An alarm is being raised about global warming causing dramatic rises in the temperature of ocean waters. Scientists are studying warming waters all over the globe to determine the extent of this rise in temperatures.

The consequences of global warming are far-reaching. One of the most devastating effects of global warming is an impact on tropical storms. Hurricanes that would have been category 3 storms in years past are now category 4 or above because they are energized when they pick up warmer-than-normal ocean water. There has been a significant increase in these higher intensity storms over the last 35 years. In 2005, the Atlantic was bombarded with 27 tropical storms powerful enough to receive a name, and fifteen of them developed into hurricanes. Five of these storms were classified as category 4 hurricanes and four reached the level of category 5. Hurricane Katrina made a terrible mark on history in August of 2005. It became the costliest hurricane in American history and also one of most lethal.

Earth’s ice is crucial in order to maintain the delicate balance in the environment. As global warming causes temperatures to rise in the oceans, glaciers and icecaps are melting more rapidly. One particular ice shelf in Antarctica, the northern section of the Larson B shelf, collapsed in recent years. Scientists suddenly realized how fast the ice shelf could disintegrate. The polar ice cap is dissolving at an astonishing rate as well–9% per decade. This recent phenomenon is a definite cause for alarm. In the last half century, the thickness of ice in the Arctic has decreased by 40%.

Perennial sea ice in the Arctic has been receding as well. In 2005 there was a record low in square miles of sea ice. Just two years later, in 2007, the record was broken again with half a million square miles less perennial ice than in 2005. Some scientists predict that all the sea ice will be gone by 2040.

Melting ice will also cause sea levels to rise. When this happens, islands are lost and coastal communities are flooded. Various suggestions have been made about the levels that the water could reach, anywhere from 10 to 23 inches by 2100.

Global warming has the potential to make the earth a very inhospitable place to live. Rising temperatures in ocean waters are a clear indication that the process has begun. With the melting of ice in the glaciers, icecaps, and on the sea, it is a matter of time before global warming has even more harmful effects. It is up to the people of the world to do what they can to stop or slow this alarming environmental problem.

Mike Hirn

Saving Energy Landscape

by: Joshua SantorTrying to keep warm in the winter and cool in the summer have been primary concerns and costs for average families. After Hurricane Katrina, the world found itself having to deal with higher energy costs in order to meet the aforementioned concerns. After Katrina natural gas and oil prices went on an upward spiral. What has not been popularly explored was that landscaping is capable of conserving energy in the home.

How much energy can you really save?

By effectively arranging your landscape to meet specific energy needs, you can save up to at least 30% in the cost of your cooling and heating. Trees, which are a staple in properly landscaped property, can effectively reduce 60% of sunlight even without foliage.

How does it work?

The primary consideration in landscaping in to conserve energy is to conduct heat effectively through the property, properly direct wind movement to manage the effects of direct wind blowing through the house, and maintain whatever heat or cool is in the house.

These are the three goals, and these are achieved by positioning various foliage- whether it be deciduous trees, conifer trees, evergreen plants, shrubs or bushes.

Keeping the Heat In

Shrubs and bushes that are planted close to the wall of the house create what is called a dead air barrier, and actually buffers the foundation of the house, making sure that warm air or cold – whichever is inside the house – that would usually escape through roofs or windows stays inside.

Redirecting the Sunlight

The summer sun is one of the main culprits of increasing heat inside the home. When the sun’s rays hit the home directly, 90% of this heat goes into heating the walls and foundations of the home. The best location for these trees in the yard or garden is either west or south of the house, where they can best block the sun from its peak time until the time it sets.

By putting trees very proximate to the property, you are effectively reducing temperatures inside the home. Huge shade trees in particular can reduce temperatures up to 10 degrees Fahrenheit.

In the winter, deciduous trees that shed foliage allow for sunlight to pass through the branches, providing some warmth to the home. Landscaping is an activity that should be maximized for all its functionality. After all, if beautifying a home garden or yard works to cut the utility bills it is worth consideration.

stopglobalwarmingtogether.com

Space Viz asked:


What would happen if something the size of a mountain, flying at 26 000 miles per hour (41 843 kilometers per hour), hit the Earth? Do our Governments have a plan in place to protect us from such a calamitous event? Judging by the administration’s sluggish response both before and after Hurricane Katrina the likely answer is ‘No’.

We live in a busy Solar System with lots of moving parts. Many of those parts consist of stony-iron materials known as asteroids and many of these rocky bodies have yet to be discovered and could impact with Earth at any time.

There are also many icy bodies, known as Comets. They live out past the orbits of Neptune. Any stirring of their orbits, perhaps nudged by gravitational forces of nearby stars can change their trajectories for a visit into the inner Solar System putting them on a potential collision course with Earth, also at any time.

Scientists Study Recent Developments

In January 2008 there was some news that an asteroid, known as 2007 WD5, might hit Mars. The resulting impact was projected to be similar in size to Meteor Crater, an impact crater a mile-wide in Arizona, formed in a flash of white light and fireball, when an asteroid struck there 50 000 years ago.

Around the same time, another asteroid known as 2007 TU 24 was discovered in November 2007 by the Catalina Sky Survey on October 11, 2007. Calculations determined it would pass near the Earth, on January 29, 2008, just outside the orbit of the Moon, which is considered very close in astronomical terms.

2007 TU 24 is between 150 and 600 meters in diameter. The average interval between actual Earth impacts for an object this size is estimated to be about 37 000 years. Radar Observations of 2007 TU 24 were made at the Goldstone, California in late January and early February. This will permit later 3D shape reconstruction.

In July 1994, twenty-one fragments of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 smashed into Jupiter, leaving black and brown blotches on the planet for over a year, each blotch itself, the size of Earth. Astronomers have yet to witness an asteroid impact with another planet.

Therefore the opportunity to witness the 2007 WD5 impact on Mars was exciting to astronomers and scientists who wanted to make measurements of these types of objects as well as calculations and impact scenarios of what might happen should an asteroid, or a comet, impact with the Earth.

The Mars impact never took place as the asteroid cruised by without incident; a disappointment to astronomers who lost an opportunity to observe the direct effects of an asteroid impact on a planet similar to Earth.

Luckily for us though, the asteroid 2007 TU 24 also missed Earth. I couldn’t help wondering how we would actually have responded if the scientists had told us that the Earth-bound asteroid was headed directly for us and that, according to their calculations there was no way it was going to miss us!

How Worried Should We Be?

One of the main problems we have right now is the lack of an effective response. Even if we knew that an asteroid or comet was headed straight for us, and even if we had plenty of warning ahead of time, what would we do? Once we detect them we still have to figure out some way to safely and reliably destroy or deflect them. To date, such methods do not exist in practicum, only in theory. No missions to prove the ability to move or destroy an asteroid or comet have ever been undertaken by any country.

If an asteroid were to hit Earth, impact would likely be in the oceans as Earth is over 70% water. The effects of such an impact could include Tsunamis, which would be devastating to small Island nations and coastlines on the main land on both sides of the ocean, or could be as devastating as planet-wide environmental collapse if the projectile is large enough to punch through the ocean floor.

An asteroid could also hit land, including cities, again causing anywhere from local to global devastation depending on the size of the impactor. Food chains, transportation, infrastructure could all be leveled with a moderate impact and civilization itself can be jeopardized.

A big impact would jeopardize the survival of the entire planet, not just food chains and civilization, by kicking up tones of dust and soot high into the atmosphere, similar to gigantic volcanic eruptions which would block out the sun and change climate, killing off vegetation as temperatures plummet and no access to solar energy for photosynthesis.

When looking at the Moon, Mercury, Mars and even the Earth itself, we can see the pock-marks that tell the tale of their respective histories. As the Moon and Mercury are not subject to the forces of erosion, their battle-worn landscapes bear the scars of countless impact craters displayed in plain view; harsh reminders of the reality of every planet’s life in the brutal environment of space. These pock-marks should act as a reminder that “It’s not a matter of If an impact will happen, but when!”

According to David Morrison at NASA-AMES in an article he wrote in September 1998, on average a NEO with about 1 million megatons energy (roughly 2 km in diameter) collides with the Earth once or twice per million years, statistically speaking. An impact of this size would kill a substantial proportion of the Earth’s population and have a devastating and lasting effect on Earth’s environment. What such a statistic does not tell you of course is whether the impact will occur one million years from today, or one week from today. What is interesting to note is that the impact that most scientists believe is responsible for causing the extinction of the dinosaurs occurred 65 million years ago. That may well make us long overdue for an extinction-level strike.

Is Anyone Doing Anything About This Situation?

US Military budgets do not include Earth’s protection. The US military does not even have a mission to worry about it. The military agenda of all countries is to defend their respective countries’ interests. To date, NEO’s are not of formal interest to any military. No country or conglomerate of countries has undertaken the task, officially, to protect the Earth from NEOs.

Were an imminent impact to happen, would the government(s) even tell us at all? We have already determined that governments are not prepared to intercede, intercept and save the day. In February 2008 the US Air Force shot down an orbiting US Spy Satellite. The satellite was traveling at near asteroid speeds, at 23 000 miles per hour. Impressive as that was, who would save Earth from an impending impact?

“Space Guardians” around the world are hunting for these potentially hazardous Near Earth Objects. (That term, Space Guardians, was created by myself and based on Sir Arthur C. Clarke’s novel “Rendezvous with Rama” which featured an NEO search program called Space Guard. Sir Arthur C. Clarke very much appreciates that reference.)

The major US-based searches include the most productive sky survey, the Catalina Sky Survey, run by Steve Larson, with searches in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres. The remaining searches are all uniquely located in the Northern hemisphere with money provided by NASA. They include: the US Air Force operated LINEAR program from Lincoln Laboratories, run by Grant Stokes and NEAT (Near Earth Asteroid Tracking) a JPL run operation. Spacewatch is yet another NEO search founded by Tom Gehrels and Robert McMillan and run by Robert McMillan, based near Tucson, Arizona. Finally, the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, has a search called LONEOS (Lowell Observatory Near Earth Object Search) run by Ted Bowell. There are also countless amateur astronomers around the world that help in tracking the known asteroids (sometimes even finding a few new ones themselves).

Is Luck a Sensible Strategy?

We know what will happen. It is inevitable. We’ve witnessed impacts on other worlds. Scientists are convinced that it was a Comet that wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago.

The big impact at Tunguska in 1908 is the latest major event of its kind on Earth. Luckily it exploded over an uninhabited part of Siberia and only one person died as a result. However, the explosion was equal to that at Hiroshima and the trees that were felled for miles around the impact site remain so to this day.

While very few people on Earth consider these very real dangers from Space, thousands of relentless NEO’s traveling silently through the night go on indifferently about their business.

Learn More

Videos

For a thorough understanding of the NEO hazard and what is being done about it, watch the seminal film on this subject, “Planetary Defense”.

“Planetary Defense” speaks with military, scientific and governmental experts about the dangers we currently face and any plans for dealing with NEOs in the future. The film also features eminent science fiction author Sir Arthur C. Clarke and Apollo 9 astronaut, Rusty Schweickart, who will be advising the United Nations about the NEO risk in 2009.

The film runs 48 minutes and has nearly one hour of Bonus Features in the form of two silent slideshows. One slideshow shows a collection of asteroids and comets from NASA, JPL and other sources; the other is dedicated to impact sites here on Earth.

Find out more about the film, Planetary Defense at http://www.SpaceViz.com

Online

For more information about NEO’s visit http://impact.arc.nasa.gov. There you will find comprehensive coverage about NEO’s by David Morrison of NASA-AMES.

A plethora of other material about the NEO hazard can be found online.



John Eddy

Glenn Freiboth asked:


If you watch the History channel and watch the top 10 disasters that will befall the world, the number one prediction that is actual happening today is Global Warming.

We begin this article with a brief explanation of Global Warming and it’s impact on life on earth and then move on to the worlds first and only command and control system that will help first responders help save lives when disaster strikes.

Global warming is the increase in the earth’s average temperature due to the buildup of CO2 and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere from human activities.

Global climate changes were due to many factors, including massive volcanic eruptions, which increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere; changes in the intensity of energy emitted by the Sun; and variations in Earth’s position relative to the Sun, both in its orbit and in the inclination of its spin axis. Global Warming: Early Warning Signs Illustrates observed consequences, as indicated by periods of unusually warm weather, coastal flooding, and changes in glaciers and polar regions.

If there is coastal flooding in coming years due to melting ice caps, it won’t happen suddenly and give you a tidal wave effect.

Scientists all over the world are making predictions about the ill effects of Global warming and connecting some of the events that have taken place in the pat few decades as an alarm of global warming.

They also report of extreme weather events, long-term droughts, and rising sea levels. Warmer temperatures will alter weather patterns, making it likely that there will be more intense droughts and more intense rain events. Most scientists also agree extreme weather events like Hurricane Katrina or Los Angeles’ July record 119-degree Fahrenheit temperature are directly attributed to global warming.

Moreover, extreme weather events, including heat waves, droughts and floods, are predicted to increase in frequency and intensity, causing loss of lives and property and throwing agriculture into turmoil.

And the science tells us that human activity has made enormous impacts to our planet that affect our well-being and even our survival as a species. Many are agreed that climate change may be one of the greatest threats facing the planet.

Scientists have linked even this amount of warming to numerous changes taking place around the world, including melting mountain glaciers and polar ice, rising sea level, more intense and longer droughts, more intense storms, more frequent heat waves, and changes in the life cycles of many plants and animals.

Glaciers are melting, plants and animals are being forced from their habitat, and the number of severe storms and droughts is increasing.

In the next few years we will see great disasters happening right before our eyes in every corner of the world as man made gases continue to be spewed into the atmosphere causing death and pestilence.

Mankind however will not be extinct. People will survive only if there are systems in place that will aid the successful rescue and evacuation of people on a global scale.

A company called Ordia Solutions that had just released a Mobile Tactical Collaboration System (MCTS) interoperability / communication solution for law enforcement, fire/EMS, and search and rescue agencies. The MTCS is the first of a new generation of intuitive, easy-to-use browser-based solutions that addresses improved interoperability for first responders. The MTCS can be securely hosted inside an agency’s firewall and can be delivered to desktop PCs and laptops, and requires no client installation.

Ordia Solutions MTCS is built around the concept of shared workspaces. Multiple authorized user’s can simultaneously browse to a shared workspace to access the same dynamic operating picture. Each user sees identical data displayed on the map, including incident reports, infrastructure, operations, photographs, drawings, and streamed videos.

Any change to the operating picture by a user with editing access is immediately reflected on every other user’s display. Unlike traditional collaboration tools, MTCS facilitates seamless scaling of the user base during multi-agency operations. Because the system is entirely web browser-based, new task force members can be integrated quickly and begin collaborating by simply sharing a secure hyperlink.

The MTSC system use GPS Tracking called AdvanTraq GPS through a collaboration with GLC Enterprises, Inc. This uses an advanced tracking solutions for personnel, vehicle, K9, and cargo that operate as standalone solutions or integrated with and traceable through a Mobile Tactical Collaboration System workspace. Applications range from tactical operations and border/perimeter security to coordinating multi-jurisdictional and multidisciplinary critical incident response.

The MTCS system allows for real time GPS Tracking with shared workspaces to allow first responders to save lives during the upcoming disasters caused by Global Warming. The system is currently in trials with many governmental agencies including the FBI!

All trials to date have exceeded expectations and will be deployed throughout the world in the coming months.

The bad news is that the impacts from Global Warming cannot be stopped! It’s already a runaway train.

Massive disasters and death will continue to take the toll on the human race. How rescue personnel and first responders respond to the upcoming disasters will no doubt determine how many people can be saved now and in the future.



Lina Adams