Climate Change is Real.

The effects of climate change resulting from increasing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere include things that have been happening, things that have recently gotten worse and things to happen in the future.  Some of the future effects may depend on things that are not yet well understood.  That means that we can be fairly sure about some things, especially those that are already happening.  These effects will continue, and they are likely to get more extreme.  To really go into future projections would require writing that's longer than what's in a typical book.  A book written by Climate scientists is  Dire Predictions ,  Dire Predictions, 2nd Edition: Understanding Climate Change: Michael E. Mann, Lee R. Kump: 9781465433640: Amazon.com: Books Current effects that are likely to continue and to be amplified: 1.  On the average the Earth is getting warmer, but this is not happening evenly.  The Arctic region is warming faster than any oth...

There are several different natural disasters that might emerge from the combination of global warming and ecosystem destruction. In no particular order, the following are all definite possibilities. Melting of the Greenland and Antartica ice fields are both impacting ocean currents. These ocean currents are instrumental in determining rainfall patterns and local climates all over the world. If these currents shifts substantially, agricultural production will probably be dramatically impacted, very possibly in many parts of the world all at once. This would lead to massive food shortages and world-wide famines. As the climate warms, the threat of pandemics carried by insects moving into new areas also increases. Some of the diseases have very high mortality rates and almost no effective treatments other than isolating the sick and palliative measures for the infected. If one of these diseases escapes to become a pandemic, we could have many millions of fatalities. Ecosystem col...

First and foremost,  individuals matter . In fact, individuals are the only way we're going to be able to achieve anything related to environmental conservation. Source reduction-  This is way more effective than anything anyone else will suggest. Yes, recycling is awesome (and reusing even better), but assessing your needs and avoiding excess consumption is the most environmentally sound way to go about buying something. Invest in reusable products-  Get a nice, BPA free water bottle. Find a really sturdy mechanical pencil- my metal one has lasted me about three years now. Grow your own food-  It's quite common in Poland (and much of eastern Europe) to grow your own vegetables and can them for the winter, but since I moved to the United States, I've noticed it's less common here. I don't know if that's a cultural thing, but I find it very interesting! Invest in local business-  By spending your money wisely, not only are you providing economic stimulus f...

Nobody aspires to be poor, but the problem arises when one wants to eat the cake and have it too.  Sustainable Development  is a popular term being used since the eighties to essentially emphasize the importance of pursuing economic development in a way which also takes care of inter-generational and intra-generational equity. There is a humongous amount of literature available on the subject , let us look at the basics first. One, the difference between Growth and Development. Whereas growth is generally measured in terms of increments in per capita GDP or exports or industrial production, development is a broad based concept that includes quality of life parameters such as healthcare, education and quality of ambient air and water as well. Two, the distinction between the terms sustained and sustainable. A sustained pace of growth may or may or not be sustainable. So what is sustainability all about ?  In a nutshell, it is about the economic developmental pr...

I find that global warming  is  a serious issue, alth0ugh second to the possibility of nuclear war, and that it could potentially destroy our way of life and planet as we know it. Note I did not say destroy Earth because that would be too extreme; there will likely be some organisms or even humans left to rebuild in the rubble. However, if left unchecked, it can and will trigger a disaster. Here's an analysis: if the temperature goes up another few degrees, methane pockets underneath the oceans will be able to burst. Also, large amounts of methane hidden under ice, with the ice gone, will be able to emerge. Here's the point:  methane, CH4, is an even stronger greenhouse gas than CO2, somewhere on the scale of ten times stronger.  And after that the greenhouse effect will go runaway until the methane decomposes into carbon dioxide. Many skeptics at this point would say, bah, the Earth's temperature hasn't gone up / has barely gone up / is simply undergoing natural...