Global Climate Change Discussion:
By NLDestiny
Will your children survive what many are calling Global Climate Change?
Or will the human race be extinct before the end of your children’s lifetime?
Many have said that is exactly the case, it is already too late to change the effects of not only local climate change, but global climate change worldwide is already too serious to keep living on earth for any extended period of time.
Nearly any time at all, you can read from a media source our world is going to end as we know it. The only variations in the reporting by the media sources, is when it will happen.
In my effort to seek out as much truth to it as possible, I began researching the topic many years ago, more so in more recent years. Today I will dwell further into the topic to add or subtract to the notion of a global climate change. It is important to maintain the earth we live on, so that seeking a new planet becomes less of a survival issue and more of an interesting discovery.
First the study was looked at from NASA’s website: http://climate.jpl.nasa.gov/nasarole
NASA has satellites and highly developed instruments to collect data about earth, and have been doing so for decades. NASA is an expert in the field of collecting data from earth and found to be a reliable source. Time after time testimony and research is done at NASA for no other reason than to improve the earth we live on.
I find no hidden agenda with NASA and they have state of the art equipment.
Furthermore, they have plenty of state of the art equipment. “The ACRIMSAT studies the sun’s energy. The AIRS takes measurements of air and humidity. The AQUARIUS due to launch in 2010 will give us the first ever global maps of salt concentration in the ocean surface. The ASTER is designed to give us colour images of local, regional, and global images. The CLOUDSAT monitors the earth’s atmosphere and weather.”(http://climate.jpl.nasa.gov).
NASA got involved in studies of earth and the atmosphere to find more livable planets, to see if human life could be lived on other planets. Over the years NASA looked at the Moon, Venus, Mars, and all the rest of our traditional textbook planets found in the past. Ultimately finding Venus to hot, Mars to cold for human life.
In more recent years, NASA has found more planets, more things to investigate and research in the quest to find more places human life can be sustained indefinitely. Although, perhaps it would be money better spent on cleaning up and more importantly prevention of pollutants on earth. NASA in 2007, spent 59% of their funding in Climate Change Science. (http://climate.jpl.nasa.gov).
In the past scientists were not as concerned with the earths climate change they suspected was changing, reason being they thought it would take “thousands of years” to effect humans. (http://climate.jpl.nasa.gov).
However, scientists were wrong. In more recent years, scientists have verified that the earth’s climate was changing indeed and at alarming rates, “in mere decades,” according to NASA.
For years scientists have at minimum suspected earth was being polluted, at max scientists have known humans have been depleting earths own ozone layer, in fact since 1985 according to NASA.gov. “In 1988 a scientist testified before congress that the scientific evidence is overwhelming on the greenhouse effect.” (http://climate.jpl.nasa.gov).
Even so, scientists wanted more studies to be done to verify the studies already done and verified were in fact re-verified. NASA has studied the studies for decades. Yet, it wasn’t until 1990 indeed the scientists did confirm, the earth was getting warmer. At last confirmation our world globally was getting warmer.
But, and a big but this is…those conclusions came from the World Meteorological Organization, not NASA. The study was “established by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.” (http://climate.jpl.nasa.gov).
It was in 2007, that NASA had done 17 missions on climate change data. “It’s science budget was $1.2-$1.4 billion dollars. (http://climate.jpl.nasa.gov). NOAA collected data from NASA as well as data from Japan, Russia, and Europe. Over a 30 year period of studying humans impacts on earth, scientists concluded global climate change was in fact here and here to stay according to the data, if nothing is done.
Key indicators were from collected data of the past decades of the sea level and its changes. Also to include the Ice mass changes over the decades of data collected. Both land ice and sea ice have changed. The global average temperature of the earth has changed increasingly up and up in more recent years. So much so is the change in earths temperature it has begun to alarm people.
According to the data collected by NASA, sea level rate has gone up 2mm from 1800 to 1980. Alarming sea level rate change began in 1996 to 2008 at the rate of 3.4 according to source: Colorado University.
In a further effort to research unbiased results, NSIDC results of the change in land ice and sea ice, for example in Greenland and in the Arctic, the annual days of melt time was previously shown as 36-60 cubic miles per year, down. Now as of September 2008 the Arctic ice has went down 38%.
Additional historical data from IPCC shows thousands of years before 2009, CO2 levels were basically up, down, up, down, pretty much the same trends occurred up until the year 1950. In 2006 CO2 levels increased, more like spiked at an all time high of 370 parts per million.
The most recent data from NOAA was from a period starting at the year 2005 through present day. Their study concluded that CO2 is now at a level of 385. That is a huge spike for a small amount of years of data. It appears that the world is being polluted at high levels in current day.
Even global temperatures of earth have increased in such alarming rates. The data collected from Climatic Research Unit in 2008 concluded that since 1860 to 1920 the world temperature was pretty much even-ish, not much change here or there a small increase or a small decrease but nothing dramatic was reported, until 1930.
The data clearly shows in 1930, things began to change and in 1940 and in 1950, the temperature of earth doubled. Then in 1970 and 1980 earth’s temperature stayed the same. Then earth began its temperature climb again in 1982 and 1990 and 2000 and today, earth’s temperature is nearly 4 times as hot as in 1860.
If that isn’t enough data to say yes global climate change is a fact, then the research data continues to climb and earth continues to get hotter and higher in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007 it is off the chart and earth’s ozone hole appears to be getting larger.
According to NASA, the causes of global climate change is human activities which cause the sun’s rays to pass through the atmosphere to heat earth’s surface for human survival. But the sun’s rays in previous decades were able to bounce back off earth’s surface and dissipate into the atmosphere. Now however, the sun’s rays get trapped into the lower atmosphere, unable to escape as before, and the result is a warmer earth’s surface, which increases each time someone or something affects the sun’s ray’s ability to escape and go back out into the outer atmosphere.
Tadah, you get global climate change as a result. More ice melts, more glaciers disappear into the sea, the sea rises, and the earth is effected globally, worldwide.
It appears scientists have confirmed global climate change is a reality now. Yet they still disagree about how to change it, can it be changed, how to slow it down, can it be slowed, and the uncertainties emerge plentiful.
The evidence is crystal clear on global climate change. All one has to do is look at older photographs taken where rivers once flowed abundantly, whereas now are little more than trickling streams. Photos of glaciers in the past were plentiful and now are melting faster than the wicked witch of the west. Sea levels are rising, droughts are more frequent, the polar bears are dying. The effects of climate change are getting closer and closer to humans in various forms.
Hurricanes are now devastating us more often. Tsunami isn’t just a SOBE drink anymore, massive flooding takes place, fires run ramped, and snowfalls and ice storms are large and more life threatening in many instances now.
So, what options or solutions do we have as humans trying to insure our survival as a species?
Well many sources such as U.S. Department of Energy, Energy for America’s future, U.S. Climate control, etc appear to all agree something must be done. The EPA even has a website what you can do: www.epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/index.html. Also, there is a website to calculate your footprint affecting the environment ecology of things: www.footprint.org
Therefore in conclusion, the material and methods were both quantitative and qualitative, none sponsored by entities with motives, conclusive to the point denial would be ludicrous, and one would rather err on the wrong side in this case, than to insist on being right in the other direction.
It is suggested that humans be more mind conscious of activities, pleasures, wants, and needs. Also recommended is to be part of a solution, rather than contribute to the problems, that of which seem to be many, and the majority done to earth by humanity. For humans to survive generation after generation, it would be wise to help earth heal, protect earth from further damage, and to think more thoroughly about everything, rather than mindlessly going through the motions, talking the talk, or simply not caring at all, your children’s children depend on it.
Earth may be able to heal long after humans are gone, if it comes to that. But wouldn’t you rather give up some things now, than to make humanity extinct later? Earth won’t care, but will you?
Resources:
(http://www.crnano.org/whatis.htm)
http://www.crnano.org/products.htm
Accessed both on: May 02, 2009
Nanotechnology:
• First of all what is it?
A basic definition: Nanotechnology is the engineering of functional systems at the molecular scale. This covers both current work and concepts that are more advanced.
In its original sense, 'nanotechnology' refers to the projected ability to construct items from the bottom up, using techniques and tools being developed today to make complete, high performance products.( http://www.crnano.org/whatis.htm).
• Four Generations:
Mihail (Mike) Roco of the U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative has described four generations of nanotechnology development (see chart below). The current era, as Roco depicts it, is that of passive nanostructures, materials designed to perform one task. The second phase, which we are just entering, introduces active nanostructures for multitasking; for example, actuators, drug delivery devices, and sensors. The third generation is expected to begin emerging around 2010 and will feature nanosystems with thousands of interacting components. A few years after that, the first integrated nanosystems, functioning (according to Roco) much like a mammalian cell with hierarchical systems within systems, are expected to be develop. (http://www.crnano.org/whatis.htm).
• 10 different applications:
1. Improved housing plumbing
2. More efficient use of natural resources
3. Access to information
4. Inexpensive
5. Reliable products
6. Non skilled laborers needed
7. Reduced diseases, improved medicines
8. Reduced waste
9. Living space better used
10. Technology affordable to all
• 5 Unique areas where nanotechnolgy could be very useful:
1. Items can be built better, stronger, efficient, last longer
2. Designing can take days not months, years
3. Development in CAD can show functions before hand
4. Military use
5. In homes
Change scale different properties
Geology study of earth
Plate tonics
Lithosphere divergent convergent transform fault, San Andreas
Long term ways to recycle
Doesn’t use much resources
Resources:
(http://www.crnano.org/whatis.htm)
http://www.crnano.org/products.htm
Accessed both on: May 02, 2009
NLDestiny
1. Why should we care about the environment?
We have a duty to preserve as much of earth as we can, for insuring continued life of our species.
2. Are we the most important beings on the planet or are we just one of earth’s millions of different forms of life?
We are the most important beings on earth because if we do not think of ourselves that way, our ability to continue life will disappear. Other life forms may not need us to live, so they will continue without our help, yet the human species needs one another to survive.
3. Do we have an ethical obligation to pass on to future generations the extraordinary natural world in at least as good condition as we inherited it?
Yes, to insure humans continue to live after our generation is long gone.
4. Do we have an obligation to see that our activities do not cause the premature extinction of other life forms? Should we try to protect all life forms or only some? How do we decide which ones to protect?
As one life looking after another life form, we are obligated to not destroy anything that lives, unless it is at the cost of our own lives. That is how we make the choices to let live or not to.
5. Should every person be entitled to equal protection from environmental hazards regardless of race, gender, age, national origin, income, social class, or any other factor? This is the central ethical and political issue for what is known as the environmental justice movement.
Yes. However, in the event someone has to be chosen first to be taken care of, I assert our own country should take care of its people before anyone else.
By NLDestiny
02 Feb 09
PART A: Questions About The Environment
