Secret reasons to rapid climate change in the future

On Earth, the current rate of increase of carbon dioxide in the planet's atmosphere, it is likely that a few degrees increase in average temperatures and large changes such as loss of ice sheets that could lead to several meters of sea level rise this century. New research into the Earth's paleoclimate history of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies director James Hansen, the potential for rapid climate change in this century, including several meters of sea level rise if global warming has not abated.

Looking at how the Earth's climate in the past responded to natural changes, Hansen sought views on the fundamental issue of ongoing human-induced climate change: "What is a dangerous level of global warming?" Some international leaders have suggested objective of limiting warming to two degrees Celsius (3.6 ° F) from pre-industrial times to avoid catastrophic change. However, Hansen said at a press conference at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco recently, the warming of two degrees Celsius (3.6 ° F) would lead to drastic changes such as significant loss of ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica.

Depending on the temperature analysis work on Hansen's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, Earth's average global surface temperature has already risen 0.8 degrees Celsius (1.4 degrees Celsius) since 1880, and is now warming of more than 0.1 ° C (0.2 ° Fahrenheit) every ten years. This warming is largely driven by increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, particularly carbon dioxide emitted by burning fossil fuels in power plants, cars and industry. At the current rate of burning fossil fuels, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere doubled before the industrial revolution in the middle of this century. Doubling of carbon dioxide would cause any warming of several degrees, Hansen said.

In recent research, Hansen and co-author Makiko Sato, also of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies, compared climate today, "Holocene", similar to previous "interglacial" periods - the time when the polar ice caps existed, but the world is dominated by glaciers. In the study of cores drilled from both ice sheets and deep ocean sediments, Hansen found that the average global temperature during the "Eemian" period that began about 130,000 years ago and lasted about 15,000 years, less than 1 degree Celsius (1.8 ° F) warmer than today. If the temperature rose two degrees Celsius (3.6 ° F) above pre-industrial times, the average global temperature much higher than in the Eemian, when sea level was four to six meters higher than today.

Paleoclimate record reveals a much more sensitive to climate than thought, even as several years ago. Limitation of human-caused warming of two degrees [C] is not sufficient, "said Hansen." It would be a recipe for disaster. "

Hansen has focused much of his new work on how the polar regions, and especially ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica will respond to warming of the world.

Two degrees Celsius (3.6 F) warming the Earth much warmer than the Eemian, and would move closer to the Earth "Pliocene" type, when sea level was in the range of 25 meters (82 feet) higher than today, said Hansen. When using the earth's climate history to find out more about the level of sensitivity that govern our planet is warming in response to today paleoclimate Hansen suggests that each degree Celsius global temperature will ultimately equate to 20 m (66 ft) sea-level rise. This, however, sea level rise due to ice sheet loss could be expected over the centuries, and great uncertainty as to remain in predicting that the loss of ice would unfold.

Hansen points out that ice sheet disintegration is not a linear process. The nonlinear damage has already occurred in sensitive places such as Pine Island Glacier in West Antarctica, where the rate of mass loss of ice continued to accelerate in the last decade. Restoring data from NASA's Gravity and Climate Experiment (Grace), the satellite is already in compliance with the speed of ice sheet mass loss in Greenland and West Antarctica, which doubles every ten years. GRACE record is too short to confirm this with great certainty, but the trend of recent years, does not it, Hansen said. This continued rate of decline of the ice could cause more meters of sea level rise by 2100, said Hansen.

Ice cores and ocean sediments from the polar regions suggest that temperatures at the poles in past epochs - when sea level was several meters up - not too far from the Earth's temperature could be achieved in this century to 'business as usual "trajectory.

"We have substantial cushion between today and dangerous climate warming," Hansen said. "The earth is going to experience strong amplifying feedbacks in response to a further slight global warming."

Details of the warming of the new goals and how to get there, are outside the scope of this research, Hansen said. But this research is consistent with earlier findings Hansen is that the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would be back from about 390 ppm in the atmosphere of 350 ppm today to stabilize the climate in the long term. While officials continue to discuss a framework for reducing emissions, global emissions of carbon dioxide remained stable or increased in recent years.

Hansen and others noted that while paleoclimate evidence paints a clear idea about what on earth before the weather looked, but using it to precisely predict how the climate may change in much less time, in response to man-made rather than natural climate change is becoming increasingly difficult. But Hansen said that the Earth is already showing signs of responding, even if the "slow feedback", such as changes in ice sheet.

Issue of human-caused increase in the amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, the climate is also something never seen in 65 million year record levels of carbon dioxide - a drastic growth rate, which is difficult to predict how fast the Earth will respond. At a time when carbon dioxide has increased due to natural causes, an average rate of increase of 0.0001 ppm per year - in other words, one hundred parts per million in a million years. Combustion of fossil fuels, now the concentration of carbon dioxide increased to two parts per million per year.

Top 50 Things To Do To Stop Global Warming

Save Mother Earth before We Die........

Global Warming is a dramatically urgent and serious problem. We don't need to wait for governments to find a solution for this problem: each individual can bring an important help adopting a more responsible lifestyle: starting from little, everyday things. It's the only reasonable way to save our planet, before it is too late.

Here is a list of 50 simple things that everyone can do in order to fight against and reduce the Global Warming phenomenon: some of these ideas are at no cost, some other require a little effort or investment but can help you save a lot of money, in the middle-long term!


1.Replace a regular incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb (cfl)CFLs use 60% less energy than a regular bulb. This simple switch will save about 300 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.
We recommend you purchase your CFL bulbs at 1000bulbs.com, they have great deals on both screw-in and plug-in light bulbs.

2.Install a programmable thermostat
Programmable thermostats will automatically lower the heat or air conditioning at night and raise them again in the morning. They can save you $100 a year on your energy bill.

3.Move your thermostat down 2° in winter and up 2° in summer
Almost half of the energy we use in our homes goes to heating and cooling. You could save about 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year with this simple adjustment.

4.Clean or replace filters on your furnace and air conditioner
Cleaning a dirty air filter can save 350 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.

5.Choose energy efficient appliances when making new purchases
Look for the Energy Star label on new appliances to choose the most energy efficient products available.

6.Do not leave appliances on standby
Use the "on/off" function on the machine itself. A TV set that's switched on for 3 hours a day (the average time Europeans spend watching TV) and in standby mode during the remaining 21 hours uses about 40% of its energy in standby mode.

7.Wrap your water heater in an insulation blanket
You’ll save 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year with this simple action. You can save another 550 pounds per year by setting the thermostat no higher than 50°C.

8.Move your fridge and freezer
Placing them next to the cooker or boiler consumes much more energy than if they were standing on their own. For example, if you put them in a hot cellar room where the room temperature is 30-35ºC, energy use is almost double and causes an extra 160kg of CO2 emissions for fridges per year and 320kg for freezers.

9.Defrost old fridges and freezers regularly
Even better is to replace them with newer models, which all have automatic defrost cycles and are generally up to two times more energy-efficient than their predecessors.

10.Don't let heat escape from your house over a long periodWhen airing your house, open the windows for only a few minutes. If you leave a small opening all day long, the energy needed to keep it warm inside during six cold months (10ºC or less outside temperature) would result in almost 1 ton of CO2 emissions.

11.Replace your old single-glazed windows with double-glazing
This requires a bit of upfront investment, but will halve the energy lost through windows and pay off in the long term. If you go for the best the market has to offer (wooden-framed double-glazed units with low-emission glass and filled with argon gas), you can even save more than 70% of the energy lost.

12.Get a home energy audit
Many utilities offer free home energy audits to find where your home is poorly insulated or energy inefficient. You can save up to 30% off your energy bill and 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. Energy Star can help you find an energy specialist.

13.Cover your pots while cooking
Doing so can save a lot of the energy needed for preparing the dish. Even better are pressure cookers and steamers: they can save around 70%!

14.Use the washing machine or dishwasher only when they are full
If you need to use it when it is half full, then use the half-load or economy setting. There is also no need to set the temperatures high. Nowadays detergents are so efficient that they get your clothes and dishes clean at low temperatures.

15.Take a shower instead of a bath
A shower takes up to four times less energy than a bath. To maximize the energy saving, avoid power showers and use low-flow showerheads, which are cheap and provide the same comfort.

16.Use less hot water
It takes a lot of energy to heat water. You can use less hot water by installing a low flow showerhead (350 pounds of carbon dioxide saved per year) and washing your clothes in cold or warm water (500 pounds saved per year) instead of hot.

17.Use a clothesline instead of a dryer whenever possible
You can save 700 pounds of carbon dioxide when you air dry your clothes for 6 months out of the year.

18.Insulate and weatherize your home
Properly insulating your walls and ceilings can save 25% of your home heating bill and 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. Caulking and weather-stripping can save another 1,700 pounds per year. Energy Efficient has more information on how to better insulate your home.

19.Be sure you’re recycling at home
You can save 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide a year by recycling half of the waste your household generates.

20.Recycle your organic waste
Around 3% of the greenhouse gas emissions through the methane is released by decomposing bio-degradable waste. By recycling organic waste or composting it if you have a garden, you can help eliminate this problem! Just make sure that you compost it properly, so it decomposes with sufficient oxygen, otherwise your compost will cause methane emissions and smell foul.

21.Buy intelligently
One bottle of 1.5l requires less energy and produces less waste than three bottles of 0.5l. As well, buy recycled paper products: it takes less 70 to 90% less energy to make recycled paper and it prevents the loss of forests worldwide.

22.Choose products that come with little packaging and buy refills when you can
You will also cut down on waste production and energy use... another help against global warming.

23.Reuse your shopping bag
When shopping, it saves energy and waste to use a reusable bag instead of accepting a disposable one in each shop. Waste not only discharges CO2 and methane into the atmosphere, it can also pollute the air, groundwater and soil.

24.Reduce waste
Most products we buy cause greenhouse gas emissions in one or another way, e.g. during production and distribution. By taking your lunch in a reusable lunch box instead of a disposable one, you save the energy needed to produce new lunch boxes.

25.Plant a tree
A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime. Shade provided by trees can also reduce your air conditioning bill by 10 to 15%. The Arbor Day Foundation has information on planting and provides trees you can plant with membership.

26.Switch to green power
In many areas, you can switch to energy generated by clean, renewable sources such as wind and solar. In some of these, you can even get refunds by government if you choose to switch to a clean energy producer, and you can also earn money by selling the energy you produce and don't use for yourself.

27.Buy locally grown and produced foods
The average meal in the United States travels 1,200 miles from the farm to your plate. Buying locally will save fuel and keep money in your community.

28.Buy fresh foods instead of frozenFrozen food uses 10 times more energy to produce.

29.Seek out and support local farmers markets
They reduce the amount of energy required to grow and transport the food to you by one fifth. Seek farmer’s markets in your area, and go for them.

30.Buy organic foods as much as possible
Organic soils capture and store carbon dioxide at much higher levels than soils from conventional farms. If we grew all of our corn and soybeans organically, we’d remove 580 billion pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere!

31.Eat less meat
Methane is the second most significant greenhouse gas and cows are one of the greatest methane emitters. Their grassy diet and multiple stomachs cause them to produce methane, which they exhale with every breath.

32.Reduce the number of miles you drive by walking, biking, carpooling or taking mass transit wherever possible
Avoiding just 10 miles of driving every week would eliminate about 500 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions a year! Look for transit options in your area.

33.Start a carpool with your coworkers or classmates
Sharing a ride with someone just 2 days a week will be reduce your carbon dioxide emissions by 1,590 pounds a year. eRideShare.com runs a free service connecting north american commuters and travelers.

34.Don't leave an empty roof rack on your car
This can increase fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by up to 10% due to wind resistance and the extra weight - removing it is a better idea.

35.Keep your car tuned up
Regular maintenance helps improve fuel efficiency and reduces emissions. When just 1% of car owners properly maintain their cars, nearly a billion pounds of carbon dioxide are kept out of the atmosphere.

36.Drive carefully and do not waste fuel
You can reduce CO2 emissions by readjusting your driving style. Choose proper gears, do not abuse the gas pedal, use the engine brake instead of the pedal brake when possible and turn off your engine when your vehicle is motionless for more than one minute. By readjusting your driving style you can save money on both fuel and car mantainance.

37.Check your tires weekly to make sure they’re properly inflatedProper tire inflation can improve gas mileage by more than 3%. Since every gallon of gasoline saved keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, every increase in fuel efficiency makes a difference!

38.When it is time for a new car, choose a more fuel efficient vehicleYou can save 3,000 pounds of carbon dioxide every year if your new car gets only 3 miles per gallon more than your current one. You can get up to 60 miles per gallon with a hybrid! You can find information on fuel efficiency on FuelEconomy and on GreenCars websites.

39.Try car sharing
Need a car but don’t want to buy one? Community car sharing organizations provide access to a car and your membership fee covers gas, maintenance and insurance. Many companies – such as Flexcar - offer low emission or hybrid cars too! Also, see ZipCar.

40.Try telecommuting from home
Telecommuting can help you drastically reduce the number of miles you drive every week. For more information, check out the Telework Coalition.

41.Fly less
Air travel produces large amounts of emissions so reducing how much you fly by even one or two trips a year can reduce your emissions significantly. You can also offset your air travel carbon emissions by investingin renewable energy projects.

42.Encourage your school or business to reduce emissions
You can extend your positive influence on global warming well beyond your home by actively encouraging other to take action.

43.Join the virtual march
The Stop Global Warming Virtual March is a non-political effort to bring people concerned about global warming together in one place. Add your voice to the hundreds of thousands of other people urging action on this issue.

44.Encourage the switch to renewable energy
Successfully combating global warming requires a national transition to renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and biomass. These technologies are ready to be deployed more widely but there are regulatory barriers impeding them. U.S. citizens, take action to break down those barriers with Vote Solar.

45.Protect and conserve forest worldwide
Forests play a critical role in global warming: they store carbon. When forests are burned or cut down, their stored carbon is release into the atmosphere - deforestation now accounts for about 20% of carbon dioxide emissions each year. Conservation International has more information on saving forests from global warming.

46.Consider the impact of your investments
If you invest your money, you should consider the impact that your investments and savings will have on global warming. Check out SocialInvest and Ceres to can learn more about how to ensure your money is being invested in companies, products and projects that address issues related to climate change.

47.Make your city cool
Cities and states around the country have taken action to stop global warming by passing innovative transportation and energy saving legislation. If you're in the U.S., join the cool cities list.

48.Tell Congress to act
The McCain Lieberman Climate Stewardship and Innovation Act would set a firm limit on carbon dioxide emissions and then use free market incentives to lower costs, promote efficiency and spur innovation. Tell your representative to support it.

49.Make sure your voice is heard!
Americans must have a stronger commitment from their government in order to stop global warming and implement solutions and such a commitment won’t come without a dramatic increase in citizen lobbying for new laws with teeth. Get the facts about U.S. politicians and candidates at Project Vote Smart and The League of Conservation Voters. Make sure your voice is heard by voting!

50.Share this list!
Send this page via e-mail to your friends! Spread this list worldwide and help people doing their part: the more people you will manage to enlighten, the greater YOUR help to save the planet will be (but please take action on first person too) !