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Global Warming

The condition of the earth this time is totally changing. The climate condition that we are having right now is quite becoming more tough. One article stated that “the fingerprints of the people are all over the phenomenon, of what is the condition the nature is facing right now”. And we know that it is the truth. To save more of our time and to benefits more we are seeking things to help us in our way of dealing lives. I’m not saying that I’m not dealing with it but we must observe every corner of it if this will benefits the entire area or cycle of life.

Technology are created and presented for the purpose that man can live life in easiest and to it’s convenient way of dealing with it. From the time we wake up in the morning, it help the preparation of the food we eat, when ride vehicles to go to places we want to go, to our work places, in having our recreational activities, in socializing to the public, and many other activities where technology has been existed and involved. And technology is created for that purposes. And yes, we are enjoying it. us, humans are the one who’s received the profit of it. But as we enjoy our life with the most convenient way technology has to offer with us, do we consider the effects it might cause? Technology is very helpful, and that’s the fact we can’t deny but in the contrary because of depending our own ways of living through it, we somehow make it difficult to the nature the way we control it. And now due to the overusing it and highly depending on it our mother nature is now at risk. Due to that we experienced not normal weather condition, and it ends to global warming.

Global warming is the increase over time of the Earth's average surface temperature. In general, it works like this: the sun shines on the Earth. Most of those rays pass through the Earth's atmosphere, although some are reflected back into space. The planet's surface — either the land or water — absorbs the energy. Some of that heat energy is re-emitted and travels back up into the atmosphere (An ‘unequivocal’ truth, 2007).

In the situation right now, we can’t blame it to the technology alone; of course technology will not be constructed without the man’s curiosity in mind and its finding ways to discover things. It’s the man’s concern to the society. That’s why, one way or another it is “we”, ourselves, which is to blame about what is happening to our world right now.

Global warming exist because of the various act and behavior of human that is adding the climate change. As we notice the climate we have right now is continuously changing everyday, and it is becoming more risky. It exist because the people are not giving attention about their surroundings, there are various aspect which contributes global warming like for example there are air and water pollution which from the burning of plastics, or without proper disposal of garbage, or coming from the usage of vehicles, or coming from the factories which did not necessarily have a proper disposal of the chemicals they are using which they just throw it away in the river or sea. Continually cutting of trees from the forest which added more forest destruction and the atmosphere more heat and many others that we are not giving sometimes attention.

And there are several cause of the climate change we have right now, like, the “greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide in the atmosphere can trap that heat on the way up, however, warming up the Earth's surface even more. The climate of the Earth has always been in flux, including periods of sustained warming and cooling, and greenhouse gases have played a role in those changes. Without naturally-occurring greenhouse gases, the Earth would be about 33 degrees Celsius colder than it is, a temperature hostile to human life. Carbon dioxide is by far the biggest contributor to global warming. The IPCC report's findings have shown global atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide were 379 parts per million in 2005, far above the natural range of between 180 to 300 ppm over the past 65,000 years and significantly higher than in the pre-industrial era. And levels of the gas in the atmosphere have continued to rise in the past 15 years alone. The new analysis of the warming and cooling effects on the planet connects the rise in carbon dioxide to rising temperatures, with researchers saying with "very high confidence" that the net effect of human activities since 1750 has been one of warming”. Also reported that sea levels will rise between 18 and 59 centimetres, a development that could be disastrous for island nations lying at low altitudes. The prediction could be even worse if the melting of polar ice sheets continues to accelerate.

Among the other predictions:
Increased atmospheric carbon dioxide will lead to increasing acidification of the ocean.

Warming is expected to be greatest over land and at high latitudes, with some models predicting rises of 10 degrees Celsius in the next 100 years in the Arctic.
Sea ice is expected to sink, with some projections predicting late-summer Arctic sea ice to disappear almost entirely in the latter part of the 21st century.
Hot extremes, heat waves and heavy precipitation are highly likely to become more frequent.

Hurricanes are likely to become more intense, though there is less confidence in whether they will decrease in number.

Precipitation is very likely to move toward the poles, with an increase at higher latitudes and a decrease in subtropical regions (CBC News, 2007).
If the condition that we are facing right in this very moment will not be somehow cure the statement above about the melting of polar ice will continue and the earth will be filled with water that humans can no longer live earth. We can’t live long in water, somehow we will die. Also, the earth will become hotter that we can no longer stand. Today, we experience that the climate is extremely hot that it seems that our body is burning and even the umbrella we are using cannot give us satisfaction that will help lessen what we feel.

Since, it still may turn out that CO2 emissions are giving rise to substantial global warming and that is harmful. I think nothing very costly will be done unless and until actual harm is experienced. In that case, what can be done? From Avoiding Global Warming page, John McCarthy, 1995, here are some given steps or action to avoid the continue situation of our world. (a)Replace coal, oil and natural gas plants for generating electricity by nuclear plants. Replacing coal burning plants should get the highest priority, because they generate the most CO2 per unit of energy generated, and because their emissions cause substantial lung damage. (It is interesting that some the proposers of "carbon taxes", both in America and Europe, want to include nuclear energy as a target of the "carbon tax". There is clearly more on the agenda than global warming.) (b) Unfortunately, generating electricity without putting CO2 into the atmosphere probably wouldn't be enough if the global warming problem is serious. The next step is to use nuclear produced electricity for space heating and other direct uses of heat. (c) The most difficult step is to use electricity for automotive transportation. In spite of very vigorous research, batteries capable of giving electric cars reasonable range have not been developed, although there seems to be no law of nature making them impossible. (d) Another approach is to use hydrogen generated by splitting water with (say) nuclear electricity. Cars powered by liquid hydrogen have the potential of matching the performance of gasoline powered vehicles. The hydrogen tanks will need three times the internal volume of gasoline tanks and still greater external size because of the insulation required. BMW has demonstrated a liquid hydrogen powered internal combustion engine car. Schemes for using hydrogen in other forms than liquid are unlikely to have the required range. Some people seem to believe that using hydrogen gets more energy. It only provides a way of using nuclear or solar energy. Apart from its possible use to reduce global warming, hydrogen it likely to be the solution for personal transportation when petroleum runs short. (e) Rather than putting all the effort into reducing carbon emissions, it may be more cost-effective to put some effort into removing more CO2 from the atmosphere. Plants remove CO2, but only while they are growing. A climax forest may be in equilibrium; apparently the exact facts are not yet known.

What will surely work is to cut down forests, not burn the wood and replant the forests with fast growing trees. When these trees reach a size at which their growth slows, they would be cut again. Back in the carboniferous era, trees fell into swamps which evidently provided a reducing environment. The oxygen and hydrogen in the wood were re-emitted into the atmosphere, and the carbon became coal. This process will work for us too (to reduce CO2 (it takes too long to make coal) if it proves necessary. Canada and Siberia have large forest areas not being used for other purposes.

There are many simple things an individual can do to avoid global warming without a cost. Use Compact Fluorescent, replace 3 frequently used light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. It can save 300 lbs of carbon dioxide and $60 per year. Inflate Your Tiers, keep the tiers on your car adequately inflated. Change Your Air Filter, check your car’s air filter monthly. Fill the Dishwasher, run your dishwasher only with a full load. Use Recycled Paper, make sure your printer paper is 100% post consumer recycled paper. Adjust Your Thermostat, move your heater thermostat down two degrees in winter and up two degrees in the summer. Ditch the Plastic, start using a usable water bottle and just say no to plastic. Turn off your computer, shut off your computer when not in use. Conserve energy by using your computer’s sleep mode instead of a screen saver. Bring Cloth Bags to the Market, using your own bag instead of plastic or paper bags reduces waste and requires no additional energy. Buy Organic Food, the chemicals used in modern agriculture pollute the water supply, and require energy to produce. Air Dry Your Clothes, line-dry your clothes instead of using the dryer. It will save energy and environmental friendly. Unplug Un-used Electronics, when appliances is not in use don’t just stay plug and switch off. Even when electronic devices are turned off, they still use energy. Buy Products Locally, buy locally and reduce the amount of energy required to drive your products to your store. Transportation of the product from one place to another is not causing waste to energy alone; also it might cause air pollution, it is better to buy locally to lessen the carbon dioxide coming from the truck. Reduce Garbage, buy products with less packaging and recycle papers, plastics, and glasses that you might think will still be useful. Plant a Tree, trees suck up carbon dioxide and make clean air for us to breath. Replace old Appliances, inefficient appliances waste energy. Buy a Hybrid Car, it will help lessen carbon dioxide coming from the car and it will save to cost more money. Don’t Idle in Your Car, idling wastes money and gas, and generates pollution and global warming causing emissions. Except when in traffic, turn your engine off if you must wait for more than 30 seconds (Take Action, 2005).
This is situation is very alarming that we must give concern and focus on it. Even if it is coming from a simple way to a big one, still helping, it doesn’t count if it’s small or big. If it contribute to help lessen on what we feel right now, it will greatly contribute to help our world remain existing.
In what way are we going to do it? As a student I am not surely can do big things to help but we should have our ways in order to help for it.

(1) Using Solar Energy
An article in the Responding To Climate Change page stated that solar energy is gaining popularity as a modern, sustainable source of energy. And the solar electric world market applying solar energy is growing by 35% annually and the solar thermal or solar heating and cooling, the market is also benefiting from double digit growth rates. And it stated that solar energy will play a crucial role in the future energy supply. There are several policies that is encouraging from the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) and the German Solar Industry Association (BSW) that will help the world when using the solar energy. It will help to avoid, combating climate change requires dramatic reductions of greenhouse gas emissions; fossil and nuclear fuels are finite and noticeably becoming scarce; and an affordable supply of fossil-based energy resources is becoming difficult to secure. That the only sustainable solution to these problems is to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy sources (RES). The sun sends more energy to the earth in one hour than the entire population of the world consumes in one year – not using this clean source of energy is unjustifiable. Having the renewable energy sources it may help us to, have unlimited availability; protect the climate by replacing fossil fuels; do not pose any security risks; are available in every country worldwide; support national and local economies and provide new jobs; reduce a country’s dependency on energy imports; increase energy supply security; support rural development due to their decentralized nature; and are the cheapest energy source in the long term; and are sustainable. and for having the new source of energy will soon replace a strongly growing share of fossil and nuclear power. Solar energy will play a major role as it is globally available, flexible in size and application and can fit into the needs of different countries.

(2) Prevent Pollution
Several alternatives is presented in the public from various concerned citizen who is willing to discover and construct more in order to help the situation of what our mother nature situation today. Pollution is one of the contributors why the earth put in this situation. Like using the energy coming from the sun (solar energy) or from the water. It will not cause pollution that will not contribute to make it worst for us.

Instead of using your car to go to the place that you think you can simply can have a walk to reach there why not do such thing. It will help to lessen the air pollution we are experiencing right now. And also, its good for your health it is somehow considered as a way of exercise that will help your body become healthy. You will not just help the earth, you will help your self too. You can gain both benefits.

(3) Conserve Natural Resources
Our forest is at risk, many plants are being cut due to human’s greedy attitude towards it. Plants are the biggest contributor of oxygen so that people can breath. And it is most important for human body if it will intake fresh air and not the polluted one. The plant will help intake the carbon dioxide that is around the environment to process it and make it oxygen as the source of life to human. If we can intake the polluted air, it will cause diseases to human’s body and they will get sick. To avoid that situation we must help our forest. We may plant trees or flowers in order to help our environment. Also, animals are being endangered. Animals help the cycle of the nature’s ecosystem. Without them the process will not be normal and it will affect the life cycle of the humans too. Nature is the primary source of life. It gives us air to breath. It provides us food to eat. It offers things that will help people in everyday living. We must protect it and help it nurture. It is for our own good.

(4) Recycle Junks
Stop wasting things that we think might be useful in the future. There are several tv shows which presented about recycling things and constructed it into new one that may help poor people as there way to gain money. They may sell it to the public to be used as decoration, or others that might be useful. Don’t just throw your drafted paper or paper that slightly use away, you might use it as scratch paper again in the future or it maybe use as fuel. It will burn pretty well (we use that at home). That will lessen to burden of trees from cutting them to make as paper. For me, now as an IT student I notice that I seldom use papers because of directly doing my assignments on the computer. Even though I made many mistake typing it down I don’t waste even a single sheet of paper. Maybe it might be a good one we have it. Also, if we have many plastic, cans, metals and even bottles, iron, newspaper in our house, it might be good to not to waste it and store it we can sell it, it can be recycled too. We save wasting it and on the other hand we gain profit from it. Not too bad right?

(5) Be environmental-friendly
Help save mother earth. Do things that not will cause harm and prevent damage to the earth we are living. As a simple citizen we may plant trees or plant flowers. It will help our house beautiful and help the world green. Use your appliances and energy wisely. Don’t throw your garbage anywhere, there are garbage bin provided for the waste material so it will not scatter everywhere and will not cause any distraction to nature. As a students help or join groups that their advocate is to help the environment is really a big help to the society. Adhere to there objectives and purposes, as what an old saying, ”Kabataan ang Pag-asa ng Bayan”. Our helping hand will strive something that will help the future for the better.
Technology really helps us. But we must take responsibility on where it might lead us. We must consider every side of our discovery. Our mother earth really need help, even though we can’t do big things for it simple thing is good and accountable enough. It is not just for the sake of everybody, it is also for our own.

REFERENCES:

http://www.hinduonnet.com/2007/10/15/stories/2007101568030400.htm
http://www.markvernon.com/friendshiponline/dotclear/index.php?2006/11/16/423-inside-story-climate-change
http://www.palgrave.com/products/title.aspx?is=0230007546
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/climatechange/unreport-2007.html
http://www.climatechange.ca.gov/climate_action_team/reports/2007-04-20_CAT_REPORT.PDF
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2007/may/04/climatechange.climatechangeenvironment
http://www.rcwo.com/globwarm/index.html