WORLD AND SCIENCE

Did you know: In June 2008, more than a

million people were forced to
On September 26 flee their homes in southern
2009, floodwaters China by major flooding that
Every 25 minutes, submerged 80% of has cost 57 lives. The Pearl
the city of Manila
an area larger in Philippines river delta suffered what
than 100 football while 450,000 officials described as the worst
people were flooding in 50 years!
fields is destroyed displaced and 240
in the Brazilian killed – shocking!
rainforest.
In 2005, Hurricane Katrina killed 2541
people, causing over $90 billion in
Europe's 2003 heat
damages. It is the sixth strongest Atlantic wave caused an
cyclone ever recorded. estimated 35,000
deaths.

Three people
were killed in a
snow avalanche
in 2008 – in
Lebanon, Middle The Antarctic ice cap has
East. 29 million cubic kilometres
of ice. If these ice sheets
melted, the world’s oceans
The Marshall Islands would rise by 60 to 65
in the Pacific Ocean
metres (200 - 210ft) –
are in danger of being
completely submerged everywhere.
by the next century
due to rising sea
levels.
Heavy snowfall blanketed the desert
region of the United Arab Emirates
Scientists predict that the (UAE), while temperatures dipped to -5
Himalayan glaciers will be gone degrees on 30 December 2004.
in 40 years. 1.3 billion people's Middle-Eastern men in long white
robes were seen throwing snowballs
water supply depends on rivers
at one another!
originating from those glaciers! Deforestation is responsible for the
loss of 50,000 species of plant,
animal and insect lives per year.
Global warming is no longer something we can take lightly. It is damaging our
environment the way malignant cancer destroys bodily tissue; slowly and silently,
unnoticed until it is too late. Every second, drastic and possibly irreversible changes are
taking place that will one day devastate our planet and the comfortable lives we once
knew. Read on to know more about the seriousness of this phenomenon.

Earth, Our Home

‘All across the world, in every kind of environment and region known to man,
increasingly dangerous weather patterns and devastating storms are abruptly putting
an end to the long-running debate over whether or not climate change is real. Not
only is it real, it's here, and its effects are giving rise to a frighteningly new global
phenomenon: the man-made natural disaste’. - Barack Obama

cloud cover and wind patterns. It is it is now a cause of worry to

The Earth is the only planet in
our solar system that supports life.
The complex process of evolution
occurred on Earth only because of
some unique environmental
conditions that were present: water,
an oxygen-rich atmosphere, and a
suitable surface temperature.
Climate change is already
happening and represents one of
the greatest environmental, social
and economic threats facing the
planet. The Earth's climate system
constantly adjusts so as to maintain
a balance between the energy that
reaches it from the sun and the
energy that goes from Earth back
to space. This means that even a
small rise in temperature could
mean accompanying changes in
not just man-made pollution of the
atmosphere which can cause
climate change. Changes in the
way ocean water circulates around
the world can also
influence
climate,
because the
oceans store
even more
heat than
the
atmosphere.
Over the last 150-200 years climate
change has been taking place too
rapidly and certain plant and
animal species have found it hard
to adapt. Human activities are said
to be responsible for the speed at
which this change has occurred and
scientists. The Earth's average
surface temperature has risen by
0.76° C since 1850. Most of the
warming that has occurred over the
last 50 years is very likely to have
been caused by human activities.
The atmosphere surrounding the
earth is made up of nitrogen (78%),
oxygen (21%) and the remainder,
1%, is made up of trace gases
(called so because they are present
in very small quantities) that
include the greenhouse gases
carbon dioxide, methane, ozone,
water vapor, and nitrous oxide.
These greenhouse gases act as a
blanket and protect it from the
harmful ultra violet rays of the sun.
They can also be regarded as
natural controllers of the earth's
temperature system.

Global warming is not only the number one environmental challenge we

face today, but one of the most important issues facing all of
humanity,” says Award-winning American actor and celebrity
environmentalist Leornado DiCaprio. “We all have to do our part to
raise awareness about global warming and the problems we as a people
face in promoting a sustainable environmental future for our planet.”
CAUSES OF CLIMATE CHANGE: coastline of South America and western coastline of
Africa, which are now widely separated by the
Natural and Human Atlantic Ocean. The discovery of fossils of tropical
The earth's climate is dynamic and always plants (in the form of coal deposits) in Antarctica
changing through a natural cycle. What the world is has led to the conclusion that this frozen land at
more worried about Is that the changes that are some time in the past, must have been situated
occurring today have been speeded up because of closer to the equator, where the climate was
man's activities. These changes are being tropical, with swamps and plenty of lush
studied by scientists all over the world who are vegetation.The continents that we are familiar with
finding evidence from tree rigs, pollen samples, today were formed when the landmass began
ice c res, and sea sediments. The causes of gradually drifting apart, millions of years back. This
climate change can be divided into two drift also had an impact on the climate because it
categories - those that are due to natural changed the physical features of the landmass, their
causes and those that are created by man. position and the position of water bodies. The
separation of the landmasses changed the flow of
ocean currents and winds, which affected the
climate. This drift of the continents continues even
today; the Himalayan range is rising by about 1 mm
(millimeter) every year because the Indian land
mass is moving towards the Asian land mass,
slowly but steadily.

Volcano Eruptions

When a volcano erupts it throws out large volumes

Natural Causes There are a number of natural
factors responsible for climate change. Some of the
more prominent ones are continental drift,
volcanoes, ocean currents, the earth's tilt, and
comets and meteorites.
Continental drift Long ago, the continents were
all part of one large landmass. Proof of this comes
from the similarity between plant and animal fossils
and broad belts of rocks found on the eastern
of sulfur dioxide (SO2), water vapor, dust, and ash
into the atmosphere. The large volumes of gases
and ash can influence climatic patterns for years.
Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines erupted in April
1991 emitting thousands of tons of gases into the
atmosphere. Volcanic eruptions of this magnitude
can reduce the amount of solar radiation reaching
the Earth's surface, lowering temperatures in the
lower levels of the atmosphere (called the
troposphere), and changing atmospheric circulation
patterns. The extent to which this occurs is an
ongoing debate. Another striking example was in
the year 1816, often referred to as "the year without
a summer." Significant weather-related disruptions
occurred in New England and in Western Europe
with killing summer frosts in the United States and
Canada. These strange phenomena were attributed
to a major eruption of the Tambora volcano in
Indonesia, in 1815.
The Earth's Tilt
The earth makes one full orbit
around the sun each year. It is
tilted at an angle of 23.5° to the
perpendicular plane of its
orbital path. For one half of the
year when it is summer, the
northern hemisphere tilts
towards the sun. In the other
half when it is winter, the earth
is tilted away from the sun. If
there was no tilt we would not
have experienced seasons.
Changes in the tilt of the earth
can affect the severity of the
seasons - more tilt means
warmer summers and colder
winters; less tilt means cooler
summers and milder winters.
The Earth's orbit is somewhat
elliptical, which means that the
distance between the earth and
the Sun varies over the course
of a year. We usually think of the earth's axis as being fixed, after all, it
always seems to point toward Polaris (also known as the Pole Star and
the North Star). Actually, it is not quite constant: the axis does move, at
the rate of a little more than a half-degree each century. So Polaris has
not always been, and will not always be, the star pointing to the North.
Ocean Currents
The oceans are a major component of the climate system. They cover
about 71% of the Earth and absorb about twice as much of the sun's
radiation as the atmosphere or the land surface. Ocean currents move
vast amounts of heat across the planet - roughly the same amount as the
atmosphere does. But the oceans are surrounded by land masses, so heat
transport through the water is through channels. Winds push
horizontally against the sea surface and drive ocean current patterns.
Ocean currents have been known to change direction or slow down.
Much of the heat that escapes from the oceans is in the form of water
vapour, the most abundant greenhouse gas on Earth. Yet, water vapor
also contributes to the formation of clouds, which shade the surface and
have a net cooling effect. Any or all of these phenomena can have an
impact on the climate, as is believed to have happened at the end of the
last Ice Age, about 14,000 years ago.

Human Causes

“Global warming is one of those things, not like an earthquake where

there's a big bang and you say, 'Oh, my God, this is really, has hit us.'
It creeps up on you,” warns Arnold Schwarzenegger, renowned
bodybuilder, actor and the current Governor of the state of California.
“Half a degree temperature difference from one year to the next, a little
bit of rise of the ocean, a little bit of melting of the glaciers, and then
all of a sudden it is too late to do something about it.”

For more than 100 years, the US has been the world’s biggest carbon emitter: producing 40% of the global
total in 1990. The Industrial Revolution in the 19th century saw the large-scale use of fossil fuels for
industrial activities. These industries created jobs and over the years, people moved from rural areas to the
cities. This trend is continuing even today. More and more land that was covered with vegetation has been
cleared to make way for houses. Natural resources are being used extensively for construction, industries,
transport, and consumption. Consumerism (our increasing want for material things) has increased by leaps
and bounds, creating mountains of waste. Also, our population has increased to an incredible extent.
All this has contributed to a rise in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Fossil fuels such as oil, coal and natural
gas supply most of the energy needed to run vehicles, generate
electricity for industries, households, etc. The energy sector is
responsible for about ¾ of the carbon dioxide emissions, 1/5 of the
methane emissions and a large quantity of nitrous oxide. It also
produces nitrogen oxides (NOx) and carbon monoxide (CO) which are
not greenhouse gases but do have an influence on the chemical cycles in
the atmosphere that produce or destroy greenhouse gases.

Greenhouse Gases Carbon dioxide is the most important greenhouse gas
in the atmosphere. Changes in land use pattern, deforestation, land clearing,
agriculture, and other activities have all led to a rise in the emission of
carbon dioxide.
Methane is another significant
greenhouse gas in the atmosphere.
About ¼ of all methane emissions
are said to come from
domesticated animals. It is also
released from rice or paddy fields
that are flooded during the sowing
and maturing periods. As well as
from landfills and other waste
dumps, and during the process
of oil drilling, coal mining and
also from leaking gas pipelines
(due to accidents and poor
maintenance of sites).
A large amount of nitrous oxide
emission has been attributed to
fertilizer application.
Contributions are also made by
leguminous plants, such as
beans that add nitrogen to the
soil.

How We Contribute to Global Warming in Our Daily Lives

All of us in our daily lives contribute our bit to this change in the climate. Give these points a
good, serious thought:

 Electricity is the main source of power in urban areas. All our gadgets run on electricity
generated mainly from thermal power plants. These thermal power plants are run on fossil
fuels (mostly coal) and are responsible for the emission of huge amounts of greenhouse
gases and other pollutants.

 Cars, buses, and trucks are the principal ways by which goods and people are transported
in most of our cities. These are run mainly on petrol or diesel, both fossil fuels.

 We generate large quantities of waste in the form of plastics that remain in the
environment for many years and cause damage.

 We use a huge quantity of paper in our work at schools and in offices. Have we ever
thought about the number of trees that we use in a day?

 Timber is used in large quantities for construction of houses, which means that large
areas of forest have to be cut down.
A Final Word
Every individual in this world has a responsibility towards our planet and to fight global
warming. The Earth is our home, and will be for our children and generations to come. Let’s
ensure that they will be assured of a better future than the possible disaster that awaits
them.You can play your part to reduce global warming! Please practice the following in your
daily life:
Change a light bulb
Replacing one regular light bulb
with a compact fluorescent light
bulb will save 150 pounds of
carbon dioxide a year.
Drive less
Walk, bike, carpool or take mass
transit more often. You’ll save
one pound of carbon dioxide for
every mile you don’t drive!
Recycle more
You can save 2,400 pounds of
carbon dioxide per year by
recycling just half of your
household waste.
Check your tires
Keeping your tires inflated
properly can improve gas
mileage by more than 3%. Every
gallon of gasoline saved keeps
20 pounds of carbon dioxide out
of the atmosphere!
Use less hot water
It takes a lot of energy to heat
water. Use less hot water by
talling a low-flow showerhead
(350 pounds of CO2 saved per
year) and washing your clothes
in cold or warm water (500
pounds saved per year).
Avoid products with a lot of
packaging
You can save 1,200 pounds of atmosphere, including the
carbon dioxide if you cut down ozone-damaging CFC.
your garbage by 10%.
Practise the 3R’s: reduce,
Plant a tree reuse and recycle Separate
your trash/refuse by material
type (i.e. glass, plastics, paper)
and recycle what you can.
For more useful information
about global warming, please
log on to these websites:
1. http://www.worldviewof
globalwarming.org/
2. http://www.climatehotma
p.org
3. http://www.unfoundation
.org/
A single tree will absorb one ton 4. http://www.350.org/
of carbon dioxide over its
lifetime.
Turn off electronic devices
Simply turning off your
television, DVD player, stereo
and computer when you’re not
using
them will save you thousands of
pounds of carbon dioxide a year.
Limit your use of aerosol
products, plastics and
Styrofoam
*Note: The UN Climate-
Change Conference 2009 will
Manufacturing these products
take place in Copenhagen from
causes the release of a lot of
December 7-18 2009.
harmful gases into the