Obesity and Global Warming

We now have another reason to shed those unwanted pounds. It has been reported that Obesity is a contributing factor to Global Warming. Yes; can you believe it! If we didn't have a big enough problem to deal with on the weight loss issue; it now appears that us porkers may be affecting our planet (and when I was jogging I thought that the groan I heard was in my head but it might have been Mother Earth complaining about the pounding I was giving her!)

ABC News reported on May 16, 2009 and The New York Times reported on July 18, 2009, about a new study that has suggested that obesity is affecting the planet by raising carbon emissions.

Apparently a couple of researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine recently published a report in the International Journal of Epidemiology titled "Population adiposity and climate change."The report goes on to say that there appears to be a relationship between obese people and an excess amount of carbon dioxide emissions compared to thin people.

Apparently, they found that there is a significant amount of extra carbon dioxide emitted from our heavier neighbors.

Some of the things that enter into the observations are
1. Overweight people are comparable to running around in a gas guzzler as far as consuming calories.
2. Overweight people tend to use motor vehicles to travel short distances rather than rather than walk or cycle

We all need to do things to cut our carbon footprint. The research suggests that reducing our weight to a healthy level is the best place to start.

It's interesting that the focus on global warming can be focused on how much carbon dioxide individual people emit.

I knew that the scientists have been observing cattle for some time but it seems as though some scientists may have too much time on their hands when they begin calculation how much people emit.

With the government trying to push through the "Cap and Trade Act" and wanting to raise taxes on energy consumption, you watch, they're going to start taxing us because we're overweight! Maybe we'll get a tax credit if we are actively trying to lose our extra pounds.

The bottom line is that we must take responsibility for our personal carbon footprint along with our weight so let's do our part to keep the planet from overheating. Enroll in an exercise program and do whatever is necessary to promote good health and get out of the obese range.

Get a journal and get moving.

Global Warming - Is It Real For You?

The information age has landed with a head bursting thump. In fact it has not only landed; it has planted roots and made a firm home for itself within our society. On a daily basis we have the opportunity engorge ourselves with new information - magazine articles, blogs, pod casts and e-books. And yet as we revel in this golden age of information, we manage to casually face our biggest ever challenge as a species, and note it down on a virtual to do list for the future - "global warming, fix next week".

Just this evening while discussing the topic, my six year old daughter dropped her shoulders rolled her eyes and moaned "not that again!" Too much information can be as bad as too little, as we run the risk of desensitization setting it. What's more, information without experience to help us internalize it does little good. Experience enables us to assign an emotion to the new information; this is what makes it meaningful.

This being the case, I am not here to overload you with facts about global warming, there are multitudes of pages about it on the net and the "almost" US president Al Gore has adequately illustrated the threat of global warming in his award winning film, The Inconvenient Truth.

My interests are more to do with the effects of global warming on plants and more specifically the plants that live within my direct human experience.

How will the increase in average global temperature affect the plants live around you? The question was sparked by the unprecedented dry summer we have just experienced in Johannesburg. After a season of unrelenting heat, punctuated only by two meager rainfalls, Johannesburg's surrounding grasslands turned from green to brown and then shortly after to black as the inevitable veld fires started.

These savannah areas are rich in medicinal plants including the hardy African Potato, Artemisia and a host of golden savanna land grasses. While these areas often burn in winter, the unseasonable fires arrived at the wrong time during the plants' growth cycle. Consequently some plants were badly damaged, while many did not survive at all. It was this experience that happened on my doorstep that really caught my attention.

My local African potatoes are only a reflection of a much wider problem. "Approximately 20-30 percent of plant and animal species assessed so far are likely to be at greater risk of extinction if increases in global average temperature exceed 1.5 to 2.5 Celsius" . Water supply and drought are not the only problems, some species of plants and animals are temperature sensitive for reproduction. With the onset of global temperatures; botanical gardens around the world have noted that plants around the world are booming ahead of their normal schedule .

We are reminded that global warming was created by factors such as industry, traffic and agricultural practices to name a few, however when we follow the road to the source, these contributors come down to one place -the place you call home. The quandary with global warming is the name itself. It evokes a sense of "globalness" or if you prefer, a sense of bigness that is hard to equate with the day to day hustle and bustle of the family home, its hard to absorb it, and say, "It's my problem". You may wish to test this yourself; what is the first image that enters your head when you hear the term "global warming"?

With the home in mind let's avoid the multitude of tips available to reduce global warming and consider what experiences we can have that will help us to internalize this mass of information and make it real. Experiencing means processing our world though our five senses, perhaps it's the time you take to brush your teeth while leaving the tap running and saying a sad farewell to those water drops that not even your grandchildren will gain any benefit from. Perhaps its taking a walk through your local botanical garden as if it was the last time you could do it, or perhaps it's as simple as taking the time to notice what it feels like for your body to experience thirst. The fact remains that until information about global warming becomes real and experiential to each and every person, we can expect a good few very dry summers to come.

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Global Warming's Affection

In the past century, the Earth's heat has increased by about one degree Fahrenheit, especially the past two decades with accelerated warming.

The National Academy of Sciences says that this is the certain sign of greenhouse gases - primarily carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide.

Energy from the sun drives the earth's climate and weather. It heats the earth's surface, the earth radiates energy, bouncing it back into space. Greenhouse gases trap some of the outgoing energy which retains heat. Hence, giving us the name of, "The Greenhouse Effect."

Since the birth of the industrial revolution, concentrations of carbon dioxide have increased nearly 30%., methane concentrations have more than doubled, and nitrous oxide has risen about 15%. All of these increases has increased the heat-trapping capability of the earth's atmosphere. Trees and plants breathe in carbon dioxide, and have been what's kept our carbon dioxide emissions in balance. But the destruction of our rain forests and woodland areas, have dramatically decreased this intake. Also, increasing agriculture, landfills, industrial production and mining contribute significantly.

Globally, sea level has risen four-eight inches, over the past century. Worldwide participation over land has increased by about one percent. The frequency of extreme rainfalls has increased throughout much of the U.S. Scientists expect that the average global surface temperature could rise one - four-point-five degrees, Fahrenheit, in the next fifty years. And two-point-two - ten degrees, Fahrenheit, in the next century. Which could cause fifty percent of our animal life to be extinct in our children's/grand children's lifetime.

Evaporation will increase as the climate warms, which will increase average global participation. Sea levels are likely to rise two feet along most of the U.S coast.

Carbon Dioxide is released to the atmosphere when solid waste, fossil fuels, (oil, natural gas, and coal), and wood and wood products are burned.

Methane is emitted during the production and transport of coal, natural gas, and oil. Methane emissions also results from the decomposition of organic wastes in municipal solid landfills, and the raising of livestock.

Nitrous Oxide is emitted during the agricultural and industrial activities, as well as during combustion of solid waste and fossil fuels. (EPA global warming).

Some global warming signs are: heat waves, and periods of unusually warm weather, ocean warming, sea-level rise, coastal flooding, glaciers melting, Arctic warming, Antarctic warming, insect diseases spreading, earlier spring arrival, plant and animal range shifts, and population changes, coral reef bleaching, downpours, heavy snowfalls, flooding, droughts and fires. How many do you recognize happening right now?

People can make a difference. Here's some steps you can take:

Drive a fuel-efficient car. Look for the model with the best fuel economy in its class. Each gallon of gas you use releases 25 pounds of heat-trapping carbon dioxide, (CO2), into the atmosphere. Another great reason to car pool!

Choose clean power- more than ½ the electricity in the U.S comes from polluting coal-fired power plants. Power plants are the largest source of heat-trapping emissions. Try to switch to electricity suppliers that provide 50-100% renewable energy.

Look for the energy star- when it comes to replacing appliances, look for the energy star label. (Refrigerators, freezers, furnaces, air conditioners, and water heaters, use the most energy). If each U.S household replaced its existing appliances with the most efficient models available, we would save fifteen billion in energy costs and eliminate 175 million tons of heat-trapping emissions.

Unplug a freezer- if you own an extra refrigerator or freezer you rarely use, one of the quickest ways to reduce your global warming impact would be to unplug it. (Only plug it in when needed). This can reduce the family's carbon dioxide by nearly ten percent.

If we all work together, we can make a huge impact on global warming. You could literally have your child or grandchild's lives in your hands.

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Emergency Managers Deal With Global Warming

For Seattle residents, rain - and lots of it - is a fact of life. But they'd never seen a month quite like November 2006. With 15.59 inches of rain - including snowfall and hail - it set the record for wettest month, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Climatic Data Center. It was the most rain the Emerald City had ever seen in a one-month span, in 115 years of record keeping.

If that weren't enough, mid-December brought supercharged winds of 60 to 90 mph that cut power to about 1 million people, some of whom lived in the dark for prolonged periods.

"It wasn't just for a couple of hours, a couple of days," said Eric Holdeman, former director of the King County, Wash., Office of Emergency Management. "There were folks without power for 10 days in isolated areas, or even longer than that."

That same month, drought plagued parts of Minnesota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Texas and Oklahoma; thunderstorms and tornadoes whipped through the South; a cyclone lashed the Eastern coastline from South Carolina to Virginia; and the earliest snowfall on record fell on Charleston, S.C., and Savannah, Ga., according to the National Climatic Data Center.

Worldwide patterns show an increase in heavy precipitation and intense droughts caused by a warmer atmosphere, increases in water vapor and a rising sea-surface temperature - all results of global warming.

Holdeman, now principal at ICF International's Emergency Management and Homeland Security team, holds last winter's unusually hazardous weather events as anecdotal evidence that our weather reality is shifting.

"Whatever the cause is, the weather is changing," Holdeman said.

"There's been any number of extreme weather events happening."

Scientists may not agree on some of the possible effects of global warming, but most do agree that it's happening, said Gabriel Vecchi, research scientist at the NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory in Princeton, N.J.

According to a February report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the nation is already seeing warming effects in the Western mountains and melting of the snow pack; with increased winter flooding and summer warming; through pests and wildfires plaguing forest environments; with the intensifying of heat waves; and in hurricanes pounding coastal cities.

Unfortunately any changes related to the planet's increased temperature will be magnified in developing countries, where resources won't be available to delay or minimize effects. But in richer nations, like the United States, where the resources are forthcoming, it's time to adapt and plan for changes we might see, or are seeing now.

Lemming-Like March

The most egregious global warming effects will occur on global warming's frontlines - at the poles, where there's damage to ecosystems and thawing of glaciers and ice sheets, and on small islands, where beach erosion and storm surges are expected to further deteriorate coastlines, according to the IPCC.

Though most scientists agree that global warming is happening, the question of how exactly it will manifest remains. Many believe, however, that warming oceans may be contributing to more devastating hurricane seasons.

The 2004-2005 period was one of the most active 24 months ever witnessed in the Atlantic basin, setting records for number of hurricanes and tying the 1950-1951 record for most major hurricanes with 13.

But hurricanes don't just endanger lives; they also threaten people's livelihoods, businesses and homes, and cities' economies. And because tropical storms tend to hit the United States in its sweet spot - expensive and growing coastal stretches from Texas to Maine - they represent one of the country's gravest storm challenges.

Hurricanes that hit the Gulf Coast region during the 2004 and 2005 storm seasons produced seven of the 13 costliest hurricanes to hit the United States since 1900 (after adjusting for inflation), according to an April 2007 report by the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

This year's hurricane season, from June 1 to Nov. 30, already looks grim. Experts at the NOAA Climate Prediction Center project a 75 percent chance the season will be above normal. They predict a strong La Niña - which favors more Atlantic hurricanes, while El Niño favors fewer hurricanes - will cause three to five major hurricanes.

Also a factor is a phenomenon called "the tropical multidecadal signal" - the notion that two or three decades of lessened storm activity are followed by two or three decades of increased activity. The period since 1995 has wreaked conditions for more hurricanes.

Yet despite signs of a rough hurricane season ahead, a surprising phenomenon is occurring: People are increasingly moving to the Atlantic coast. Census Bureau data shows that in 1950, 10.2 million people were threatened by Atlantic hurricanes; today more than 34.9 million are threatened, according to USA Today.

"The areas along the United States Gulf and Atlantic coasts where most of this country's hurricane-related fatalities have occurred are also experiencing the country's most significant growth in population," the National Hurricane Center report confirmed.

But since coastal communities won't stop corralling newcomers, the report concluded that communities themselves should take action.

Jim O'Brien, professor emeritus of meteorology and oceanography at Florida State University, said emergency managers and policymakers should address the hurricane issue by enforcing stricter building codes, readdressing evacuation strategies and educating people about the imminent problem.

However, more drastic action must be taken to stop people's risky behavior, according to Kerry Emanuel, an atmospheric scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge.

The coastal migration is made possible, he said, through an unwise mix of state and federal policies, like government regulation of property and flood insurance (which covers storm surges), and federal disaster relief given to flooded regions. While such policies help people in the short term, Emmanuel explained, they also enable the risky behavior to continue.

Scientists have long feared America's vulnerability to hurricanes because its shores are lined with some of the nation's wealthiest residents. Emanuel, in conjunction with nine scientists, released a July 2006 statement about the U.S. hurricane problem: "We are optimistic that continued research will eventually resolve much of the current debate over the effect of climate change on hurricanes. But the more urgent problem of our lemming-like march to the sea requires immediate and sustained attention."

Preparedness Challenge

Paul Milelli, director of public safety for Palm Beach County, Fla., contends that global warming's effects may inherently force people to change their ways.

"If we start having to build homes to meet a 200 mph wind, the cost would probably stifle some growth," he said, "and then [there's] the fear factor of people moving in."

Because the county uses an all-hazards approach, emergency planning won't change much with global warming in the equation, he said.

"The economy is just going to be affected tremendously, and that, to me, is going to be the biggest concern. Because we can prepare our people for a hurricane, whether it's a Category 1 or a Category 5, and how we prepare the people really doesn't change - except that as the categories get higher, we start asking people to make their plans earlier and earlier."

For a statewide evacuation, Floridians would have to begin leaving days before the hurricane hit - a logistic impracticality.

"It's bigger than me. It's bigger than what I can plan for as a planner of the county," said Milelli, whose 31-year emergency management career ends in January when he plans to retire in Wisconsin - far away from hurricanes.

To help combat storm destruction, the Gulf Regional Planning Commission in Mississippi focuses on hurricane preparation as well as planning and redevelopment.

"We're certainly well aware of the dramatic impacts of climate change and also the need for looking outside of our localized area when we're starting to talk about the impacts of climate change," said Elaine Wilkinson, the commission's executive director.

The commission is working to build bridges that withstand high winds (similar to the effects of an earthquake), and building up seawalls to match the roadbed.

After Hurricane Katrina, the commission took an extra year to engineer its long-range transportation to plan for major storms. Transportation planning is important to ensure safe evacuation, she said.

Wilkinson was also involved in a U.S. government study on how global warming could affect the nation's coastal transportation systems. The study, which just released its first phase for scientific review, concluded that with climate change, the sea level is rising and the land is sinking, according to a National Public Radio news report.

Listening to scientists provided a good opportunity for Wilkinson, who said scientists must share global warming findings with people who can effect change.

"We need to find a way to bring the scientific data into the planning process," Wilkinson said. "That's something that'll challenge us. But we're very much in need of information to make some good decisions."

Ask the Question

Working with science, King County integrated global warming policies into its government. In October 2005, the county sponsored a conference to understand Washington's climate changes in the coming 20, 50 and 100 years, and identify approaches to adapt to climate change predictions.

The Climate Impacts Group (CIG), along with King County, developed conference materials, including Pacific Northwest climate change scenarios. CIG, which is funded by Washington University's Center for Science in the Earth System in Seattle and by NOAA, explores climate science with an eye to the public interest in the region. The group is one of eight NOAA teams that assess regional climate change in the United States.

From the conference, the CIG and King County established a relationship and jointly wrote Adapting to Global Warming - a Guidebook, to be released this November following a peer review process.

As a resource for regional leaders, the guidebook outlines King County's global warming approach, addressing its water supply, wastewater and floodplain management, agriculture, forestry and biodiversity. The county approved an aggressive levee improvement plan and adopted a climate plan in February that includes a two-page outline for the King County Office of Emergency Management to revise its strategies given projected climate changes.

In the guidebook, the CIG tells how scientists can communicate climate change information to emergency managers and policy leaders. But government officials are also responsible for opening the dialog.

Elizabeth Willmott, global warming coordinator for King County, stepped into her position upon its creation in January 2007, and works to coordinate projects, ideas and information related to the county's climate change mitigation and preparedness plans.

"What we suggest simply," Willmott said, "is that regional leaders ask the climate question, 'How is climate change going to affect my region?'"

Just asking, she said, can plant the issue in people's minds.

Though weather seems to be telling us something about how climate change will impact our future, there's uncertainty in many circles about what to do to prepare and how to mitigate its consequences.

ICF's Holdeman said we must focus on finding global warming's regional effects and work to lessen them now.

"We end up being so reactive as a society, and certainly the United States is," he said. "We don't address issues - like Social Security or Medicaid. Everybody knows it's a problem, but we're not going to do anything about it until it's staring us in the face, and there's a trillion dollar deficit."

It's up to emergency managers, he said, to spread the word and ensure global warming consequences are known.

"For emergency managers themselves," Holdeman said, "if we're not talking about it generally and trying to educate elected officials about it and the hazards, then you're counting on them to stumble on it as an issue."

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The Truth About Global Warming And Hillary Care

Somebody needs to tell the global warming crew to send a little global warmth to Indiana. Today the wind chill was -20 (and I work outside). When I was a kid there was an ensuing ice age (before it changed to global warming). Over the years these (same) fear mungers have made multiple billions $ $ $ $ in the arena of fear exploitation.

I have often wondered why nations who are not free, who have exceedingly high Co2 emissions (Can you say CHINA?) are never cited by the world community. Yet the US is always under extreme scrutiny. Why? Could it be because we're FREE? (at least we are for now).

Last year our C02 emissions were reduced dramatically. A few years ago the global community almost had a conniption fit because we (the US) refused to join Kioto. A few months ago ALL of the nations who joined Kioto were subjected to international fines costing billions of dollars per nation for failing to lower their co2 emissions to appropriate levels.

Not one nation was able to meet these benchmarks; because these benchmarks are virtually impossible to meet, especially on a consistent basis.

Folks, it's time for us to unite and quit being used as political pawns. Global warming is a natural phenomena that's been going on for centuries. According to reliable scientific evidence global warming is caused by the sun. Co2 emissions do not cause global warming; they are a result of global warming. Every nation who joined Kioto will now pay dearly through the raising of their taxes. This is nothing more than an international shakedown. It's pure socialism veiled in an unproven dogma about wanting to save the planet.

In the communist manifesto, in order to control large masses of people a government(s) must do two basic things: disarm the public (That's why when you hear about gun control "we need to get more guns off of the streets in order to reduce crime rates," said the politician; they NEVER EVER address the fact that criminals DON'T obey laws.

That's because public safety is not the real issue. The real underlying issue is 3 simple words: restriction-of-freedoms.). The second thing a government must do in order to control large masses of people is to control the flow of money. The more of your money the government has means the more control the government has over you. Remember our country was founded upon the precepts of a severe injustice known as "taxation without representation." That's right! Spending YOUR MONEY has always been a big deal as far as the government is concerned! That's the true underlying theme behind Hillary Care, gun control, tax hikes, man made global warming. etc... That's why nations such as China get a free pass even though their C02 emissions are astronomical.

Folks, we've got to wake up! Does anyone out there really believe that our politicians have the right to take more of our money? Does anyone believe that they have been handling our money in such a responsible fashion that they deserve more of it? If you do then I most certainly have nothing more to say to you concerning this matter. GOOD BYE! (at least for now).

When politicians talk about the national deficit, they're the ones who caused it. When you hear them talking about a possible recession guess who caused it? That's right! They did. Since 2002 they have had an absolute field day spending our money without any real restraints. Now the national deficit is equivalent to each American citizen owing the government 0,000 per citizen. The solution so far has been to keep on borrowing from China (our good socialist friends). If the government doesn't cap spending quickly this could prove to be very dangerous, especially as China's economy continues to grow in record proportions. Besides if our politicians got their out of control spending under control... (Note: Do you hear any of the candidates talking about spending caps? Of course not. Although some are talking about raising taxes even in lieu of a possible oncoming recession. Now what sense does that make? The government will give us a portion of our money back in the form of a stimulus package in order to avoid a recession, but then some of the same candidates who support the stimulus package want to turn around and take our money right back again in the form of a severe tax hike.). The truth is that people like Hillary Clinton would not have to sheepishly admit (like she did the other day) that she intends to garnish our wages (That's right! And you will have no say so in the matter whatsoever) in order to pay for her socialized health care plan. If Ms Clinton would just introduce a bill (no pun intended) that would cap government spending, in a few years she would have more than enough money to pay for her socialized health care plan (to the tune of 6 hundred billion $ $ $ $ per year). But then again, it's just like global warming. Her health care package has nothing to do with helping people. It's all about getting her elected, as well as giving the government more power & control over our lives (alias: a restriction of our freedoms).

Folks, don't be fooled any longer! There are solutions out there to every problem we face but, we, the people, have to quit buying in to these crazy socialist notions, protocols and ideas. We could end this silliness very quickly if we would just rise up and quit being willfully deceived.

Now the earth is going into another cooling period. So what does that tell you about (man-made) global warming? Are you going to be the next political pawn (alias: SUCKER) for the next money making socialist agenda that comes along? Brrrrrr! It's getting awfully cold! Feel the chill? Folks, the choice is yours. PEACE BE STILL!

Effect of Global Warming

Global warming is the increase of average world temperatures because of what is known as the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect happens when solar energy reaches the Earth in the form of short-wave radiation. When that radiation strikes a surface, much of its energy is converted into heat, a form of radiation, which has a long wavelength. Carbon Dioxide, water vapour, and other gases present in the atmosphere absorb and retain long-wave radiation or reflect it back toward the surface of the Earth. These gases act like panes of a glass in a greenhouse, letting light in, but retaining some of the heat before it escapes into space. Therefore, this build up of heat has many dramatic effects, which affect the whole world.

The average surface temperature of earth has increased more than 1 degree Fahrenheit since 1900 and the rate of warming has been nearly three times the century-long average since 1970.

Almost all experts studying the recent climate history of the earth agree now that human activities, mainly the release of heat-trapping gases from smokestacks, tailpipes, and burning forests, are probably the dominant force driving the trend. The gases add to the planet's natural greenhouse effect, allowing sunlight in, but preventing some of the resulting heat from radiating back to space.

The detailed causes of the recent warming remain an active field of research, but the scientific consensus identifies increased levels of greenhouse gases due to human activity as the main influence. Human activities such burning fossil fuels for energy etc. Other factors include solar activity, volcanic emissions and variations in the earths orbit.

Global warming has been in the news a lot recently.

Is it our fault or does it just happen every one hundred and fifty years that is the question? The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has said that temperatures will increase by up to 4C by the end of the century. This increase in temperature will have a very large effect on our planet. The panel has said sea levels will rise by 43cm due to ice caps melting, which could mean Bangladesh, which is 1 m above sea level, could be under water. In addition, this increase in sea levels is likely to influence the intensity of tropical storms, which can spread even more damage to other countries. We in today's society must try to use our resources carefully so that future generations can live on this planet with as few environmental problems as possible. Global warming is mostly dew to countries developing very fast, to build the countries economy a country must have industry and infrastructure. Therefore, industries have opened and caused a lot of air pollution.
Another reason for the air pollution is due to the emissions from cars. There are now more than 28 mega cities and everyday most of their populations drive cars. More cars equal more pollution, which increase global warming. The rate we are burning fuel is not sustainable for future years and we must act now in order to save this planet from devastation.

One of the main greenhouse gases is carbon dioxide (CO2). As trees grow, they take in CO2 from the air. When the wood dies, the CO2 is returned to the air. Forest clearance and wood burning (deforestation) which happen in tropical rain forests is adding to the CO2 in the atmosphere. Deforestation is now out of control. For example in 1987 an area of the Amazon rain forest the size of Britain was burned, adding 500 million tonnes of CO2 to the atmosphere. The loss of the forests also means that there are fewer trees to absorb CO2.

Other greenhouse gasses include:

Methane - which is released during coal-mining activities, oil exploration and when vegetation is burnt during land clearance. The main source of methane though is agricultural activity. It is released from wetlands such as rice paddies and from animals, particularly cud-chewing species like cows. The problem with methane is that as the world population increases, agricultural activity must increase and so emissions of methane will increase. Since the 1960s the amount of methane in the air has increased by 1% per year - twice as fast as the build up of CO2 .

Nitrous oxide - comes from both natural and man-made processes. Man influenced sources, which represent about 45% of output to the atmosphere, are mainly: fossil fuel combustion, as in power stations; use of nitrogenous fertilizers; burning rain forests and human and animal waste. N2O contributes about 6% to the greenhouse effect at the moment.

CFCs - found in fridges, air conditioners, aerosols etc are extremely effective greenhouse gases. Although there are lower concentrations of CFCs in the atmosphere than CO2 they trap more heat. A CFC molecule is 10,000 times more effective in trapping heat than a CO2 molecule; methane is about 30 times more effective. Methane molecules survive for 10 years in the atmosphere and CFCs for 110 years.

About half the carbon dioxide released by burning fossil fuels is absorbed by the oceans. It is taken up by small sea creatures or dragged to the ocean depths by the circulation of water. So as more carbon dioxide is taken by the oceans, they will one day become less efficient, leaving more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and so adding further to global warming. As the temperatures become hotter, large quantities of methane stored in the frozen tundra of the north may be released. In addition, the methane trapped in the seabed may be freed by temperature rises. This adds further to the warming.

Higher temperatures means more evaporation can occur providing more cloud which traps heat below and reflects back sunlight. This will again add further to the warming process.
The effects of global warming include heat waves and periods of unusually warm weather, which will increase ocean warming and make sea levels rise by glaciers melting causing coastal flooding. If nothing is done to stop global warming or slow down its effects other may arise such as the spread of disease, plant and animal range shifts and population changes, coral reef bleaching, downpours, heavy snowfall, flooding, droughts, and fires.

Global warming statistics:

• 2006 Hottest year since records began

• 100% Increase in intensity and duration of hurricanes

• 0 Billion in damages

• By 2030 all glaciers will have melted

• 400,000 square kilometers of the artic have melted

• 26% of plant species could be wiped out by global warming by 2050

I decided to conduct an interview on my local high street to find out peoples views on the effects of global warming. The results have been published at [http://www.pollutionproblems.info] I asked the question:

"What do you think about global warming?"

• "Global warming will cause so much damage to our world we need to do something about it."

• "Droughts, forest-fires, heat waves, floods and storms, what will be next? I cant bear to imagine life when my grandchildren are older."

• "Global warming will destroy the earth is a bit misleading. It will destroy plants, animals and us humans. The earth will just go on spinning and forget about us like the bad dream that we are."

Global Domains International, An Honest Review

The chances are you are thinking about joining Global Domains International, but you're looking for more information about the company. Well, Global Domains International or GDI is a great company. They are actually one of the biggest Network Marketi'ng companies in the world. The reason for that is probably something to do with the low entry price, the marketing systems and perhaps the compensation plan.

If you're looking to build a Network Marketing business and earn six plus figures, then Global Domains International may not be for you. The reason being is the entry price and product. The entry price is just a month. This means that you're not going to make much money off of every person you sponsor. You make a grand one dollar for every one in your downline which goes down five levels. The money can add up but it requires a lot of money to make a lot of money.

If the company charged 0 a month then you would probably make a lot more money. It really depends how much effort you put into the business and how you market the opportunity. Network Marketing is about making money from the masses and not from a few people. Still, we want people who have some money to join our businesses. I would usually look at a company that requires you pay at least a month for the product and opportunity.

The low entry price can mean you will sponsor a lot more reps, but you're still only making a dollar per month from each one. As much as I want to be positive about the cost, I think it's a bad thing. Next is the product, the product is ok. GDI offer a domain and hosting for a month. The truth is that you can get a domain and hosting for less than a month, but it's still a good price.

As you are getting such a great opportunity out of it, you may as well use their hosting. Everyone needs a website and hosting. Maybe not everyone, but every business and or company needs their own website which means they also need hosting. The product is ideal for Internet Marketers, Network Marketers and just about anyone who runs a business online or offline.

The last thing is the compensation plan, the compensation plan is decent. What's great about the comp plan is the bonus feature. At ten dollars a month you gain access to the 5 by 5 matrix. You also get 0 bonuses for every 5 people you recruit in a week. You make one dollar per every customer in your downline. It goes 5 people wide and 5 levels down which adds up to a full time income once full. The bonuses can be quite exciting. Just sponsoring 5 people in any week will give you 0. You could even pay five people each and make profit. There is also an upgrade where you pay something like a month for extra products and a higher paying comp plan. All in all, Global Domains International is a great company. They have a good product, a good compensation plan and ok leadership.

Global Warming vs. Planet Poisoning

Al Gore recently won a Nobel Prize for his documentary on global warming, "An Inconvenient Truth". Since then, there has been much debate over whether or not Mr. Gore deserved this accolade and thus rekindled the debate over global warming in general. This seems to be the point of movie in the first place, to focus our attention on climate change and what we can do about it. Now if only someone equally famous would put together a documentary on how synthetic chemicals are killing us and the planet.

The effects of carbon emissions from our insatiable appetite for energy may be melting the polar ice caps and endangering the polar bears, but Perchlorate in our ground water is compromising the healthy function of thyroid in both man and beast. Increasingly prescribed over the decades, synthetic hormones have also found their way into our lakes, streams and drinking water and already there are populations of frogs found with both male and female organs.

Though banned more than 30 years ago, DDT can still be found in the breast milk of women all over the globe.

Since the Second World War, over 80,000 new synthetic chemicals have been manufactured and released into our environment, with 1,500 new chemicals introduced every year. We were promised that "chemistry" would make our lives better and to the degree of making our lives easier this may have been true. But with this increase in synthetic chemical compounds come all sorts of problems with adverse interactions and unknown synergistic effects. It's becoming increasingly difficult to isolate any one chemical in the body to find harmful effects. We are all walking test tubes with hundreds of toxins interacting in our liver, fat stores and active blood stream.

Autism rates have soared more than 800% and still researchers have yet to identify the cause. Skin cancer rates continue to increase even though sales of sunscreen were nearly nonexistent fifty years ago. The medical research community continues to look for single smoking guns. A drug that cures cancer or a toxin that causes it. None of it is that simple. With research showing one out of three people in the U.S. will develop cancer in their lifetime, do we really think that global warming is our biggest concern?

Most would agree there is a need save energy and cut green house gases. But there is also a need to connect the dots and see how we are poisoning ourselves and the planet. Eating healthy, fresh foods that are free of pesticides, chemical fertilizers and preservatives has shown to reduce the risks of developing cancer. Cleaning with a little "elbow grease" instead of "Scrub Free", and purchasing natural products for our homes can begin to reduce the amounts of toxins we bathe in and breathe. By choosing products free of synthetic chemicals we can begin to reduce the number of them released into our environment. This may do more for us and the planet in the long run than any synthetic chemical or drug ever could.