| GLOBAL WARMING “We are witnessing an unprecedented and massive collision between our civilization and the Earth”. ~Al Gore, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, in An Inconvenient Truth 1. What is global warming? |
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1. What is global warming? Global warming is the name given to a phenomenon caused by changes in the Earth’s atmosphere. Light from the Sun travels through the atmosphere to the Earth as light waves. Under normal conditions, some of that energy warms the Earth and the oceans; the rest is re-radiated back out into space in the form of infrared waves. The Earth’s atmosphere traps a certain portion of those infrared waves, which creates a comfortable average temperature of 15C (59F), generally conductive to life on this planet. And over eons of time predictable patterns of weather have developed around the relative surface temperature of the planet. But the atmospheric bubble surrounding the Earth is very thin, and vulnerable to interference. Human society and its consumption of fossils fuels have significantly altered the composition of the atmosphere by overloading it with carbon dioxide and various other greenhouse gases. Global warming occurs because the greenhouse gases, while they are transparent to incoming solar radiation, absorb infrared waves from the Earth that should escape into space. As a result the temperature around the Earth is slowly but surely heating up. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has noted an unprecedented warming trend during the 20th century. The current average global surface temperature of 15C (59F) is nearly 0.6C higher than it was 100 years ago – and most of the increase has been the consequence of human activity. The hottest year since 1860 was 2005, and 20 of the hottest years on record have been within the last 25 years. It’s not over yet - scientists expect it to get even hotter, with another 1.4C to 5.8C (2.5 to 10.4F) increase in the average global surface temperature by the end of the 21st century.
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2. What are the consequences of global warming? Shifts in weather patterns due to rising temperatures threaten human survival by melting glaciers and polar ice caps, hurricanes and flooding, droughts and loss of potable water and food supplies “Nature is going crazy in Europe”. United Press International, Aug 26, 2005 Nobody knows exactly what’s going to happen as our atmosphere heats up, but a lot of scientific opinion weighs in on several likely scenarios, many of which we are already seeing come to pass. The most obvious shift is in the weather patterns, which are becoming more extreme and unpredictable. The general rise in temperature causes more moisture to be held in the atmosphere, so the wetter areas of the planet are seeing more frequent and severe storms. Cold climates receive record snowfalls, followed by winter rain. Warm ocean currents bring hurricanes, cyclones and typhoons to coastal areas in the tropics. Meanwhile, the drier areas of the planet become more arid as the Earth heats up, and droughts like the one currently devastating areas of the Sahel are becoming more extensive. Some of the more well-known and researched dangers of global warming include:
It’s not a very happy list, is it? The good news is that globally we have all the technology and knowledge we need to fix the problem. And there is something each one of us can do about the climate crisis. Help create a Community Carbon Trees forest– by sequestering the carbon you are personally responsible for. For more info on the climate crisis, and on easy everyday things you can do to help slow down global warming, please visit www.climatecrisis.net |
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3. How is human society causing climate change? Most of the change in the Earth’s atmosphere is anthropogenic, meaning caused by humans. We fill the air with CO2 and greenhouse gases caused by burning fossil fuels, changes in land use (clearing, deforestation), cement manufacture, and burning of biomass (vegetation, forests, etc.) The biggest culprits are the fossil fuels that power our settlements, industry and transportation. Coal and petroleum are the main fuels powering our global society and account for the largest percentage of total greenhouse gas emissions. As the global economy grows, the need for more fossil fuel energy also grows. The global economy is predicated on continually increasing the demand for natural resources, energy, food, and goods to consume. Unfortunately, in doing so we spew out enormous quantities of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases that change the atmosphere's composition and its capacity to regulate its temperature. Around 1750, at the dawn of the Industrial Age, the world’s atmospheric concentration of CO2 measured about 280 parts per million (ppm). Since then, humans have released roughly 315 billion tons of carbon to the atmosphere, raising the global CO2 level to 383 ppm as of July 2007. Half of these emissions have occurred since the mid 1970s, and most (approx. 64%) are due to fossil-fuel combustion in industrialized countries. A 650,000-year record of atmospheric CO2 levels contained in ice cores from Antarctica shows that current levels are the highest ever recorded. If we don’t do anything to curb greenhouse gas emissions and charge blindly ahead, current energy use coupled with increasing demand are likely to cause CO2 atmospheric concentrations to more than double in the next 50 years. Even optimistic predictions expect this to have a catastrophic effect on our planet.
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4. What are greenhouse gases? Levels of Greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane gas are increasing. Greenhouse gases (GHGs) include carbon dioxide (CO2), water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide (NO2), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), chlorofluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride. These chemicals are called greenhouse gases because they thicken the Earth’s atmosphere and trap heat inside. Water vapour and some gases like CO2, methane, ozone, and nitrous oxide are naturally found on Earth and are necessary to keep our atmosphere stable. But human activity has increased their levels incredibly, causing unprecedented effects. CO2 is the most important, as it accounts for 80% of the total GHG emissions. It is produced from the burning of fossil fuels (oil, natural gas and coal), tropical deforestation, land clearing, forest fires, and in the production of cement. Methane is released naturally in low-oxygen environments like wetlands or rice paddies. But during the past 50 years, 60% of the methane in our atmosphere has been produced by human activity – extensive rice cultivation, livestock farming, landfills, waste-water treatment, burning natural gas, coal mining, and various industries. Nitrous oxide levels have increased by 18% in recent decades, primarily due to global use of nitrogen-based fertilizers, fossil fuel-fired power plants, burning of forests, waste management, and vehicle emissions. Nitrous oxide levels are also of concern as NO2 is 300 times more powerful than CO2 at trapping heat in the atmosphere. Other greenhouse gases, like sulphur hexafluoride, PFCs and HFCs are entirely human-created and produced, largely by industrial activities and the production of electricity. Current studies estimate the CO2 level has risen 31% in only 250 years. The other greenhouse gases like methane and nitrous oxide are also likely to continue to increase. As greenhouse gases are global in nature and remain in the atmosphere long after they have been emitted, immediate action must be taken to mediate climate change.
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5. What is carbon sequestration? Carbon Dioxide can be effectively captured or sequestered in growing trees. There are two main forms of carbon sequestration currently in study and use. Geologic sequestration involves collecting carbon and injecting it into underground geologic formations that can securely contain it. Much like trying to put the oil back underground again where it belongs. Terrestrial carbon sequestration involves using trees, plants and crops to absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere through photosynthesis, and store it in biomass (tree trunks, branches, foliage, roots, etc) and in soils. The vegetative world is a tremendous store of carbon: about one third is stored in the living plant biomass and the remaining 2/3 is stored more permanently in the soil as the residues of plant decomposition and minerals. Therefore, terrestrial carbon sequestration provides an opportunity for low-cost, low-tech CO2 emissions offset solutions.
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6. How do forests sequester carbon? Living plants use the process of photosynthesis to combine atmospheric carbon dioxide with water in order to grow. Plants release the oxygen into the atmosphere and use the carbon atoms to build their cells. They also deposit carbon into the soil through their roots and as fallen plant residue. Trees are long-lived plants that continue to accumulate biomass over a lifespan of many decades. They are about 50% carbon, sequestered in the annual growth of their woody biomass, plus the leaf litter they contribute to the soil carbon pool. Young rapidly growing trees (1-50 years) have the highest rates of carbon sequestration, storing relatively large volumes of additional carbon very quickly in new growth. A mature forest acts as a reservoir, holding large volumes of carbon in a greater biomass density, even if not experiencing new growth. So forests can both capture carbon and safely store it over long periods of time.
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7. How can forests influence the climate crisis? Kyoto Protocal strives to reduce emissions of Carbon Dioxide through forestry. Forests have an important moderating influence on CO2 levels, both for what they can add and what they can remove. Tropical deforestation and burning of wood contribute 20-30% of the world's annual CO2 emissions (IPCC, 2000). Yet trees are also responsible for close to 70% of all carbon absorbed by vegetation. Any CO2 contributions on a global scale caused by deforestation are more than offset by the sequestration capacity of forests and agriculture. The Kyoto Protocol recognizes forestry as an appropriate sequestration vehicle and that forestry can have significant influence on global carbon levels. The good thing about forests is that they are not dependent on any new science or technology, they can be designed to generate many collateral environmental and social benefits (flood/erosion/watershed protection, biodiverse wildlife habitat, restored ecosystems/soils, poverty alleviation, food provision), and you can plant them immediately at relatively low cost. Planting trees isn’t the entire solution to the climate crisis and shouldn’t be used to justify increased consumption, but carbon sequestration forestry does have the potential of helping stabilize atmospheric levels in the next 20-50 years. This would allow time for the global economy to develop new energy sources and technological solutions, and for the global population to adjust its consumption patterns, especially in the industrialized countries. Tree planting is also an easy way for individuals to participate in a solution to the global warming crisis. And Community Carbon Trees aren’t just a cost-effective way of going carbon neutral. They are also designed to synchronize solutions to local environmental problems and social needs, and achieve numerous co-benefits besides carbon sequestration. So your investment accomplishes more. (link to Community Trees for Carbon in Detail page)
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8. What are carbon sinks? Al Gore´s Oscar Winning Documentary An Inconvenient Truth teaches us about global warming. Carbon sinks absorb and store carbon and other greenhouse gases from the air. Part of the design of the planet as a self-regulating organism is a cycle that moves carbon from its outer layers down towards the core. Oceans and trees function as the planet’s most important carbon sinks, cleaning the air and sequestering the carbon. Oceans store large volumes of carbon (up to 1/3 of all emissions), forming carbonic acid in the water. Terrestrial carbon sinks refer to forests, vegetative cover, agricultural and grazing lands, and their ability to sequester carbon. Plants use photosynthesis to capture carbon from the air and hold it in biomass and soils. Since agriculture and forestry can also release CO2 to the atmosphere, a carbon sink occurs when carbon sequestration is greater than carbon released. Tree plantations and analog plantings like Community Carbon Trees all serve to enlarge the capacity of the terrestrial carbon sink and help cleanse the atmosphere until truly "clean" energy technologies are available on a large scale.
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9. What can we do about global warming? “Each one of us is a cause of global warming, but each of us can become part of the solution: in the decisions we make on what we buy, the amount of electricity we use, the cars we drive, and how we live our lives. We can even make choices to bring our individual carbon emissions to zero.” From An Inconvenient Truth: As clearly pointed out in the Oscar-winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth, doing nothing about global warming will “condemn coming generations to a catastrophically diminished future.” To reverse the trends in global warming, it will be necessary for the nations of the world to dramatically reduce their dependence on fossil fuels, vastly reduce CO2 output, conserve resources, develop sustainable clean energy sources, reduce deforestation, and find methods to capture and store the excess atmospheric carbon. Sequestering carbon by planting trees is an effective way of combating carbon build-up. The IPCC estimates about 100 billion metric tons of carbon over the next 50 years could be sequestered through tree planting, forest preservation, and improved agricultural management (IPCC 2001). This would offset 10-20% of the world's projected fossil fuel emissions and require 100 to 200 million hectares of new forest. Five million hectares are currently being planted every year (FAO, 1997). Therefore it makes sense to plant more forests as fast as we can. Visit www.climatecrisis.net to calculate your individual impact and find our which areas of your life contribute the most emissions. There’s also a list of easy everyday things to do to help solve the climate crisis. Go carbon neutral; help plant a Community Carbon Trees forest and participate in a solution. (Help create a Community Carbon Trees forest)
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10. Will planting Community Carbon Trees in Costa Rica actually help the global warming problem? Absolutely. Planting trees directly recycles carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases. Forests directly influence climate change. Deforestation is a source of greenhouse gases, while reforestation and sustainable management create efficient terrestrial carbon sinks. Forests must be recognized and preserved for their role as important buffers that mediate climate change. Planting trees directly recycles carbon, with new growth doing so most efficiently. Carbon is also sequestered through the undergrowth and roots, which move it into the soil. A Community Carbon Trees forest growing in Costa Rica sequesters a tremendous amount of carbon dioxide while simultaneously synchronizing solutions to numerous environmental and wildlife habitat issues. Carbon emissions caused by deforestation are greatly helped by planting trees. Tropical deforestation is one of the most critical environmental problems facing developing countries today for its long-term detrimental impacts on biodiversity, human and wildlife survival, economic opportunities, social issues and global climate change. The ever-growing world demand for food, farmland, wood and forest products is causing tremendous destruction of natural forests. Sustainably managed Community Carbon Trees forests provide food and an alternative supply of tropical woods, thus easing some pressure to cut the primary forests. And to ensure long-term success, carbon sequestration forests must be relevant to the local communities where they are established, and in their long-term best interests. Local people must be involved in the planning and implementation of the projects, have meaningful roles and responsibilities, and a fair share in the benefits received. Copyright © 2008 Community Carbon Trees in Costa Rica. All Rights Reserved.
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