Global Warming likely to Increase Severe T-storms

In an article I found online, a research team at Purdue University studied and determined that “the number of days favorable for severe thunderstorms could more than double in some parts of the United States by the end of the century because of global warming”.  Areas of high humidity, such as the Gulf of Mexico and on the Atlantic Ocean are at risk for these storms.  The researched they found concluded that global warming produces more humid air that creates more severe thunderstorms.

 

Human impact

I am currently enrolled in Geology 101 at the University of South Carolina and the textbook we are using, EARTH an Introduction to Physical Geology, teaches that humans are to blame for increasing temperatures.  The book discusses that the climate indeed changes from time to time and warming periods are normal, but our present warming period is increasing a lot faster than the trends.  They discuss that CO2 emissions is mainly to blame for high temperatures.  Humans are said to be burning fossil fuels and emitted a large amount of CO2 in the air which is creating dangerous theories.  The authors of this book are teaching that there are naturally occuring processes in which cause increasing temperatures but not enough to cause the increase we are having at this time.  In the authors’ minds, humans are mostly to blame for the inccreasing temperatures.

Ice Caps

Global warming is becoming more and more of an issue and the consequences are scary.  It may not affect our lifetime but it may affect our childrens or grandchildrens life.  It’s a scary  thought to think about the world possibly becoming all water and the land being covered by water like some scientists say will happen.  I’m not sure whether I believe if that will truly happen.  I’m not sure if that could happen.  But just the thought about being “burned up” like some other scientists say will happen.  It’s definitely a scary thought and I am hoping that it will not happen. This is a picture of melting ice caps. 

Ice Cap Melting

On the New York Times website a scientist came up with a visual model of how much the ice caps have melted since 2003. It’s incredible to see how much they have melted but I am also not sure if it can be entirely correct.  I think it’s a difficult thing to measure the amount of ice caps melting.  I think it’s a daily process so it’s hard to say what happened each year.  Indeed the ice caps are melting but I’m not sure what can be concluded from the ice caps as to who or what the main cause is.  Hopefully we can find a way to help keep the ice caps from melting or melting at such a fast rate.

IPCC says we need to act

Climate change is “severe and so sweeping that only urgent, global action” can head it off, a United Nations scientific panel said in a report on global warming issued Saturday.

The IPCC has said that we need to take immediate action on global warming.  Whatever the steps may be, they insist some action needs to be taken.  They discussed that the United States is one of the only nations that has not signed the Kyoto treaty thats purpose is to serve as a promise that each country will work on lowering the carbon emissions and help take a stand to global warming. IPCC warns us that we need to act soon because we may  be experiencing extinction and possibly devastation effects on other countries.  Making a mandatory cap on the amount of emissions let off may be a suggestion to lower emissions.  We need to act and we need to start soon.  The IPCC’s conclusions are that we are increasing temperatures at an extremely fast rate and we need to do something or we will be facing many consequences.

What information is Real?

Scientists and bloggers are fighting over what statistics are real and which are fake.  It’s hard to say who’s experiments are correct and whose are not.  At http://www.nationalcenter.org/2007/11/fake-global-warming-study-fools-four.html  it discusses an article that was published and then attacked by skeptics.  People aren’t sure what to believe anymore. I know I don’t.  It’s hard to assume that all the information out there about global warming is correct.  Some people are making up information about global warming to prove thier points but in reality it is just hurting the global warming study.

I found this comic at http://healthandenergy.com/global_warming_cartoons.htm.

To me this just makes me think that we’ve always known that global warming was an issue but we’re just trying to come up with excuses not to do anything about it.  Instead of fighting about who is the cause of global warming, maybe trying to fix it or slow down the process would be worth the money instead. 

October Data

I’m still amazed that some people can deny the fact that global warming is happening.  We have so much information and proof that shows us that temperatures are increasing.  This graph shows us that temperatures are increasing.  This graph came from AccuWeathers web site.  This past October was the 9th hottest October on record and that the average was 2.1 degrees Farenheit above normal.  All around the world people are discussing the increasing temperatures and the main cuases.  The world is warming and there should be no debate about that.  There is no data that said the world is staying at the same temperature or decreasing.  We need to start really taking good data to find the true causes of global warming.

Is Global Warming Caused by Humans?

I have not yet decided for myself whether or not I think Global Warming is caused by humans.  I have read and reviewed so much data in the last month or so and I still feel as if I don’t know enough.  I would love to believe all the statistcs I read, but I can’t.  There are so many statistics that contradict the other.  Scientists and experiments would be fixed is some places and so believing what you hear and see doesn’t mean it’s always right.  I do believe that global warming is a real issue that definitely could cause potential harm to our Earth, but I believe it is due to many different causes.  I believe that global warming is mostly a naturally occuring process that has been occuring for many centuries and will continue until the end of the Earth.  But I do think it is increasing at a faster rate because of human impacts.  I definitely think that we, as humans, have had some substantial influence on heating the Earth.  I think whether or not we are the main cause, we should start to fight back.  Start looking at ways to lower the CO2 emisions and the burning of fossil fuels.  Doing this would never hurt.  I don’t think we should wait until we are in immediate danger to do something about it.  We should start now and hope for the best of outcomes!

North American Carbon Imbalance

“A new report from the U.S. Climate Change Science Program has determined that there is now a greater than three-to-one imbalance between the fossil fuel sources and the ability of vegetation to absorb carbon over North America, and that fossil fuel emissions for North America are greater than 25% of global emissions.”  According to this article, if we continue cutting down more and more of the forrests we will continue to increase the ratio of fossil fuels in the air to the ability of vegetation to absord them.   Whether i’m not sure if this statistic is correct, I do agree that cutting down more and more forrest areas will continue to hurt this world in more ways than one.