An Overview of the Effects of Global Warming

It is important to understand the significance that global warming has on not only our earth, but our daily lives as well. It's also important to understand the effects of global warming that our children and grandchildren will experience in the years to come if things continue the way they are now.

First, it's important to understand that "Global Warming" is also known as the "Greenhouse effect". Instead of a plastic or glass shield, the earth has around it a series of atmospheric gases consisting mostly of nitrogen and oxygen molecules. The earth is about 60 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than it would be if it didn't have those atmospheric gases surrounding it. They keep the earth warm and protected from excess UV (Ultra Violet) rays from the sun. Once warmed, their molecules then radiate a portion of this heat energy back to earth, creating more warming on the surface of our planet. It is this radiation which causes atmospheric gases to move back to earth that scientists call the "greenhouse effect".

Much debate in the last five years about the greenhouse effect has centered on interpreting temperature numbers generated at weather stations all over the world. The data from these thermometers are averaged and plotted in attempts to determine just how fast the earth has heated up since the measurements began. There is now no doubt the world is getting warmer. The thermometers show that the world is warmer now than at any time since the measurements started. The year 1990 was the hottest year in the last century. Together with 1991, the years of 1983, 1987, 1988, and 1989, have been measured to be the warmest 6 years in the last hundred years. 1991 was the second warmest year of the past century, perhaps due to the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo during that year. The ash from the volcano in the upper atmosphere blocks some sunlight to earth, and is expected to generate a temporary two or three year cooling effect. After that time, most ash particles will have settled back to earth, and most scientists expect to see the global warming trend continue.

According to scientists, we can with "99% confidence conclude that current temperatures represent a real warming trend rather than a chance fluctuation over the 30-year period." Most scientists agree that the planet's temperature has risen 0.5 degrees Celsius since 1900, and will continue to increase at an increasing rate. The environment is responding to this warming. For instance, a study of mountain plants in the Alps (Europe), shows that some cold-loving plants are starting to move to higher and cooler altitudes. That is a possible response to increasing temperatures. The global effects of the greenhouse effect cannot be directly predicted simply because we do not have enough knowledge in the subject. However, we have been able to draw direct connections between certain natural phenomenon that supports the idea that something is changing.

Global warming has great effect on crops and weather conditions around the world. The northern hemisphere contains more land area than the southern hemisphere, and conversely, a lower percentage of the world's oceans. Since oceans absorb more heat than land areas, it is not surprising that most climate models predict faster heating over the northern hemisphere than the global average. In addition, models predict faster temperature increases at higher latitudes. If global warming trends continue, high temperatures everywhere in the US may reduce US agricultural productivity.

Northern continental areas are projected to have drier summer soils, due in part to earlier snow melts in the spring, and hotter, more cloudless summers, causing extensive evaporation of ground moisture. In addition, if the inland areas of the northern hemisphere are expected to receive less moisture, then, lake and river levels will be lower. Some reports predict the level of the Great Lakes will drop between 2 and 8 feet. River flows in the western US may be very vulnerable to increase temperatures expected as result of the greenhouse effect.

Scott Byers is the owner of Global Warming Info, a complete global warming resource with articles on global warming that you need to read.

I don?t know about you, but I?ve always been interested in my past. My way past, that is. That past that was even before I was born. Well, of course I?m talking about my ancestors. Those very people who had a part in making me who I am today.

It used to be the search for my heritage took me to the library where I had to spend countless hours combing through books seeking information about my ancestors. But, today, there are so many more resources available for genealogy research. Let?s take a look at three such resources you should consider, both high tech and low tech.

The Internet

The internet has certainly simplified genealogy research. You no longer have to take a trek to the library and sit next to someone with strong perfume or cologne to find information about your ancestors.

What kind of information can you find on the internet?

Surname Search
Birth Records
Death Records
Marriage Records
Census Records
Cemetery Records
Military Records

While searching on the internet you have the choice of using a paid service, or numerous free services, many specific to states or counties. For example, if you?re interest in Birth, Death and Marriage records for ancestors from West Virginia, you can go to http://www.wvculture.org/vrr and do a free search of their records. Many other states, counties and historical societies have similar websites.

Another way to utilize the internet is to visit genealogy communities or forums. Perhaps someone else is researching the same people, or knows someone who is. One such site is http://www.geocities.com/ohgenealogy/Index.html, where people have links to their personal genealogy pages, as well as a link to a genealogy forum. This site deals with ancestors from Ohio, but you can find similar pages for other states and countries by doing a basic internet search.

DNA Testing

Want to go even more high tech? Many people have turned to DNA tests to determine where their ancestors are from. A simple swab of the inside of one?s cheek (yep, just like they do on CSI) can yield DNA which will be compared with other?s DNA. Two types of DNA testing are Y chromosome testing (Y-DNA) and mitochondrial DNA testing. The Y ?DNA tests look at paternal lineage while the mitochondrial DNA looks at maternal lineage.

Such tests can be used to determine such things as: which present-day African country you share your ancestry; which European maternal clan you share ancestry; percentage of Native American ancestry.

Oral History

From the extreme high tech to the extreme low tech. While it?s true some stories get distorted over many tellings, you still should talk to as many relatives as possible to get clues to your genealogy. Oral histories can give you information that no DNA test or records search will offer.

Oral histories, along with giving you information to then research through the internet, can also give you the family ?color.? Oral histories make your heritage come alive and become more colorful. Maybe you have a horse thief in your family?s past. Now, nobody would want a car thief in their family now. But a horse thief in your family past who lived before the Civil War? Well, that?s just interesting.

Remember to organize all your information so that someday you can pass it down to future generations as well. You might want to purchase some genealogy software which can help organize and publish your information.

Remember, your past is a part of who you are today. Of course, your future is up to you.
Shari Hearn is creator of http://www.dnapaternitytests.net and http://www.locationweddings.net

Global Warming: Home Improvement Can Save the Planet and ?200 a Year in Bills

I recently read a news report which at first glance seemed like a misprint. The article stated that in the UK ?1 out of every ?3 spent on heating is currently being wasted in 10.3 million homes because they are not energy efficient. At first I couldn't believe what I was reading - not only is this a massive waste of money, it also spells disaster for the environment. All from a nation that is set on leading the world in tackling climate change. People are literally pouring money down the drain, whilst accelerating our planet towards disaster.

The energy that we take for granted in our homes comes largely from burning fossil fuels. In case you didn't know, this process creates CO2, which is being released into our skies and is causing a dangerous green house effect. It has been said by experts that global warming is a far greater threat than international terrorism. The devastating consequences include rising sea levels, increased occurrences of extreme weather events, and generally the destruction of millions of species that inhabit planet earth.

Draught-Proofing
In a typical home, 20% of all heat loss is because of draughts. To test your home just hold your hand up your door and window frames to feel for air coming through.

Dealing with exterior doors and windows is an inexpensive and easy way to start saving heating energy. Simply fit brushes, foam strips, and rubber blades to fill the gaps that cause unwanted draughts. You can get these draft excluders at any DIY store or builders' merchants. If you seal the gaps around floor boards and skirting boards, you can expect to save even more money. The amount of money that you will need to invest is around ?50-?100, but this will save you around ?20 a year because your heating bills will be lower. After 3-5 years it will have paid for itself and you will actually start saving money.

Draught Proofing vs. Ventilation
A balance has to be struck between ventilation and draught proofing. A completely air tight house will become stuffy and can cause bad, stale smells. Regulations for new houses require that the half the air in the house be replaced with fresh air once every hour.

If you heat rooms individually, you will want to install draught excluders to interior doors as well. Heating only the rooms that you need is a great way of saving energy in the winter months, especially for larger houses. If you have a gas fire in your home you should be very careful not to limit the amount of ventilation that the fire needs to operate safely when burning. If there is not a good supply of oxygen to a gas fire it will affect the combustion, giving off dangerous carbon monoxide.

Open fire places allow a lot of cold air into houses. Flaps can be installed to lessen the problem, but to totally irradiate it you will need to use a central heating system instead.

Tim Brennan is the author of the PiciFix.com website. Continue reading this guide by claiming your FREE eBook right now. Learn how you can save over ?200 every year in heating bills:

The Effects Of Global Warming - How To Live With Them.

Many effects of global warming are with us now. Rising temperatures and ocean levels. Melting glaciers and polar ice.

But do you know what these will mean to you? Or to your children?

And what you can do. You, tiny individual among 6 billion people.

Perhaps if we all had a clearer idea about the effects in our daily lives, we would try to do more about global warming. I am betting that more knowledge on this subject is a good thing, despite its shock-and-awe effects.

So, read on you brave learner!

Briefly, the effects of global warming include these:

* Extreme weather

* Rising oceans

* Food and water resources

* Human health

* Economic

* War and conflicts, and

* Further global warming

And each effect affects another, closely connected to the Earth?s web of life.

Do you know that today?s average surface temperature is up by about half a degree Celcius compared to temperatures in 1890? ?Half a degree!? you exclaim. So what?

Well, if half a degree has the power to melt all the glaciers on five continents, as it is doing now, then what would the prediction of about five degrees by the end of this century mean to your daily life?

But you do not live near any glaciers you say. OK. Consider this:

Glaciers are the source of many of the great rivers that keep crops irrigated, provide water for drinking and washing and let you enjoy fishing and swimming.

?But I live in a city and when I want water I open a tap. For swimming I have the bath and as far as fishing is concerned there?s the local fish shop!?

Right, I see. It is difficult to get you to feel uncomfortable with effects of global warming.

How about this then.

Many organisations are concerned about the effects. The UN?s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts as most likely a 3C rise in global surface temperature by 2050. The UK?s chief scientific advisor Professor King has warned that such a rise would put some 400 million people at risk of starvation. Even the Pentagon, that least of all greenie organisations, wrote a report in 2004 that highlighted predictions of

* Severe water shortages

* Severe energy shortages

* Mega droughts and floods

* Nuclear conflict,

* Famine

* Widespread rioting

* Wars over water and energy resources

* At 150 million migrating environmental refugees

And these are suggested to occur in the next 20 years. Not too far away is it? Got your attention now?

These effects would be felt everywhere - even by city dwellers who have forgotten what a cow looks like.

Overwhelmed? Understandable, but don?t be. Mother Earth needs all the practical people like you who commit themselves to action.

There are two levels at which you can do that. Change the way you think and do something every day. No matter how small.

Change the way you think.

We are in this mess because we have come to believe that there are no limits to energy resources and whatever the Earth can provide. Progress is about material things rather than how we get on ? with ourselves, with others and with our environments.

Einstein said that you cannot solve problems with the same thinking that caused them. True. To change our ingrained thinking a practical step would be to engage with people who know how to live well under highly challenging circumstances. To build positive relationships with them would help.

Who are they then?

People with disabilities and frail aged people often know how to live a sustainable, even a flourishing life, despite their vulnerable situation. They have learned that our world is interdependent and wellbeing is made through getting on well with others.

So, come on. Make a far-travelling ripple in the pond by throwing your pebble of direct action today, whenever it crosses your path. Give someone a hand, a smile or a chat. It will change your mindset and may prove the Pentagon wrong on some scores at least if enough of us do that.

Make some practical changes

Small acts can have big results.

For example if everyone changed just one traditional 75W light bulb for an 18W compact fluorescent one for four hours a day this small action could reduce greenhouse emissions by millions of tonnes annually. Just 100,000 tonnes is equivalent to taking some 22,000 cars off the road!

So this act causes real ripples.

What else? Let?s see.

* Dress warmly and turn your thermostat down a degree on cold days

* Close your blinds to keep the sun out on hot days

* Turn off lights when you do not need them

* Turn the computer off when not in use

* Walk or cycle rather than take the car

* Use public transport

* Buy an energy-efficient car

* Insist on energy-efficient housing design

* Reduce your shower time ? or shower together (Mmm, well that may be counter productive)

* Buy energy-efficient rated appliances. And...

* Use your creativity to save energy where you can. There is so much you can do to reduce further global warming.

Over to you.
Let it ripple!

Dr Erik Leipoldt has long been concerned about the effects of global warming. He uses his experience of disability in practical approaches towards alternate energy sources to survive and thrive with climate change.

Global Warming Changes

The global warming climate change is a big issue, since we all start to witness more and more extreme weather and frequent natural disasters, and many of the old generation will tell you that they never experienced a warmer summer, a colder winter and a rainier season we all start to comprehend that what started 20 years or more as a small group of scientists started making noise about the greenhouse effects and global warming was not something scientific at all, it is very much a part of our every day life and may turn into a very important consideration in the near future.

As glaciers in Antarctica start melting in a seriously dangerous rate and the temperatures in the ocean rise as a result of the glaciers temperature more and more people understand that the next few years will not be the same in terms of temperature and the extreme weather all of the globe experience, extreme temperatures are experienced everywhere around the blue planet and there are many side effects to this phenomena.

Just speak with a ski instructor in Europe and you will understand that some people in this industry are very concerned for its future, as snow peaks quickly lose most of its mass, even in the European alps the rate of snow loss is overwhelming, glaciers fall apart and the increase of summer vacationers coming to see parts of mountains fall apart as a result of the decrease of glaciers to hold them together is raising serious concern for the future of skiing, with less snow and higher temperatures it will not be a popular and relatively cheap sport anymore.

But snow and ski is the least of concerns for every human on earth, floods and heat waves are. Floods like we have seen hit the U.S and parts of a Asia and Europe. The change in the average temperature around the world, all above their usual averages and well above the slow global warming recorded in the last few decades. Heat waves that kill many hundreds in eastern Europe and western Europe, places that have not felt such high temperatures ever and certainly not for so long as 10 or 15 days. Sudden snow storms early in the year have a significant effect on many industries and their transportation systems.

It is assumed that all humans on the planet will feel a direct discomfort or even worst in the next few years, all connected to global warming. If we are really concerned we should do our best to raise the awareness to global warming and the dangers involved. The development of India and China makes the risk even more significant as more and more people of these two great nations purchase cars and use more electricity then ever before.

While it is hard to explain to them why they cant use the same thing the Americans and Europeans enjoyed for so long, it is fairly simple to explain that if we continue to live like that the days of humans (as the lives of many creatures that share earth with us) are numbered.

It is a clear and very true threat on human life on earth and global warming has only reveled a part of its power, it is estimated that once we hit a certain degree things will escalate very quickly and everyone will feel this very fast, we might see a complete change of the weather system in the next few years if we do not act now.

David Evermon has been involved in many environment related projects, writing on many subjects related to the environment and project management his hobbies and knowledge of construction, David writes articles about Global Warming