Climate Change
Climate Change
FEATURED PROJECTS
What does the Oxford Dictionary say about it?
… a change in global or regional climate patterns, in particular a change apparent from the mid to late 20th century onwards and attributed largely to the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels.
How about that in simple language …
Climate change is a long, decades or centuries based, change in the world’s climate, primarily a change based upon an increase in the average atmospheric temperature:
What are the effects of climate change?
Climate change is having very profound impacts on nearly every aspect of our environment, especially on the world-wide water system networks through increased flooding and ever-widening droughts. As the climate temperature rises, then air can store a higher water content, which logically then make rainfall amounts, as they move across the globe, more extreme. Rivers then wash away more soil into the oceans and lakes, creating pollution and destruction of our shores.
What are the major causes of climate change?
There are many causes of climate change, some natural while many other effects are caused by people and animals.
In fact, some sort or level of climate change has always happened on Earth, you can study this through geology and history but now, today, it is an increasing and ever-rapid rate and magnitude of climate change being observed worldwide. Due to recent human intervention, new gases in the atmosphere hold and block heat radiation from escaping our atmosphere.
The activity of people, across our globe, has through their choices and actions (since the Industrial Revolution), increased heat retention and also affected negatively surface temperatures in every nation. No one has escaped its effects. Industrial emissions as well as vehicle emissions have altered solar and infrared radiation. And lastly, deforestation has lessened the photosynthesis needed to balance the oxygen/carbon dioxide ratios PLUS as forests are destroyed the reflection of sunlight that was being absorbed and cooled is now being reflected HOT back into the atmosphere.
Why should be take global warming seriously?
1: The temperature of the oceans is rising slowly
According to NASA, the oceans have warmed by about .3 degrees F in 40 years. El Nino and La Nina, a Pacific current phenomenon, affect the surface temperatures of the oceans, with warmer water rising to the surface during the El Nino phase. In 1998, El Nino changed to La Nina and, as usual, the shift caused cooler water to rise to the surface and allowed the oceans to hold heat – like a terrarium.
However, even though the ocean’s temperature has risen, the scientific studies of the air temperature rise has found that that temp has plateaued. Many scientists have then believed that global warming has essentially stopped. It has slowed recently BUT El Nino and La Nina oscillate so it can be argued too that eventually the oceans will switch back to the El Nino pattern, where warmer water will rise again to the surface forcing more heat back into the atmosphere. In summary, climate change has always been a part of our earth but it is becoming more extreme.
2: The overall level of the sea (all ocean waters together) is rising.
In simple terms, global warming is causing the sea level to rise for TWO MAIN reasons: Ice, in both polar caps, in glaciers and in snow runoffs is melting faster and greater than ever before plus, as a result of this fact, the ocean water is expanding both because of the increased runoffs but in its actual composition as it gets warmer.
The higher temperature, ice melt expansion is the main reason for the measurable and current rate of sea level rise – about .3 mm per year.
The .3 millimeters per year sea level rise that has been forecasted for coastal areas all around the world might not seem dangerous but it can also carry with it larger storm surges and more destructive flooding. Scientists around the world have come to the conclusion that the projected sea level rise mentioned previously is, in fact, the most accurate barometer of the effects of climate change because added greenhouse gases take into account both melting ice and ocean overall temperatures.
3: If not controlled or halted climate change is essentially permanent.
One influential scientist from CAL TECH has studied the long term effects of climate change and has calculated that it will take around 10,000 years for the atmosphere to go back to the temperature of normal before man influenced it. And this does not mean just the air and rainfall, it also includes the vast and deep oceans.
4.What are some easy steps that we can take to reduce climate change?
Act locally, nationally, and internationally.
a. Use less water.
The average daily usage of water in the United States, where we are, is about 120 gallons a day. That is a huge amount, think about it You can reduce that, we know you can. Take showers instead of baths. A five-minute shower uses 40 gallons of water. A bath uses more than double that amount of water plus who wants to lay in a pool of their own dirt? Take a shower, a short one. Turn off the faucet while you brush your teeth. Just wet the brush and paste, then let your brushing arm do the work. By doing this you can save up to 200 gallons a month. Also, make sure your toilet works properly and get a brick to put in the back tank. If you have a high water bill one month it is probably because of a leaky or running toilet. If you can afford it, get a water-saving toilet. It can save 15,000 gallons of water each year.
b. Heat your home right, wear more warm clothes if you are cold
Sixty percent of all our home energy comes as a result of heating and cooling them. It is easy to save as much as 20 percent on your bill if you set your thermostat to 70˚F in winter and 80˚F in summer and those numbers are easy to remember. What is also great is that not only will you can a ton of money, you will also make 2,000 pounds less carbon dioxide each year. Carbon dioxide is made when we burn fossils fuels, like natural gas, coal, and crude oil that change our earth’s temperature.
c. Change your light bulbs.
Get rid of the incandescent bulbs and change to CFL or LED bulbs because each use at least 75% less energy than regular those old bulbs and also last much much longer. If 50 million incandescent light bulbs were changed to the newer types, we could all save more than $180 million in energy costs. And they are becoming much cheaper and available so today you can buy CFLs and LEDs at almost any local hardware or discount store. Changing to modern lights would also reduce greenhouse gases to that of more than 175,000 cars each year.
d. Reduce your carbon footprint by reusing and recycling.
A used cup, like a coke or coffee, from McDonalds uses less energy when you reuse it than throwing it away right away instead of getting a new one out of the cupboard. Those McDonald coffee cups last forever.
Find a close recycling center near you to take your stuff to. Make it a family project every week: http://tinyurl.com/RecyclingCenters
Again, think of buying and using reusable products instead of things you will simply just throw away. Make sure to recycle as much of your purchasing as life will allow. Things like paper, plastic, newspaper, glass, and aluminum cans. If you community allows you to separate trash into different containers, please use them too. Make it easier on someone else to lessen the garbage impact on our planet.
e. Plant a tree.
This is fun for the whole family and planting a tree is good for the earth and our atmosphere. The U.S. Department of Energy tells us that planting only 3 shade trees can reduce energy costs by about $250 in energy costs every year. Trees will also absorb carbon dioxide and other harmful gases plus increase property value and improve the community.
Here is our CALL TO ACTION for you!
If you have found our website, and have just read the above webpage, you are someone who is interested in protecting our Earth and saving our world. Over the years, our GOOGLE tracking software has told us that 70 percent of all people who have visited us are younger than 35 years old. This means that you are young and concerned about your future and the futures of your young family or maybe just about your relatives.
Sure, you can just leave our website and forget about us but instead can you contact us in one or all of these ways before you do.
One, sign up with us by email and we can then have you as a long-time partner in the future.
Two, call us and get more information about us. We would love to hear from you. Our toll-free number is: 800-574-5643
Three, please consider donating to us.
We are a non-profit 501c3 company designated by the IRS. Just pledge a small amount, say $10.00. Everything matters. Give to us and you are giving to help protect the planet through tree planting, roadway and beach cleanup, river and lake cleanup, sponsoring school and corporate outings, writing emails and letters to our local and national leaders, we have volunteers who have built this website, answer our phones, call local communities to tell them about the importance of conservation, climate change, global warming, deforestation and more.
Anyway, we thank you for any support that you can give us, even if it is a prayer for our continued fight.
Thanks, from the staff at StopGlobalDestruction.org