Increased Tropical Forest Growth Could Release Carbon from the Soil

A new study shows that as climate change enhances tree growth in tropical forests, the resulting increase in litterfall could stimulate soil micro-organisms leading to a release of stored soil carbon.

The research was led by scientists from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and the University of Cambridge, UK. The results are published online in the journal Nature Climate Change.

The researchers used results from a six-year experiment in a rainforest at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama, Central America, to study how increases in litterfall -- dead plant material such as leaves, bark and twigs which fall to the ground -- might affect carbon storage in the soil. Their results show that extra litterfall triggers an effect called 'priming' where fresh carbon from plant litter provides much-needed energy to micro-organisms, which then stimulates the decomposition of carbon stored in the soil.

Lead author Dr Emma Sayer from the UK's Centre for Ecology & Hydrology said, "Most estimates of the carbon sequestration capacity of tropical forests are based on measurements of tree growth. Our study demonstrates that interactions between plants and soil can have a massive impact on carbon cycling. Models of climate change must take these feedbacks into account to predict future atmospheric carbon dioxide levels."

The study concludes that a large proportion of the carbon sequestered by greater tree growth in tropical forests could be lost from the soil. The researchers estimate that a 30% increase in litterfall could release about 0.6 tonnes of carbon per hectare from lowland tropical forest soils each year. This amount of carbon is greater than estimates of the climate-induced increase in forest biomass carbon in Amazonia over recent decades. Given the vast land surface area covered by tropical forests and the large amount of carbon stored in the soil, this could affect the global carbon balance.

Tropical forests play an essential role in regulating the global carbon balance. Human activities have caused carbon dioxide levels to rise but it was thought that trees would respond to this by increasing their growth and taking up larger amounts of carbon. However, enhanced tree growth leads to more dead plant matter, especially leaf litter, returning to the forest floor and it is unclear what effect this has on the carbon cycle.

Dr Sayer added, "Soils are thought to be a long-term store for carbon but we have shown that these stores could be diminished if elevated carbon dioxide levels and nitrogen deposition boost plant growth."

Co-author Dr Edmund Tanner, from the University of Cambridge, said, "This priming effect essentially means that older, relatively stable soil carbon is being replaced by fresh carbon from dead plant matter, which is easily decomposed. We still don't know what consequences this will have for carbon cycling in the long term."
Read full story : http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110814141445.htm

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man-caused global warming a hoax

Plant scientist, I am concerned that Idaho and most states are planning to limit and reduce Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions. This is being done to supposedly reduce global warming. The states are adopting the 1997 Kyoto Climate Treaty which the U.S. Senate rejected 95-0 because it would destroy our economy while exempting developing nations like China which do not control pollution.

CO2 is not a pollutant and is not causing global warming. CO2 is necessary for life on the planet, as plants utilize CO2 to produce the oxygen we breathe and the food we eat! Global warming now and cooling of the 40’s to mid-seventies is caused by solar activity. We have an active sun now! The earth has been warming for 300 years with most of the increase prior to increased CO2 levels.

Also, 279 research project reports have shown that increasing CO2 increases crop production. Higher levels of CO2 is creating a lush environment for plants and animals and will improve the health (more oxygen), longevity and prosperity of all people.

Over 20,000 U.S. scientists have signed a petition opposing man-caused global warming and the benefits of increased CO2 levels, but the mass media totally ignore them. John Coleman, founder of The Weather Channel, stated that man-caused global warming is the biggest hoax ever perpetrated on mankind.

The biased United Nation’s panel and Al Gore are promoting a lie to scare us into a U.N. global government. The bottom line is that we need to produce more energy, not less. We have a 300 year U.S. supply of crude oil and unlimited nuclear power. There is no scientific reason to limit CO2 production because it is not causing global warming

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Industrial pollution and global climate change

Ignorance is bliss, or so the saying goes; but what if that ignorance came with the price of destroying entire ecosystems? Although we've heard the phrase global warming in just about every news broadcast for the past decade, we still seem to be at a loss for what will happen if the delicate balance that gives us our temperate climates becomes off kilter.
A giant storm wouldn't form just out of the blue, flood part of the Earth, freeze a greater portion, sending lightning and wind storms that wipe out entire cities, and leave millions dead in just a matter of a few days like in the movie The Day After Tomorrow would it? We could survive another Ice Age that lasts hundreds, maybe even thousands of years with today's technology, couldn't we?
There is sufficient information to say that our planet is getting warmer. In the past 100 years, the Earth's temperature has risen around 1 Fahrenheit, which doesn't seem like much, but it truly has a larger impact than imagined. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is projecting a 3-10 rise in temperature by the year 2100. (National Geographic, 2008)
This temperature increase can dry up rivers and other water sources. In a severe drought condition, it is thought that an estimated 35% (around 1 million) of the Earth's species could disappear by the year 2050; some scientists say that that estimate is optimistic, at best. (Goodstein, February 2006) Glacier National Park in Montana has 27 glaciers; there were 150 in 1910. (National Geographic, 2008)
Science can only predict what is to come; however, the predictions scientists are forming come from the current trends they are observing. Most believe that global warming will lead to large-scale famine and drought. Rising temperatures will cause glaciers resting on top of mountains to melt completely. Many villages rely on the melting snow to fill their streams that water their crops and livestock. (Goodstein, February 2006)
Deserts will grow, destroying what was once farm land. A mini Ice Age could settle over Western Europe due to the shut-down of the conveyer belt that brings warm Caribbean waters north, giving places like Britain a milder climate. (National Geographic, 2008)
With glaciers melting not only from mountain tops, but also from the poles, ocean water levels will rise, changing the face of the Earth. Scientists are predicting a rise between 7 and 23 inches in sea level by the year 2100. A rise of just four inches would sink most of the South Seas islands and a large portion of South-East Asia. Around 100 million people live in these danger zones.
Florida and Louisiana are at risk of being flooded completely, destroying crops of fruits (such as oranges, strawberries, and melons) from Florida, and crops from Louisiana such as corn, cotton, and soy. Although neither Florida nor Louisiana are world producers, losing their contributions would still be felt, especially in the pocketbook.
Weather patterns will change and storms may become more severe. Hurricanes, tropical storms, droughts, heat-waves, and other natural disasters may become more intense and more frequent. Today's changing weather patterns supports this theory. Of the past twelve years, 11 of the hottest years have been recorded. (National Geographic, 2008)
Another dangerous possibility is looming: what happens if we can no longer control emissions finding their way into our atmosphere? It is called the Positive Feedback Effect, and it has the potential of making it impossible to control emissions, since we would be fighting Nature herself. Rising temperatures could release additional greenhouse gases into the atmosphere by freeing methane gas locked in permafrost and undersea deposits.
Carbon may also be released from sea ice with the melting of the glaciers. A rise in temperature will also cause an increase of water evaporation. Increased water evaporation will mean more cloud cover. More clouds floating about our atmosphere will act like a wool coat to our Earth, warming her more by not allowing heat to escape. (National Geographic, 2008)
Global Warming isn't going to just go away. This is a very real problem that humanity as a whole is facing. Even if we implemented clean air practices today, it would still take 'years' for these effects to show. Many greenhouse gases stay in our atmosphere years after they were released.
Technology isn't going to save us; our ability to adapt to a rapidly changing environment will be our saving grace. As a developed country (as well as the largest contributor to global warming), the United States should step up and take the lead in protecting our future. We need to educate the public about the repercussions of not acting upon this impending disaster. No, the world won't look like it did in the movie The Day After Tomorrow; however, I doubt we'll like the true results of global warming any more.
References:
Goodstein, E. (January 2006). Climate Change: What the World Needs Now IsPolitics. World Watch, 19(Issue 1), 25-27.
National Geographic News. Global Warming Fast Facts. Retrieved March 12, 2008, from
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/12/1206 _041206_global_war
ming.html

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Effects of Global Warming

The planet is warming, from North Pole to South Pole, and everywhere in between. Globally, the mercury is already up more than 1 degree Fahrenheit (0.8 degree Celsius), and even more in sensitive polar regions. And the effects of rising temperatures aren’t waiting for some far-flung future. They’re happening right now. Signs are appearing all over, and some of them are surprising. The heat is not only melting glaciers and sea ice, it’s also shifting precipitation patterns and setting animals on the move.

Some impacts from increasing temperatures are already happening.

•Ice is melting worldwide, especially at the Earth’s poles. This includes mountain glaciers, ice sheets covering West Antarctica and Greenland, and Arctic sea ice.
•Researcher Bill Fraser has tracked the decline of the Adélie penguins on Antarctica, where their numbers have fallen from 32,000 breeding pairs to 11,000 in 30 years.
•Sea level rise became faster over the last century.
•Some butterflies, foxes, and alpine plants have moved farther north or to higher, cooler areas.
•Precipitation (rain and snowfall) has increased across the globe, on average.
•Spruce bark beetles have boomed in Alaska thanks to 20 years of warm summers. The insects have chewed up 4 million acres of spruce trees.
.Other effects could happen later this century, if warming continues.

•Sea levels are expected to rise between 7 and 23 inches (18 and 59 centimeters) by the end of the century, and continued melting at the poles could add between 4 and 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters).
•Hurricanes and other storms are likely to become stronger.
•Species that depend on one another may become out of sync. For example, plants could bloom earlier than their pollinating insects become active.
•Floods and droughts will become more common. Rainfall in Ethiopia, where droughts are already common, could decline by 10 percent over the next 50 years.
•Less fresh water will be available. If the Quelccaya ice cap in Peru continues to melt at its current rate, it will be gone by 2100, leaving thousands of people who rely on it for drinking water and electricity without a source of either.
•Some diseases will spread, such as malaria carried by mosquitoes.
•Ecosystems will change—some species will move farther north or become more successful; others won’t be able to move and could become extinct. Wildlife research scientist Martyn Obbard has found that since the mid-1980s, with less ice on which to live and fish for food, polar bears have gotten considerably skinnier. Polar bear biologist Ian Stirling has found a similar pattern in Hudson Bay. He fears that if sea ice disappears, the polar bears will as well.

Source :http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/gw-effects

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US top court questions global warming lawsuit

(Reuters) - The Supreme Court on Tuesday questioned whether a global warming lawsuit against five big power companies can proceed, with several justices saying the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, not federal judges, should deal with the issue.
The high court justices sounded a skeptical note during arguments when they asked whether complicated environmental issues, such as how much greenhouse gas pollution is allowable and how it should be curbed, should be left to federal judges.

The big environmental case stemmed from a 2004 lawsuit claiming that five coal-burning utilities have created a public nuisance by contributing to climate change. Its consequences, such as rising seas, reduced crop yields and destruction of some hardwood trees, would harm the states' citizens.

The lawsuit, now involving six states, seeks to have a federal judge in New York order the utilities to cut their carbon dioxide emissions.

Both liberal and conservative justices questioned whether the lawsuit can go forward.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, one of the court's liberals, took aim at the states' case, saying what they want is what the Environmental Protection Agency is trying to do with its proposed regulations of carbon emissions.

"How does a district judge decide what's reasonable and effective?" conservative Justice Samuel Alito asked rhetorically.

Another conservative, Chief Justice John Roberts, also asked whether a district court judge could conduct the cost-benefit analysis to determine what was reasonable to reduce global warming: "I think that's a pretty big burden to impose on a district court judge."

Liberal Justice Elena Kagan said the facts at issue in the lawsuit usually were determined by an agency such as the EPA, rather than the courts. "There is an administrative agency. There is a Clean Air Act," she said.


EPA'S ROLE

Lawyers for the power companies, including an Obama administration attorney representing the government-owned Tennessee Valley Authority, said the scope of the lawsuit was unprecedented in U.S. history, involving national and international issues outside the power of the courts.

"In the 222 years that the court has been sitting, there has never been a case with so many potential perpetrators and so many potential victims," said Neal Katyal, the administration's top courtroom lawyer.

The power companies -- American Electric Power Co Inc, Southern Co, Xcel Energy Inc and Cinergy Corp, which Duke Energy Corp acquired in 2006, along with TVA -- want the lawsuit dismissed.

The states -- California, Connecticut, Iowa, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont -- said their citizens have been harmed by global warming and urged the top court to allow their lawsuit to go forward.

It is the most sweeping climate change case to come before the high court since its landmark 2007 ruling that authorized the EPA to regulate greenhouse emissions if they endanger human health.

In their comments on Tuesday, the justices said Congress has given the federal environmental agency the authority to do just that.

But even though the EPA has found officially that greenhouse pollution poses a health hazard, it has not yet gone forward to impose regulations on emissions, and Republicans in Congress have sought to limit the agency's ability to do so.

Coal-fired power plants emit about twice as much carbon dioxide -- which warms the Earth by trapping solar heat in the atmosphere -- as natural gas-fired plants. Nuclear power plants emit virtually no greenhouse gases.

The five power utilities account for 10 percent of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions, said Barbara Underwood, who argued the case for the states.

A ruling is expected by the end of June.

(Editing by Bill Trott)

News Published by http://in.reuters.com on 20,april 2011

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Life Sciences

A team of scientists has discovered that human-introduced, invasive species of plants can have positive ecological effects. Tomás Carlo, an assistant professor of biology at Penn State University, and Jason Gleditsch, a graduate student in the Department of Biology, have studied how invasive fruiting plants affect ecosystems and how those effects, contrary to prevailing ideas, sometimes can be beneficial to an ecological community. The team's research, which will be published in the journal Diversity and Distributions, is expected to affect the way environmental resource managers respond to ecosystem maintenance. "Among conservation biologists, ecologists, and managers, the default approach is to try to eliminate and root out non-native, invasive shrubs -- anything that seems to change an ecosystem," Carlo said. "The fundamental goal is to return a natural area to its original, pristine state, with the native species occupying the dominant position in the community. But the problem is that most native communities already have been changed beyond recognition by humans, and many native species are now rare." Carlo explained that his team wanted to test whether certain well-established, invasive fruiting species have negative or positive effects on bird and fruiting-plant communities. "We wondered: Are we sometimes doing more harm than good when we eradicate plants that, despite being introduced recently, have formed positive relationships with native animals?" To be considered invasive, a species of plant must have been introduced by humans, and it must be dominant numerically in the new environment. To test the impact of an invasive fruiting-plant species on native bird communities, Carlo and Gleditsch sectioned off an area of central Pennsylvania known as the Happy Valley region, where honeysuckle -- a non-native fruiting plant that is considered invasive -- grows in abundance. They then assessed the abundance of bird species and fruiting plants -- including honeysuckle -- within the area. After comparing their data with similar data from urban, agricultural, and forested areas, they determined that the abundance of honeysuckle predicted the numbers and diversity of birds within the region and even beyond the region. That is, the honeysuckle and bird communities had formed a relationship known as mutualism -- a term that describes how two or more species interact by benefiting mutually from each other's existence. "The abundance of fruit-eating birds in the Happy Valley region is linked to the abundance of honeysuckle," Carlo explained. "Honeysuckle comprises more than half of all the fruits available in the landscape, and it benefits birds by providing them with a source of food in the fall. Meanwhile, birds benefit honeysuckle by dispersing the plant's seeds across a wider geographical area, helping the species to occupy more and more territory in areas already affected by human activities." Carlo explained that returning this particular ecosystem to its honeysuckle-free state could harm many species of native birds that now seem to rely on honeysuckle as a major food source in the fall. The team also tested the honeysuckle's influence, not just on birds, but on other species of fruiting plants. First, they grew native fruiting plants known as American nightshades in pots in a greenhouse. When the fruits were ripe on each plant, they then placed them into both honeysuckle-dense areas and areas area without honeysuckle but dominated by other native and non-native fruiting species. "We chose the American nightshade because it is native and common in the Happy Valley region," Carlo said. "Also, it is easy to manipulate experimentally, and its fruits are eaten -- and thus dispersed -- by native birds." In the area in which honeysuckle grew in abundance, the rate of fruit-removal of Carlo's American nightshades was 30-percent higher than in the areas without honeysuckle. Carlo explained that in the honeysuckle-rich area, birds were present in abundance. These birds allowed the nightshades to receive more seed-dispersal services -- an ecological process known as facilitation. "The newly introduced plants piggybacked on the success of the honeysuckle, which is a common phenomenon because fruit-eating birds usually feed on a variety of fruit -- whatever happens to be available to them," Carlo explained. "The same birds that ate the honeysuckle also ate the American nightshade, dispersing the seeds of both plants. It's a win-win-win for all three: the birds, the honeysuckle, and the nightshades." Carlo also explained that in Pennsylvania there are now three to four times more fruit-eating birds such as robins and catbirds than there were just 30 years ago, especially in landscapes of high human presence. So scientists should conclude that, while some invasive, human-introduced plants are definitely problematic, others could serve to restore ecological balance by providing essential food resources to native migratory birds that populate areas affected by humans. "Invasive species could fill niches in degraded ecosystems and help restore native biodiversity in an inexpensive and self-organized way that requires little or no human intervention," Carlo said. In addition, Carlo explained, while eliminating an invasive species could result in harm to the newly formed balance of an ecosystem, large-scale attempts to remove species also could be a waste of time and tax dollars. He explained that when managers and agencies attempt to eradicate an invasive plant from a particular ecosystem, the species often ends up growing back anyway. "Nature is in a constant state of flux, always shifting and readjusting as new relationships form between species, and not all of these relationships are bad just because they are novel or created by humans," Carlo said. "We need to be more careful about shooting first and asking questions later -- assuming that introduced species are inherently harmful. We should be asking: Are we responding to real threats to nature or to our cultural perception and scientific bias?" Support for this research is provided by the Penn State Department of Biology and the Penn State Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences.- ready more at sciencedaily.com

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Global warming effects on Himalayan

Landscape shots of the Himalayan mountains of Nepal, where the effects of global warming are palpable. Nepal. 23/12/09. Local communities blame the gods for the changing weather whilst the developed countries in the world continue to expand and further contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. The Nepalese government held a unique cabinet meeting at Kala Patthar near the base of Mount Everest following the Copenhagen climate summit.

Although Nepal's share in the global emission of greenhouse gases is almost nil, the consequences of global warming and climate change - receding snowlines, lake bursts and flash floods - threaten to wash away vast areas of this Himalayan country. The meltdown of glaciers due to global warming has sent a chill through the Himalayan region. Over the last couple of years, this mountainous country has recorded a hazy winter, hotter summer months, reduced rain fall and frequent landslides, which experts attribute to climatic change. Experts believe this could be a pointer to even more miserable weather to come. The average temperature in Nepal is rising by 0.75 degrees Celsius per decade says a senior official in the Ministry of Population and Environment. Global warming has increased the pace of snow melting, which, in turn, has made glacial lakes swell. The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) had warned five years ago that 20 big glacial lakes in the country are at risk of floods from glacial lake bursts, which could trigger huge loss of life and property. More than five glacial lake bursts occurred in the past few decades, according to records and satellite imagery, says a climate change officer at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF-Nepal Program). WWF-Nepal acts as a member secretary organization of the Climate Change Network Nepal, which includes a number of domestic and international environmental bodies keeping a watch on global warming and its impact on Nepal. One of the most startling results of climate change can be seen in the spectacular Tsho Rolpa glacial lake situated in the Rolwaling valley, north of the capital Kathmandu. The lake had an area of 0.23 sq kilometers in 1950. It has since swollen to 1.7 sq kilometers, says the officials in the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology of Nepal government. After the UNEP warning, the Nepal government immediately started the Tsho Rolpa Risk Reduction Project, with the help of foreign aid. The project has siphoned a huge quantity of water and has brought down the water level by 3 metres. According to UNEP, the water level needs to be brought down by at least 20 meters to ensure safety. In August 2003, the Kawari glacier lake, situated in the foothills of the Annapurna II Mountain of the Himalayan region in Nepal burst, destroying property worth US $100,000. Five people were killed and dozens made homeless. Glacial lake bursts on a smaller scale have been frequently reported in the past few decades. On September 3, 1998, the Sabai Tsho lake-burst killed two persons and washed away fields and trekking trails of Solukhumbu district, which is home to Mount Everest. Likewise, in September 1997, the Dudh Koshi burst destroyed a mini hydro plant there. On July 1991, the Chilbung lake burst, damaging houses in Beding village in Rolwaling valley. These are just a few examples. Glacial lake bursts occurred in the past as well, but their frequency has increased of late because of the rising pace of snow melting. According to the studies carried out by ICIMOD (International Center for Integrated Mountain Development) and UNEP, there are 26 potential dangerous glacial lakes in Nepal that threaten millions of lives due to global warming. There are around 3,300 glaciers in the Nepali Himalayas and nearly 2,300 of them contain glacial lakes. Scientists have documented a similar trend in glaciers throughout the Himalaya, the mountain range that houses Mount Everest. The range, which spans several Asian nations, is known as the Water Tower of Asia, since billions of people depend on its life-bringing flows. Scientists fear that these water supplies could eventually dry up as the glaciers melt due to global warming. Experts claim that climate change due to global warming is responsible for erratic weather patterns such as the thick haze that shrouds Nepal's Terai (southern plains) area in winter. The haze destroys the cash crops of this region, which is the livelihood of the country. And due to the delay in regular snowfall, people living in the western Himalayan region are suffering from outbreaks of viral influenza, pneumonia, colds, diarrhoea and other diseases. It is very disappointing that while Nepal does not emit many greenhouse gases, it has to face the consequences of actions of other developed countries. Due to their actions, Nepal's white gold mountains that are also called the water tower of Asia, are under threat. Fear has risen that even the bio-diversity may have been affected by the change in climate. This could be particularly true in a country like Nepal where different species are found at different altitudes and climatic conditions. Nepal is already party to the international convention on climate change and is working to ratify the Kyoto protocol. But despite its deep concern, Nepal might not be able to cope with the challenge thrown open by global warming on its own, say government officials. According to ICIMOD, mountainous Nepal, home to eight of the world’s 14 tallest peaks, including Mount Everest, is vulnerable to climate change despite being responsible for only 0.027 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, among the world’s lowest. Average global temperatures are rising faster in the Himalayas than in most other parts of the world. The Khumbu Glacier on Mount Everest has retreated more than three miles (five kilometers) from the time when Edmund Hillary and Tensing Norgay famously set out to conquer the world's highest peak in 1953. WWF has released a report warning that Himalayan glaciers are currently receding at an average rate of 33 to 50 feet (10 to 15 meters) per year. In India the Gangotri Glacier, the source of the Ganges (or Ganga) River, is retreating at a rate of 75 feet (23 meters) annually. The report has also noted that air temperatures in the region have risen by 1.8°F (1°C) since the 1970s—twice as much as average warming in other northern hemisphere countries over the same time period. Meanwhile, Nepal's Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal has proposed five key-points for the success of Copenhagen Climate Conference with urge of Nepali people for keeping the earth green so that humankind can keep the majestic Himalayas, the Alps and Andes eternally white under the snow. Addressing the High Level Segment of the Copenhagen Climate Conference, Prime Minister Nepal stressed that "If we fail to act now and act decisively, not only will future generation be deprived of experiencing the beauty of the white mountains, but also the livelihoods of over 1.3 billion people residing in the great river basins of the Himalayas will be seriously affected." Briefing the High Level Segment about Nepal's Cabinet Meeting held at Kalapatthar, the Base Camp of the Mt. Everest, Prime Minister Nepal said he saw up close from the top of the world the alarming impacts of climate change in the Himalayan Region. He also urged the developed countries to abide by their existing commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as already agreed within the framework of the Kyoto Protocol. He has also urged the Summit Conference to set ambitious global goals and targets for Annex I countries to further reduce greenhouse gas emission. According to PM Nepal, Nepal is prepared to play its part and have developed one of the most successful community forestry programs. Given the huge potential of hydropower, solar and wind energy in Nepal, it can aspire to become a carbon neutral country in the long run contributing to lessen carbon emission in the region through the development of clean hydro energy in Nepal. He also added that the temperature in Nepal is increasing at a rate much higher than the global average. This in the long term would also adversely impact the hydrological system of the entire region. Formation and outburst of glacial lakes are perhaps the most visible impacts of climate change. Global climate change is thus adversely affecting the fragile mountain ecosystem while endangering its great biodiversity. As a landlocked and least developed country with subsistence agriculture, Nepal has the challenge to the changing life support system and protecting the environment and natural resources from the negative impact of climate change. PM Nepal proposed 5 Key points to make the Copenhagen summit a success in bringing effective solutions to fight with the Global warming. He has stressed that an ambitious and legally binding deal in Copenhagen following the Convention and Kyoto tracks is a must. Developed countries should have ambitious goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Atmospheric temperature should be kept below 1.5 degrees. LDCs and most vulnerable countries must be uppermost, as they are least able to withstand the adverse impacts of climate change. The effect of global warming is not an abstract scientific theory any more in the Himalayan Mountains; it has become a fact of everyday life. Its effects are visible everywhere: in snow-capped mountains that are turning into stark, exposed rock, and swollen lakes that have made traditional yak-herding routes impassable. There is also less direct impact that is more difficult to measure: droughts and cloudbursts, delayed monsoons and huge forest fires are a few. What many in the Himalayan mountains of Nepal and neighboring countries still do not know is the cause of this warming, and what to do about it. Some blame the gods for erratic weather — not the emission of greenhouse gases by rich countries. They do not know how the futures of their children and grandchildren are tied up with this Global warming. In fact, the messy development and fake promises having come out of the Copenhagen Summit for the international climate-change conference has given a pointer that these ignorant people will continue suffering from the Global warming not caused by them (source : demotix.com/)

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Is global warming drowning Bangladesh?

Md Saiful Haque Writes From Stockholm, Sweden

The impacts of global warming will be felt across the globe. Glaciers and ice caps will melt at faster rates. Occurrence of extreme floods and droughts will increase. Water stress will increase globally while water quality will deteriorate. In South Asia, seasonal variation of water will increase. Water resource scarcity with enhanced climate variability will intensify. More than a billion people will experience water stress in the region. There's high risk of rain, riverine and glacier-melt related floods. Flooding due to sea-level rise and deterioration of water quality will intensify. And what's more grim, there are uncertainties in the projections.



These are the basic findings of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)'s latest report by Bangladeshi scientist Dr Monirul Mirza, a lead author for IPCC, presented at the 2007 World Water Week high level panel discussion on climate change in Stockholm last August. The poorest countries have always been predicted to be worst hit by human-induced global warming and climate change. Bangladesh, as the lowest riparian country in the South Asian region that faces the sea -- and drains 92 percent of the snowmelt from the vast Himalayan mountain range -- is one of the most vulnerable places on earth to global warming and climate change. One of the poorest nations in the world, Bangladesh is projected to lose 17.5 percent of its land if sea level rises about 40 inches (1 m). And sea level is already rising in the Bay of Bengal even faster than expected, and pushing salty water inland, lowering the productivity of rice -- the country's key crop -- cultivation, especially in the south of the country. Coastal flooding will threaten animals, plants, and fresh water supplies. The current danger posed by storm surges when cyclones hit Bangladesh is likely to increase. Scientists believe global warming will make cyclones in the region bigger and more frequent. A UN report says: "Of the 12 hottest years on record 11 occurred between 1995 and 2006." What's more, the heat is only continuing to rise. Rising temperatures are creating havoc with the earth's weather, bringing too much rain to some, not enough to others. Climate change is likely to heavily hit Bangladesh by breaking down agricultural systems, which would seriously affect Bangladesh, leaving large sections of people facing malnutrition, worsening freshwater scarcity, increasing risks of fatal diseases, and triggering mass displacement due to recurring severe floods and storms like the recent Cyclone Sidr. Asia's largest rivers, the Ganges and the Brahmaputra, join in the world's most extensive delta and flow into the Bay of Bengal. Here lies Bangladesh, a nation of 145 million people already beset with grinding poverty, severe frequent floods, and now also affected by rising sea levels. And the Kusiara and Surma rivers coming from the Himalayan-foot district Assam (in India) form the Meghna -- another mighty river. The Ganges and Brahmaputra meet the Meghna and then together course south in hundreds of distributaries to form the largest delta on the planet. Siltation of river-beds caused by sediments carried by rivers from upstream countries decelerates drainage and accentuates the intensity of floods. According to an estimate (Milliman, Meade 1983, taken from World Bank 1998), about 1.67 billion tons of suspended sediment discharged annually through the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers, while Bangladesh Water Development Board estimated a suspended sediment discharge of about 1.27 billion tons excluding bed load which may amount to about 50 percent of the total sediment load. Ninety percent of the land is floodplain, and the country has the world's highest density of rivers per unit of area. Yet, with increased population and expanded economic activity, Bangladesh faces serious shortages of water during the dry season -- flooding during the monsoon and too little in the dry season. Bangladesh's location and topography make it particularly susceptible to the effects of climate change and also hard to protect, where the rivers are constantly shifting, making it difficult to build up protective banks or large dikes to hold back the sea. The soil here is mud and, as such -- not steady. About one million people a year are displaced by loss of land along rivers due to constant river-bank erosion, and this is increasing. People are little aware of the effect on them of sea level rise and a warming climate. Because of its poverty -- 78 percent of its population lives on less than $2 a day -- Bangladesh cannot afford the kind of defences planned in Europe. World Bank reported, in 2001 that sea level was rising about 3 mm a year in the Bay of Bengal. It warned of loss of Bengal tigers in the Sundarbans, the world's largest mangrove forest -- and a world heritage site -- and threat to hundreds of bird species. 15 to 20 percent of Bangladesh is within one metre rise of sea level. The World Bank warned of a decline of rice crop up to 30 percent with predicted sea level rise. This is not a one-time event that sometime in the future will affect so many. It is a constant process of ever higher tides, which affects more and more people even in time of lower river flow and good weather. According to the latest UN Human Development Report (HDR) released in November, Bangladesh is among the countries to be worst-affected by climate change that may cause a large-scale reversal in human development. Describing the effects of climate change on the poorest countries as horrible, the HDR states: "Those who have largely caused the problem -- the rich countries -- are not going to be those who suffer the most in the short term. It is the poorest, who are not contributing significantly to green house gas emissions, who are the most vulnerable." The HDR report titled 'Fighting Climate Change' cautioned "Business-as-usual scenarios will trigger large scale reversals in human development, undermining livelihoods and causing mass displacement." UNDP administrator Kemal Dervis, in his introduction to the report, said: "It is the poor, a constituency with no responsibility for the ecological debt we are running up, who face the most immediate, and severe, human costs." With only 15 percent of world's population, rich countries account for nearly half of global carbon dioxide emissions, with the United States -- the world's top emitter of greenhouse gases -- leaving a carbon footprint that is nearly 70 times higher than in Bangladesh. Global carbon dioxide output in 2006 approached a staggering 32 billion tons, with about 25 percent of that coming from the US. There's not much Bangladesh can do. Unless developed countries cut their greenhouse emissions, our efforts will be undercut. The country is particularly vulnerable because it has a low institutional capacity and lacks resources to combat the changing climate. But the immediate consequences of climate change are in Bangladesh -- and also in Africa. As for Bangladesh, both adaptation and mitigation measures are essential to reduce high risks. Adaptation measures in poor countries like ours should be subsidised by rich countries. It is poor countries that are "suffering the brunt of climate change". But it is rich countries' greenhouse-gas emissions that have "caused this crisis in the first place". Without aid from richer countries to pay for more durable raised roads, hospitals and other infrastructures, Bangladesh will be unable to handle more disasters like deadly Sidr and frequent, ravaging deluges. With sea levels rising and rivers swelling in the coming decades, vast areas of the country would disappear, sparking an exodus of climate refugees. The terrible question is, where will they go? However, world leaders at the UN climate conference in mid-December, on the resort island of Bali, Indonesia, have agreed to reach a new deal on fighting global warming by 2009. The contentious, two-week conference ended with the United States, facing angry criticism from other delegations, relenting in its opposition to a request from developing nations for more technological help for fighting climate change.



















The new deal does not commit countries to specific actions against global warming. It simply sets an agenda and schedule for negotiators to find ways to reduce pollution and help poor countries adapt to environmental changes by speeding up the transfer of technology and financial assistance.Resource:www.thedailystar.net

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HUMAN DISPLACEMENT DUE TO CLIMATE CHANGE

Global warming is big issue against us, people not being aware about cause and some general issue of global warming and its effects on our beautiful earth. Now whole world has tried to control on stop mixing co2 in atmosphere by first world’s industries. Common people must aware concern atmosphere of our earth is changing & average temperature rising day by day as result monsoon pattern could be change. Most rivers are depending on glacier and monsoon rain, we better know global warming is effecting on both, glaciers are melting, rivers and sea level will be rise as result small island could be hide and same river costal area will be lost resident land due to floods. People escape from its resident, mostly in costal areas. History is witness, nomadize happen when rivers flow changed, people’s first need is water and water is only major factor of displacement. Mostly Indians know this, since ancient time, human were lived at area of river sindhu at great culture was born near border of Pakistan-India, now entity lost, people were escape from land of Sindhu Area due to Sindhu river changed its flow. Intergovernmental panel on climate changed issued report on water and human society’s relations can be reflect due to climate change, Ocean and sea levels rise, atmospheric trouble in equatorial clime areas, temperature rise, heavy rain, floods and glacier melting is major things. We need concentrate on most important areas. Marshy area of costal sea, farming areas which depending on rivers is flowing result of glacier melting, water drought areas. According to survey, 2% marshy areas of costal sea in world, but 10% people are living on those 2% marshy areas on around the world. Important is every year big hurricanes come across those areas and killing people & doing heavy disaster. And one thing, if sea levels raise then millions of people leaves their area; millions of people will be home less. We aware that, sea level can rise due to climate change. Global warming is directly and indirectly effecting on water and its resources, Water is precious for human lives as we know well. If monsoon pattern change, glacier melting more then expect as result human community came in trouble, since ancient human’s displacement and will be displacement in future, but hope human get resource of water.

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ARCTIC MAY AFFECT WORLDWIDE CLIMATE

Recently observed change in Arctic temperatures and sea ice cover may be a harbinger of global climate changes to come, according to a recent NASA study. Satellite data -- the unique view from space -- are allowing researchers to more clearly see Arctic changes and develop an improved understanding of the possible effect on climate worldwide.

The Arctic warming study, appearing in the November 1 issue of the American Meteorological Society's Journal of Climate, shows that compared to the 1980s, most of the Arctic warmed significantly over the last decade, with the biggest temperature increases occurring over North America.

"The new study is unique in that, previously, similar studies made use of data from very few points scattered in various parts of the Arctic region," said the study's author, Dr. Josefino C. Comiso, senior research scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. "These results show the large spatial variability in the trends that only satellite data can provide." Comiso used surface temperatures taken from satellites between 1981 and 2001 in his study.

The result has direct connections to NASA-funded studies conducted last year that found perennial, or year-round, sea ice in the Arctic is declining at a rate of nine percent per decade and that in 2002 summer sea ice was at record low levels. Early results indicate this persisted in 2003.

Researchers have suspected loss of Arctic sea ice may be caused by changing atmospheric pressure patterns over the Arctic that move sea ice around, and by warming Arctic temperatures that result from greenhouse gas buildup in the atmosphere.

Warming trends like those found in these studies could greatly affect ocean processes, which, in turn, impact Arctic and global climate, said Michael Steele, senior oceanographer at the University of Washington, Seattle. Liquid water absorbs the Sun's energy rather than reflecting it into the atmosphere the way ice does. As the oceans warm and ice thins, more solar energy is absorbed by the water, creating positive feedbacks that lead to further melting. Such dynamics can change the temperature of ocean layers, impact ocean circulation and salinity, change marine habitats, and widen shipping lanes, Steele said.

In related NASA-funded research that observes perennial sea-ice trends, Mark C. Serreze, a scientist at the University of Colorado, Boulder, found that in 2002 the extent of Arctic summer sea ice reached the lowest level in the satellite record, suggesting this is part of a trend. "It appears that the summer 2003 -- if it does not set a new record -- will be very close to the levels of last year," Serreze said. "In other words, we have not seen a recovery; we really see we are reinforcing that general downward trend." A paper on this topic is forthcoming.

According to Comiso's study, when compared to longer term ground-based surface temperature data, the rate of warming in the Arctic over the last 20 years is eight times the rate of warming over the last 100 years.

Comiso's study also finds temperature trends vary by region and season. While warming is prevalent over most of the Arctic, some areas, such as Greenland, appear to be cooling. Springtimes arrived earlier and were warmer, and warmer autumns lasted longer, the study found. Most importantly, temperatures increased on average by 1.22 degrees Celsius per decade over sea ice during Arctic summer. The summer warming and lengthened melt season appears to be affecting the volume and extent of permanent sea ice. Annual trends, which were not quite as strong, ranged from a warming of 1.06 degrees Celsius over North America to a cooling of .09 degrees Celsius in Greenland.

If the high latitudes warm, and sea ice extent declines, thawing Arctic soils may release significant amounts of carbon dioxide and methane now trapped in permafrost, and slightly warmer ocean water could release frozen natural gases in the sea floor, all of which act as greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, said David Rind, a senior researcher at NASA's Goddard Institute of Space Studies, New York. "These feedbacks are complex and we are working to understand them," he added.

The surface temperature records covering from 1981 to 2001 were obtained through thermal infrared data from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellites. The studies were funded by NASA's Earth Science Enterprise, which is dedicated to understanding the Earth as an integrated system and applying Earth System Science to improve prediction of climate, weather and natural hazards using the unique vantage point of space.


Seasons of Change: Evidence of Arctic Warming Grows

SYNOPSIS:

Experts have long regarded Earth's polar regions as early indicators for global climate change. But until the last few years, wide ranging, comprehensive research about overall polar conditions has been challenging to conduct. Now a more than twenty-year record of space based measurements has been analyzed by researchers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. Based on their findings, evidence of a warming planet continues to grow.

CHANGING SEASONS, CHANGING ICE

Research and data collection of Arctic Ocean ice isn't easy. But in this sequence using data collected by a number of satellites from 1979 to 2003, we see how scientists have been able to stitch together a careful record of sea ice in that part of the world. In 2002 scientists recorded the lowest concentration of sea ice ever in The Arctic. While temperature changes vary across the vast expanse of The Arctic, overall trends suggest that decreasing ice concentrations are due to a significant increase in ocean warming, from rising surface temperatures to the total number of annual "melt days".

Less ice means more open water. More open water means greater absorption of solar energy. More absorption of solar energy means increased rates of warming in the ocean, which naturally tends to yield faster rates of ice loss.

The data used to create these images come from a variety of different instruments flying on a group of satellites; they include the scanning multi-channel microwave radiometer attached to the Nimbus 7 satellite, and the special sensor microwave imagers attached to the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program's F8, F11, and F13 satellites.

Part of the challenge for researchers was in the elimination of "bad data", from atmospheric interference to instrument calibration issues and more. One reason that data acquired by microwave detecting instruments such as those flying on the DMSP satellites is that microwaves can penetrate the cloud cover that frequently blankets the Arctic. One of the most apparent characteristics of Arctic ice is just how dynamic and complex an environment it is. Through continued research and gathering of data, scientists hope to achieve a better level of understanding about the processes at work in the cryosphere.
Read full story on http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2003/1023esuice.html

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Siberian winds usher in record lows in Beijing

FREEZING cold front swept over much of northern China on Sunday with snowstorms snarling traffic and air travel, while some of the coldest temperatures in decades were forecast for coming days.

Gale-force winds sweeping down from Siberia could result in temperatures as low as minus 16 degrees in the capital today, the Beijing meteorological station said. Such temperatures are believed to be the coldest in the capital in 40 years. Yesterday, major highways in Beijing and Tianjin, as well as in the surrounding provinces and regions of Hebei, Shanxi and Inner Mongolia were closed due to the heavy snowfall. Beijing Capital Airport said 120 departures had been postponed and 86 flights cancelled from late Saturday until mid-morning yesterday because of heavy snow and poor visibility. Freezing temperatures have also hit Britain, which is bracing itself for one of the coldest winters for a century. Parts of Scotland have been under snow for nearly three weeks and temperatures are expected to drop to minus 16 degrees. Meteorologists predicted the freezing snap will last until at least mid-January, with snow, ice and severe frosts dominating. And the likelihood is that the second half of the month will be even colder. On New Year’s Day 10 extreme weather warnings were in place, with heavy snow expected in northern England and Scotland. The continued freezing temperatures did not signal bad news for everyone, however. CairnGorm Mountain said it has had its best Christmas holiday season in 14 years. More than 15,000 skiers have used the resort since the start of December, compared with 2000 last year. The cold weather comes despite the Met Office’s long-range forecast, published in October, of a mild winter. That followed its earlier inaccurate prediction of a “barbecue summer”, which was marked by heavy rainfall and the wettest July for almost 100 years. Paul Michaelwaite, forecaster for NetWeather.tv, said: “It is looking like this winter could be in the top 20 cold winters in the last 100 years.” A fleet of gritters in Perth, central Scotland, was grounded because of the cold, leaving roads untreated in temperatures of minus 10 degrees. Perth and Kinross Council said the gritters were unable to leave the depot after the extreme weather led to difficulties in refuelling. Perth resident Ian Thomson said: “I’ve heard of the rail companies blaming the wrong kind of snow and leaves on the line for disruption, but for the council to say it was too cold to get the gritters out is just ridiculous.” Source:theage.com.au

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Ocean wind patterns Could effect

Scientists at the University of Liverpool have found that natural variability in the earth's atmosphere could be masking the overall effect of global warming in the North Atlantic Ocean.

Scientists have previously found that surface temperatures around the globe have risen over the last 30 years in accord with global warming. New data, however, shows that heat stored in the North Atlantic Ocean has a more complex pattern than initially expected, suggesting that natural changes in the atmosphere also play a role.

The Liverpool team, in collaboration with the University of Duke in the US, analysed 50 years of North Atlantic temperature records and used computer models to assess how the warming and cooling pattern was controlled. They found that the tropics and mid-latitudes have warmed, while the sub-polar regions have cooled.

Professor Ric Williams, from the University's School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, explains: "We found that changes in the heat stored in the North Atlantic corresponded to changes in natural and cyclical winds above the North Atlantic. This pattern of wind movement is called the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), which is linked to pressure differences in the atmosphere between Iceland and The Azores.

"The computer model we used to analyse our data helped us to predict how wind and heat exchange with the atmosphere affects the North Atlantic Ocean's heat content over time. We found that the warming over the mid latitudes was due to the wind redistributing heat, while the gain in heat in the tropics and loss in heat at high latitudes was due to an exchange of heat with the atmosphere.

"These local changes in heat storage are typically 10 times larger than any global warming trend. We now need to look at why changes are occurring in wind circulation, as this in itself could be linked to global warming effects."

Although natural variability appears to be masking global warming effects in the ocean, scientists still believe that global warming is occurring, as evident through a wide range of independent signals such as rising surface and atmospheric temperatures, reduced Arctic summer sea ice and the reduced extent of many glaciers showing changes in the environment.The research is published in Science. This study was jointly supported by the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the US National Science Foundation.Source:sciencedaily.com

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Waste Managment

Waste Management is the term that refers to the collection, processing, recycling, transport, and monitoring of waste products. The waste products means the various materials produced by human activity and is undertaken for reducing their effect on health, environment or aesthetics. Another application of the waste management is to recover the various resources from it. It involves the management of solid, liquid, and gaseous wastes. Each type of waste requires a different methods and fields of expertise. The practices of waste management differ from developed and developing nations. In fact, there is difference in methods used in the urban and rural areas, and also for industrial or residential producers. It is the responsibility of local government authorities to manage non-hazardous residential and institutional waste in metro areas. On other hand the management for non-hazardous commercial and industrial waste is done by the generator. There are various methods of waste disposal including integrated waste management, Plasma gasification, Landfill, Supercritical water decomposition and Incineration. There are lots of concepts about waste management which differ in their usage as per the varying regions or countries. Some of the widely used concepts include Waste hierarchy, Extended producer responsibility and Polluter pays principle. The waste hierarchy points to the “reduce, reuse and recycle” that classify waste management strategies as per their effectiveness in regards to waste minimization. The waste hierarchy is the cornerstone of majority of waste minimization strategies. It focuses on taking out the maximum practical advantages from products and generating least amount of waste. The Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a strategy that is intended for the integration of all costs related with products across their life cycles into the market price of the product. The Polluter Pays Principle suggests that in case of waste leading to any impact on the environment, the polluting party is held responsible and it needs to pays for it. The waste management refers to the need for a waste producer to pay for proper waste disposal. source wastemanagement.in.

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Hurricanes Have Doubled Due to Global Warming, Study Says

The number of Atlantic hurricanes that form each year has doubled over the past century and global warming is largely to blame, according a new study.

The increase occurred in two major steps of about 50 percent each, one in the 1930s and the second since 1995. "It hasn't been a steady, gradual increase," said Greg Holland, a scientist with the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado. The increases coincide closely with rises in sea surface temperatures in the eastern Atlantic tropics. Previous studies have attributed these rises to human emissions of greenhouse gases. "That [correlation] implies there is a substantial contribution by greenhouse warming to the current crop of tropical cyclones," Holland said. The study also shows that the proportion of major hurricanes to less intense hurricanes has sharply increased in recent years, which agrees with earlier studies showing an increase in stronger storms. However, the new study found the proportion of major hurricanes has fluctuated with a "remarkably constant period of oscillation" over the past century, Holland said. The oscillation appears to be a natural variability not associated with warming. So while the storms' severity seems to fluctuate in a natural cycle, their frequency is on the rise, he explained. "What we're seeing [now] is a high point of major storms, which has been a very, very stable oscillation, combined with a sharp increase in the frequency of all storms, which has been a trend," Holland said. Holland and Peter Webster of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta published their findings online today in the research journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. He is a leading critic of studies that link increased storm intensity to global warming, saying historical data are too crude to determine long-term trends. The same, he argues, is true for storm frequency. "The doubling in the number of storms that they find in their paper is just an artifact of technology, not climate change," he wrote. Airplanes and satellites outfitted with sensitive instruments to monitor tropical storms did not exist a hundred years ago. Aircraft began monitoring hurricanes in 1944, satellites about 1970. Recent research by Landsea finds three to four tropical storms were missed before the mid-1960s. And one storm a year was missed from the 1970s to the 1990s. "When one takes into account these missing storms, the upward trend disappears and large multiyear variations remain," he said. According to Holland, however, the technological improvements cannot account for all the observed increase in tropical storms. His new study accounts for three missed storms per year in the pre-satellite era, and a statistically significant increase is still present, he said. "So, yes there's uncertainty, there's no doubt about that," Holland said. "But it doesn't change our conclusions." Frequency Transitions According to the study, the period from 1900 to 1930 saw an average of six Atlantic tropical storms a year, with four of those storms growing into hurricanes. From 1930 to 1940, the annual average increased to ten, with five hurricanes and five tropical storms. Then, from 1995 to 2005, the average number of storms increased to 15, with 8 hurricanes and 7 tropical storms. Even 2006, which seemed mild in the wake of the record-breaking 2005 season, saw ten tropical storms, the authors note. Holland likened the transition phases to a thunderstorm in the Rocky Mountains—the sun rises and warms up the clear blue skies for hours, and then suddenly a thunderstorm develops. "That's a very good example, but what we're looking at is happening on the global scale," he said. The most recent period has yet to stabilize, leading the authors to conclude there may be even more active hurricane seasons in the future, though other factors may dampen the storm activity. "What I will say is there is no evidence that I'm aware of and nothing I can think of which indicates they are going to go back down," Holland said. Increase your knowledge and be aware about global warming and its impact, for more knowdlage visit (Courtesy:nationalgeographic.com)

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Greenland’s glaciers double in speed

The contribution of Greenland to global sea level change and the mapping of previously unknown basins and mountains beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet are highlighted in a new film released by Cambridge University this morning.
The work of glaciologist Professor Julian Dowdeswell, Director of Cambridge University's Scott Polar Research Institute, is the focus of This Icy World, the latest film in the University's Cambridge Ideas series.
A frequent visitor to both the Arctic and Antarctic, Dowdeswell's research has found that the glaciers around Greenland are the fastest flowing in the world.
He said: "There is evidence that some parts of the ice sheet have doubled in speed up to 10 km per year in the last decade. That means the contribution of Greenland to global sea level change is increasing."
"The numbers of icebergs released into the seas around Greenland is also increasing. We need to know just how fast these changes are taking place.
"Things are changing very rapidly here because the Arctic is the most sensitive part of the global climate system. Over the coming century, temperatures are likely to rise at double the global average here."
Professor Dowdeswell, who has spent a total of more than three years in the polar regions, also reveals that his work in Antarctica as part of an team of international scientists, using radar systems pioneered in Cambridge, has mapped sub-glacial mountains hidden beneath the ice sheet that scientists were not aware of before.
The Scott Polar Research Institute, a research centre within Cambridge University, has about 40 scientists and post-graduate students working on various aspects of polar research. Professor Dowdeswell's next polar trip, funded by a large grant from the UK's Natural Environment Research Council, will be in March and April to the Greenland Ice Sheet.
Airborne radar systems will be used to measure ice thickness and the presence of lubricating water at the ice-sheet bed. This should yield key information relating to the recent speed-up of the ice.
He said: The ice in Antarctica is an average of 2-3 km in thickness, with the deepest ice almost 5 km thick. It's changes in the volume of the ice sheet that will affect global sea level.
"Glacier and ice-sheet change is a reality at both poles. The ice is thinning and retreating and that means water is flowing back into the global ocean. Today, sea level is rising 3mm per year; over the coming century, sea level is likely to rise by up to about 1m and it's actually that rise - with the worst storm waves you can imagine - that could cause real damage.
"In those circumstances, sea defences can be breached and low lying areas of the world can be flooded. That has serious implications for humankind." Resources www.cam.ac.uk

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Proof of Global Warming

Although most scientists are convinced that global warming is very real, a few still harbor doubts. But a new report, based on an analysis of infrared long-wave radiation data from two different space missions, may change their minds. "These unique satellite spectrometer data collected 27 years apart show for the first time that real spectral differences have been observed, and that they can be attributed to changes in greenhouse gases over a long time period," says John Harries, a professor at Imperial College in London and lead author of the study published in Nature.

As the sun's radiation hits the earth's surface, it is reemitted as infrared radiation. This radiation is then partly trapped by the so-called greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) as well as water vapor. Satellites can measure changes in the infrared radiation spectrum, allowing scientists to detect changes in the earth's natural greenhouse effect and to deduce which greenhouse gas concentrations have changed.

The researchers looked at the infrared spectrum of long-wave radiation from a region over the Pacific Ocean, as well as from the entire globe. The data came from two different spacecraft�the NASA's Nimbus 4 spacecraft, which surveyed the planet with an Infrared Interferometric Spectrometer (IRIS) between April 1970 and January 1971, and the Japanese ADEO satellite, which utilized the Interferometric Monitor of Greenhouse Gases (IMG) instrument, starting in 1996. To ensure that the data were reliable and comparable, the team looked only at readings from the same three-month period of the year (April to June) and adjusted them to eliminate the effects of cloud cover. The findings indicated long-term changes in atmospheric CH4, CO2, ozone (O3) and CFC 11 and 12 concentrations and, consequently, a significant increase in the earth's greenhouse effect.resouces:scientificamerican.com

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Disappearing world-Global warming claims Tropical Island

Disappearing world: Global warming claims Tropical Island

For the first time, an inhabited island has disappeared beneath rising seas. Environment Editor Geoffrey Lean reports


Rising seas, caused by global warming, have for the first time washed an inhabited island off the face of the Earth. The obliteration of Lohachara island, in India's part of the Sundarbans where the Ganges and the Brahmaputra rivers empty into the Bay of Bengal, marks the moment when one of the most apocalyptic predictions of environmentalists and climate scientists has started coming true.
As the seas continue to swell, they will swallow whole island nations, from the Maldives to the Marshall Islands, inundate vast areas of countries from Bangladesh to Egypt, and submerge parts of scores of coastal cities.
Eight years ago, as exclusively reported in The Independent on Sunday, the first uninhabited islands - in the Pacific atoll nation of Kiribati - vanished beneath the waves. The people of low-lying islands in Vanuatu, also in the Pacific, have been evacuated as a precaution, but the land still juts above the sea. The disappearance of Lohachara, once home to 10,000 people, is unprecedented.
It has been officially recorded in a six-year study of the Sunderbans by researchers at Calcutta's Jadavpur University. So remote is the island that the researchers first learned of its submergence, and that of an uninhabited neighbouring island, Suparibhanga, when they saw they had vanished from satellite pictures.
Two-thirds of nearby populated island Ghoramara has also been permanently inundated. Dr Sugata Hazra, director of the university's School of Oceanographic Studies, says "it is only a matter of some years" before it is swallowed up too. Dr Hazra says there are now a dozen "vanishing islands" in India's part of the delta. The area's 400 tigers are also in danger.
Until now the Carteret Islands off Papua New Guinea were expected to be the first populated ones to disappear, in about eight years' time, but Lohachara has beaten them to the dubious distinction.
Human cost of global warming: Rising seas will soon make 70,000 people homeless
Refugees from the vanished Lohachara island and the disappearing Ghoramara island have fled to Sagar, but this island has already lost 7,500 acres of land to the sea. In all, a dozen islands, home to 70,000 people, are in danger of being submerged by the rising seas. Courtesy: independent.co.uK, Photo published by greenlivingtips.com

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Global Warming Causes Genetic Changes

For the first time ever, a University of Alberta researcher has discovered that an animal species has changed its genetic make-up to cope with global warming. In the past, organisms have shown the flexibility - or plasticity - to adapt to their surroundings, but this is the first time it has been proven a species has responded genetically to cope with environmental forces.

Dr. Stan Boutin, from the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, has been studying a North American red squirrel population in Canada's southwest Yukon for almost 15 years. The squirrels, faced with increasing spring temperatures and food supply, have advanced the timing of breeding by 18 days over the last 10 years—six days for each generation. His findings appear on First Cite and will appear in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society London B next month.

Boutin and his colleagues used an approach called quantitative genetics, long used in agriculture but never before applied to a wild species. Through analytical modelling, the team of researchers was able to sort out how much of the squirrels' adaptation is due to a plastic, individual response and how much is due to genetics. "This has never been done before," said Boutin. "Other researchers have stopped at plasticity."

Phenotypic plasticity is measured by how an individual squirrel can change the timing of a reproductive cycle from one year to the next compared to one generation to the next, which is what Boutin is studying. "Only by having long-term lineages can we get at this research," he said.

Although this discovery shows the red squirrel is adapting well to its warmer environment, the future is still a concern to scientists especially considering the rapid rate of climate change. Predicting the squirrel's threshold is also impossible, said Boutin, so it is difficult to know if the animal has reached is peak of "adaptation skills." The next step is to look at different components of the genome to see if researchers can pinpoint more closely the set of genes responsible for these changes.

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No second chance: can Earth explode as a result of Global Warming?

Summary:


by Dr Tom J. Chalko, MSc, PhD,
Head of Geophysics Division, Scientific E Research P/L, Melbourne, Australia
submitted on 8 April 2001


Consequences of global warming are far more serious than previously imagined. These consequences relate to the newly discovered properties of the "inner core" of our planet.

It is a well established fact, verified by decades of seismic measurements, that the Earth's inner core is a nearly spherical solid of about 1220 km radius that occupies the central position of our planet. The generally accepted view today is that this solid grew slowly to its current size as a result of the "crystallization" of the surrounding liquid. The "latent heat" of this "crystallization" allegedly explains how the inner core generates heat.

This article considers global hydro-gravitational equilibrium conditions for the Earth's inner core and presents a proof that the solid core of our planet could never be smaller or lighter than a certain minimum, otherwise the core would not be able to remain in the center of the planet.

Since the inner core could have only been larger and heavier in the past than it is today - it cannot be the result of any "crystallization". This simple conclusion has astonishing consequences.

Imagine a gigantic object of 1220 km radius that slowly becomes smaller, lighter and gives off heat for millions of years. What could it be? It can only be an object that generates heat by nuclear decay.

The main consequence of the above is that all heat generated inside Earth is of radionic origin. In other words, Earth in its entirety can be considered a nuclear reactor fuelled by spontaneous fission of various isotopes in the super-heavy inner core, as well as their daughter products of decay in the mantle and in the crust.

Life on Earth is possible only because of the efficient cooling of this reactor - a process that is limited primarily by the atmosphere. Currently this cooling is responsible for a fine thermal balance between the heat from the core reactor, the heat from the Sun and the radiation of heat into space, so that the average temperature on Earth is about 13 deg C.

Since the radionic heat is generated in the entire volume of nuclear fuel (the entire Earth) and cooling can occur only at the surface, the hottest point of the planet should be in the very center of the planet.

This article examines the possibility of the "meltdown" of the central part of the inner core due to the reduced cooling capacity of the atmosphere, which traps progressively more solar heat due to the so-called greenhouse effect. Factors that can accelerate the meltdown process, such as an increased solar activity coinciding with increased emissions of greenhouse gasses are discussed.

The most serious consequence of such a "meltdown" could be a gravity-buoyancy based segregation of unstable isotopes in the molten inner core. Such a segregation can "enrich" the nuclear fuel in the core to the point of creating conditions for a chain reaction and a gigantic atomic explosion. Can Earth become another "asteroid belt" in the Solar system?

It is a common knowledge (experiencing seasons) that solar heat is the dominant factor that determines temperatures on the surface of Earth. In the polar regions however, the contribution of solar heat is minimal and this is where the contribution of the heat from the inside of our planet can be seen best. Raising polar ocean temperatures and melting of polar caps should therefore be the first symptoms of overheating of the inner core reactor.

While politicians and businessmen still debate the need for reducing greenhouse emissions and take pride to evade accepting any responsibility, the process of overheating of the inner core reactor has already begun - polar oceans have become warmer and polar caps have begun to melt. Do we have enough imagination, intelligence and integrity to comprehend the danger before the situation becomes irreversible?

There will be NO SECOND CHANCE...

How many degrees is the "inner core" from its meltdown point? Do we know enough to predict the intensity of solar activity in the next decade? Full article

Volcanoes become active and erupt violently not because the Earth's interior "crystallizes" as it is currently believed, but because the planetary nucleus is a nuclear fission reactor that needs COOLING.

We are not the first "civilization" on Earth to be wiped out due to the lack of understanding of Nature. Are we to be the LAST one? Do notorious abusers of Nature deserve to exist?

"The proof: If intellect is unwilling or unable to understand the analysis - no proof is possible." [The Freedom of Choice]

This summary can be freely distributed, providing that no content is altered or removed. Someone needs to do something. We will continue to do research and publish it. You can begin helping out by forwarding this abstract (or a link to it) to all your friends and anyone who is conscious enough to comprehend the information above. The only chance we have is to inform enough people across the planet so that they can consciously and intelligently CHOOSE to DEMAND action from "leaders" whom they elected. Believing is not enough. People need to KNOW.

Published by:http://sci-e-research.com/geophysics.html
Pr.Contact:
Dr Thomas J. Chalko MSc, PhD
email: tjc@sci-e-research.com
Fax: +61 5681 6361
945 Gunyah Rd, Mt Best,
Vic 3960, Australia

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Water Cycle

Climate change is having an impact on the water cycle, raising the issue of whether we should be investing in adapting to these impacts or focusing on more pressing water resource issues, such as providing water and sanitation for increasing populations? If investment in adapting to climate change is a priority, then is it best to invest in protecting natural ecosystems or developing engineered infrastructure?

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“The traditional way of handling extreme events such as floods and droughts, with engineering works should be complemented with the ecosystems approach which integrates the management of land and water that promotes conservation and sustainable use in an equitable way”, says Dr. Max Campos, Review Editor for the Latin American Chapter for IPCC Impacts and Adaptation Report .
“Climate change is indeed an important issue, but it needs to be seen in context of the many other global challenges affecting water resources such as population growth, urbanization and land use change. Adaptation is vital – but we need to adapt to the full range of factors that are stressing water resources, and not focus on human-forced climate change to the exclusion of everything else”, says Oliver Brown from the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD).
“It should be a must for vulnerable communities whether in the developed or developing world to ensure that their development ambitions are prepared for climate change. Adaptation should not be limited to the rich”, said Dr. Henk Van Schaik, Deputy Programme Coordinator UNESCO-IHE. He argued that vulnerable communities in the developed world are preparing and investing to protect their societies, economies and environments to the impacts of climate change. This is not so in transition economies nor in developing countries.
Going beyond the issue of investment in pressing development issues or adaptation measures, is the question of looking at natural versus engineered solutions.
“Conventional approaches to climate change adaptation range from water conservation and efficient use to new operational techonologies”, says Dr Mark Smith, Head of the IUCN Water Programme. “Dams and reservoirs are still considered as the most effective structural means of risk management. But we need to start thinking of the environment as infrastructure for adaptation as well. Health and intact river basins, wetlands and floodplains make us less vulnerable to climate change. Lowering risk is a good reason for investing in watersheds and the environment.” – Good courtesy from sciencedaily.com
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Water Resources impact

The effects of global warming are vast and cover every sphere of one’s life. Both the nature and the living beings are suffering from the effects of global warming. If we do not take note of the alarming rate of growing global warming then our earth might cease to exist someday. The water resources have been heavily affected by the global warming phenomenon. Sea levels have risen, glaciers retreats are taking place often and the most harmful affect is the shrinking of the Arctic Circle. This phenomenon has caused concerns among all the sectors and geo-engineering is considered to be a way of mitigation.

If we put it simply then the water bodies would be affected during the long and scorching summers since the rate of evaporation would increases with hotter summers. Water cycle is important for any kind of human activity and global warming would adversely affect this cycle causing a topsy turvy in the human activities as well as the climactic changes. Global warming might also lead to floods. The water levels in many regions would lower due to excessive evaporation and this would cause in torrential downpours increasing the chance of deluge.

The acceleration in the phenomenon of global warming has caused the ice sheets in the West Antarctic Circle and Greenland to shrink. Carbon sediments have been released in the air and due to the increase of carbon emission the reduction in the ice sheets has taken place. This reduction might cause a huge flood around the world. By the end of twenty first century the water in the sea is expected to rise by 7.1- 23.2 inches. Due to the augmentation of global warming effects the Thermohaline circulation might as well get disrupted. The fresh water from the Polar Regions would interrupt the Gulf Stream causing this distress. The implication of a change of course of the gulf stream would have worldwide effect that would drastically accelerate climate change and extremes.

The imbalance created in the water cycle by global warming has far reaching effects. Some places on the earth would face extreme temperatures along with torrential rainfall while others would face scarcity of water and drought. In fact, according to the scientists this phenomenon of global warming might even cause desertification in the extreme Tropical areas like Africa.

The glacier rich areas like Western North America, Asia, Alps, Indonesia and Africa are suffering badly due to global warming. The melting of glaciers in these regions has raised concerns regarding the increase in water levels. Ocean circulation also suffers due to global warming. The oceans act as the absorber of carbon dioxide and when it reaches the saturation point it fails to absorb any more carbon dioxide. As a result the ocean surface becomes warm.

Acidification of ocean is caused due to the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This is an indirect effect of global warming causing distress to people worldwide. The rise in sea level would cause infiltration of the saline water into the groundwater. This will pose as a potential danger for the health of the living organisms.

Impact on human activity

Water is essential for human existence. It is also used for various other purposes like generating electricity from the hydro electrical power plants. These hydroelectricity plants require the water current which is derived from the fast flowing rivers. But with the increase in global warming the rivers are unable to maintain their flow causing a decline in the production of electricity. Water levels in reservoirs and aquifers are also decreasing due to the increase in global warming. This would lead to grave consequences at homes and workplaces as well as the agricultural sector of the different countries.
Hence, we should sit up and take note of this predicament that is threatening our existence. Only our joint endeavor would help our race to survive the threat of global warming. – Great article by theglobalwarmingoverview.com.

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