fighting global warming (you know it's a problem!)

[climbergrrl]

So lately I've been thinking a lot about global warming and the environment and my impact on it and involvement in it. :frusty: And...I have to confess, it's been keeping me up nights, so I can't say that my conscience is clear. Although I love Sam (my car), her lack of fuel efficiency and/or the fact that she's not a hybrid (they are still too expensive for me) has been leaving me with a vaguely unsatisfied feeling. In addition to that, I feel as though I have so much STUFF! However, through searching on the Internet, I've found some great websites that gave me some information and ways to reduce and neutralize the impact that I have on the environment.

One of the coolest websites that I found was www.fightglobalwarming.com. Through this website, I was able to roughly calculate my impact on global warming in terms of carbon emissions AND it connected me to companies from whom I could buy carbon-offset credits, in order to help neutralize my impact. This is a rather new trend that I am certain that we are going to see more of in the future. Basically what it is, is that it's next to impossible to cut out carbon emissions from your lifestyle entirely (unless you're some kind of radical aesthetic, which, as you're reading this on the Internet, don't kid yourself, you're not). :ranger: Everytime you go somewhere, eat something, buy something, you are using up carbon and producing emissions in some way. Buying carbon offsets or credits allows you to support companies or people who are actively involved in reducing the amount of carbon in the atmosphere. This can range from companies or farmers that trap greenhouse gases produced from landfills, livestock waste, etc. and use it to produce energy or electricity to farmers (often in developing nations, this is also a great economic boost and way to combat world-wide poverty) who will receive and plant trees (aimed at increasing O2 and reducing CO2 in the air)or receive support to fight global warming in some other way. (The music group 'Coldplay' bought thousands of mango trees for farmers in developing nations to plant to help offset the impact of the production of their cds! Yet another reason to love this group!):hail:

I really recommend that interested people check out the website. Sometimes we don't even realize the impact that we have. For example, I was shocked to find that most of my impact comes from the yearly trip that I take either back home to Canada or to some place around the world. :plane: Those airplanes burn a LOT of fuel!:eek8:

Anyway, just thought some of you might be interested in this...hope you can find some valuable information on it. Maybe it will help you to sleep better at night, or not feel so guilty when you drive your car (I won't be driving Sam any more than usual, but I think I will feel better when I do take her out somewhere).

Peace!
Dee

[skinsk]

Dee, I think the gist of that is spot on. . and that is to be aware of how our daily habits are in many ways unsustainable. A trip to any third world country will teach the difference between wanting and needing.

rule #1 for me is to just be aware. . . buy local (everything else comes here via fuel); organics are grown more sustainably, but not if they are shipped all over the world! Walk, take the bus if you can. . . ride your bike. Shut ooff the gas when you're done cooking, turn off the lights when you leave the classroom. . . the little thinngs add up!

rule #2 is don't beat myself up when I slip up. . . on #s 1 & 3! must have mangoes. . .tak-shi!. . . etc, etc. . .

rule #3 is don't beat anyone else up, and try not to lecture to much :) No-one is perfect, and being a good example is the best way to make a change.

Becoming conscious of our excesses allows us to make better decisions, but it takes some effort, and the more you practice, the more your conscience will guide you naturally, but the better you will feel. That's where rule #2 comes in handy, because as you add to your list of things "(not) to do", you become aware of more and more of the things you could do better, even though you're actually making better decisions based on this growing knowledge.

And let's not forget that while global warming is a big problem, so is global poverty and a general lack of understanding in an increasingly divided world. At least all of us can say we have come a long way towards understanding others, and thus ourselves, better.

[climbergrrl]

Well said, Sonia! Thanks for the encouragement and for bringing up some great points! :)

Another good website to check out is www.heifer.org. Any of you from a farming background may laugh at the name 'Heifer International', however, they are a terrific group of people dedicated to fighting poverty and helping people to support themselves sustainably around the world!

Cheers!
Dee

[skinsk]

Seems like a great organization! CuriousJ has a great website keeping up with global causes, etc (linked to his profile). I get regular info by watching www.democracynow.org M-F. Of course, my own website http://www.freewebs.com/vegetariankorea/index.htm has links to organic farms and some co-ops/non-profits related to sustainability.

Korea has it's own versions of many international organizations and NGOs. KML is an example, but there are many home-grown ones as well. Many mid-size+ cities have a volunteer office that will help hook you up (though most will want to use you for English instruction and/or proofreading), which, while probably the best way you can be off use, might seem like an extension of your day job! It can be fun, though, making signs for a display or event. . . anyway, just more thoughts, even if they don't fight global warming. . . but darn it, I just need to turnn off my computer and enjoy what looks like a beautiful day! Just got a "new" bike:)

[Hypoxic]

Check out Earth Day Network, www.earthday.net. They have a calulated quiz that can approximate the size of your ecological footprint.
There are a bunch of little things that everyone can do to reduce their own personal impact on the climate, and the environment in general. The first thing is to get educated. From there, all things will stem.
Walk/bicycle more.
Buy local.
Cut back or eliminate your use of animal products.
Be energy efficient.
Cut back on waste.
Get involved with networks whose work involves environmental protection
Learn how to do all these things.

[rockboy]

Co2 gas emissions and Ozone depletion etc etc... I'm from a science background and have always been told the waters rising the waters rising! Things are heating up. Recycle, recycle!!! But There are scientists on both sides equally adamant that their view and their interpretation of the data is correct. In fact scientists interpreting the exact same data have skewed the statistics toward their point of view. Just remember the media is a scare tactic machine and scientists will drive their side to receive funding. Its a dog eat dog world in the WWW. of (http://www. of) science! Sure Co2 reflects heat, this is proven, no doubt! But is it enough to cause global warming? It's just speculation and theorizing there is actually no firm answer! As for recycling, paper is a waste of time, particularly if it's being re-bleached! Aluminium is about the only item economically viable in the world of recycling. Even so, I really hate all the packaging in this world, as consumers are we really demanding it? We should forget about recycling and change the companies packaging protocols.

ps. another reason your flights to Canada are killing the environment, actually this is more important than fuel consumption, so they say!!! Above 30,000 feet Jet streams are formed by the aircraft. you know the pretty white line of vapor coming off the wing tips. Anyway, this creates cloud cover which spreads out and forms new clouds (catalyst affect) which then reflect the sunlight from the earths surface back down to earth again, trapping the heat that would normally and naturally have escaped out into space. This, seemingly is a major problem, discussions are under way to enforce a lower upper flight ceiling. As there is less tendency for slipstreams to occur below a certain height.

My personal opinion is that, I am undecided:doh:

[Hypoxic]

I think one of the greatest proofs we have that global warming is a real threat can be found in one of chemistry's basic laws: when the temperature of a solution rises, less gas remains present in that solution. The carrying out of this law is easily being seen in the oceans, a huge carbon sink. We do know that temperatures are rising, and we also know that the temperature of oceans (the solution) is rising. This rise in the oceans' temperature is forcing the release of CO2 (the gas). This released CO2 in turn is increasing further the Earth's temperature, and that heat increase is releasing more CO2 from the oceans, and so on and so on. There are only estimates of how much CO2 is contained in the oceans, billions of tons perhaps. If huge amounts of CO2 are released from the oceans vast changes are bound to occur in Earth's atmosphere, resulting in grave changes in environment, ie. weather.

I completely agree with you on the issue of packaging. Controlling packaging is the first step to recycling.

You mentioned that you are from a science background, but what school of science did you study?

[rockboy]

I studiied Botany and Zoology double major then Marine science, post grad and masters. So I learnt all about the carbon cycles, water chemistry, oceanography, geology, statistics, pollution, aquaculture, and generally every other thing to do with the oceans. I also did resource management law and some climatology. I wrote several essys on the CO2 production and cycles of our oceans and atmosphere.


yes, we can see and measure increases in the ocean and atmopsheric temperatures, but we can't currently link it to the "Green house effect" caused by our gas emmissions and tree felling. Also I would just like to reiterate, I'm on the fence watching both sides, undecided and waiting further studies.

Some lesser known facts:
Of the three places where carbon is stored—atmosphere, oceans, and in the biosphere—approximately 93 percent of the CO2 is found in the oceans. The atmosphere, at about 750 petagrams of carbon (a petagram [Pg] is 10 X exponent 15 grams, 10 billion tons), has the smallest amount of carbon.
Approximately 90 to 100 Pg of carbon moves back and forth between the atmosphere and the oceans, and between the atmosphere and the land biosphere. Although these exchange rates are large relative to the total amount of carbon stored in the atmosphere, the concentration of CO2 is constant.
The oceans are able to hold much more carbon than the atmosphere because most of the CO2 that diffuses into the oceans reacts with the water to form carbonic acid and its dissociation products, bicarbonate and carbonate ions . The conversion of CO2 gas into nongaseous forms such as carbonic acid and bicarbonate and carbonate ions effectively reduces the CO2 gas pressure in the water, thereby allowing more diffusion from the atmosphere.
The ocean absorbs about one-third of all man-made carbon dioxide, and does it mainly in the cold regions because carbon dioxide dissolves easily into cold water. The carbon dioxide that gets absorbed by the Southern Ocean actually ends up moving into the subtropical latitudes and sinks into the deep subtropical ocean, where there is plenty of room to store more, so say the scientists.

Humans emit around 27 billion tons (2.7Pg) of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year. In the 1980s, the oceans removed an estimated 2.0±0.6 Pg of anthropogenic CO2 each year. Because humans are producing CO2 at an everincreasing rate, the average ocean removal rate increased to 2.4±0.5 Pg of carbon each year in the 1990s.
The uptake of anthropogenic CO2 by the oceans is driven by the difference in gas pressure in the atmosphere and in the oceans and by the air–sea transfer velocity. Because the pCO2 is increasing in the atmosphere, CO2 moves into the ocean in an attempt to balance the oceanic and atmospheric gas pressures.
The mechanisms that control the speed with which the CO2 gas can move from the atmosphere to the oceans (air–sea transfer velocity) are not well understood today.

All trees, and nearly all plants from cold climates, and most agricultural crops respond to increasing atmospheric CO2 levels by increasing the amount of CO2 they take up for photosynthesis . It is believed that the increased uptake in land plants from rising atmospheric CO2 levels roughly counterbalanced the CO2 released from cutting down tropical rain forests and other agricultural practices in the decade of the 1980s.

In the 1990s, the land biosphere was estimated to take up approximately 1 Pg more CO2 than it released each year.

Studies also show that if things warm up, more of the microscopic plants that use carbon dioxide will arrive in the area and help compensate by their using CO2 in repiration. It is widely believed that the oceans will eventually absorb 80-90 percent of the CO2 in the atmosphere and transfer it to the deep ocean. However, the kinetics of ocean uptake are very slow.
So scientisits are thinking up ways to speed up the process, like;
The addition of iron chelates (a micronutrient) to high nutrient, low chlorophyll (HNLC) regions, in order to increase the drawdown of CO2 as a result of stimulated phytoplankton blooms.
The addition of nitrates and phosphorus (macronutrients) to low nutrient, low chlorophyll (LNLC) ocean regions in order to acheive the sme goal.
The direct injection of CO2 into the deep ocean. However,the knowledge base is inadequate to determine what biological, physical or chemical impacts might occur from interaction of this hydrate plume with the marine ecosystem.

work it out from the above figures 2.7Pg C02 Produced by humans each year 2.4 Pg absorbed by ocean 1Pg by trees, more than balances, but all these figure are various scientists estimations, So once again I am back on the fence waiting!

[climbergrrl]

Thanks for a lot of good information. :) I always like to hear more regarding this topic from any reasonable viewpoint.

You are correct in saying, and I do realize, that there is no unquestionable evidence regarding the link between the increase in the atmospheric temperature and the 'greenhouse effect'. But, as I'm sure you know after studying in that field for so long, science can only bring us so far. As we know, science is never the 'final' answer. It is a method of examining and testing what we see, and is fully based on of theories and hypotheses. As you have pointed out, two scientists can look at the same experiment and form two entirely different conclusions/new hypotheses/what have you, and those conclusions/hypotheses are continually changing in every area of science.

People will always find some reason to excuse or even support their behaviour, or take no action at all on an issue, whether it is good or really is harmful. Up until a couple of years ago, there was no empirical evidence that smoking was a direct cause of lung (and other forms of) cancer. But, people still chose not to smoke because sometimes we have to rely on our minds and intuition to tell us what is good or not, even when there is a lack of (or a plethora of) scientific information out there. I guess I just feel that regardless of science, it's a good thing if I try to consume less in every way, including fuel consumption, and try to support those who are improving the state of our environment, and encourage others to do so too. (If anyone feels that it would be better for the environment and the health of all the organisms that depend on it if we all consumed more, please let me know your reasons for that thinking. ;) )

I truly hope that no one feels the need to defend themselves regarding any of the posts I've placed regarding care of the environment. I just thought that there are a lot of people with similar environmental concerns out there, and hope that we can share information which may be of interest to all of us. But definitely, keep the information and discussion going, every angle is welcome...:)

[climbergrrl]

Studies also show that if things warm up, more of the microscopic plants that use carbon dioxide will arrive in the area and help compensate by their using CO2 in repiration. It is widely believed that the oceans will eventually absorb 80-90 percent of the CO2 in the atmosphere and transfer it to the deep ocean. However, the kinetics of ocean uptake are very slow.
So scientisits are thinking up ways to speed up the process, like;
The addition of iron chelates (a micronutrient) to high nutrient, low chlorophyll (HNLC) regions, in order to increase the drawdown of CO2 as a result of stimulated phytoplankton blooms.
The addition of nitrates and phosphorus (macronutrients) to low nutrient, low chlorophyll (LNLC) ocean regions in order to acheive the sme goal.
The direct injection of CO2 into the deep ocean. However,the knowledge base is inadequate to determine what biological, physical or chemical impacts might occur from interaction of this hydrate plume with the marine ecosystem.

It's true that the earth is probably widely able to compensate in variable ways for the damage that humans are causing it. But just because an organism is able to continue functioning and compensate for imbalances/illnesses/weaknessesmissing limbs/etc. does not mean it is in an ideal, healthy state. I just think it would be good if we could maintain a healthy world in general.

Also, for some reason, I don't like the idea of scientists trying to 'inject CO2' into the oceans. Again, I think that, generally speaking, prevention is the best cure. We still truly know so little about our environment, what is our intended 'quick-fix medicine' has rather severe and unexpected side-effects?

[rockboy]

...........I just think it would be good if we could maintain a healthy world in general.

Also, for some reason, I don't like the idea of scientists trying to 'inject CO2' into the oceans. Again, I think that, generally speaking, prevention is the best cure.,,,................

Like I said I'm on the fence watching both sides, but I agree completely with what you said. Just thought I would throw the other side in so everyone sees the full picture, well some of it anyways:) .

[skinsk]

Interesting "debate"!!

I do think sometimes we are a little spoiled today. We do not want to give up anything. . . our consumerism, our cars, etc. . . we want quick fix pills to make us thin and happy (my students want magical secrets to help them learn English) . . . when the solution requires sacrafice, energy and committment. I agree 100% with Dee on intuition. We know, even if we choose to remain ignorant of the "scientific" or whatever data, what we should do, but sometimes we just want that instant gratification in whatever form it takes. We figure someone (the government, the doctor, some scientists somewhere) will fix it for us, and choose to live as though there were no consequences.

Truth is, the only person I have control over is ME and if I want the world to be a certain way, I'd best begin with making better decisions for myself. It's a lifelong project, but since obviously my government isn't doing anything (and yours ain't doing much either!) . . . I'll try to do my best. Best yet, I've met so many other people who feel the same, that working on myself and causes I feel passionately about to change myself/my commmunity/the world has become an active community-building and spiritual experience.

At any rate, nice insights. You can go back to your original discussion:) Thanks! Peace.

[Ricky]

Hey Rock boy!! That's so funny, that's my third year Oceanography paper summed up to a T. I swear to god this is the first post I've read on this site where I wasn't thinking...I wonder what they mean by xxxxxx.