven has increased dramatically since the oil crisis of the 1970s, when the United States made admiral progress in reducing overall carbon dioxide emissions. Until the 1990s, that is—that’s when they started to climb again. Meanwhile, manufacturers continued to block attempts to raise fuel efficiency standards. Thus, from the late 80s onward, fuel efficiency dropped and miles driven increased. The result? The carbon burden increased.

It’s a lethal combo—more and larger vehicles with reduced fuel efficiency partnered with higher amounts of miles driven—one that equals an upward spiraling of the carbon burden.

But don’t give up yet. While we can’t give up our reliance—and pleasure of—our cars (and trucks), you as an individual can take action to reduce your vehicle’s greenhouse gas emissions, in addition to helping to reduce dependence upon imported oil, clean up the air we all breathe and save money. Sound good? Good. Read on for tips to help make it happen:

1. Go Green: Use alternative fuel vehicles and learn about alternative fuels. Or second best, check out the fuel economy and emission information on any vehicle you own, or are planning to own. Start with the Green Vehicle Guide and the Fuel Economy Guide to see how your four wheels shape up. Check if you have a flex-fuel vehicle (FFV)—with over 5 million FFVs on the road today—your car might just be a FFV sleeper. Is yours on this list?

2. Go Easy & Maintain, Maintain, Maintain: A variety of factors affect your vehicle’s fuel economy—and one of the most important is an easy driving style and regular maintenance. If you use a lighter foot on the brakes and gas pedal, avoid putting the pedal to the metal for fast accelerations, and reduce idling time, your fuel economy will improve—and decrease greenhouse gas emissions. Checking and inflating those tires to the correct pressure will also help.

3. Buddy up: Whether you choose to carpool with friends, grab the bus, hop on your bike or locomote with your two legs, they’re all ways to leave your car parked in the garage—and reduce your contribution to the carbon burden. Parking your car and choosing one of these alternatives just two times per week can chop greenhouse gas emissions by about 1,590 pounds per year. Good news, huh? And good for you—who couldn’t use more exercise?

4. Plan first: When heading out to take care of errands, see if you can combine trips. Those short trips when your car's engine is cold can use twice as much fuel in addition to producing twice as many greenhouse gas emissions. Combine those short trips into one multipurpose trip with a warm engine and you’ll not only save time, but also fuel and lessen your contribution to the carbon burden.

source: about.com