Posted on :30/03/11
National Geographic News
National Geographic Video on Global Warming check it out....
Nirali Shah
(Director Of Aaryam Art Academy)
aaryamacademy@gmail.com
Posted on :29/03/11
Canada's incredible boreal forest, stretching across the entire continent and home to some of the biggest and most important fresh water supplies in the world, is at risk from a variety of directions. Tar sands development. Hydroelectric power projects. Mining practices. Tar sands development. (It bears repeating).
The Pew Environment Group released a report on Wednesday highlighting some of those risks, as well simply describing the magnitude of what's at stake. Hyperbole would be difficult when describing the boreal forest:
The Pew Environment Group released a report on Wednesday highlighting some of those risks, as well simply describing the magnitude of what's at stake. Hyperbole would be difficult when describing the boreal forest:
"Half the world’s lakes larger than a square kilometer in size; 5 of the world’s 50 largest rivers; almost 200 million acres of surface water; and the world’s single largest remaining unpolluted fresh water body, Great Bear lake. Canada’s boreal contains 25 percent of the world’s wetlands and more surface water than any other continental-scale landscape. The extensive undammed rivers of the boreal serve as last refuges for many of the world’s sea-run migratory fish, including half of the remaining populations of north american atlantic salmon."
The water and soils of the boreal forest also contain 147 billion tonnes of carbon, roughly equivalent to 25 years of human emissions. Ruining the forests, deltas, and peatlands would contribute massive releases of that carbon into the atmosphere.
The Pew report covers all the potential impacts on the boreal forest; it points out that industrial activities already threaten about 180 million acres of the forest, and more are sure to follow. In contrast, only about 12 percent of the forest area is under strict environmental protection.
Development of the tar sands in the Athabasca region of Alberta has been called the worst environmental crime in the world, producing some of the dirtiest fuel imaginable and threatening the water, wildlife and people downstream and downwind of the projects. It also is creating supplemental concerns, like the proposed tar sands pipeline currently under review that would ship the oil across the United States to Texas refineries (see "Tar Sands Pipelines Pose Serious Risks.") By many accounts, stopping this assault on the boreal forest of Canada should be priority number one.
If all the Pew report's recommendations are followed, some of the extensive impacts from tar sands development, as well as other industrial practices, might be mitigated. The report recommends protecting 50 percent of the total boreal area, up from the current 12 percent, and the use of "state-of-the-art sustainability practices" in areas that cannot be protected. Beyond that, protection of the boreal forests will require reformation of mining legislation and hydropower policies and specific protections set out for the carbon-rich peatlands and wetlands.
It is easy to forget about a massive area in which very few people actually live, but it is comforting that one of the planet's great wildernesses does have its protectors out there. As the International Boreal Conservation Science Panel wrote in the report's introduction: "To fail to protect the last free-flowing rivers, pristine lakes, and carbon-rich wetlands of Canada will impact the livability of our planet."
Posted on :27/03/11
Please take the plastic out of the ocean.
At 350
, we try to keep our ears to the ground for good news. It's often harder to find when the the news you're reading deals with the unraveling fabric of the earth's natural systems.But! This morning I got a press release that I felt hopeful about. For some time now, I've been reading about the giant pools of plastic that drift in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Too small to further break down, they're swallowed by lots of living things that weren't made to eat plastic. Moreover, these so called "garbage patches" are a sad reminder of how connected our waste is to the homes of others.
Today I learned that the UN is spearheading a team of people to make a plan to get on top of this. Before you laught or cry at that level of incrementalism: a plan about a process is a good step in the wacky world of the UN.
Some of the elements of the resolution are:
-Participate in a global network of stakeholders committed to understanding, preventing, reducing and managing marine debris in an environmentally sustainable manner;
-Contribute to the development and successful implementation of the Honolulu Strategy – a
global platform for the prevention, reduction and management of marine debris – and its periodic review
-Facilitate initiatives that turn waste into a resource in an environmentally sustainable manner
It demonstrated to me once again that we need multilateralism. What single country can grapple with waste in the oceans the whole world shares? All the more can be said about the necessity of an all-in strategy to protect the earth's climate.
I continue to fervently hope that this Marine Debris commitment leads to real results. And maybe comes up with a better name. But that's a subject for another post!
Posted on :09/03/11
Gujarat's First step against 'GLOBAL WARMING'.
Both The government of Gujarat and UK Based company Atlantis Resources Corporation shook hands for building the tidal power plant with a capacity of upto two hundred plus Mega Watts. The power plant is slated to be built in the Gulf of Kutch in the western coast of the country. The project is expected to cost anything upwards of $ 150 million. Construction will begin in early 2012.
The power plant in Gujarat, although substantial enough to power close to a hundred thousand residences, at two hundred and fifty Mega Watts of energy.
More indicators of action are revealed by private players becoming more active in the field.
Tata, a major company in India dealing with energy, has made plans for exploring into renewable energy sources in India.
Reliance, another Indian giant has announced a public target that it will produce close to thousand Mega watts of electrical energy from renewable sources by year 2013.
Nirali Shah
(Director Of Aaryam Art Academy)
aaryamacademy@gmail.com
Posted on :22/02/11
India and China in warming study
India and China have agreed to send an expedition to the Himalayas to study the impact that global warming is having on glaciers there.
They fear that melting glaciers could threaten rivers which support the lives of millions of people.Scientists and mountaineers from the two countries are now planning to head for the source of two rivers.Last week a report said that Asia's greenhouse gas emissions would treble over the next 25 years.The Asian Development Bank report provided detailed analysis of the link between transport and climate change in Asia.
The Asian Development Bank report provided detailed analysis of the link between transport and climate change in Asia. |   |
Air pollution and congestion would seriously hamper the ability to move people and goods effectively, it warned.
It pointed out that China was already the world's fourth largest economy, and the number of cars and utility vehicles could increase by 15 times more than present levels to more than 190 million vehicles over the next 30 years.
In India, traffic growth is likely to increase by similar levels over the same time period, the report said.
Carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles could rise 3.4 times for China and 5.8 times for India.
Nirali Shah
(Director Of Aaryam Art Academy)
aaryamacademy@gmail.com
Posted on :22/02/11
Climate Change Affecting Food Safety
Climate change is already having an effect on the safety of the world's food supplies and unless action is taken it's only going to get worse, a Michigan State University professor told a symposium at this year's meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Nirali Shah
(Director Of Aaryam Art Academy)
aaryamacademy@gmail.com
Posted on :21/02/11
Earth's Lakes Are Warming, NASA Study Finds
In the first comprehensive global survey of temperature trends in major lakes, NASA researchers determined Earth's largest lakes have warmed during the past 25 years in response to climate change.
Researchers Philipp Schneider and Simon Hook of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., used satellite data to measure the surface temperatures of 167 large lakes worldwide.They reported an average warming rate of 0.45 degrees Celsius (0.81 degrees Fahrenheit) per decade, with some lakes warming as much as 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) per decade. The warming trend was global, and the greatest increases were in the mid- to high-latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere.
Posted on :20/02/11
Global Warming Affects World's Largest Freshwater Lake
Russian and American scientists have discovered that the rising temperature of the world's largest lake, located in frigid Siberia, shows that this region is responding strongly to global warming.
Nirali Shah
(Director Of Aaryam Art Academy)
aaryamacademy@gmail.com
Posted on :19/02/11Ozone Layer’s Future Linked Strongly to Changes in Climate
The ozone layer -- the thin atmospheric band high-up in the stratosphere that protects living things on Earth from the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays, not to be confused with damaging ozone pollution close to the ground -- faces potential new challenges even as it continues its recovery from earlier damage, according to a recently released international science assessment. The report, prepared by the Scientific Assessment Panel of the U.N. Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, also presents stronger evidence that links changes in stratospheric ozone and Earth's climate.
Nirali Shah
(Director Of Aaryam Art Academy)
aaryamacademy@gmail.com
Posted on :18/02/11Turtle Populations Affected by Climate, Habitat Loss and Overexploitation
The sex of some species of turtles is determined by the temperature of the nest: warm nests produce females, cooler nests, males. And although turtles have been on the planet for about 220 million years, scientists now report that almost half of all turtle species is threatened. Turtle scientists are working to understand how global warming may affect turtle reproduction. To bring attention to this and other issues affecting turtles, researchers and other supporters have designated 2011 as the Year of the Turtle.
Nirali Shah
(Director Of Aaryam Art Academy)
aaryamacademy@gmail.com
Posted on :17/02/11
Tracking Global CarbonAtmospheric Scientists Monitor Global Carbon
With the annual, steady increase of global warming and carbon discharge, atmospheric chemists are gathering air samples on behalf of the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Air samples are taken twice a week at approximately sixty spots nationwide, and also on three ships on the Pacific Ocean. Samples are then dispatched to laboratories in Colorado where they are analyzed.
