Blog 9 Cars, Cows, and Greenhouse Gases! Candra Jumper April 11, 2014 11:21am

It’s no secret that cows emit methane gasses into the atmosphere. What is surprising news is that large dairy farms could be contributing to the greenhouse gas effect.  The greenhouse effect is   the trapping of the sun's warmth in a planet's lower atmosphere due to the greater transparency of the atmosphere to visible radiation from the sun than to infrared radiation emitted from the planet's surface. Trapped greenhouse gases lead to a warming of the earth’s atmospheric temperature, resulting in global warming.

            Both cars and cows emit methane gases into earth’s atmosphere. According to the article, “Methane produced by cows in New Zealand's intensifying dairy industry and vehicle exhausts have helped drive up the country's greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent over the last two decades, according to a government report out Friday.” This is very devastating news; methane is being emitted into the atmosphere at an alarming rate. The article states, "The four emission sources that contributed the most to this increase in total emissions were dairy enteric fermentation, road transport, agricultural soils, and consumption of hydrofluorcarbons," said the report.”

Although, this is alarming, all hope is not lost. According to the article planting trees helps to combat against this issues and funding from the government in order to pay for research methods aimed at alternative fuel sources. Evidence from the article states, “…at the same time, these reports show we are planting more trees; from 2008 to 2012, afforestation exceeded deforestation. Forestry is an important part of New Zealand's climate change response as forests remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere."… Farmers were also producing more meat and milk with less greenhouse gas emissions and government investment in research to support further reductions would help meet future targets.”

It will take 100% involvement from everyone if we want to see a reduction and change in global warming and climate change. According to this report, “…We need to do our fair share when it comes to reducing our emissions. Our per capita emissions are well above the average …"We're basically free-loading. That's bad for the climate and it's a massive risk to our extremely valuable clean green image."

In conclusion climate change is a real global concern that affects everyone that calls planet earth home. If we want to continue to enjoy moderate whether in the appropriate season, then we must start to take this concern serious and began devising ways in which we can produce more and protect our planet at the same time, if at all possible.

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/article_xinhua.aspx?id=212014

Blog 8 Candra Jumper Saturday, 4/5/14 4:41pm

According to the article, Americans are divided concerning the issues of global warming; more recently referred to as climate change, and have been for decades now. American attitudes toward climate change and global warming range from “Al Gore-level panic, over rising sea levels” to “skepticism about the accuracy of scientific models used to explain how manufactured C02 affects global temperatures.”

Many environmentalists have been asking Americans their opinions on global warming and climate change for more than a decade now.  It only seems that in the past few recent years’ public concern may actually be increasing. This increase in concern about climate change more than likely is fueled by the culture of fear many Americans now live in, never the less, it has eyebrows rising not only in the United Stated but also across the entire globe.  For example, take for instance the past year’s tsunami that struck the shores of Japan. This event had many up in arms; they were scared to death, because some media reports said that the Tsunami was a result of global warming. Everyone knows that you cannot believe everything you hear reported on the news and television, but many Americans still grew a greater concern.

 Scientist drew correlations between global warming and weather patterns. Now more and more American citizens are pushing laws to control global heating greenhouse gases. They have even agreed that the government should step in and fund research and subsidies for clean energy and related products.  According to the article, concern for this issue is now around 63%. “Although, less than half of Americans still think observed global warming in the past 150 years is due to human activities.”

                  
                    There are many theories about global warming. But the political reality of it all is that the White 

House Administration will need to impose tough and expensive regulations on local gas companies if we 

really want to see a change is CO2 emissions into our atmosphere.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/danielfisher/2014/04/05/global-warming-theories-political-reality-tesla-subsidies/

Candra Jumper Blog 7 March 27, 2014 12:05am Climate change shifts the earth in Alaska

According the article, global warming is causing the Earth to reshape and shift in land mass. In very cold areas prone to subzero temperatures such as the arctic and the tundra, there is a frozen layer of the Earth that scientists refer to as permafrost. Permafrost is found across the top of the Northern Hemisphere, especially in Alaska, Arctic Canada and Siberia in Russia. Scientists have traveled over much of those regions and measured temperatures and observed the effects of melting permafrost. Permafrost is what its name implies, permanently frozen ground.  Permafrost is usually several feet deep and according to scientists has remained frozen for several hundred years.  The article states that this thick subsurface layer of soil that remains frozen throughout the years, occurring only in chiefly Polar Regions, is beginning to melt away.

In a nutshell this article expressing how scientist are tracking the Earth’s temperatures and keeping a record of how they are rising as time goes on. One reason for the rising temperatures and the melting of glaciers and permafrost is due to greenhouse gasses that are trapped in the Earth’s atmosphere.  According to the article, scientists have estimated that there is twice as much carbon in the permafrost layers as in the atmosphere now, so we are looking at tripling the carbon dioxide. And that basically means more warming. It's a very dangerous cycle that deserves immediate attention before something drastic occurs hear on Earth.

What is interesting about this article is scientist have built simulations of the earth’s permafrost layer in underground tunnels to study the effects of prolonged exposure to carbon dioxide. The findings were that eventually the surface would wear down and fall off. This means that possibly, in reality, if something is not done about global warming the Earth’s frozen layers will begin to melt and break away, reshaping the Earth today as we know it.

 http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2014/03/climate-change-shifts-earth-alaska-2014327667287787.html

Candra Jumper Blog 6 Global Warming: Raising Awarness 3/21/14 12.27am

Global warming is the term used to describe a gradual increase in the average temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere and its oceans, a change that is believed to be permanently changing the Earth’s climate. Global warming has been a concern and the topic of debate for several years.

 Global warming can no longer be ignored or placed on the back burner. Over the years scientists have worked hard to prove that the planet is indeed warming. Scientific evidence indicates that since 1950, the world’s climate has been warming, primarily as a result of emissions from the constant burning of fossil fuels and the destroying of tropical forests.  Since the industrial revolution till this day, there is a constant emission of the carbon into the atmosphere and almost everything we do we are known to leave a carbon footprint behind. It is because of man-made conditions that we are threatened today by global warming.

These conditions are the main reasons that there has been an increase in greenhouse gases that are produced by burning fossil fuel and deforestation.  The four main contributors to the greenhouse gas effect are: water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane and ozone. Mining for coal and oil releases methane in the atmosphere. The seepage from natural gas fields and landfills are an additional source of methane.  Excessive cutting down of trees is another factor that causes global warming. When deforestation occurs, the efficiency by which carbon dioxide is stored and oxygen released by the green plants is decreased greatly. This in turn causes an increased concentration of carbon dioxide which leads to an increase in the greenhouse gas effect and ultimately an increase in global temperatures.  

According to the current event, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, this is the world’s largest general science society; has put together a public information campaign called “What We Know.” The motivation behind it is not so much to be a compendium of facts, but instead to “present key messages for every American about climate change” as a way to hopefully show peoples the reality of what we’re doing to the Earth.

 http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2014/03/20/what_we_know_aaas_campaign_to_raise_public_awareness_of_global_warming.html

Candra Jumper- Global Warming