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Global warming – it’s about you

Slowly but surely the information about global warming seems to reach the most obstinate ignorants. Therefore let’s sum up the current knowledge:

  • The global warming does indeed exist and it was mainly caused by humankind who is even still accelerating it.
  • From global warming we expect a rise of the average temperature leading to – among other things – melting of glaciers and melting of the polar ice, increase of the mean sea level as well as generally more of extreme weather events and nature disasters like droughts, floods, tornadoes, etc.
  • Only a drastic reduction of the waste gas emissions in the very near future can stop this trend.
  • CO2 (Carbon dioxide) emissions belong to the most important causes of global warming. CO2 is inevitably created by burning fossil fuels like e.g. oil, natural gas, diesel, organic-diesel, petrol, organic-petrol, ethanol.
  • Recent investigations have shown that inconceivable catastrophic changes in the environment will take place as soon as the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere reaches the level of about 450 ppm. Today’s concentration is already at 380 ppm and it raises on average 2 – 3 ppm each year, so that the critical value will be reached in approximately 25 to 30 years from now. See here for some graphs.
Global warming causes: CO2 concentration

In the past, there was more or less a direct relation between the energy consumption (mainly fossil fuels) and the welfare of a country. This has so far prevented many countries from taking serious actions to reduce their consumption of fossil fuels. As of today however, this relation is not true any more. Germany is a good example of a country where the CO2 emissions have been decreasing for several years despite of a growth of the economy.

In the Kyoto conference many countries have agreed to reduce their CO2 output until the year 2012, on average to 5% below their respective emissions of the year 1990. The USA – as the largest CO2 producer world wide – and most developing countries refused to sign this agreement.

Global phenomena are difficult to reach consensus about

Already today it becomes apparent, that a lot of western countries will largely miss their promises concerning the CO2 reduction. Several signer countries have even increased their CO2 output since the conference.

With this background, discussions have recently started about potential scenarios after the end of the Kyoto agreement, that is after the year 2012. The goal is to move also the USA as well as the developing countries into some sort of obligations.

However, even if it should be possible to sign new, similar agreements for the time after 2012, it is doubtful whether they would be more respected than the ones from Kyoto. This would only be different if sanctions were automatically imposed on those countries, whose CO2 emissions per person still exceed a certain CO2 level after a given transitional period. In the negotiations, each country would of course claim to be qualified for a higher CO2 emission per person than the other countries. Almost any country would fight for an emission level as high as possible. This would of course defeat the original purpose of the reduction agreement.

We are now at the core of the problem: Global warming is a typical global phenomena, where the causer of the emission does not automatically suffer from it himself. Cause and effect are separated both in time as well as geographical.

For non-global phenomena, this is different. Let’s for example take a chemical accident with poisons: The immediate environment of the plant will be contaminated, human beings, animals and plants in the close environment are harmed. The damage is almost immediate and clearly visible. For this reason, laws are legislated and strictly imposed for storing and handling of chemical poisons, .

Personal responsibility

If you increase your personal petrol or gas consumption for this year by say 1’000 litres because you use the car more often, will this lead to natural disasters? And if yes, where? Nobody will be able to take you to the court, because it is not possible to prove a direct relation between your increased yearly consumption of fuels and a drought in Africa. This does not change the fact, however, that the CO2 emission produced by your car does indeed contribute to the global warming. No doubt, you and I are responsible for the climate change, too.

The following testimonies are typical:

  • Me alone, I cannot change anything, why should I then change my personal behavior?
  • I respect the laws, I don’t do anything illegal. I am not against your saving energy, but leave me in peace with your ideas.
  • My energy requirement is modest. I won’t change before the big polluters have changed their behavior.

These declarations share a fundamentally wrong assumption that we are not fully responsible for what we do. But the contrary is true: We are indeed fully responsible for everything we do or do not do! The fact that we don’t get fined or taken into prison for certain deeds does by far not mean that these deeds do not have a big impact on our personal future life.

Life is about you and your behaviour (and not about the behaviour of others)

The goal of all human beings is to live in joy and perpetual harmony with oneself and with the environment, to be able to enjoy life free of sorrows and fears. We approach this goal step by step over a series of incarnations. (see here ).

Let’s compare this with classes in school or with a study at the university: Based on your performance within the current semester, you can either advance to the next higher level or you will have to repeat the current level until you meet a certain performance criteria. In a similar manner our behaviour in daily life decides whether we approach the above mentioned goal of perpetual harmony with ourselves and with our environment or not.

Hence it should become evident that harming or even destroying nature – i.e. our environment and basis of being – does at the very end hinder ourselves most: We harm or destroy exactly what we eventually wanted to get in unison and harmony with.

In regard of the common rude and thoughtless dealing with nature, the above may sound rather hopeless for our future. For your personal development however, only your personal behavior counts and not the behavior of “average people” or of a certain majority. It’s only about you! Therefore it is possible to develop yourself when you limit your negative footprint of your life here on earth (e.g. consumption of resources, pollution of the environment) to an acceptable level. This is your contribution to solving the problem.

On the other hand, it is impossible to get in perpetual harmony with yourself and with your environment if you do not limit your negative footprint to an acceptable level. It is also a matter of respect towards nature and all its creatures.

There is absolutely no reason at all to wait for laws or incentives from the government before you start with your personal contribution. Who, he does this immediately and by free will, will automatically get better conditions for his or her personal future – be it in this or in next incarnations. For the personal development, only decisions made by free will really do count. There will be very little effect on your personal development if you buy a more economic car because you cannot afford the fuel for a larger car any more. However, if you decide to buy a more economic car of your own free will because you want to reduce your negative effects on the environment, as reverence for the nature, then this will certainly have positive effects on your personal future.

Swindling is impossible – personal responsibility cannot be escaped from

Above we mentioned the similarity to a school or university. There is a teacher or professor who judges the students and their exams. However, who does judge our behaviour in our daily life? Who or what does decide about our personal future, how happy and content we are, how secure we feel?

This is exactly that part in ourselves, which makes “life” in us, differentiate human beings from dead material and which shapes our individuality. It is sometimes called “higher self”, “spirit”, “mind”, “soul”, “God in us”, etc. It is not important how we call this part of us, however it is very important to recognize that it is part of ourselves. Therefore it is impossible to swindle or to escape from the personal responsibility. For you cannot hide anything from yourself!

The analysis and judgement of our decisions is taking place permanently and leads to corrections on our way of life: In order to learn what we are still missing, “life” will in the future confront us with situations that will give us the chance to try again. And it will repeat either in this or in future incarnations until we indeed do learn what we need to learn. (for further information have a look here ).

Take your personal responsibility serious (also) regarding the pollution which your existence and behavior either directly or indirectly creates. You do not only help prevent the earth from collapsing, but you do help yourself, too. If you personally take responsibility, you won’t loose anything. On the contrary, you and everybody else is just gaining advantages.

Deeds are more important than words – do start now!

We will make available within a few weeks on this website a simple calculator to calculate your personal contribution to the global warming. The calculator will estimate your so called «carbon footprint» and allow to track it over a period of time. It will take into account travelling activities by public transportation, by car, by air planes, as well as heating with oil, gas, wood, etc. and the consumption of electrical energy.

Most people are shocked when they see how much CO2 they actually produce with their activities!

Ξpersonal growth | Carbon dioxide | Carbon footprint | earth | Global warming | global warming solutions | happiness | inner peace | perpetual harmony | responsibility

90 thoughts on “Global warming – it’s about you”

  1. Relation between CO2, carbon and carbon footprint
    I am getting confused: Some talk about co2, others about carbon footprint or about carbon emissions.

    What’s what? Or are they somehow related? What should be reduced to stop global warming?

    1. CO2 carbon and carbon footprint

      Whenever you burn fossil fuels like petrol, gas, wood, etc, you inevitably generate the gas CO2 called carbon dioxide. This large emission of carbon dioxide is the main cause of global warming and all its side effects. Our goal must be to burn less fossil fuels for heating and for engines.

      CO2 and carbon dioxide are just different names for exactly the same molecule. The CO2 molecule consists of 1 carbon and 2 oxygen atoms, the carbon molecule makes up 27 weight-percent of a carbon dioxide molecule or in other words: 27% of the CO2 molecule is carbon.

      Example: If your emission is 100 kg CO2, then you can also say you emitted 27 kg carbon (27% of 100 kg CO2).

      Most people calculate their personal carbon dioxide (= CO2) emissions, but some do calculate their carbon (=C) emission. It doesn't really matter what you measure, as long as you know how to convert one into the other. The conversion factors are:

      • convert CO2 (kg) into C: multiply kg CO2 by 0.27
      • convert C into CO2: multiply kg C by 3.70

      The confusing thing is that people talk about carbon footprint but normally mean carbon dioxide footprint. So when you compare carbon footprints you should make sure whether both footprints are measured in kg CO2 (= carbon dioxide) or in kg C (carbon). Otherwise you need to use the above mentioned conversion factors.

      1. talking to a carbon footprint expert?
        Thank you, thank you.

        I am getten an expert about CO2 (= carbon dixode) and carbon footprint!

      2. We shuold do somthing
        everyone needs to help out so th earth will not dissappear

        1. A comment about personal responsibility and Global Warming
          There are some ways to prevent the earth from disappearing like, reduce using the electricity at home by turning off the lights and TV at night when it is time for bedtime. Another one, do not throw any garbage either cups, bottles, and papers into the river that will contaminate the river. Be aware to use too much gasoline if the store is only three or four blocks away from your house. Recycling any items that can be recycles or drop it off at any recycling area.

          1. carbon dioxide..
            CO2 is one cause of global warming. Burning the wood produces Co2. humans use to burn woods because they use it in many ways.like cooking. my questions are how we can prevent using it?what is the other way or choice for not using wood to burn?

            1. Burning fossile fuels is bigger problem

              Burning wood is usually not that much of a problem because buring wood releases only the same amount of CO2 which has been absorbed when the tree has grown. As long as the "consumption" of wood does not exceed the growth of wood, it is OK. However deforestation is a catastroph. 

              Most CO2 emitted by human beings is from burning fossile fuels (oil, gas, etc.). There is the real problem – apart from the above mentioned deforestation.

              In some countries, it is possible to substitute wood for heating and/or cooking by solar energy. But this is usually more technology intensive.

            2. garbage effects
              Humain being is much selfish .It is creating restrictions for generatins to live. Garbage becomes more polluted when rubbish is thrown by wrapping in the polythenes.It would be vast effective when Govt will ban strictly to use them.To check the public implements are required.

              1. Government has banned on
                Government has banned on polythene but even then public is using polythenes and government does not take any stick action regarding this.So always try to keep your environmemt safe for our future generation.

              2. save our world
                i agree if we cut down on our electricity we can save the world and later on we can still have a world

              3. GB
                That’s obvious everyon should make an effort, weather get worse and worse. we must think about our future, our future generation, our children. that’s for sure, we won’t die in making a little consession,

              4. prevention of global worming
                Every one should plant a tree . There should be one tree per head . We should use the vehicles which consume
                least fossil fuel . Otherwise we can use the battery bykes . We should use solar cooker ,solar lights .
                We can make compost from the biogarbage and reuse other garbages which can be.

                  1. global warming
                    i agree…it is a right thing that u have mentioned above……

                    1. YES WE SHOULD
                      yes we should do something about this global warming , we should try and stop it !

                      1. about global warming
                        i m doing now a project about global warming.
                        if any body can give any coments pliz send me

                      2. Where can i get info on global warming
                        can u help me out i need info on global warming for an oral report thanks logan

                        1. What kind of information do you need?

                          Logan,

                          What kind of information do you exactly need? On this site you can already find some if you go to this overview , then scroll down to the header "global warming" and click on the corresponding tags to get the articles.

                          Let me know if you need additional information.

                          Juerg

                            1. prevent global warming by personal efforts
                              Sugestions for personal efforts
                              Make water harvesting arrangement to save water
                              Use Solar system as much as possible to replace electricity and fuel
                              Minimise using cars, walk as much as possible or use public transport to keep you fit and save petrol
                              Plant more and more trees
                              Use less AC and refigeration facilities

                              1. global warming
                                these solutions are already familiar to us all.is there any new or recent solutions?global warming should be reduced

                                1. Global warming solutions
                                  You are right, these measures are familiar to us. The problem is that they are not implemented yet. Instead of asking and waiting for “new” solutions, we should implement the known measures as soon as possible. It is urgent.

                                2. Curb Global Warming as our
                                  Curb Global Warming as our first priority at individual level.
                                  Start practicing from now, measures for saving energy.
                                  Energy-electricity,petrol,water
                                  Change your life style-become vegetarian,avoid sitting in A.C,Walk or use public transport atleast once in a week.
                                  Plant trees atleast 10 every year.

                                  Sender: Dr.Asfa M.Yasin
                                  NCERT
                                  EMAIL.asfayasin@rediffmail.com

                                3. how to prevent global warming
                                  we can prevent it by segragating our garbages, AVOID burning and cutting trees,

                                  1. how to prevent global warming?
                                    by personal efforts and by reducing the use of fossil fuels.

                                    kutte

                                    1. Global Law Guide
                                      Grow new plant more we can prevent global warming.
                                      Global Law Guide

                                    2. english langugage
                                      i want to know the change we have in 25 years ego on global warming

                                    3. carboon footprint in irrigation systems
                                      hi
                                      ineed som information about the pressure irigation that how much carbon emmission

                                    4. Meaning of global warming
                                      on seaching meaning of global warming on yahoo you can get your answer

                                    1. school project
                                      there are so many school projects about global warming…and this site helps alot to learn more about the effects of it…

                                      we should all do something to save our environment!! and make it a sustainable earth!!

                                      1. how global warming is impacting everyday life
                                        where can i find the info. about this?

                                        1. how global warming is impacting everyday life
                                          whenever you burn fossil fuels like petrole gas wood etc. you invertably generate the gas co2 called carbon dioxide .this large emission of co2 is the main cause of global warming and all its side effects like cancer ect. can you suffer.

                                        2. about stopping global warming
                                          THIS IS A GOOD SITE FOR ALL TO KNOW ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING AND
                                          ALL CAN KNOW HOW TO PROTECT OUR MOTHER EARTH.
                                          I TELL ALL PARENTS , ELDERS ,CHILDREN TO PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
                                          PROTECT OUR MOTHER EARTH

                                          1. about global warming
                                            plz send the information about global warming and its causes

                                          2. truly speaking
                                            this site helps alot more especially to us the students in the faculty of agriculture and enviromental sciences

                                            1. global warming
                                              Definition,causes,effects, possible solutions and as well as predictions

                                              1. GLOBAL WARMING EFFECTS
                                                IT leads our world to be surrendered under law of nature;
                                                “NATURAL DETERMINISM ” also this leads to fast end of world.
                                                SO LETS TAKE CONTROL OF OUR WORLD!!!

                                            2. how can we reduce global warming?
                                              well, plant more trees, do not litter, recycle and do not burn things like coal and fosil fuels. pollution causes global warming and carbon dioxide and methane are the two main gases that contribute to global warming.

                                              1. Global Warming and our Footprint
                                                I have been tasked with participating in a Military Installation Meeting concerning SIMS and EMS, and reducing the Footprint that a Military Post can leave on the Environment. One thought that came to mind, is that there are many old buildings being torn down, across the Installation. These buildings have been replaced or combined in newer modern type structures in different areas. What is left behind, are streets that service nothing. These streets are often redundent, and if left in place require constant upkeep. If removed they would create more or larger Green Spaces. If left in place ,do these streets cause additional Warming of the Environment? I ask this because, in the cities we ususally see an increase in Daily Temperatures, compared to the more Rural areas. I realize that this is also caused by the increase in Vehicular traffic, and construction of large Concrete/Glass buildings that retain heat, but could the removal of uneeded Asphalt and Concrete be beneficial and is there any measure available for such actions? thanks Go Green!

                                            3. language
                                              sorrry 2 say but u need 2 improve ur language
                                              ur data is excellent
                                              noopur

                                            4. confused!!
                                              Dont get confused and dont take any tension just enjoy your life. It will never come back.

                                          3. Carbon dioxide emission of cars, planes,
                                            Interesting stuff.

                                            Can you give a guideline as to how much carbon dioxide is produced when travelling by car, by bus or by plane?

                                            1. Global warming contribution of fuels

                                              The best way is to calculate the carbon dioxide emissions based on the fuel consumption. For your convenience, please find below a table of the most common used fuels:

                                              Reading example:

                                              For each gallon (UK) of petrol fuel consumed, 10.4 kg carbon dioxide (CO2) is emitted.

                                              fuel type unit
                                              CO2 emitted per unit
                                              Petrol 1 gallon (UK)10.4 kg
                                              Petrol
                                              1 liter2.3 kg
                                              Gasoline 1 gallon (US)8.7 kg
                                              Gasoline 1 liter2.3 kg
                                              Diesel 1 gallon (UK)12.2 kg
                                              Diesel 1 gallon (US)9.95 kg 
                                              Diesel
                                              1 liter2.7 kg
                                              Oil (heating)
                                              1 gallon (UK)13.6 kg
                                              Oil (heating) 1 gallon (US)11.26 kg 
                                              Oil (heating)
                                              1 liter3 kg

                                               

                                              As a very general rule of thumb, you can can assume that travelling by car does produce at least 3 times as much carbon dioxide as travelling the same distance by public transportation (train, bus, tram).

                                              Flying does produce about the same quantity of carbon dioxide as if you’d drive the same distance by car. But the negative effects caused by the emissions in the high atmosphere are 3 times higher than those from the emissions of the car.

                                              You can draw the following conclusions for global warming effects:

                                              • It is always best to travel by public transportation
                                              • Travelling by car harms the environment 3 times as much as travelling by public transportation
                                              • Travelling by plane (flying) harms the environment 3 times as much as travelling by car and 9 times as much as travelling by public transportation (train, bus).

                                              We are planning to bring on line a calculator for the carbon footprint about end of January 07. This carbon footprint calculator will then allow for detailed analysis and tracking of the personal contribution to global warming.

                                              Juerg

                                              1. Global Warming Is Increasing
                                                We ave a should all have a respond to global warming because as we all know in20 years time the GRB will not be there

                                              2. Global warming contribution of fuels
                                                Juerg,
                                                Do you have a source for these figures? They seem to be often-quoted, but little-sourced, which isn’t helping the paper I’m writing!
                                                Joe

                                                1. Calculate CO2 emissions by fuel
                                                  Joe,

                                                  You can calculate the values yourself with some basic knowledge of chemistry. Let's demonstrate this for diesel fuel:

                                                  Diesel is a mixture of so-called saturated and aromatic hydrocarbons, the average chemical formula for common diesel fuel is often assumed C12H26, but it compounds range from about C10H22 to C15H32.

                                                  Burning fuel is called an oxidation process. To make it simple, we assume C12H26 as chemical formula for diesel fuel. Then the following chemical reaction takes place:

                                                  2 C12H22 + 37 O2 → 26 H2O + 24 CO2

                                                  The above equation says: From 2 moles of C12H22 (= diesel fuel) you get 24 moles of CO2 (carbon dioxide). The molecular weight of C12H22 is 170 g / mole and for CO2 it is 44 g / mole. So the above equation also says: When you burn (oxidise) 340 g diesel (2 * 170) you get 1'056 g CO2 (24 * 44). Since diesel has a density of about 850 g per liter, burning 1 liter of diesel creates 850 / 340 * 1'056 g CO2 = 2'640 g CO2.

                                                  In the table above you find the value of 2'700 g CO2 per liter diesel instead of 2'640 g, the little difference is because for the calculation of the values in the table above I used a more sophisticated assumption for the chemical formula of diesel.

                                                  For all other fuels, you can do a similar calculation. As mentioned above, there is no "source" needed, just some knowledge of chemistry is enough. You can find many results in our offline carbon footprint calculator. Values, which I have not computed myself should be referenced in the comments within the Excel sheet (mouse over the red dots).

                                                  Juerg

                                                2. Confirmation of CO2 production when burning petrol

                                                  I recently did some simple calculations on the weight and volume of CO2 produced by burning fossil fuels. Interestingly, I got the same figure of 2.3kg of CO2 per litre of petrol burned (as quoted in the table above), using octane as the base molecule.

                                                  Juerg is right, you can do a basic caclulation based on an appropriate chemical reaction and the moles of products and reactants involved. Have a look here:

                                                  http://tenerife-training.net/Tenerife-News-Cycling-Blog/2008/03/science/how-much-carbon-dioxide-is-produced-by-driving-a-car-on-one-tank-of-petrol/

                                                  Great blog by the way; keep up the great work!

                                                  Thanks,
                                                  Dr. Leslie Brown.

                                                3. Thank you!
                                                  I am a grade 9 student in Uganda and my project was about Global Warming, and now much impact it can make on our lives. The information contained in your research in very helpfull to me so I just wanted to thank you!
                                                  Thanks a lot!
                                                  Fatima Bilal – Kampala, Uganda

                                                4. CO2 per Unit Reference
                                                  Can you please provide a reference from which this table relating CO2 emitted per unit fuels came from?

                                                  Thank you.

                                                    1. school project help?!?!?!
                                                      how much carbon emission does a normal school bus give off?

                                                5. Petrol and carbon footprint

                                                  The Stern report (according to the following article) states that ,for example, 424 litres of petrol (presumably less than that in Kgs) produces 1 tonne of CO2.

                                                  How can burning fuel produce more than twice its own weight in CO2 ???

                                                  Richard Rains London,

                                                  Source: ABD Press Release 513 of 7 Nov 2006: "Motorists already pay for their carbon emissions"

                                                  "….Calculation 1: Example Car – 2 litre petrol Toyota Avensis – 191g/km CO2 and 34.9mpg Does 3263 miles (5236km) per tonne of CO2 emitted, using 93 gallons (424 litres) of petrol ….

                                                  Example Car – 2 litre diesel Toyota Avensis – 155g/km CO2 and 48.7mpg Does 4009 miles (6452km) per tonne of CO2 emitted, using 82 gallons (374 litres) of diesel …..

                                                  The difference between petrol and diesel arises because diesel fuel is denser and contains more carbon per litre than petrol.

                                                  Calculation 2: A typical 2-litre petrol car (Toyota Avensis) emitting 191 g/km CO2 and averaging 34.9 mpg would emit a tonne of CO2 for every 5,236 km travelled, using 424 litres of petrol in the process…."

                                                  1. How much CO2 does burning of 1 liter petrol produce?

                                                    Richard,

                                                    I have shortened the article you included in your comment to make it easier to read. Stern report is right: It is indeed normal and correct that burning 1 kg of fossil fuel produces more than 1 kg of carbon dioxide (actually 2.3 kg CO2 for 1 litre of petrol or 3.1 kg CO2 per kg of petrol). The specitic gravity of petrol used in vehicles is 737 g per litre.

                                                    Burning fuels like e.g. petrol is a chemical reaction of petrol with oxygen (O2) which releases energy and creates carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O). The oxygen is mostly taken from the air (combustion air).

                                                    Petrol + Oxygen –> Energy + CO2 + H2O

                                                    This specific reaction is also called oxidation (oxi from oxygen). From the total weight of CO2, only 27% is carbon (which is taken from petrol) and the remaining 63% of the weight is from oxygen (which is mostly taken from the air). This does explain how burning of 1 kg of petrol can generate 3.1 kg of carbon dioxide. 

                                                    If the oxidation process (burning fuel) is not performed under optimal conditions, additional hazardous compounds like e.g. NOx, HCx, etc. may be created. Some of them can be removed or transformed into less hazardous compounds with efficient treatment of the exhaust gas (catalysts, particulate filter, etc.).

                                                    .

                                                6. Energy use of fluorescent lights

                                                  Is it true that 'turning on' a fluorescent light, uses more energy than leaving it run ?

                                                  Richard

                                                  1. Should fluorescent lights be switched off?

                                                    In the start-up phase, fluorescent lights use more energy than when they are running continuously, so it is not a good advice to keep switching them on or off every few seconds.

                                                    However if you don't need a fluorescent light for more than 1-2 minutes, it actually saves energy to switch it off. Modern fluorescent lights, with narrower tubes (T8 or T15) and electronic starters generally should left on unnecessarily for no more than a minute or so.

                                                    Juerg

                                                7. sequestration of co2 by trees
                                                  I am interested to know some more of the finer details on trees.
                                                  *At what age/stage do trees reach maximum sequestration?.
                                                  * Presumably ‘young’ trees are not as good as mature trees & I also understand that older trees are NOT so good.
                                                  * Are Eucalyptus trees as good as say Pine Trees or Salt Bush etc etc ?
                                                  * How is sequestration measured ?
                                                  *I assume the trees turn the co2 into cellulose. Is this correct ?
                                                  *I assume the tree needs to be an evergreen. Not desiduous?
                                                  Thanks for your assistance.
                                                  Peter.

                                                  1. trees
                                                    I’ve heard that redwood trees sequester the most CO2.

                                                    Eucalyptus trees drink a lot of water, so they’re not always a good choice.

                                                    I would think it best if locally indigenous trees were planted, even if they didn’t maximize carbon sequestration, as they would be best suited to local conditions and to local ecosystems of flora and fauna.

                                                8. Query about greenhouse effect
                                                  Greenhouse gases prevent the infrared rays from leaving the Earth’s atmosphere, but why do they not prevent additional solar radiation from entering the atmosphere?

                                                    1. thanks
                                                      I am a student of UG-III in j.u. and the following information stated above is sufficient for me. Please give another idea and write the effect of plastics in Global Warming.

                                                      1. are we going to extinct because of it?
                                                        Im a first year student at former RAU, and am interested in this topic of global warming.I would love to know more about it since well is affecting me and everyone in this world.and the cause so that i can know exactly what is the effect of it , many people tell me that is because of the lot of cars in the universe as they emi t lot of carbon dioxide.

                                                        1. We May be
                                                          It is very possible that eventually our spiecies will die off. But not imediately, Humans have a way of trying to change things so that they can put there problems aside, and let a later generation deal with them. But Animals do not have the high intellegence of humans so they are quickly becomeing more and more endangered. Every one of four mamals is in a state of becomeing extinct. Coral Reefs are dieing of extreem heat and plants and animals are migrateing to the poles very rapidly. You will not die of global warming, but your children’s children may if we dont try to do something about it.

                                                    2. Global Warming
                                                      The proceeding war in Iraq is actually one of the noted cause of Global awareness. I consider that the war for oil is just another key the back door. I mean if we continue with the war, even if we win and even if we get the oil we wanted, we will still have the proble to ourselves. Having oil means using it, and having it more means using it more. Though if we use it, we know that it will cause our deastruction. Not only that, the bombs used to kill terrorists in the midle east contains chemicals that creates smoke in the air, carbon monoxide which is worst than CO2. If you put it all together, US is like fighting not for the war, but for the begining of global meltdown.

                                                      —NB 94

                                                      1. Animals
                                                        What about the annimals that are going extict? I think if we can show Children and teenagers the animals that are going extinct and tell them that there children may never be able to see these creatures in person, they will talk to there parents and try to get them to make a diffrence. If we can get that to happen it is mutch more likey that more people willstart tuning offlights and buying more eficiant cars. i think the ones without voices are the ones that will make the biggest diffrence of all. We have to remember the forgotten and abandoned. save the animals not the humans.

                                                        1. hello …
                                                          it is very useful to take care of our environment including the animals. some animals are beginning to extinct already.. like kuala’s,other families of bears..
                                                          we must do somethimg before it’s too late..
                                                          save animals..

                                                      2. Documentry
                                                        I am creating a documentry about global warming and i would like to use some of the ideas from this site. i am asking for your permision to state the name of this site in the credits. If not i will move on to a diffrent site untill i get an answer, but i would very much like to use yours since it is the best site that i have found so far. please respond within six moths.
                                                        ~thank you

                                                          1. Thank You
                                                            Thank you so mutch! this will help me greatly! I hope that together we will be able to change the minds and thinking of people around the world to help consurve the earth!
                                                            ~thank you

                                                      3. One tonne, and carbon accounts
                                                        A good article. In my own writing I’ve also emphasised the importance of personal action and responsibility. I’ve tried to outline, “er, no, we don’t have to live in caves” in an article, the one-tonne CO2 lifestyle.

                                                        But to give another way to look at it, I sometimes speak in terms of “spending” carbon dioxide. We have a certain “income” (a level of emissions which is safe, not true income, just easy to think of it that way) and shouldn’t spend more than that; if we spend more than we earn, we must reduce this each month until it’s balanced, and after that try to save up. Thus, introducing a new currency.

                                                        The several guidelines in the first article I wrote are the easy way to think of it, though.

                                                      4. We should worry about climate change…
                                                        Global warming can cause alot of problems to the world as well. I think we should decrease some transportation and stop using greenhouse gases because if we still use them it would be effected our lives on earth or I don’t want to see the world is ended.

                                                      5. Hey hey~ I was really
                                                        Hey hey~ I was really interested in this article, but I couldn’t seem to find the author’s name anywhere.
                                                        Could someone please tell me?
                                                        thnx a bunch~

                                                      6. pollution ? Why
                                                        Dear Sir: I agree with the content .But These Engines were discoved may be in 1800’s ,but unttill now we are still using these engines with some modifications,that’s all. But none had changed to something else or discovered a new solution for auto mobility. I don’t know why we are not thinking in these directions.
                                                        Solar ,hydro not powerful yet.
                                                        For CO2 emissions ,let us plant more more plants ,so that the level of co2 decreases.
                                                        ktnaveenkspet@rediffmail.com

                                                      7. back to basics
                                                        While progress seemed to be unstoppable, to prevent havoc in humanity due to environmental disaster as an effect of global warming, it seems that one of the rationale ways to prevent this is to do things in simplier ways, back to basics, so to speak… Better said than done, but the world of yesteryears is safer than it is today….Would we want to vanish before the world takes its toll?

                                                      8. BTW China, not the US is the
                                                        BTW China, not the US is the leading producer of greenhouse gases.

                                                      9. Required Changes
                                                        The personal changes required are simple – we all need to cut out any fossil fuel emissions that we can possibly avoid.

                                                        Here is a brief list of suggestions:

                                                        Stop flying.
                                                        Stop driving.
                                                        Turn down the heating. Put on a jumper. Or turn up the A/C.
                                                        Only eat local organic food. Reduce meat to once a week.
                                                        Buy less stuff.
                                                        Use less electricity. Buy renewable electricity or generate your own Stop wasting water.

                                                        If everyone does all of these things, we have a chance of preventing catastrophe. For more details see:
                                                        http://simplerevolution.org/LiveSustainably

                                                        It is possible and in my experience it has lead to a happier and more fulfilled life.
                                                        Pedro

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