Posts Tagged ‘Climate’
Help Your Business with Carbon And Energy Management
June 18, 2013 | 
Author Help Your Business with Carbon And Energy Management
Energy efficiency and reduced energy consumption are becoming mainstays of business accounting as initiatives for carbon footprint reduction. Economies of the future now consider carbon as a commodity, as it is a liability for companies throughout the entire world.
Legislation has and will create markets for carbon trading, which could add another column on the balance sheet. As the society is already becoming very much aware of the adverse effects of carbon to the environment, pressure from the society for companies to be responsive to their energy consumption and carbon footprint will continue to increase.
Environmental sustainability may not be handled by a department or administered by the role of a junior member of staff. Carbon emissions must be addressed as a critical element of an organization's existence. To slow down the already felt impacts of climate change, sustainable planning should be measurable, visible and real being part of each corporate requirements, afterall how can you reduce that which you do not measure?
Collaborative approaches in energy and carbon management are now starting to emerge as the traditional systems are just not that holistic in approaching the problem. Sustainability resource planning software is an example of a software-as-a-service approach and is a way that distributed organizations can address this issue from the ground up as they move toward compliance.
The new-age energy management and carbon management systems will be heavily software-based that could monitor, report, and manage emissions which are consequences of energy consumption. A variety of IT systems already exist within the typical organization, designed to handle employee, customer, financial, raw material and finished product management. Carbon and energy management systems will become a critical addition to existing software systems and will be based on the need for greater operational efficiency, enhanced communications, mandated compliance and reputation differentiation.
Traditional methods of accounting are no longer acceptable in addressing problems of energy management and in reducing consequent greenhouse gas emissions.
Companies are able to use carbon and energy management software to gather data from the asset level, calculating the true cost of ownership for all their assets, engage energy supply and demand management products, analyze and process utility bills, manage carbon emissions and other critical resources.
According to a market overview of carbon and energy management systems, these systems are in the early stage of adoption, but such sustainability software will become a high priority as energy management in general becomes a clear focus of attention.
At Be Seen Go Green, we offer solutions for a variety of Environmental issues. Please click on the following link to contact us.
Posted in Carbon accounting, carbon emissions, Carbon footprint, Carbon management, carbon reduction, Climate Change, CO2, CRC, CSR, eee, Energy, Environmental accounting, Footprint, ghg emissions, Green IT | 
Tags: Business, carbon, carbon reduction, Change, Climate, Corporate, Ecosystems, Emissions, EMS, Energy, Enterprise, Environment, ENVIRONMENTAL, environmental management system, Footprint, ghg reporting, Green, Greenhouse, Help, Management, Money, Reduce, Responsibility | 
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Evidence and Effects of Climate Change
It is now indisputable fact that the Earth has warmed by 0.74°C over the last hundred years, with 0.4°C of this occurring since the 1970s and the majority of scientific bodies now agree that climate change is a genuine and major issue, possibly the greatest environmental challenge that modern civilisation has faced.
The latest report (the Fourth Assessment Report) from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) leaves little doubt that human activity is the main cause of these changes. At present more than 7 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide are emitted each year through global fossil fuel use, with a further 1.6 billion tonnes emitted by change in land use, mainly deforestation. The concentration of green house gases in the atmosphere has reached 430ppm CO2 equivalent a level not seen for tens of thousands of years.
The Fourth Assessment Report from the IPCC states that mean global temperatures are likely to rise between 1.1°C and 6.4°C above 1990 levels by the end of this century, depending on our emissions. This increase in temperature will result in a further rise in world sea levels of between 20 and 60cm, also by the end of the century. Ice caps, glaciers and sea ice will continue to melt, rainfall patterns will change and tropical cyclones will intensify. Across the globe there will be more extreme heat waves, droughts and flooding. Food shortages as arable land becomes unusable and the spread of diseases such as malaria are frequently predicted. There could be severe water shortages as well, with groundwater suffering from salination as sea levels rise.
Governments, businesses and individuals all need to act together to secure our future on the planet.
Sources:
UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs DEFRA
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IPCC
Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change Sir Nicholas Stern, Head of the UK Government Economic Service, October 2006
US National Center for Atmospheric Research – NCAR
For more information and insight into climate change, carbon offsets and energy - GoGreen
Change the Rules, Change the Games; New Thinking on Climate Change Solutions
“Life is a game full of games. There is no getting around the games of life. The question is not whether we will play the games but rather: What games will we play? and How well will we play them? The more we accept and understand any game, the better we are able to play it.” Laurence G Boult
Many believe that rugby was born in 1823 when William Webb Ellis “with fine disregard for the rules of football as played in his time at Rugby school, first took the ball in his arms and ran with it, thus originating the distinctive feature of the Rugby game”.
Change happens when people act “with fine disregard for the rules” but there is an important caveat: the others playing the game need to join in virtually simultaneously. After all, the other plays could have easily cried “foul” and keep playing by the existing rules (or, as one guy at my primary school used to do, declare the action so heinous that he deserved a penalty regardless of where on the field of play the offence took place). But they didn’t. They played along and a new sport was born.
Life is often referred to as a game. In today’s industrial civilisation, the rules of the game of life are governed by money or, more particularly the rules of accountancy. When we make “rational” decisions the money aspect will almost always feature. But there is a very strange feature to these rules. They operate as if the world comes for free. No cost is put onto the services that the environment gives us: clean air, fresh water, cooling forests.
This has led us into some very strange behaviour. While we believe we are making progress materially, we are simultaneously destroying the ecosystem of the planet. One in five species of mammals, one in three amphibians and one in seven birds are extinct or globally threatened. Climate change will simply make these numbers worse.
We need new thinking to find climate change solutions so, if our “rational” behaviour is wrecking the place, why don’t we change the rules?
There is a new organisation that is sponsored by the G8 and five major developing economies that is championing just that. It is called The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity and it is has just published its draft report on the global economic benefit of biodiversity, the costs of the loss of biodiversity and the failure to take protective measures versus the cost of conservation. It has drawn on expertise from around the world to evaluate the costs of the loss of biodiversity and the associated decline in ecosystem services worldwide. The intent of the study is to sharpen awareness of the value of biodiversity and ecosystem services (which are estimated in to be in excess of US$2.5 trillion) and try and work out how to change the rules of accountancy so that the cost of using the planet is properly accounted for.
One scheme they should look at is the fee and dividend ideas of James Hansen. He makes the simple observation that as long as fossil fuels are the cheapest energy, their use will continue and even increase on a global basis. Fossil fuels are cheapest because they are not made to pay for their effects on human health, the environment, and future climate.
Governments must place a uniform rising price on carbon, collected at the fossil fuel source – the mine or port of entry. 100% of the fee should be given to the public, as a uniform dividend, payroll tax deduction, or both.
In the UK, for example, if the charge was £100 per tonne of carbon dioxide each individual would receive a dividend of about £1000 per year. Prices of stuff made with energy derived from fossil fuels would go up but now the basis of choice would be different. The average electricity bill would go up about £430 per year if the electricity comes from coal but only about £50 per year if it came from renewable energy sources. Now the rational decision really is rational.
A simple change of the rules that can transform how we play the game.
Al Gore's Fight Against Climate Change, Leading From The Front
By now you should be familiar with the name Al Gore – not only did he serve as Vice President from 1993 to 2001 under President Clinton, but he also ran for presidency in 2000 against George Bush; despite winning the popular vote he lost the election. Today however, Al Gore is primarily associated with another topic – and that is global warming. In fact, the younger generation may recognize the name mainly from the film “An Inconvenient Truth”.
But in reality, Al Gore is a bigger pioneer and activist against global warming than one might think; to the point where has become the most influential figure in the fight against climate change today. But Al Gore has done more than just write a book and star in a movie about global warming; he is actually working to help make a change and has even been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work. Let’s take a look at some of the other things Al Gore has done in the effort to combat climate change and global warming.
- The Alliance for Climate Protection. Created by Mr. Gore in 2006 and funded primarily by Al Gore’s own work, and receiving a portion of their funding from the nationally-recognized Live Earth concerts, their main goal is to enlighten and educate the public on the dangers of global warming and climate change in the 21st century.
- Live Earth. A series of concerts under the name of “Live Earth”, which Al Gore was at least partially responsible for planning and organizing. The Live Earth 2007 events took place all over the world, in locations such as Tokyo, London, Rome, Washington D.C., New Jersey, and even Antarctica, just to name a few. Events were also broadcast to radios, televisions, and even streamed on the internet in order to reach as many viewers as possible.
- Numerous speeches and interviews. Over the past several years, Gore has been a relentless crusader in spreading his message. He’s appeared on all of the major television networks and news programs, and he has been interviewed for every major publication you can think of – all of which helps to nail his point home.
- Redesigned his house to meet stricter environmental standards. Because Al Gore truly believes in the need to combat climate change and global warming, he has even given his own home an overhaul; renovations which have earned his home the second highest rating for sustainable design by the U.S. Green Building Council.
How We Slept Through the Climate Alarm
Until the end of the 20th Century, most scientists thought they understood the nature of our climate system. As the very foundation of their science, geologists cherished the “uniformitarian principle” that held that the fundamental forces that molded the Earth’s features and climate were gradual, natural, stable processes that did not vary over time scales less than tens of thousands of years.
This idea became central to their training through a century of debate over natural catastrophes such as the biblical account of Noah’s flood. The concept of catastrophic climate change became ‘tainted by association’ with creationist zealots seeking scientific backing for fundamentalist interpretations of Bible passages. And so, such stories came to be considered as purely supernatural events, with no place within the objectivity of science.
Any evidence to the contrary…and there was, in retrospect, plenty of it… was at first readily dismissed. Sudden climate change in the Earth’s past was blurred by imperfect data and lack of refinement in early scientific methods. Where abrupt changes in the geological record were indisputable, these were written off as regional curiosities, arising from purely local impacts – such as a forest fire or the introduction of agriculture – impacts that had nothing to do with climate.
Until dating methods were perfected, chronological correlation of data collected at different locations around the globe was not possible, and even when it was possible, was not at first even pursued. Global changes in climate had different effects in different areas, further complicating the issue and obscuring the true scope of abrupt, world-wide climate shifts.
In fact, the uniformitarian climate paradigm was scarcely doubted until the 1950′s when a group of scientists set up a physical ocean system model that demonstrated that circulation could flip rapidly from one stable state to another. Scientists began to concede that change may only take thousands of years.
This view of the change-rate capacity of climate was reduced to mere hundreds of years in subsequent decades, beginning in the early 1960′s when mathematical models that incorporated climate feedback factors such as snow and ice cover (albedo effects) suggested that global climate really could change enormously in a relatively short time.
In the mid 1960′s deep sea sediment cores finally revealed that the planet had experienced several ice-age cycles of gradual glacial buildups over 90,000 year intervals, punctuated by more rapid 10,000 year de-glaciations. Because of the huge lag between global climate shifts and deep sea temperature responses, even this data belied the extreme magnitude of changes on the surface oceans, land masses and atmosphere.
However, with their old ideas now challenged by these new theories, scientists began to notice the evidence of abrupt changes in their data. Pollen records and improved carbon dating techniques in the 1970′s depicted stable climate periods interrupted by radical discontinuities that took only one or two centuries to totally change the vegetation of a region.
Since then, evidence from other studies such as cores of glacial ice and ocean sediments, has continued to accumulate as methodologies have been progressively refined. This has further built justification for heroic research, by intrepid teams braving hazardous conditions on heaving oceans or bitter, high altitude polar ice sheets, to win samples deep and distinct enough to provide an unambiguous picture of the Earth’s geological and climatic past, a picture that shows that violent, spectacular short-term shifts were common.
As a result, scientists en masse were beginning to entertain the possibility of abrupt change, this new attitude reflected in a statement from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in a 1996 report that concluded that ‘climate surprises’ were possible. The point was not emphasized at the time, and received little press attention. Many scientists also passively rejected the facts by refusing to revise their accustomed ways of thinking about climate.
Not until 2000 did paired ice-cores, extracted by competing teams in Greenland, match to show irrevocable proof of abrupt climate shifts taking effect over mere decades (see R.B. Alley’s book ‘The Two-Mile Time Machine’). Similar cores were drilled in Antarctica and revealed the global scale of the shifts. This forced the climate community to arrive at consensus.
Now respected climate scientists concur that the potential for fast climate change evidently does exist, and could surprise humanity with a climate shock within the lifetimes of you and I. However, the new paradigm has not extended beyond geoscientists to the impacts community – economists and other specialists are slow to turn their attention to the consequences of climate change, and policy makers and the public are even more ignorant of the risks humanity faces.
Because science has been late to wake up to climate change, crucial information about the potential behavior of our climate has only very recently come to light. Relentlessly emerging climate surprises have thrown into painful relief just how inadequate our understanding of the climate system remains. Like a snowball rolling down a mountain, climate change is gathering momentum, racing ahead of even the most pessimistic predictions.
Will you be ready?
Global warming effect, and is it affecting our climate?
The 7 islands of the past Mumbai is now one small narrowing island, 25 miles long by 2 to 7 miles long, as seen in the settlement photo, linked to the mainland in the north-west, separated by an estuary. A part of this area is a water reservoir catchment (Borivili National Park) with two small lakes (Vihar, Powai) and its long snaking estuary, the Mithi river which also carries the cities waste water and industrial effects through 5 main outfalls (Borivali, Goregaon-Malad, Versova, BKC and Love-Grove - Worli) on the west and few on the east side (Mulund, Vikhroli, Trombay, Sewri-Wadala). In spite of this, there were “floods” and overkill rain is not the only reason.
Global warming
Keeping in mind one of the major environmentalists anxiety – lack of public awareness on Global warming; let us assess its impact. Also where wills the recent Bali Conference on climate change leads us. There were deep argues at Bali and 190 countries chalked out the Bali roadmap. But the thought battle was for developing countries like India and China. Today global warming is no longer just a panicky idea chiefly for India. The ripples of the climate conference in Bali spread to Mumbai. A day after the consultation ended thousands of Mumbaikars unplugged their electrical devices for one hour to save Keeping in mind one of the major environmentalists concern – lack of public awareness energy.
The IPCC report on climate change says India’s coastlines are the most helpless and so are its glaciers in the Himalayas where the meltdown has been alarming in recent years. Mumbai faces danger, as a large part of it is on broken land and the mangroves of the Sundarbans in West Begnal are losing chunks of landmass to the sea. Locals in Sundarban are planting Mango saplings, in an effort to ease the effects of climate change, to protect the islands against the hungry tide. India negotiated head on at Bali to be heard by developed nations. But more significant than reports and big numbers are people’s plan for conservation begins at home. So far work done related to global warming is mainly confined to research, conferences, seminars and workshops. But in India, the general population has very little knowledge about the burning subject of global warming. Efforts must be taken as early as possible to make awareness about it.
Government authorities and NGOs must take the plan in this matter. India, whose economy has grown by 8-9 per cent a year in recent years, is one of the world’s top polluters, contributing around 4 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions as its consumption of relic fuels gathers pace. But as a developing nation, India is not required to cut emissions — said to be rising by between 2 and 3 per cent a year — under the Kyoto Protocol, although mounting pressure from environmental groups and industrialized nations. As far as steps being taken, the government is doing its bit at least in fractions but this needs a grass root level planning including every individual. The urban crowd sure knows what it means but the rural kind hasn’t even heard the term in large. Let me ask a few questions and at the end we’ll know whether we have done enough to prevent global warming
1. Have we stopped using our vehicles even to the near by grocery store? We instead even use it to reach the beach where we take a walk.
2. Have we tested our vehicles for emission check?
3. Do we switch off lights when it’s not in use? We instead switch it on even in broad day light. Some even fit in dozens of lights to make the place glow and create a good ambience.
4. Have we once thought of what happens to the garbage we throw out every day? All we know is the municipality workers remove it from our front doors each morning and keep our streets clean.
5. Have we stopped to burn those dry dead leaves in our garden?
6. Do we stop to think before using logs to burn fire to keep us warm?
7. We all have a good amt of cloth bags stacked at home yet for fashion sense don’t we all use plastic bags? From the flimsy ones we get in local stores to the large colorful ones in huge malls and brands?
8. Don’t we buy those plastic containers while we have our traditional vessels and containers made of mud or other usable metals?
9. Even while using plastic containers, do we look for bio degradable variety?
10. Do we stop to think before cutting down trees for logs or wood to use for various purposes?
11. Do we use natural waste for our plants or choose chemical pesticides?
12. Do we unplug appliances after its use?
13. Have we tried to at least think of solar energy in any way, leave alone switching to it?
14. Have we understood or at least try to understand the terms: Recyclable or Biodegradable?
15. Don’t we all waste water even in times when two states in India are fighting their right towards a river?
16. Finally, have any of us planted a tree?
The answer to most of this or even all of this is a Big NO. Then, now, you know where India and its citizens stand in preventing global warming .If each of us follow at least half of what is asked above at least once in a while, am sure we’ll be in a better earth.
Plant a tree once in your lifetime and enjoy the way u feels inside. Get used to ecological goods and recycling your waste. Those broken glass jars or crushed plastic containers can always be recycled. Use your raw kitchen waste for your plants. They would look healthier than with the chemicals.
Kindly use public transport once in a while or better walk to your near by places as and when possible. It’s good to walk besides saving earth!
There are several distinct reasons for the many contributing causes of Mumbai’s floods, and we have to address each in turn:
Why did the Mithi River flood?
1. Because its mouth had been constricted to a third of its original width by unnecessary reclamation of land to construct rails, roads – mainly the Bandra?Worli sea?link and at the Love Grove, Worli Outfall. The proliferation of slums along the coastline, mudflats and the Mithi River has also been a contributor. The reclamation of 400 acres of dense mangroves at Goregaon?Malad Link road and 100 acres at Lokhandwala for commercial and residential complexes are few of the other reasons which add to the blatant violation of CRZ rules by the builder lobby in connivance with the bureaucracy and politicians.
2. Large scale reclamation and destruction of mangroves for the construction of the once Kalina low lying area by the State Government for Airport expansion and Runway extension being built at Mumbai Airport, right across Mithi River (left, below), and the Bandra?Kurla Complex by MMRDA contributed too. The Satellite picture shows one runway actually bridging the river, and another with the river diverted around one end.
Also, the Mithi River does not have any “floodbanks” to speak of anymore, due to uncontrolled construction on sides, defying common sense & environmental precaution. The salt?pans of Bhandup and Mulund and the mangroves at Vikhroli and Ghatkopar have been damaged and reclaimed by MHADA and slum lords
What about Mumbaikar?
It has become increasingly plain that the government along with BMC, the Collectorate, and Pollution Control Board has aligned their interests with those of the construction industry and slum lords, and regrettably against the interest of the people of Mumbai. The outrage against these agencies is gaining voice and the situation is akin to the emergency situation in some of our neighboring countries, only that there are many dictators. The utter neglect about the welfare of its citizens is an insult to injury to the Mumbaikars who contributes Rs.58,000 Cores to the national exchequer every year.
Farm Animals and Climate Change
Farm Animals and Climate Change Dr.Kedar Karki Introduction At least a billion of the world’s poorest people depend on animals for food, fiber, income, social status, security, and companionship. Climate change is expected to cause an increase in weather-related disasters and extreme weather events, such as droughts, heat waves, storms, desertification, and increases in insect infestations. Long-term changes in climate will jeopardize the future of all animals—including those in oceans, on farms, in forests, in wilderness areas, and in our homes. All climate change related hazards and their related disasters have a negative impact on animals. Animal agriculture the raising of animals for food, clothing, and draught power is a major contributor to climate change, responsible for 18% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (9 % CO2, 37 % methane and 65 % N2O). Climatic changes will have a negative impact on all animals, but particularly livestock who are associated with certain activities that directly contribute to climate change. It is therefore imperative that animal agriculture practices and the welfare of animals be considered when developing climate change policies and programmes, both as potential victims and causes. Such policies and programmes that minimize the impact animal production has on the environment should not be at the expense of animals and/or their caregiver’s welfare. The climate debate may lead to a greater increase in intensive production practices at the expense of medium and long term environmental and animal welfare friendly extensive production methods. Harming the health and well-being of animals directly compromises the societal, economical, physiological, and cultural aspects of humans. Effects of Climate Change on the Spread and Emergence of Animal Diseases As global temperatures increase, the effects will be quite complex and vary from region to region. Though the extent of these effects is uncertain, it is known that those communities and regions with the least resources, such as rural agricultural areas , will be the most vulnerable to climate change. Warmer and wetter weather (particularly warmer winters) will increase the risk and occurrence of animal diseases, as certain species who serve as disease vectors, such as biting flies and ticks, are more likely to survive year-round. Certain existing parasitic diseases may also become more prevalent, or their geographical range may spread, if rainfall increases. This may contribute to an increase in disease spread, including Zoonotic diseases. Transportation of animals for personal, entertainment, or agricultural purposes also increases the possibility for the introduction and subsequent presence of diseases and pests, including ticks and parasites, previously considered exotic. The viral infection Bluetongue Disease, for example, was once only a threat in Africa, now affects cattle and sheep in the whole of Europe. Conditions inherent in industrial animal agriculture facilities can increase the emergence of diseases that affect humans and animals alike. Outbreaks of diseases such as Foot & Mouth Disease or Avian Influenza affect very large numbers of animals and contribute to further degradation of the environment and surrounding communities’ health and livelihood. Effects of Climate Change on Farm Animals and Their Caregivers Animals are intrinsically dependent on the environment, and any fluctuations in weather and climate can affect them through water and land changes, such as desertification, and feed and water availability, access, and appropriateness. Climate change will not only impact the health and welfare of animals, but also the more than billion people who depend on them. Desertification and climate change are inextricably linked through feedbacks between land degradation and precipitation: less rain leads to soil compaction and hardening, making the land unable to absorb rainwater. This could have disastrous effects as rain becomes less frequent but heavier. The increased use of chemical-based agricultural inputs, including artificial fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides, and their impact on soil and water quality will likely exacerbate the effects of climate change by further degrading other ecosystems such as coral reefs and rivers, decreasing the land’s ability to produce food. It is much easier for farmers in developed countries to endure a climatic setback than those in poorer nations such as Malawi, where 80% of the population lives in rural areas and approximately 40% of the economy is supported by rain-fed agriculture. For example, as grazing areas dry up in sub-Saharan Africa, pastoralists will be forced to travel farther to find food. Cattle, goats, camels, sheep, and wildlife dependant on access to grazing areas for food will suffer. This will lead to greater conflict between people and between people and animals.Resources must be made available to educate and prepare for change if the negative impacts of climate change on animals suffering is to be minimized. Effects of Farm Animal Agriculture on Climate Change Not only are the effects of climate change on animal welfare important, but also the contributions of animal production to climate change due to the contribution to GHGs and energy consumption. Unfortunately, many studies and recommendations do not take into account multiple causes and effects, thus significantly restricting the potential outcomes. Livestock agriculture accounts for 35-40% of methane and nearly 70% of nitrous oxide worldwide, gases that arise mainly from the digestive processes of animals, and animals’ waste. Levels will continue to rise as animal numbers grow to meet the increasing demands for meat and milk from developing countries such as China and India. Agricultural emissions of nitrous oxide from manure and the production of artificial fertilisers are projected to increase by 35-60% by 2030 . Some developing regions will have very large increases, including parts of East Asia with an increase of 135% from enteric fermentation and 86% for manure management. Deforestation for animal production accounts for 89.5% of all CO2 livestock related emission and 34% of CO2, CH4, and N2O emissions. The increased production of beef in South America and soybean production for feed transported to Europe is leading to deforestation of the rain forest, which has a great impact on the emission of GHG. Soybean production for feed also causes losses of biodiversity and chemical pollution. Western Europe is the only region whose emissions are falling and predicted to continue to decrease by 2020, but that does not include these areas used for feed production in other parts of the world. With good management, animals genetically suited to their environments and raised in low-density systems can play important roles in proper land management through consuming biomass unsuitable for human consumption. Grazing animals can contribute to a rich biodiversity, fertilizing the soil, and improving the land’s ability to collect and absorb water. Agricultural and pasture lands can act as “carbon sinks,” pulling and storing carbon from the atmosphere. Sustainable land management practices, such as agro forestry, silvo-pastures, and growing cover crops, can prevent carbon from being lost. By contrast, poorly managed, high-density and intensive practices and systems are typically inhumane and destructive to the environment. Ensuring adequate animal welfare can also help to reduce GHG emissions and ultimately the future sustainability of meat, egg, and milk production. While animal agriculture emits significant amounts of CO2 through the production of fertilizers and feed, and the energy required to heat and cool industrial operations and run farm machinery, the farm animal agriculture sector emits enormous quantities of nitrous oxide and methane emissions from animal manure, methane emissions from animals’ digestion, and nitrous oxide emissions from the artificial fertilizer used to grow feed crops for animals. There is a great deal of research demonstrating how changes to agricultural practices might h
elp alleviate climate change; however, comparisons between different farming methods and land use change are complex and the findings from different research studies are often contradictory. Farming methods are varied in their effect on climate change, the environment, people, and the animals. Industrial pig and bird production, for example, is a significant source of GHG emissions and is predicted to become even greater with countries such China and India increasing production. On the other hand the more intense the production the less GHG emission per kg of product. There is a lack of research comparing organic or pasture-raised versus conventional or industrial animal agriculture and energy use. Most studies to date do not include a complete life cycle analysis of all the “ingredients” that go into animal agriculture, including land use changes (deforestation or the clearing of grasslands or pastures to produce crops for animal feed) and the amount of energy used to produce and transport fertilizer, antibiotics, feed, animals, and animal products. While it is difficult to compare species, regions, and farming systems some studies indicate that production of cattle, followed by dairy cows, pigs, and birds is the most damaging to the environment when considering such factors as the type of GHG emission, manure and industrial wastes, water use, production system, feed conversion, and land requirements , . However, these studies do not consider the effect agriculture production has on the animal or on the surrounding communities. Birds raised for meat and eggs are, just as other farmed animals including fish, sentient individuals recognized as such by various governments. While decreasing beef and increasing poultry production could potentially reduce GHG emissions, the acceptability of such policies are limited by decreased welfare of birds in agricultural systems, increased potential for disease outbreaks as well as point source environmental contamination. Industrial animal production facilities require significant amounts of feed, antibiotics, and water to operate and produce huge quantities of manure, with dangerous concentrations of heavy metals, antibiotics and other drugs, and pathogens, such as E. coli, which can pollute the soil and water. In contrast, farm animals reared in more extensive systems, which are less water-reliant and provide for reduced disease transmission, typically use local resources and their manure can be efficiently utilized as a source of fertilizers, thus avoiding artificial fertilizers. Organic agriculture and small diverse farming has the potential to contribute substantially to global food supply while reducing detrimental environmental impacts. But this has been done at a cost that has left deep physical, biological and social scars that now need the full attention of the scientific, moral and political authorities.
Climate Change Solution: For A Better and Fruitful Tomorrow
The drastic climate change caused by global warming has constituted to be one of the greatest challenges of the 21st Century. The enormity of global warming can be daunting and disastrous. This has necessitated the engagement and contribution of all the sections of the society, whether local or global. Each one must come forward, join hands and take initiative to combat this grave issue. The question is frequently raised as to “What can one person, or even one nation, do to slow and reverse climate change?” A single contribution towards climate control can make a huge difference. In order to avoid the fatal consequences of global warming, it becomes imperative to generate and support initiatives contributing towards achieving a low carbon economy and clean technology future.
Some personal changes in the lifestyles can help in reducing greenhouse gas emissions to safer levels and can reduce the carbon impact. A crucial step can taken towards climate change is eliminating the burning of coal, oil and, eventually, natural gas. This can prove to an exemplary climate change solution. But, this is the most intimidating challenge since richer nations literally eat, wear, work, play and even sleep on the products made from such fossilized sunshine. And citizens of developing nations are not ready to make a shift from their normal comforts, which are largely due to the energy stored in such fuels.
One must keep on inventing and searching for modes to reduce the fatal effects of climate change. One way to curtail transportation fuel is to move closer to work, use mass transit, or switch to walking, cycling or some other mode of transport that does not require anything other than human energy. This is immensely helpful to protect our home from any disastrous aftermaths. A potentially simpler and most effective way is just being efficient and a little bit more careful. Many of us consciously or unconsciously are profligate wasters of energy, whether by speeding in a gas-guzzling sport-utility vehicle or leaving the lights on when not in a room. By being a little more conscious, we can prove worthy of living as beings of this world and fulfilling our duties.
Another mode is by purchasing carbon credits; you can easily compensate your carbon footprints. (Carbon footprint is a measure of the impact of our activities on the environment, and in particular on climate change). You can also organize an annual Climate Change Solutions Expo. As the saying goes “A stitch in time saves nine”. In the same way, if you take a little initiative now towards your home and the environment, it would turn out to be fruitful and can save immense effort and damages later.
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About Climate And Its Periodic Change
Climate monitoring is vital to further advance our understanding of the complexity of the climate system and its predictability. The data and associated climate information that are collected and disseminated to users, keep all stakeholders informed of the state of the climate and the natural environment.
Climate is sometimes referred to as “average” weather for a given area. The National Weather Service uses data such as temperature highs and lows and precipitation rates for the past thirty years to compile an area’s “average” weather. Climate.org seeks to provide reliable information on climate change, energy and the environment. The site is regularly updated with recent news and articles.
Climate change is with us. A decade ago, it was conjecture. Climate change and the energy hunger of the developed world and newly emerging economies like China and India are driving forces behind higher food prices, which directly affect the poor in a country like Egypt.
As the First Lady has stated it in her Opening Address on Saturday, the rich subsidize the transformation of food into biofuels, thus subsidizing the burning of food of the poor to drive the cars of the rich! Climate is the atmospheric condition in a certain location near the surface of the Earth. Is there such a thing as a global climate ?
Climate change and related impacts are becoming increasingly relevant to environmental, economic and security issues. This raises convergent points of interest and thematic platforms for those interested in confronting this global challenge from a multidisciplinary perspective.
Climate change is the greatest environmental challenge facing the world today. Rising global temperatures will bring changes in weather patterns, rising sea levels and increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather. Climate change is the single biggest environmental threat facing our planet. Burning too much coal, oil and gas pollutes the atmosphere with greenhouse gases that heat up the planet.
Temperature, humidity, and rainfall, which are discussed hereunder, are the most important elements of the country’s weather and climate. Temperatures range between 70F and 90F (20C to 33C).
Climate simulations at NCAR have shown that changes in the Sun’s intensity explain less than a third of the global warm-up during the last century. The most likely explanation for a warming Earth is the greenhouse gases emitted when fossil fuels are burned. Climate data are used extensively in airport design and aeronautical engineering.
Wind direction and speed, visibility, air pressure, temperature, icing frequency, cloud cover, humidity, the character of the air (fog, haze, smoke, and dust storms for example), and other elements are significant. Climate is the average daily and seasonal weather for a region; including temperature, precipitation, wind, and sunshine. Observations are compiled over several decades and are classified into climate zones.
Climate change can be caused by internal and external forces like the Earth?s orbit, solar radiation and greenhouse gas concentrations. The ice age is an example of climate change. Climate is the average weather usually taken over a 30-year time period for a particular region and time period. Climate is not the same as weather, but rather, it is the average pattern of weather for a particular region.
Climates change rapidly on mountains, becoming colder the higher the altitude gets. The climate of a highland area is closely related to the climate of the surrounding biome.
Why By Eco Products – Climate Change And The Greenhouse Effect
Climate change has been hotly discussed and debated in the last few years with recent summits of world leaders not providing agreement on what can be done to halt the rising temperature and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
However, whilst the politicians continue to argue, more and more people are turning to eco friendly products to help reduce their impact on the environment by reducing their greenhouse gas emissions.
But there is often a lot of confusion around climate change and the greenhouse effect leaving people unsure about what products to buy and how they can help reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
But climate change is relatively straightforward. Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane, which occur naturally in the environment have been increasing due to pollution humans have been pumping into the environment; from cars, aeroplanes, power stations, factories and our homes. These gases insulate the earth, preventing the warmth generated by the sun’s light from escaping hence warming the planet – just like a greenhouse.
As carbon dioxide is the most common greenhouse gas emitted by man, slowing its output and reducing our carbon footprint is perhaps the most direct way we can slow the effects of climate change. And as most of the carbon dioxide is generated through energy production, from power plants that heat our homes to the exhausts of motor cars that drive us to work – reducing our energy consumption will is the simplest way we can do this.
And there is a vast range of energy saving gadgets and energy efficiency products in the eco friendly market. From electricity monitors to help you discover where you are consuming and wasting energy to radiator panels that boost the efficiency of your heating system.
Heatkeeper radiator panels reduce emissions by improving heat output
Anything that can help you reduce energy consumption will go a long way to cut down on the greenhouse gases that are emitted by your energy use and help to reduce the effects of climate change.