I have noticed that the latest news came up the hot issues that commonly becoming the talk of public over the world about global warming.As humans that live in this planet, we already known about its bad effect and harm to our lives. It will be a horrible sound as we hear about this problem. According to the research that has been done by all researchers, environmentalists and scientists over the world.
2007-06-12 21:32:57 · 4 answers · asked by aimanbarudin 1 in Environment ➔ Global Warming
There's a lot of things that can be done, some are simple things that we can do in our everyday lives, others are ambitious schemes to change the climate of our planet. Here's a long answer that looks at the many ways to combat global warming...
There's several things that can be done including reducing dependency on fossil fuels, recycling, becoming more energy efficient, offsetting carbon emissions and using technology to combat global warming.
ENERGY EFFICIENCY AT HOME
> When replacing appliances buy energy efficient ones.
> Turn off electrical appliances when not in use, don’t use the standby option.
> Use energy efficient light bulbs and switch off lights when not in use.
> Fit individual thermostats to radiators and don't heat rooms that aren't used.
> Insulate walls, lofts, hot water tanks and pipes.
> Turn your heating and air conditioning down, a small difference will be barely noticeable.
> Similarly, turn down water heating by a few degrees.
> Sign up to a green energy supplier, one that produces energy from renewable sources.
> Turn off heating and air-conditioning when the house is unoccupied.
> Wash full loads of clothes at a lower temperature, modern machines and detergents are just as effective at lower temperatures.
> Dry your clothes outdoors instead of in a tumble drier.
> Wash full loads in the dish-washer.
> Insulate your home and block draughts around doors and windows. In Europe this is free to many people.
> Consider installing a renewable energy system such as solar panels or a home wind turbine.
> Use rechargeable batteries; don’t leave rechargers on for longer than is needed (including mobile / cell-phones).
> Boil only as much water in the kettle as you need.
> Buy locally produced organic food where possible, there's less transportation and the farming methods are more environmentally friendly.
> Look where goods were manufactured and avoid buying those that have been flown or shipped long distances.
> Recycle and reuse as much as possible. Sign up with mail preferential services to stop junk mail.
> Avoid buying products with excessive packaging.
> Don’t have your fridge or freezer set lower than need to be, regularly defrost freezers, don’t put hot food into your fridge or freezer.
> If your fridge or freezer is over 15 years old then consider replacing it (check with local authority regarding disposal of old one).
> Work from home where possible.
> Eat less meat and dairy produce, farming produces large quantities of greenhouse gases.
ENERGY EFFICIENT TRAVELLING
For many people a substantial reduction in greenhouse gas emissions can be achieved by driving a more fuel-efficient vehicle. Each gallon of gasoline burned produces 10kg (20 pounds) of carbon dioxide. A motorist driving 15,000 miles a year in a vehicle that delivers 30mpg will produce 5000kg of carbon emissions whereas a vehicle returning 50mpg will produce 3000kg.
> Drive a fuel efficient vehicle, if you have more than one vehicle then use the most economical one more often.
> Consider walking or cycling when going to work or taking the kids to schools, if you have to drive then consider car sharing.
> Use public transport where possible and consider taking a coach or train instead of using domestic flights.
> When replacing your vehicle look at diesel and liquid petroleum gas models.
> Combine multiple journeys into one and do your weekly shopping in a single trip.
> Stagger journeys where possible to avoid rush hour traffic and hold ups.
FUEL SAVING TIPS FOR DRIVERS
By driving carefully and keeping your vehicle in good condition you can save up to 30% on your fuel bills and cut greenhouse gas emissions at the same time. Below are some tips for increasing fuel efficiency.
> Avoid harsh braking, accelerate gently and drive at a steady speed.
> Keep tyres inflated to the correct pressure.
> Remove bike and ski racks when not in use, also remove detachable roof racks, luggage boxes etc.
> Carrying unnecessary weight wastes fuel, declutter your vehicle.
> Use the correct gear and use cruise control if your vehicle has it.
> Keep your vehicle regularly services.
> Turn the engine off when stopped or waiting.
MORE ENERGY SAVING TIPS
Natural Resource Defense Council - http://www.nrdc.org/air/energy/genergy.asp
Energy Saving Trust - http://www.est.org.uk/myhome/
Carbon Footprint - http://www.carbonfootprint.com/index.html
Carbon Trust - http://www.carbontrust.co.uk/energy
Energy Quest - http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/saving_energy/index.html
US Government - http://www.energy.gov/energyefficiency/index.htm
Alliance to Save Energy - http://www.ase.org/
UK Government - http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Environmentandgreenerliving/Energyandwatersaving/DG_064371
Rough Guides - http://www.roughguides.com/savingenergy/
Salt River Project - http://www.srpnet.com/menu/energy.aspx
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CARBON OFFSETTING
Each of us leaves behind what is commonly referred to as a 'carbon footprint'. This is a measure of the environmental impact in terms of the amount of greenhouses gases produced, it is measured as the equivalent number of units of carbon dioxide. The global average is 5 tons per person per year, in developed nations the average is 11 tons and in the US it is 19 tons.
Carbon Offsetting is one way to reduce or eliminate your carbon footprint, in most cases this involves calculating your greenhouse gas emissions and planting trees so as to absorb an equivalent amount of carbon dioxide. Some websites where you can calculate your carbon footprint and purchase offsetting are:
The Woodland Trust - http://www.carbonbalanced.org/
Carbon Footprint - http://www.carbonfootprint.com/USA/calculator.html
The Carbon Neutral Company - http://www.carbonneutral.com/pinfo/carbonoffsetting.asp
My Climate - http://www.myclimate.org/index.php?lang=en
Atmosfair - http://www.atmosfair.de/index.php?id=9&L=3
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GEOENGINEERING (CLIMATE ENGINEERING)
Ambitious schemes have been proposed that would manipulate our climate through geoengineering. These contentious schemes include constructing a giant sunscreen to block out some of the sun’s heat and artificial trees to extract carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. If these schemes are successful they could prevent global warming from getting worse and may be reverse the warming trend.
> Human Volcano
Volcanic eruptions emit large quantities of sulphur dioxide which blocks out some of the heat from the sun. Following the massive eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991 the average global temperature fell by 0.5°C. One proposal is to simulate natural volcanoes by firing pellets of sulphur into the upper atmosphere where the particles of sulphur will reflect back some of the solar radiation.
> Sulphur Blanket
Nobel Prize winner Professor Paul Crutzen has put forward a scheme which, like the Human Volcano, uses the principle of sulphur to block out some of the suns rays. Professor Crutzen's idea is to launch rockets into the stratosphere (10 to 50km above Earth's surface) and release one million tons of sulphur. This radical plan could have drawbacks including an increase in acid rain and damage to the ozone layer. At low levels sulphur dioxide is a toxic gas and in the past was emitted in large quantities from factories; ironically the Clean Air Acts which reduced industrial pollution removed much of the cooling sulphur dioxide from out atmosphere.
> Solar Mirrors
The US National Academy of Sciences has proposed a scheme that would involve positioning 55,000 gigantic mirrors in space. Each mirror would be 100 square kilometres in area and the effect would be to reflect some of the sun's heat energy back into space. For the time being neither the technology or financial resources exist to enable such a scheme to go ahead.
> Global Sunshade
A similar scheme to the space mirrors idea involves placing a giant sunshade in orbit between the sun and Earth. British astronomer Roger Angel has proposed creating such a shade some 1.5 million miles from earth, at the point where gravity from the sun and the earth balance. His sunshade would consist of 16 trillion individual glass discs, each one microscopically thin and weighing just one gram. On board each disc would be a tiny camera, computer and solar sails allowing each disc to align itself so as to refract light from the sun just enough so it misses Earth. Angel proposes using electro magnetically propelled launches, each one delivering a million discs into space.
> Moving Earth
Perhaps the most ambitious of all schemes so far proposed is one to actually move planet Earth into a different orbit. It has been estimated that if Earth were 1.5 million miles further from the sun then the reduced heat energy received from the sun would compensate for anthropogenic global warming. Dr Ken Caldiera of Stanford University, an opponent of geoengineering, has calculated that the energy required to move the Earth this far would be the equivalent of 5 quadrillion hydrogen bombs (5,000,000,000,000,000).
> Cloud Seeding
Cloud seeding isn't a new concept and is one that has been tried with some success as a way of bringing rainfall to dry areas. One variation on this theme is to launch a fleet of self propelled vessels to sail the world's oceans and spray a fine mist of sea water particles into the atmosphere. Marine Stratocumuli clouds form over much of the world's oceans and they're particularly effective at reflecting sunlight back into space. Professors John Latham and Stephen Salter from the UK believe that by increasing the number of such clouds, enough heat from the sun can be reflected back into space to offset global warming.
> Artificial Trees
A school science project provided the inspiration for Professor Klaus Lackner's concept of using artificial trees to extract carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Air passes through the device and hydrogen sulphide absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, each 'tree' could remove 90,000 tons of carbon dioxide each year. The carbon dioxide would need to be permanently stored and the professor believes this could be achieved by drilling holes thousands of metres deep into porous rock beneath the oceans; the CO2 would be injected into the holes where it would permeate the surrounding rock.
> Phytoplankton
Phytoplankton are microscopic marine plants, invisible to the naked eye but visible from space as blooms of green ocean. Like all plants they photosynthesise - taking in carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen. Increasing the quantity of phytoplankton will result in more carbon dioxide being absorbed and when the plants die they sink to the ocean floor taking the carbon with them. Professor Ian Jones of Sydney University advocates that by using nitrogen rich urea to enrich parts of the oceans low in phytoplankton their numbers can be significantly increased (note 4).
> More About These Schemes
Some of these ideas formed part of a BBC documentary 'Five Ways To Save The World' you can read more about them on the BBC Website http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/6298507.stm watch the programme trailer http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_6360000/newsid_6364700/6364731.stm?bw=bb&mp=rm or watch the programme in full from Google Video http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=286000425078890061
2007-06-13 10:21:58 · answer #1 · answered by Trevor 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can't look at the many branches as isolated problem-solvers. They're probably equally valuable because you can't evaluate an aspect of this problem while overlooking another. Maybe a solution proposed by chemists affects negatively an issue biologists perceived. We have to combine all these branches and their researches to reduce climate change. Referring to WeirdNA's comment on whether we're contributing to global warming or not, it is well and long known that we ARE contributing greatly to the naturally occuring warming process that the Earth is undergoing. That dilemma is already in the past and we should forget it and focus on reducing everything that's causing the global change. And referring to SANE's comment, a myth lacks facts, and there is an abundance of facts that evidence global warming. You can't ignore them, you may think that it's just hype like David M said, but you sould reconsider. The facts are real; small changes are happening, but they will become more evident pretty soon.
2016-04-01 04:58:22 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Simple, we can reduce our impact by breaking our addiction to 'oil and fossil fuels'. Firstly as a society we need to become more energy efficient, which is the easiest way to start.
As a second step society needs to move away from producing energy from fossil fuels and producing more renewable energy through solar, wind, geothermal and wave power that produce no carbon emissions. These cost more at the moment however the renewable industry is growing and in a number of years the technology will be just as cost effective and profitable. The growth of the industry will create new jobs and wealth so the predicted 'collapse' of our economies to switch over is false. Small target increases need to be set every year so the task doesn't look so overwhelming (e.g. 1-2% renewable energy increases each year over 50 years so we can achieve a 60% reduction in emissions by 2050 from 1990 levels).
Lastly, whatever emissions we cannot prevent they should be offset through projects such as re-vegetation of forests to capture carbon and provide habitat for wildlife. Now is the time for communities, governments and industry to change before catastrophic climate change is upon us and it being too late to reverse it. Cheers
2007-06-13 01:19:56 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Kyoto agreements (as I understand them) limit the amount of greenhouse gas (which produces warming) in *some* of the more developed nations (which produce most of it). Some suggest a "cap and trade" system, which allows a market, whereby countries or people can sell off greenhouse gas allowances they have not used.
Technological solutions include nuclear power, iron fertilization, wind and solar energy, biofuels, etc.
2007-06-13 01:20:04 · answer #4 · answered by A Guy 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋