Global Warming

[Footzilla]

The biggest problem the world is facing nowadays, GLOBAL WARMING.
Did you guys ever thought that how would the earth look like in the future if global warming issue continues. The earth is getting warmer and warmer day by day only because of human activity. Something "big" has to be done by the richest people. Do you have any ideas that the richest people should think about doing? If you have some, share it here.

[pendelton]

The earth is getting warmer and warmer day by day only because of human activity.

This is not true. The records in ice, dirt, and rock samples from around the world show that this is a natural process, although man kind has not helped. Speeding things up and possibly making them worse.

[Nazreen]

The issue with Global Warming has made Al Gore very popular nowadays. If he run for president, I definitely believe that he will win by a landslide victory. But sad to say, it's now no longer the number one issue that is on everyone's mind.

Right now, people are worrying about the threat of a looming U.S. recession and worse yet, the possibility of a global recession. People are also worrying about shortage of rice in asian countries like the Philippines. People are also worrying about the increasing price of gas per barrel all accross the region. Pro-Tibet protests are still an issue and in response to these protests, anti-western protests also broke out across China yesterday.

[Fergal]

Global warming is a serious issue that we must all accept some responsibility for. Education is very important here. I feel that we all need to recycle more, use more recycled goods, try to use less packaging etc and endeavour to conserve energy wherever and whenever possible.

Together with contributing to saving the environment these actions can save you money.

[pendelton]

While I am not arguing the fact that mankind needs to be far more responsible, especially in recycling and using renewable power generation, I do have issues with the media for not being what it should. Of course, for ratings sake, they almost have to produce the doom and gloom stories or no one will read their papers or watch their new casts.

[Footzilla]

Well, you guys know one thing that this issue cannot be solved now. It would be a miracle if anyone could do anything about it. Look at our daily lifes, all of us are contributing something to make this issue worse.

Climate change is very likely having an impact now on our planet and its life, according to the latest installment of a report published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). And the future problems caused by rising seas, growing deserts, and more frequent droughts all look set to affect the developing world more than rich countries.

[Nazreen]

Studies have shown that man-made pollution has contributed substantially to global warming and the earth is more than likely to be a lot hotter than earlier predicted by U.N. scientists.

No country in history has become an industrial power without creating a legacy of environmental damage, and this also includes the U.S. But now, with the rise of China as an economic power things are going to be a lot worse! You also have other emerging nations like Brazil and India but nothing as big as China's rise as an industrial power.

So guys, I'm sorry to say this but things are still going to get much worse!

[Fergal]

Well, you guys know one thing that this issue cannot be solved now...

You might be right, but I hope for all our sakes that we are not passed the point of no return yet. Hopefully everyone will begin to take responsibility for our own actions and that the environment can be saved.

When thinking of the environment I sometimes think of the historic impact horse drawn carriages had in Dublin (capital of Ireland). There were serious concerns some decades ago that the amount of horse traffic on the city streets was growing at such an alarming rate that if the horse traffic continued to increase at the same rate, the streets would become completely unusable because of the level of of horse manure on them. These concerns were superseded by the invention of the motor car.

Hopefully the development of solar power and other forms of energy will help alleviate our environmental concerns. I am not trying to trivialise the issue and I realise that serious environmental consequences will only be avoided through a tremendous amount of education, work and focus on the relevant issues.

[Nazreen]

For internet users, what can we actually do in order to help in resolving this issue? There are already a lot of websites out there disseminating information on Global Warming but still it hasn't even slowed it down a bit.

Why don't we share our ideas on how we can better use the internet to also help solve Global Warming?

For me, I'm actually stuck because I can't think of anything aside from building another website (preferably in Chinese language) about Global Warming.

[pendelton]

Launching sites is good for public awareness, which always helps any cause.

The big thing is off line activities for something like this.
Form a group to go out and pick up trash, all wearing T-Shirts with your sites URL on it.

Launch a local Gazette to inform people about the hazards mankind is creating that helps the natural cycles in making the earth that much warmer. This can be done as a desk top publisher, with many areas publishing the same base articles plus a few local ones. Use the proceeds from this for local recycling drives. In the US you can get grants to add money to the pool for buying things from people. Once you have a ton or two sell it to the bigger recyclers.
Use this base to lobby politicians in your country to do something about Chinas pollution problem.

[Fergal]

I sometimes feel that the is some hypocrisy in the way the Western World looks to developing Eastern economies when it comes to issues of environmental concern. It's as if we feel it was OK for us to have all the benefits of economic development with little concern for the environment but then we criticise others when they start developing their own economies.

Sure, there are issues with the increased waste and energy consumption by these economies but maybe we should concentrate on cleaning our own backyard first.

[pendelton]

That was my option 1 and the second half of my option 2.

Take the US Interstate system, the amount of resources that can be conserved just by only mowing the tall grass and weeds in areas where they would cause problems would huge.

[Nazreen]

...but maybe we should concentrate on cleaning our own backyard first.

I think this is a very good thing to point out. We should clean our own backyard first.

In Singapore today, more and more professionals like ex-MTV VJ Nadya Hutagalung are now using green features in their homes. For her new home, she's installing a $4000 solar heater which converts heat from sunlight to warm water used for showering. She will also be using recycled wood and bamboo for the flooring of her bungalow.

But you know what? These green efforts actually require her to fork out a larger amount of money than by using conventional materials!

The challenge now is to make these technologies widespread to lower the prices so that it will also be available for the general public.

[Fergal]

The Irish government gives some grant aid to people who are installing environmentally friendly energy and heating systems into their homes. Does this also happen in other countries?

[pendelton]

In the US you can get grants and low interest loans.

[Footzilla]

This will happen if we don't act fast. :p
http://www.masternewmedia.org/images/global_warming_panic.jpg


http://www.effectofglobalwarming.com/images/What-is-global-warming-img.jpg

[Nazreen]

The Irish government gives some grant aid to people who are installing environmentally friendly energy and heating systems into their homes. Does this also happen in other countries?

No grants given in Singapore. Anyway, our country is already one of the cleanest and greenest in the world today!

Here, only the rich can afford to install eco-friendly and green features in their homes (usually private bungalows) but the government is already studying ways on how to make these technologies available to the public - in HDB flats and Condos.

Most people in Singapore live in government's HDB (Housing Development Board) flats so you cannot upgrade your flat to install these features without permission from HDB board. One foreigner even commented that singaporeans live in Bee Hives hahaha.

[devilbatista]

Plantation is another best way to reduce Global warming. It will help to keep carbon dioxide level constant with oxygen. As Earth's temperature increase by human activities, such as burning coal, oil and natural gas. This releases carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. So this should be reduced.

Apart from this cleaning the environment from pollution is good too. We should control Global Warming because it is dangerous for Earth And If it's dangerous for Earth then it's dangerous for us ( Human Beings )

[Nazreen]

U.S., China and all the emerging economies like India and Brazil are now the major contributors when it comes to global warming. Even though China has already made a plan to more efficiently use energy, it has rejected any mandatory cap on greenhouse gas emissions. The U.S. too rejects this mandatory cap for cutting these emissions. How then can the U.S. even tell or suggest that China be more friendly to the environment and reduce pollution when the U.S. itself is doing this? This is like the case of the pot calling the kettle black.

[devilbatista]

The U.S. too rejects this mandatory cap for cutting these emissions. How then can the U.S. even tell or suggest that China be more friendly to the environment and reduce pollution when the U.S. itself is doing this? This is like the case of the pot calling the kettle black.

Yes, Someone has to be better to make someone better. U.S. has to reduce pollution so that it can suggest environment. Anyways, It responsibility of not only these countries but all the countries to reduce Global Warming and they should start from today.

To make others good, you have to be good at first.

[Nazreen]

From tomorrow onwards and every Wednesday will be BYOB (Bring Your Own Bag) day for major supermarkets and popular stores in Singapore. This is an effort by Singapore's Environment Council to cut down on the wastage of plastic bags. When shopping or buying groceries, shoppers can bring along their own plastic bags or buy an eco-friendly bag from these shops.

I think this is a very good idea and a first step for these stores to go green. Other nations can take a cue from this very small country of ours when it comes to being eco-friendly. :)

[Fergal]

The Irish government introduced a scheme a few years ago, obliging retailers to charge a small fee for every plastic bag they gave out to customers. Most customers now use re-usable cloth bags. The scheme was hugely successful in reducing the amount of plastic bag waste in the country.

[Nazreen]

The Irish government introduced a scheme a few years ago, obliging retailers to charge a small fee for every plastic bag they gave out to customers. Most customers now use re-usable cloth bags. The scheme was hugely successful in reducing the amount of plastic bag waste in the country.

I think I spoke too soon. This is the same thing that's being implemented here in Singapore. I guess it was Singapore who took a cue from Ireland all along. Anyway, I'm glad that steps are being made to go green in some countries. We're still a long way off when it comes to preventing pollution and global warming but hopefully, we're getting there.

[Nazreen]

Just a bump on this thread and give an update on what's going on around the world.

I've been hearing and seeing websites claiming that they already have created water-powered cars. I wasn't really convinced by their claims not until today after seeing it in Channel News Asia. It was reported that a German company has built one such car. The car has a device to extract hydrogen from water and in turn, turns it into electricity which powers the car.

With rising oil prices, this is good news to everyone. Hope that other automobile companies will soon follow suit so that we won't have to rely too much on oil.

[akhanna01]

global warming is the key environmental concerns haunting the world today . as the world is going mad for growth and to achieve new heights , in the coarse they push the world on the verge of destruction .

[JPolito830]

I never looked at it that way Nazreen...oil prices will actually help the environment, and the car manufacturers will def. follow.

[toast]

oil prices will actually help the environment Why? At most, it will drive more companies in the search for more oil, or alternative sources. And in the process, actually damage the environment even more.

[Nazreen]

Why? At most, it will drive more companies in the search for more oil, or alternative sources. And in the process, actually damage the environment even more.

If I'm not mistaken, Jason might be saying that with increasing oil prices, more car companies are going to go for alternative sources of fuel. We already have the technology to create solar-powered cars and also water-powered cars. These cars are far more environmentally friendly than the gas or diesel-fueled cars that we currently have. The only thing left to do is the mass-production of these types of cars so they can be available to the general population.

[Nazreen]

Just a bump on this thread... A new study from researchers at the University of Texas are saying that more people will likely suffer from kidney stones as a result of Global Warming. This is really bad news and is one of the first examples of global warming's direct effect on people.

Read on. (http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=5374174&page=1).

[Fergal]

I don't like the sound of that. I've never had a kidney stone, but from speaking to people who have, they sound extremely painful.

[Nazreen]

In the news today, you can recycle food waste by using worms and if you're into gardening, you can also use this compost as fertilizer for your plants.

New's summary:

The worm farm is also supposed to be odourless as the food waste is quickly eaten up by the worms.
The worms will not escape since they have food to eat in the trays
They may only escape if there is overpopulation but that is not likely as the worms will regulate their own population


Read the full story (http://www.todayonline.com/articles/267820print.asp) here.

[prettysue]

I think the world is meant to destruction and the human race can't do anything about it as what is predicted in the Bible. All we can do is to slow down this destruction for the next generation to come. Let us do our own share. Let us conserve water, energy, lessen the use of plastics in our household, etc.

[deepak_sharma]

well the answer is sam that we only are responsible for this.Now what can we do to control it. Every country is supporting for this cause like useing recycled products and other stuffs.But do we really do these things well the answer is NO. First we have to change our outlook if we want to change things around us..

[Nazreen]

I heard a lot of people saying that the destruction of the world is inevitable. But is it really? For me, I don't think that it is inevitable and that all we can do is slow it down. That would be like saying that we're already accepting defeat. I'm kind of an optimist so I don't think that way and I'm still hoping that something can be done about saving our world.

[Nazreen]

What do you think when you hear the word coal? If you're the same as me, you would immediately think black carbon dioxide emissions, pollution and global warming, wouldn't you? Well now we have GreatPoint Energy's Mayflower Clean Energy Center in Massachusets, a demonstration plant for converting coal to natural gas.


Most people associate green tech with renewable energy--sun, wind, biomass, geothermal. In reality, a lot of energy technology is aimed at making conventional fuels cleaner, which is exactly GreatPoint Energy's mission: to convert dirty coal into cleaner-burning natural gas and to bury carbon dioxide emissions underground.


Gasification, which appears to be undergoing a quiet resurgence in energy, is being used to turn many different feedstocks--coal, biomass, and even municipal trash--into a gas that can later be burned for heat or electricity. Whether gasification technologies qualify for "clean energy" government incentives is still unclear, but backers say that it's a cleaner process than burning.

Read more. (http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10216860-54.html)

[Fergal]

How do they deal with the smoke that results from burning the coal?

[Nazreen]

I don't think they burn the coal Fergal. They convert the coal, biomass and trash into a gas through a process called Gasification. But I guess there would still be some carbon dioxide emissions with the gasification process and these emissions, they bury underground.

[caryrobert]

hi,
Global warming is a big problem now a days and it increases at a very fast rate.It means the temperature of earth increases 1 degree centigrade per year and the responsible person is government and general people.government cut all the trees and mountains to create new roads for public but general public is also responsible so many vehicles on road generating air pollution so people should be aware and government too not to destroy environment.If all these things are continued than there is the time that all your earth is destroyed with flood or some natural disaster.

Thanks!

[Fergal]

Welcome to Business Advice Forum caryrobert, thanks for joining.

What's your opinion on the scientists who claim that we are not going through global warming and believe that the concept of global warming is being created by environmental companies in order to increase their profits?

[caryrobert]

Hi,

That's not true you can see by yourself that due to global warming too much rain without rainy season summer season are too long as compared to winter season the heat of sun is very destructive sometimes that's all due to global warming.

[Fergal]

caryrobert thanks for the reply, I was a believer in global warming for quite a few years but honestly I'm beginning to have my doubts. The last two winters in Ireland have been extremely cold, much colder than they were for the previous decade. In fact December 2010 was the coldest December in Ireland, since records began.

When I hear people who deny climate change speaking on radio and TV, their arguments are quite convincing. Such as when they say that the earth has been warming up gradually for many generations and what we are seeing now is just a continuation of that. They also say that recent dramatic events such as the flooding in Australia have happened many times before and in fact some of those historic events were much more than the recent ones.

Saying all that, I strongly believe that we are severely damaging the environment and that drastic action is required if the planet is to survive.

[caryrobert]

Hi Federal,

Thanks for my support global warming is a very big problem for whole world government and general people have to take some action to survive in this planet.

Thanks!

[jorden.william85]

The atmospheric warming of temperatures occurring acrossthe global for a sustained amount of time caused by greenhouse gases.

[An Alien]

I think it's not just warming. We're going to have both extremely hot summers and extremely cold winters soon. Which is also going to result in a lot of natural disasters like flooding, hurricanes, etc. You can already see that happening now.

[scifi]

Actually as a matter of fact and scientific evidence, global warming is caused by Chlorofluoro Carbons and other greenhouse gases...Also recently there is a rising concern that there is a formation of layer of dust particles in the atmosphere which is also giving rise to lowering in temperature..so at some point of time a stage nearing equilibrium is expected to achieve...

[aakash23]

Hi
Global warming is definitely a major issue to be addressed across the globe. However, why only the richest need to do something? Infact every individual should take the initiative of lending a helping hand towards it. The Earth does not belong only to the richest.

[Fergal]

I agree with you aakash23, that everyone should play their part in reducing the negative impact they have on the environment. Wealthy people generally travel and consume more, hence they are responsible for more environmental problems. Plus wealthy people can afford to change their behaviour and become more environmentally friendly than poorer people.

[An Alien]

Well, the Government needs to research and make green solutions and technology cheaper to the public so everyone can get started.

[Matt]

I do think that we do tend to pollute way too much. I think everyone needs to be more aware of this and should help out with the pollution. Even if there is no such thing as global warming I believe we should all take our part and help the earth. There is only one earth.

[mikaellee00]

Yeah! Global warming is very alarming nowadays's. Just like the end of the world. LOL

[marksmith]

Global warming is the increase in the average temperature of Earth's near-surface air and oceans since the mid-20th century and its projected continuation. According to the 2007 Fourth Assessment Report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), global surface temperature increased 0.74 ± 0.18 °C (1.33 ± 0.32 °F) during the 20th century.[2][A] Most of the observed temperature increase since the middle of the 20th century has been caused by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases, which result from human activity such as the burning of fossil fuel and deforestation.[3] [4] Global dimming, a phenomenon of increasing atmospheric concentrations of man-made aerosols, which affect cloud properties and block sunlight from reaching the surface, has partially countered the effects of warming induced by greenhouse gases.

Climate model projections summarized in the latest IPCC report indicate that the global surface temperature is likely to rise a further 1.1 to 6.4 °C (2.0 to 11.5 °F) during the 21st century.[2] The uncertainty in this estimate arises from the use of models with differing sensitivity to greenhouse gas concentrations and the use of differing estimates of future greenhouse gas emissions. An increase in global temperature will cause sea levels to rise and will change the amount and pattern of precipitation, probably including expansion of subtropical deserts.[5] Warming is expected to be strongest in the Arctic and would be associated with continuing retreat of glaciers, permafrost and sea ice. Other likely effects include more frequent and intense extreme weather events, species extinctions, and changes in agricultural yields. Warming and related changes will vary from region to region around the globe, though the nature of these regional variations is uncertain.[6] As a result of contemporary increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide, the oceans have become more acidic, a result that is predicted to continue.[7][8]

The scientific consensus is that anthropogenic global warming is occurring.[9][10][11][B] Nevertheless, skepticism amongst the wider public remains. The Kyoto Protocol is aimed at stabilizing greenhouse gas concentration to prevent a "dangerous anthropogenic interference".[12] As of November 2009, 187 states had signed and ratified the protocol.[13]

Proposed responses to climate change include mitigation to reduce emissions, adaptation to the effects of global warming, and geoengineering to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere or block incoming sunlight.

thanks

[DorothyHick]

You were right, it might gonna happen about the so called 2012 movie.. Actually for me there's a possibility happen all the scene being performed in that movie because it's a human nature for not being satisfied in life especially in our technology.