Global Warming: are we making a difference?

Question

you cant go ANYWHERE without hearing about global-warming. disney channel, mtv, radio stations, ads are everywhere. there are so many organazations and people comming up with new ways to conserve energy and lessen the output of carbon deoxcide. do you think we will see a difference? do you think with people becoming more eviormentally aware that global warming will slow?

Answer 1

It is not necessarily true that doing things to ease our impact on the environment are going to lead to destroying the economy as someone here sugggested.  I would argue that it will be a boon to the economy.

Oil and all it's problems isn't so great for the economy.

Answer 2

seany

Let me start off by saying we (my family and I) live 100% off of the grid and are completely self-sufficient with a 0% Carbon footprint. I believe this is the first step anyone can make “help the environment”. Once you convert your own life style to a greener more eco friendly route, you can start helping others.

We definitely didn't start global warming, but we definitely do contribute to it now.

Natural gas (or Methane along with other thanes) for example, is completely a natural contributer to global warming and is derived pretty much the same way as oil. ie. Matter (animal, plant etc) decomposes over time resulting in a anaerobic (hope I spelled that right) decay of non-fossil organic material / gas (natural gas or methane).

One problem with global warming is that the concept is so vague in the minds of the people. The critical interpretation is basically how it’s explained in school and the news. However most of the public see global warming connected with the ozone and pollutants which cause harmful greenhouse gasses, etc. therefore investigating and fighting for things like alternative energy (ie. Solar, wind, hydrogen, ethanol, biodiesel, etc)

Greenhouse gases are real and do contribute to global warming. Think of the different gas layers like ozone (o3) that circumference the globe as the clear plastic on a greenhouse. Longer rays of light from the Sun go in and reflect off different thermal masses bouncing back and creating shorter lengths of energy that cannot exist the plastic barrier. These beams then just continue to bounce around inside the green house until they’re finally absorbed completely (some do escape but very few), thereby warming the greenhouse greatly even in cold temperatures.

Basically there are 2 ways that this reaction (or lack of) affects the planet. Global warming and global cooling.

1. as we add to the gases in the stratosphere, where the ozone layer is (Carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, etc), we add to the plastic of the greenhouse, trapping more short wave length energy and heating the earth more.

2. as we deplete the ozone (with chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs), we allow more long wave length energy, which bounces back out to space without heating any thermal masses on earth, thereby cooling the planet.

It’s pretty easy to see the results..

Melting ice sheets & glaciers

Floods & droughts

Great hurricanes & cyclones

Seasonal extremes

Seasonal phenomena’s

Species extinction

New & resurgent diseases

There are many ways to stop both global warming and cooling from accruing or at least slow them down until we can discover a way to reverse it, but Stop burning fossil fuels is the biggest.

I currently own 2 converted h2 vehicles which run on 100% hydrogen and 1 EV (electric vehicle), not to mention our home is completely off the grid, using alternative energy (solar, wind, etc)

If you interested I offer several DIY alternative guides to walk you step by step threw Greener living, how to run your car on alternative fuels and being self-sufficient, at agua-luna com or

www agua-luna com

Hope this helped, feel free to contact me personally if you have any questions if you’d like assistance in making your first self sufficient steps, I’m willing to walk you step by step threw the process. I’ve written several how-to DIY guides available at  www agua-luna com on the subject. I also offer online and on-site workshops, seminars and internships to help others help the environment.

Dan Martin

Living 100% on Alternative & Author of How One Simple Yet Incredibly Powerful Resource Is Transforming The Lives of Regular People From All Over The World... Instantly Elevating Their Income & Lowering Their Debt, While Saving The Environment by Using FREE ENERGY... All With Just One Click of A Mouse...For more info Visit:  

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Answer 3

yes, but there are some problems. for example as you save power the price of electricity goes down. this causes more industry to use power offsetting your change.

Answer 4

i agree with nevil p

Answer 5

We have no control or effect on global warming. The sun controls that.

Answer 6

No. We are not making much difference at all. Energy use is up world wide and CO2 emission is up world wide. These efforts are just nothing compared to what would be needed to really make a difference. The kind of sudden and drastic change that the IPCC is advocating would destroy the world economy. That might make an impact though, because poor people don't drive cars or run air conditioners or buy big houses made from lots and lots of trees.

That is why you hear so many people violently opposing all global warming talk. Because they KNOW what would REALLY be needed to stop it and they are scared that will actually be done.

Answer 7

no

Answer 8

WTF! It's colder than a well diggers a** where I live. They can kiss my red rear end over this global warming thing. H*** I was looking forward to milder winters.

Answer 9

I think that everyone can help a little bit by making small changes in the way they live.  Use energy efficient lighting, drive a hybrid car, stop buying plastic water bottles, stop our throw away mentality.  Over time (if we have it) small changes can lead to big changes.  

The only way for us to make a real impact is to elect officials that make the global environment a real priority.  As the worlds leading polluter we have an obligation to lead the way,  not blame the emerging industrial nations like China and India and use them as an excuse to not do anything.  We all  in this together and need to work together.

Answer 10

I attended the Focus the Nation at Sierra College on 1-31-08. The event was the 2% Solution, a 2% reduction over 40 years to solve GW. Oil is a nonrenewable resource and we are running out-but not soon - $30 Gal for gas. The 2% Solution is ok for the USA for a 10 year plan to cut 20%. But over those 10 years, we have to be building renewable energy and about that time, we can cut an additional 20%. This should get us from importing any oil. We must have a pollution surcharge where we pay the real price (health effects, GW and cleanup) for oil, NG, coal, cigarettes, Cooling Towers, Cars, trains and airplanes. Humans have to put some of this nonrenewable into renewable energy like small hydro-electric dams, concentrating solar power plants, wind and wave machines, nuks, and geothermal. With the peak of oil in the 1970’s, peak NG in the 1990’s, having mined cheep coal, the peak of ocean fishing in the 1980’s, and the peak of uranium in the 1990’s, humans must stop procrastinating and make real changes to keep earth sustainable including in the energy debate, finance and regulation.

Many of mankind’s advancements cause earth surface to warm, destroy the ozone layer, kill off endanger species, heat cities, and in some way cause more dramatic destruction.  Blacktop and buildings (roads, roofs and parking lots-heat cities), deforestation (air pollution, soil erosion), duststorms (increase hurricanes and cyclones, cause lung diseases), fires (cause pollution, mud slides, and deforestation), refrigerants (like CFC's) and solvents (including benzene destroy the ozone layer raising skin cancer rates) and plastics; cars, airplanes, ships and most electricity production (causes pollution including raised CO2 levels and increased lung and other diseases); these human problems we must fix to keep life on earth sustainable! Humans have destroyed half of the wetlands, cut down nearly half of the rain forest, and advance on the earths grasslands while advancing desertification which increases duststorms.

The result is:  change is on the way, we just do not know what changes (where and when). Look beyond the hype, beyond the weather, beyond a quarterly report and beyond today. President Bush has made a choice of energy (ethanol) over food and feeding the starving people around the world; this is a choice China has rejected. The fact is Bush wants to buy your food to send to starving people since our grain is not available. Now what USA Presidential candidate is give you the facts so you can make an educated decision?

Over the next 90 years carbon dioxide is projected to skyrocket as human’s burn more fossil fuels. The problem is, the oil will be gone in less than 30 years at present rates of consumption without projected increases and shortages. We have to come up with what will take its place. Again we have to cleanup our mess. One of the big problems we have is at some time Yellowstone will blow its top again, as the magma move closer to the surface, creating a nuk winter. After that we will not have to worry about the destruction of the ozone layer, global warming or pollution.

But with that we must understand we have never seen what is now happening before. CO2 has never lead to temperature change, but temperature change has led to increases in CO2. The models have to be made as we go along with current evidence! But again adding a small amount of CO2 to the atmosphere enlarges the earths sun collection causing warming; increase water in the atmosphere and it forms clouds cooling earth but sometimes causing flooding. Even natural events are warming earth and causing destruction. The sun has an increased magnetic field causing increases in earthquakes (more destruction), volcanoes (wow, great destruction), and sun spots. Lighting produces ozone near the surface (raising air pollution levels). The USA Mayor's have taken a stand and I believe are on the right track, we can have control and can have economic growth. The sun is available to produce energy, bring light to buildings and makes most of human’s fresh water. Composting is the answer to desertification. New dams are the answer to fresh water storage, energy and cooling earth by evaporation, we need many small ones all over (California needs 100 by 2012 and has not even started).

Remember knowledge is power and this information is very powerful. Humans have 50 trillion dollars worth of stuff that runs on cheep oil, natural gas, or coal. We need 20 Trillion Dollars worth of renewable energy over the next 10 years if we are to avoid a world wide depression (and right now ethanol does not count)!

That is why I founded CoolingEarth.org, a geoengineering web sight where you can learn more about earth, the atmosphere, and how to sustain life on earth’s surface.

Answer 11

No.  Because there are too many people around like Bush who totally refuse to consider the situation.

And don't talk about subsidizing bio-fuel through corn.  Corn is one of the worst crops to use for bio-fuel.  It's far too energy costly to produce.  Brazil uses sugar cane but, of course we can't do sugar cane here.  Sweet grass, believe it or not, is one of the best to use on the prairies.  It needs no pesticides, no fertilizers and groes well on marginal land.