Tackling Global Warming

Global warming due to emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases have contributed to larger extreme climatic events like rising sea levels. The main culprit: Carbon Dioxide.

Dryer conditions in the cloud forest and lengthening dry periods could drive some into extinction ranging from plants to animals. Many tree types are declining in vitality. The study of 13,700 trees in 18 very isolated plots in Brazil concluded that increased carbon dioxide is the most plausible explanation for the abrupt shifts in species growth. And looking at the big picture, what do you see? Without trees, what could have happened?

Sixteen years of data on tree growth, tropical air temperatures and CO2 readings indicate that a warming climate may cause the tropical forests to give off more carbon dioxide than they take up. This would upset the common belief that tropical forests are always a sink for carbon, taking huge amounts out of the atmosphere.

Coral reefs are probably the most complex ecosystems on the planet, home to hundreds of thousands of species. They protect and support the lives of millions of people around the tropical zones, and are a font of wealth from fishing and recreation. The damage being caused to reefs by warming seas is one of the most serious effects of global warming.

High water temperatures caused coral bleaching and subsequent death or adverse change to sixteen percent of world reefs overall and up to 46 percent in parts of the Indian Ocean.

Temperatures beyond norms causes coral to expel the microscopic symbionts, zooxanthellae, that also give them colour. If this bleaching continues for days to weeks, the coral dies and algae takes over the reefs, changing the ecosystem.


Let's Begin Taking the following tips today:


1. Buy a Fuel Efficient Car. Getting a few extra miles per gallon makes a big difference. Save thousands of lbs. of carbon dioxide and a lot of money per year.

2. Carpool When You CanOwn a big vehicle? Carpooling with friends and co-workers saves fuel. Save 790 lbs. of carbon dioxide and hundreds of dollars per year.

3. Reduce GarbageBuy products with less packaging and recycle paper, plastic and glass. Save 2,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide per year.Composting helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the number of trips trucks must make to the landfill as well as the amount of methane released by our landfills. [I recycle papers and plastic bottles, metals, glass bottles as far as possible in the recycling bin. So can you.]

4. Use Recycled Paper. Make sure your printer paper is 100% post consumer recycled paper. Save 5 lbs. of carbon dioxide per ream of paper.

5. Unplug Un-used Electronics. Even when electronic devices are turned off, they use energy. Save over 1,000 lbs of carbon dioxide and $150 per year.

6. Plant a Tree. Trees provide a microclimate and sustained moisture for you. Trees suck up carbon dioxide and make clean air for us to breath. Save 2,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide per year.


Reference: http://www.worldviewofglobalwarming.org/pages/tropics-oceans.html
http://www.globalwarming.net/