Environmental Committee - PC Azerbaijan: January 2009

GLOBAL WARMING

What is global warming?

Global warming is the sustained increase in the mean average temperature of the earth's atmosphere due the trapping of heat in the lower atmosphere by greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and CFCs. In recent years, the rate of global warming has dramatically increased.

What or Who is responsible for Global Warming?

Certain amount of global warming and cooling is a natural. The Earth has cycled through many phases of warming and cooling over the billions of years due to the greenhouse effect. There are many natural factors that contribute to the greenhouse effect but most of these occur very slowly over many millennia (thousands of years!!!!!!). In recent history, temperatures have been increasing faster than ever on a global scale that cannot be explained by these natural processes. It is now largely agreed upon in the scientific community that sense the industrial revolution global warming has dramatically increased due to human activity. Humans are releasing an exponentially larger amount of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than the environment could ever do on its own. Every time you ride on a plane, drive a car, use electricity that is created threw fossil fuels, buy a product hat was created using fossil fuels, eat meat, rice or many other foods that are produced in non environmentally safe methods, you are contributing to global warming.

HUMANS Are Causing the Present Rapid global warming.

Individuals, Governments, Businesses all contribute to the Problem!

What are the causes of (rapid) global warming?

Causes of Global Warming

Carbon Dioxide from:

Fossil Fuel (cars, air plains, coal plants, any electricity you use that is generated from a source that is bases off fossil fuels)

Deforestation

Plants store carbon! When forests and other natural lands are destroyed they are no longer there to absorb and store carbon AND even more carbon is released back into the atmosphere when those plants die and decay.

Failing Sinks (sinks – nature systems that sore large amount of carbon over thousands of years)

Peat bogs, artic tundra, oceans are all sinks.

Positive feedback loop amplify the changes in the climate. For example, as the earth warms destabilizes natural sinks causing them to release their carbon. This huge release of carbon will then have nothing to soak it up so it will just be in the atmosphere causing a greater amount of global warming to take place.

Oceans hold 50 times as much carbon as all terrestrial plants on Earth. Increased thermal stratification of the oceans has caused substantial reductions in levels of phytoplankton, which store CO2. Increased atmospheric carbon is also causing an acidification of the ocean, since carbon dioxide forms carbonic acid when it reacts with water. The overall effect is the ocean being less able to store the ever increasing amounts of carbon being released.

Methane from- created when bacteria breaks down organic material in an oxygen starved environment. It is 100 times as powerful as carbon dioxide!

Cattle, goats and sheep (as food is broken down in their stomachs), Rice Paddies (organic material is trapped under water), Landfills, leakage from natural gas fields (because Methane is a component of natural gas) are all sources of Methane.

The world is eating more meat than ever, rice is a staple food in many parts of the world and the more we consume the more garbage there is for landfills.

the Artic Tundra
Clathrates – They are huge chunks of ice at the bottom of the ocean. If temperatures rise, warming the ocean, they will melt releasing huge amounts of Methane.

Nitrogen Oxides – It is a main component of fertilizer. Nitrogen oxides have 300 times more heat-trapping capacity per unit of volume than does carbon dioxide, and we release them every time we apply fertilizer to soil.

Other Gases - CFCs and HCFCs (chlorofluorocarbons and hydrochlorofluorocarbons) used in refrigeration are also powerful greenhouse gases.

What are some of the consequences of global warming?

Melting of glaciers and polar caps

First, it will raise sea levels. There are 5,773,000 cubic miles of water in ice caps, glaciers, and permanent snow. According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, if all glaciers melted today the seas would rise about 230 feet. Luckily, that’s not going to happen all in one go! But sea levels will rise.

Second, melting ice caps will throw the global ecosystem out of balance. The ice caps are fresh water, and when they melt they will desalinate the ocean. The desalinization of the ocean will throw off regular oceanic currents, which help regulate temperatures.

Third, temperature rises and changing landscapes in the artic circle will endanger several species of animals. Only the most adaptable will survive.

Fourth, global warming could snowball with the ice caps gone. Ice caps are white, and reflect sunlight, much of which is reflected back into space, further cooling Earth. If the ice caps melt, the only major reflector left is the ocean. Darker colors absorb sunlight, further warming the Earth

Increased rain and snow fall

Increase in Hurricanes and other extreme weather. Strong hurricanes, droughts, Floods, heat waves, wildfires, and other natural disasters may become commonplace in many parts of the world. This will be Partially dues to warmer ocean waters

Water shortages

When the ice caps are gone a major source of water for many people will be gone. And greater droughts and desertification will cause water shortages

Increase in spread of disease

Warmer weather = more disease carrying insects

Ocean acidification

Economic consequences

The eradication of some specials of plants and animals.

More than a million species face extinction from disappearing habitat, changing ecosystems, and acidifying oceans.

Food shortages

At some point in the future, warming could become uncontrollable due to the positive feedback effect. Rising temperatures could release additional greenhouse gases by unlocking methane in permafrost and undersea deposits, freeing carbon trapped in sea ice, and causing increased evaporation of water.

Whose responsibility is it to try and stop global warning and repair damage already done?

EVERYONES has a responsibility!

Individuals, Governments and Business are all responsible, as they all contribute to the problem. But remember, governments and businesses are made up of INDIVIDUALS!

How can YOU help to solve global warming?

Here is a list of simple steps that you can take to help control global warming and reduce your impact on the environment.

Get educated – The better you understand the issue the more able you will be to combat it.

Vote – push your government to care about the environment too!

Reduce – take a true look at the amount of resources you use everyday, and how much trash do you create in a day, and then reduce it!

Reuse – before you throw something away take a close look at it – can you sue it for another purpose? For example, reuse plastic shopping bag instead of getting new ones each time you go to the market, or carry your own cloth bag and do not use plastic bags. Save jars to store things in or to use as cups.

Recycle – If you have recycling facilities anywhere near you use them.

Place a liter soda bottle full of water into your toilet tank. This will cause it to fill faster and use less water each time you flush.
Donate your unwanted clothes. In the bazaar now there is a used cloths section. Baku even has thrift stores!

Turn off the faucet when you are brushing your teeth.

Turn garden hose when you are not watering anything in particular

Turn off electrical devices (lights, fans, tv, computers, etc.) when they are not in use. And be sure to

eliminate phantom loads. A phantom load is caused when electrical appliances draws electricity when it isn't in use but is plugged in. about 11% of residential electricity consumption is used by "phantom loads." Use electrical surge protectors. Then, with one flick of the switch, you can make sure that the appliances plugged into your surge protectors are drawing no electricity at all.

· Use “Energy Efficient” appliances, and replace old appliances with new one. You WILL save money. They will save you about a third on their energy bill with similar savings of greenhouse gas emissions, without sacrificing features, style or comfort

replace traditional light bulbs with energy savers such as LCD’s - compact fluorescent bulbs

Check for leaks (toilets, faucets, pipes, irrigation systems, etc.)

Walk, ride a bike or use public transportation whenever possible.

Have showers instead of baths.

Plant native and/or drought-tolerant plants. Some grasses, ground covers, shrubs and trees do not need to be watered as frequently.

Buy recycles paper products or those produced form ecologically managed forests. It help save trees, conserve water, reduce trash

use less paper and use paper fully

Insulate and ventilate your home!!!!! Make sure doors and windows are sealed tightly. If you are running an air conditioner or heater, keep all doors and windows CLOSED! Also, instead of an air conditioner in the summer try using fans and good ventilation.

Use hot water instead of cold water to wash dishes

Compost biodegradable waste in your home

Eat locally produced foods

The less food has to travel the less fuel burned. Local, but suitable to your climate. If it is pineapple from Main it is probably less energy consuming to just have it shipped across country.

· Paint your home a light color if you live in a warmer climate and a dark color if you live in a cooler climate. This can contribute saving up to 5000 pounds of carbon dioxide per year.

· Turn Down Your Water Heater. Just a 10° F reduction on your water heater thermostat can reduce 3% to 5% of your total energy consumption. 110-120°F is optimal

· Turn down your air or heat 2-3 degrees! Change Your Thermostat by this small amount can decrease Your Carbon Footprint 2,000 lbs and save you $98! During the hot months turn the thermostat up two degrees and in the cold months turn it down two degrees.

· Use your buying power!!! Buy from companies that use recycled materials and that use minimal packaging and environmentally sound practice.

Eat less meat - Livestock are responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than transportation is. This is due to the large amounts of petroleum used in creating ammonium nitrate fertilizer (for the corn they are fed) plus the cost of shipping that corn to the cattle and then shipping the cattle to slaughter and grocery. If one eats meat it should always be from a local source. Choosing vegetarian foods also drastically reduces agricultural water consumption and land use, and favorably impacts biodiversity.

· BE AN EXAMPLE - Your Change Teaches Others

Changing yourself is easy, you may say, but you're only one person-- how can you increase your ability to stop global warming?

You can become a beacon for change. It is difficult to do this alone, but the more people that see the path you choose and examples you provide of what they themselves can do, the easier it will be for them to join you. In fact, the more you act publicly to prevent global warming, the more viable this alternate path becomes. As you act in your daily life in ways that help prevent global warming, you gain the visibility necessary to influence behaviors and change minds in other places, increasing your positive impact.