Our planet is getting warmer, with an increasing pace. This month, there were three bad, very bad news about global warming. According to a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Antarctica is losing six times more ice mass annually now than 40 years ago. Another study, published in the scientific journal Advances in Atmospheric Sciences concluded that 2018 was the hottest year ever recorded for the Earth’s oceans. And, according to
Category Archives: Global Warming
African musicians protest the destruction of the environment with a song titled “Samalilani” (Preserve)
Musicians from Zambia (Africa) protest the destruction of the environment and the wildlife with the song titled “
Why We Need to Trust Technology to Fight Climate Change
By Morgen Henderson
Based on the Paris Climate Agreement, more than 6,000 cities, states, and provinces in dozens of countries must drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 to save life as we know it. The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report foretells an inhospitable Earth unless we achieve this monumental undertaking.
Continue reading Why We Need to Trust Technology to Fight Climate Change
Global Warming: Where Are We Now?
In the 1950s, the first reports of increasing global temperatures were found in local newspapers, where journalists referenced scientific studies on climate change. The term was casually used until the 70s when scientists began publishing their papers and other work regarding climate change. In the 80s, NASA climate scientists testified before Congress to the effects of climate change and the studies outlining the causes and potential consequences of rising temperatures.
Now, almost 70 years after the initial introduction to rising global temperatures, among growing natural disasters and extensive scientific evidence, global warming has become a political debate, dismissed by one party and spoken of with urgency by the other.
Continue reading Global Warming: Where Are We Now?
We are Destroying the Earth’s Wilderness
We, humans, are destroying the Earth’s wilderness at an incredible pace. Scientists say we have destroyed 10% of Earth’s wildlife habitat in just 25 years. Since 1993, 3.3 million km2 of global wilderness areas, particularly in the Amazon basin (almost 30%) and central Africa (14%) were lost. This is almost twice of the size of Alaska!
Continue reading We are Destroying the Earth’s Wilderness
We are heading for a New Cretaceous, not for a new normal
A lazy buzz phrase – ‘Is this the new normal?’ – has been doing the rounds as extreme climate events have been piling up over the past year. To which the riposte should be: it’s worse than that – we’re on the road to even more frequent, more extreme events than we saw this year.
We have known since the 1980s what’s in store for us. Action taken then to reduce emissions by 20
Watch: Awkward Interview with Planet Earth
A beautiful short sketch titled “Interview with Planet Earth” by the Irish sketch comedy group “Foil Arms and Hog”, addressing global warming and environmental issues in group’s unique and funny style.
Continue reading Watch: Awkward Interview with Planet Earth
Artificial grass vs Natural grass: Which is greener?
The world’s leaders (the vast majority of them anyway) have finally come to terms with the dire implications of global warming on the Earth’s climate. With every passing day, the polar ice caps shrink in size, rising sea levels subsume another low-lying island, and the incidence of adverse weather conditions continues to swell. The Paris Agreement of two years ago is evidence of environmental concerns taking precedence on the international stage, but what can we do individually to slow global warming?
Ostensibly a signifier of environmentalism, a lush, natural lawn is, in reality, an energy-hungry indulgence. Many energy-conscious homeowners would actually be better off with an artificial lawn instead, owing to its economical consumption of both energy and water. In creating an artificial surface though, fossil fuels are used, creating carbon in the process. Concerning too is artificial grass’ longevity – it isn’t biodegradable so it can only add to landfill sites. In this post then, we have compared and contrasted natural and artificial grass, with hopes of declaring one environmentally superior. Everything from manufacture to installation to maintenance has been considered, so you can rest assured that our conclusion is a well-rounded and measured one.
Continue reading Artificial grass vs Natural grass: Which is greener?History of Global Warming in just 34 Seconds
Global warming is accelerating – that’s a fact. In April 2018, the level of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere hit the highest point for the last 800,000 years. NASA and NOAA analyses suggest that long-term global warming trend continued in 2017. This year (2018), on March 17, the Arctic sea ice cover peaked at only 5.59 million square miles (14,478,033.54 km2), the 2nd lowest max on record (and the lowest max on record was, guess it, in 2017). 25 years of NASA and European satellite data shows that rather than increasing steadily, global sea level rise has been accelerating in recent decades. Cooler-than-normal years start to become rarer and by the 1990s, they’ve almost disappeared completely. Climate Central channel has put the 116 years history of global warming (1900-2016) into a just 34-second video. The result is terrifying. The “Temperature Circle” shows every nation on the Earth is now in the red, which means now every year is warmer-than-normal.
Can global warming be held culpable for wildfires?
In the wake of the devastating wildfires that tore through the Pedrógão Grande region of Portugal just over a year ago, a group of children (in association with British environmental lawyers and the NGO Global Legal Action Network) affected by the fires are crowdfunding with the eventual aim of levelling the blame for the wildfire at a total of 47 European countries for their failure to adequately combat climate change. They have already accumulated over £27,000, and aim to eventually raise a total of £350,000 to take their case all the way to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
They certainly believe they have a legitimate claim – and so too do the people pledging money to support their cause. So, how interrelated are global warming and the frequency and severity of wildfires? And, when it comes down to it, just how responsible are the European countries for the Portuguese wildfire?
Continue reading Can global warming be held culpable for wildfires?