It is not the time to be complacent or apathetic. What we need to do is to act positively and constructively. There is disaster and devastation looming. We should not shy away from the truth, however ‘inconvenient the truth’ may be. It is time we put our shoulders to the wheel and focused with all our concentration. Because global warming is coming to swallow us up. And if we waste too much time, it will really engulf us. Then there will be only blackness around. We will be beset by the greatest catastrophe imaginable, something that we have only talked about and seen enacted in exciting cinemas until now, in reality. If global warming spreads its tentacles over us, you will not be able to read this article anymore. Because mankind will be extinct!

Understanding Global Warming

Global warming is a phenomenon that has been taking place for quite some time. Our blue planet is getting hotter due to an increase in the volume of carbon dioxide in it. Tons and tons of carbon dioxide have been produced due to the burning of fossil fuels and non-renewable resources such as coal, natural gas, petroleum, crude oil, oil shale, etc. The use of fossil fuels on a widespread basis started from the 16th century during the advent of the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain and in the colonies of Great Britain. The Industrial Revolution witnessed the discovery of the steam engine, which was operated with the help of fossil fuels. But over the centuries, scientists gradually discovered that burning fossil fuels leads to a high degree of air pollution. The combustion of fossil fuels results in a high proportion of noxious gases such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, etc. to be emanated into the atmosphere. These poisonous gases have an adverse impact on the climate and the ecology of our planet. They also affect our health negatively.

Oxides of sulfur and nitrogen when dissolved in water form corrosive acids, which are capable of wreaking irreparable damage on mausoleums and historical edifices that are made of marble.

Sulfur dioxide plus water gives sulfuric acid (highly corrosive acid)
Nitrogen dioxide plus water gives nitric acid (highly corrosive acid)

Sustainable Development

Hence, when such toxic gases dissolve in and form a mixture with rainwater, the inevitable outcome is an acidic kind of rain popularly called acid rain. This acid rain can eat away the surfaces of architectural splendors as has been mentioned above. A refinery near the Taj Mahal of Agra, India had been releasing such deadly gases into the air above the mausoleum. These gases led to the formation of acid rain that had an atrophying effect on the spotless white marble surfaces of the Taj. The destruction was so alarming that the management of the refinery had to be hauled up by the Government of India and by environmental activists. The refinery was told to lower its emissions by using high-end manufacturing techniques and to shut down some of its operations to prevent the fabulous monument and tomb of Mogul Emperor Shah Jehan and his wife Mumtaz Mahal (after whom the monument is named) from crumbling totally into dust. The refinery did its best by modernizing some of its manufacturing methods, by planting myriad trees, by developing an ecological park that is currently the habitat of many migratory and rare species of birds. Such a sincere response from the refinery to protect one of the seven modern wonders of the world from decay placated the government and the activists. However, environmental watchdogs must not sleep. There are hundreds of industries across the world, which violate environmental laws and norms, everyday. Steps towards safeguarding the environment must be executed on a long-term basis. Short-term environmental projects and sudden forays into ‘environmental protection schemes’ for the sake of publicity and image-boosting are neither desirable nor useful. Sustainable development and environmental conservation are the only weapons that we have to fight global warming.

Greenhouse Effect

The temperature of our planet is rising due to the greenhouse effect. The burning of fossil fuels leads to the emission of greenhouses gases. Carbon dioxide, water vapor and methane are some well-known greenhouse gases. These greenhouse gases absorb and give out infrared radiation. Greenhouse gases have a tendency to trap heat and elevate the temperature of our planet. Hence, it is due to these greenhouse gases, that our planet is getting heated up by a tremendous extent and global warming is setting in. This continuous rise in temperature can have cataclysmic and far-reaching consequences for our planet and on our lives. The hot air causes glaciers to melt and snow capped mountain peaks to thaw. If the heat is very intense, ice and snow of most massifs around the world will melt very fast. The melted ice and snow will flow in streams into rivers and finally into seas thus causing an unprecedented rise in sea levels. Rivers will swell and seas will overflow onto and inundate the land. Coastlines will disappear, submerging entire countries. Besides a global deluge, extreme weather patterns, such as heat waves and cold waves, floods and droughts, and violent storms, are other upshots of global warming.

Deforestation

Deforestation is another aspect that precipitates global warming as it causes an unusual increase in the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Global warming has already set in on our planet. However, when global warming will set in, in full swing, it will uproot all existing forests of our planet and cause the complete annihilation of marine life. So, deforestation triggers global warming and global warming, in its turn, causes forests to dwindle. What a vicious circle!

Ozone Depletion

The ozone layer that shields our planet from the direct and unforgiving ultraviolet (UV) rays of the sun is getting depleted gradually. Certain gases better known as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) or freons and bromofluorocarbons or halons that are produced by our manufacturing industries are eating into the ozone layer. Aerosols manufactured by various industries are causing the ozone layer to wear away too. This eating away of the ozone layer is creating a hole or a depression in the ozone layer, commonly called the ozone hole. As the ozone hole is increasing in area, it is permitting more UV rays to penetrate into the Earth’s atmosphere. The increased concentration of UV light in the Earth’s atmosphere is rendering our planet uninhabitable. Excessive exposure to UV light causes skin cancer and cataracts in humans. Excessive exposure to UV light also causes irrevocable harm to various species of animals and plants. The fallout of this is an irremediable problem in the food chain. The depletion of the ozone layer is a very controversial issue as it has pros as well as cons. The irony of the ‘(w)hole’ matter is that ozone is a greenhouse gas. Too much of it will give rise to global warming while too little of it will result in a human population that is rife with skin cancer.

Meltdown

This meltdown is different from the economic meltdown that we recently experienced. While we have proved repeatedly that we can bounce back from a recessionary meltdown, we still haven’t proved to ourselves or to anybody that we can remain unfazed or unaffected if all the icecaps and glaciers of the world melt and if we are consumed by this all-encompassing and horrifying phenomenon of global warming.

Are We Prepared…?

Sadly, we are not in the least prepared to tackle a disaster of such a great magnitude. We are divided amongst ourselves about which nations should cut down emissions and by what extent. In various meetings and summit conferences, we only bicker about figures, levels and percentages while the Earth’s biological clock keeps ominously ticking away. There is no unity whatsoever between the developed, the developing and the underdeveloped nations on the score of global warming. All agree that global warming is a threat that spells universal disaster and devastation. But the main bone of contention is which country is responsible and which country should take the initiative to curtail emissions drastically. Blame games and passing the buck are rampant, and pointing accusatory fingers, putting the onus, and making recriminations and counter recriminations seem to be the order of the day, while global warming steadily continues to rend our planet. Developed nations invariably endeavor to pressurize and bully the less developed nations while the less developed nations cry hoarse to rally support in order to pin down developed nations. The mercury shows no signs of abating. It keeps shooting up at a frightening pace while politics, one-upmanship, heated debates, power and orations reign.

The Real Enemy

What on earth are we all doing, all of us? Time will never wait. Arise, awake, all of you from your slumbers and quit this wrangling and infighting. Do we want another calamity like the one that happened 65 million years ago and obliterated all the dinosaurs from the planet? No. We certainly do not want to be wiped out. Then what is stopping us from uniting against a common cause? What is stopping us from leaving our individual cares aside? After all, in truth, we have all been created by the same Creator. Instead of highlighting this fact, why are we choosing to forget it and concentrate on our various disparities, the various walls that we have built that separate nation from nation, state from state, race from race and human from human? Is there a greater enemy than global warming? An enemy that lies within us?
The choice is ours. Either we join hands and make a concerted effort to defeat global warming or let the enemy within us create more factions amongst us and defeat us all. If we cannot keep the enemy within us at bay, it will ultimately conquer us all. And, if we, humans of the 21st century who reside on this beautiful Earth are mean and vile enough to prefer to protect power and politics, vested interests, and racism, instead of our endangered planet, we should be vanquished by global warming. Because our real adversary, it seems, is not global warming but we ourselves.

Damien Ghosh

I cant seem to find air snd water pollution issues that are within atlanta, ga!

madchuck1115

My city’s air quality and drinking water are very poor. How do I come up with a mitigation plan? I need some advice on exactly what Mitigation means in terms of air and water pollution and how it can be cut back or prevented?

Jen Wilson

Renewable Energy Tax Credits – Greener in More Ways Than One

by: Matthew HickIt’s certainly no secret: the cost of renewable energy production and its implementation can be extremely high. This is the very reason why tax credits are often used to enable renewable energy sources to compete with fossil fuels.

With rising oil and natural gas prices, the war in Iraq and environmental problems centering on global warming and air pollution, our nation is concerned about their energy security and environmental issues. The United States is recognizing the need and power of renewable energy and is supporting its development through federal income tax credits and incentives.

President George Bush signed the Energy Policy Act of 2005 into law on August 8, 2005. It took over four years for Congress to pass after reviewing several different versions. It extended tax credits for wind and biomass energies for two more years and included additional tax credits for solar, geothermal and ocean energy.

Solar tax credits apply to residential and business users. This tax credit would pertain to eligible equipment installed between 1/1/06 and 12/31/08. The equipment installed would include those solar systems that generate electricity, heat and cool or provide hot water to structures. It must also be operational in the first year the credit is taken and the taxpayer must be the original user. The credit is 30% with a $2,000 cap for each unit for residential taxpayers and it is 30% with a no business cap specified for corporate users. After 12/31/08 the corporate tax credit will return to 10%.

The geothermal corporate credit remains at 10% with no maximum stated. This credit does not apply to geothermal heat pumps and is limited to geothermal energy equipment that produces, uses or distributes energy derived from geothermal deposits. A personal tax credit of 10% with a $300 maximum can be taken for geothermal heat pumps.

The federal government also included production tax credits for renewable energies. These credits allow companies to invest in renewable technologies and write the investment off against other investments. This was a major push of support for renewable energy technologies. The credit was extended until December 31, 2008. The credits are 1.9 cents per kWh for wind, geothermal, closed-loop biomass and 1.0 cent per kWh for hydroelectric power, landfill gas, municipal solid waste and open-loop biomass. These pertain to the first ten years of operation

Similar to production tax credits, there were also provisions for renewable energy production incentives (REPI) for state and local governments, as well as, nonprofit electrical cooperatives. The enacted law included new qualifying energy generation facilities for solar, wind, biomass (excluding municipal solid waste combustion) landfill gas and certain types of dry steam geothermal energy. It was extended through fiscal year 2016 and also included ocean and wave energy.

These credits will be applied to any amount that remains after any other state or utility incentives have been taken. There are numerous states that do offer incentives also. Some new state incentives include a California state rebate program for photovoltaics, an Illinois state grant program for wind energy, a New Jersey state rebate program for geothermal heat pumps and a Pennsylvania property tax assessment for wind energy. These are just a few of the many state incentives that exist.

The United States government and the individual states are promoting renewable energy sources as an energy source to be encouraged. With all the incentives available, this may be one of the best times to make your air cleaner with a commitment toward this energy. With everyone’s support we can recharge renewable energy’s development.

Teteh

Gordon Petten asked:


Global warming is a phenomenon that is way beyond and over the level of awareness of the man on the street, but whose impact is felt by him wherever he is.in every nook around the world, in our very residences, in every geographical location in fact. Everyone is starting to feel its impact in our daily lives. Already there are indications of the sad plight of the earth’s climate in some areas of the US that are blessed with very good climate.

There is ample evidence of the effects of a changing climate in California, for example. Records show that in the half century that passed, temperatures in winter and spring have been warmer. There has also been a recorded drop in the level of spring snow in low elevation to mid-elevation mountains. Blooms show up a couple of weeks earlier, while snowpacks are also melting earlier by 1 to 4 weeks. This is very much related to the worldwide increase of average temperatures by 1 degree Fahrenheit over the last 100 years. It is important to note that the US is the biggest contributor to air pollution that traps heat (CO2 emissions from cars, trucks and industrial plants) and causes global warming. Such kind of activities is projected to be the gauge at how much warmer the state’s climate will become as it is also a scientifically projected that California temperatures will rise by 4.7 10.5 degrees Fahrenheit in this century. If state laws and Washington declarations prevail, emissions could be cut and consequently contain the temperature rise to around 3 to 5.6 degrees Fahrenheit.

In addition to warmer climate, continued abuse and misuse of the environment can cause corollary incidents of widespread wildfires, as well as reduced production and quality of agricultural harvest.

San Joaquin Valley, according to climatologists, may also bear the brunt of global warming. There are existing problems, like water shortage, that can be aggravated by climactic change. At present, South of Fresno for instance, gets only 8 inches of rain annually; the residents depend on the melting of Sierra Nevada’s snowpack to compensate. But this will be where the main problem would lie with warmer temperatures, the Sierras may not be able to hold that much water anymore. This spells disaster for California’s $32 billion agriculture industry. San Joaquin Valley produces nearly 50% of the US supply of fruits and vegetables, San Joaquin County ranking 5th in the countries total agriculture production.

This is a painful eye-opener; global warming hurts not only the physical environment, but also society and the economy. Worst of all realizations is: mildly put, it was initiated by human activities and it is perpetrated by human indifference.

San Joaquin Valley may, for the most part of the year, be dry. Not the case for the area north of the valley. Higher sea levels (another dangerous consequence of global warming) would pose a danger for the Delta areas like Stockton and Sacramento. They stand the risk of being flooded, especially Stockton which is at sea level. Seawater seeping inland would destroy agriculture that thrives on fresh water.

Another consequence that is not as highly felt as the effect of global warming on water and land resources, is the effect of warmer temperatures on the quality of air. San Joaquin Valley will suffer from poorer air quality; as it is, it is shoulder to shoulder with LA and Houston in not so healthy air quality.

These are no laughing matters. Foreseeing the dismal developments, state leaders are starting to legislate to address global warming concerns by cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Last year saw California as the very first state to implement a law limit emissions of these dangerous gasses.

Concerned agencies are also actively advocate awareness of global warming and encourage helpful measures. The University of the Pacific continually conducts campaigns for the cause. Recycling is highly recommended anything from bottles, to cans, to paper. So is lesser driving and the use of fluorescent bulbs over incandescent ones. These are very simple solutions which can be easily done by everyone, but are usually overlooked and disregarded. If only everyone would stand up to the challenge now!



John Eddy