What is global warming? Global warming is when the earth heats up (the temperature rises). It happens when greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, water vapor, nitrous oxide, and methane) trap heat and light from the sun in the earth’s atmosphere, which increases the temperature. This hurts many people, animals, and plants. Many cannot take the change, so they die.
The "greenhouse effect" is the warming that happens when certain gases in Earth's atmosphere trap heat. These gases let in light but keep heat from escaping, like the glass walls of a greenhouse. First, sunlight shines onto the Earth's surface, where it is absorbed and then radiates back into the atmosphere as heat. In the atmosphere, “greenhouse” gases trap some of this heat, and the rest escapes into space. The more greenhouse gases are in the atmosphere, the more heat gets trapped.
Climate Change: Climate is the long-term average of a region's weather events lumped together. For example, it's possible that a winter day in Buffalo, New York, could be sunny and mild, but the average weather – the climate – tells us that Buffalo's winters will mainly be cold and include snow and rain. Climate change represents a change in these long-term weather patterns. They can become warmer or colder. Annual amounts of rainfall or snowfall can increase or decrease.
Once, all climate changes occurred naturally. However, during the Industrial Revolution, we began altering our climate and environment through agricultural and industrial practices. The Industrial Revolution was a time when people began using machines to make life easier. It started more than 200 years ago and changed the way humans live. Before the Industrial Revolution, human activity released very few gases into the atmosphere, but now through population growth, fossil fuel burning, and deforestation, we are affecting the mixture of gases in the atmosphere.
"Birds are laying eggs earlier than usual, plants are flowering earlier and mammals are breaking hibernation sooner," said Terry L. Root, a senior fellow with Stanford's Institute for International Studies (IIS) and lead author of the Jan. 2 Nature study. "Clearly, if such ecological changes are now being detected when the globe has warmed by an estimated average of only 1 degree F (0.6 C) over the past 100 years, then many more far-reaching effects on species and ecosystems will probably occur by 2100, when temperatures could increase as much as 11 F (6 C)," Root concluded.
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.
In 1761, Russian polymath Mikhail Lomonosov discovered that Venus has an atmosphere. Its atmosphere is much denser and hotter than that of Earth. The temperature and pressure at the surface are 740 K (467°C, 872°F) and 93 bar, respectively. The Venusian atmosphere supports opaque clouds made of sulfuric acid, making optical observation of the surface impossible. Information about the topography of Venus has been obtained exclusively by radar imaging. The main atmospheric gases on Venus are carbon dioxide and nitrogen. Other chemical compounds are present only in trace amounts.
Originally posted by Romantic_Rebel
reply to post by kiwifoot
Then why should we allow the Government do that to us then? Our planet is a fragile system; in which need various stuff to survive and as well animals and plant life. I see where you're coming from and yes the governments are crooked. But we need to take a stand a limit what we can use that causes global warming to save our planet and life as we know it.
Originally posted by kiwifootHi Kiwi. Most western countries artificially lower the real costs of oil and other fossil fuels related products like electricity generated from coal. In my country we subsidize costs in the billions for transport and business cost associated with power used in production and manufacturing. If the real costs of oil and coal were transfered into the market, it would cost us a packet anyway. So we can't win because we are hooked on artificially cheap fuel and power.
Where do you mention the fact that very soon, not only will it cost a fortune to buy oil/gas/petrol,
but also the waste from that will be taxed and turned into a commodity, bundled into financial instruments and used as a way to make MORE MONEY at our expense.Well, you could invest in making less waste. I think that is the whole point. Because we have been hooked on cheap oil and power, no one has bothered to invest in innovation or technology. But now they are because it is rewarding due to way you reduce any tax incurred and you can sell or trade on your "green" credit to businesses unable to reduce their waste.
It's a genius plan, not only to you control the oil, but you control and profit from the CO2.Oil has always been controlled. You only profit from CO2 if you have lots of emissions, considering these taxes are forcing societies, business and companies to rethink their energy consumption, the system is aimed at reducing something that is taxed, so it actually reduces the aspect that you say they will be profiting from.
It's like McDonalds selling me a burger, then I have to pay McDonalds to be allowed to crap it out, then I have to pay McDonalds to flush the toilet.Are you forced to eat McDonalds? Do we only have McDonalds as a food source?
Sorry for the analogy but it's true.I think it is false, but I see your point.
If your BS meter doesn't twitch at that, you need to get it serviced mate!I have to admit, my B.S. meter always twitches when I hear a politician try and explain a new tax. But if you actually understand that our current costs for oil and power involved in transport, manufacturing in production are heavily subsidized you would have a different perspective on the real costs now just catching up with us as we struggle to find new, cheap and clean alternatives.
All th e best, kiwiAll the best to you too.
“Governments and energy consumers are paying to encourage investment in renewable energy, but the fossil-fuel alternative is not cheap either,” said Angus McCrone, a senior analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance in London.www.businessweek.com...
Consumers pay about 71 percent of competitive market reference prices for fuels such as oil or natural gas, according the IEA.
Oil consumers received the biggest portion of subsidies in 2008, or $312 billion. Natural-gas consumers, such as gas-fired power plants, benefitted from $204 billion in aid, followed by coal, at about $40 billion. The total, $557 billion, exceeded the $342 billion tallied in the previous year, as energy use increased, Birol said.
Originally posted by kiwifootNo problem.
reply to post by atlasastro
Thanks for the time you put into your post, I see you argument and it makes sense.
What I see is in the future is all these subsidies being removed, the pubic paying the true cost for oil, and us also getting stuffed with carbon taxes and all that entails.If we removed the subsidies, our system would become to expensive for us now too!
I don't disagree with you in the main, and I'm not against new taxes or saving the planet just because politicians plan them.I agree with you totally. The problem is that Politicians will compromise in order to keep the big end of town happy. What they often compromise is the integrity of a plan that has our interests at heart in order to satisfy a few.
I just don't see this as a viable plan intended to help the planet.The problem you also have to remember is that we way we live now, is not viable either nor is it benefitting the planet.
All I see is a system where those that control the oil, squeeze as much profit as possible by making money from the waste.Unfortunately, this is what has gotten us into trouble. Profit before anything else. It is the only way to make people change too. If we apply the real costs of oil and fossil fuels onto the public, demand drops, profits drop. This makes people eager to find newer more profitable methods. Unfortunately, people will manipulate the system. But we need to find a solution.
I mean seriously, do you think that this will change peoples' habits that much?Yes people will. People will stop driving frivolously. People will stop buying imported goods that incur real transport costs. Just two quick examples.
If this was about helping the planet, about a real threat (I'm not convinced myself) I'd be all for it. But as soon as I see AG and Tony Blair getting on board, well my friend, you can bet sometime is up.No doubt, AG and Blair make the Gulf of Mexico look clean
. 
