What is Global Warming?

In scientific terms, global warming is defined as the process that results in the earth’s temperature rising.  This rise in temperature is attributed to an increase in greenhouse gases.  These gases are raising the earth’s temperatures to levels that concern many meteorologists and scientists.

When it comes to global warming and the increase in the earth’s temperature, there are some who question it's impact.  A slight rise in temperate is not shocking, but there seems to be no relief.  The rise of the earth’s temperature will also lead to temperature increases on the ground.  The fear is that these temperature increases will lead to the melting of large ice masses and result in a sea level rise that could result in flooding all over the world.  If this happens, millions of people will be flooded out of their homes, with their cities and towns underwater, kind of like lost city of Atlantis. Global warming could have an impact on where your future family members are able to live, the activities that they are able to participate in, and the economy in general.

While we are starting to see many changes in our weather and with the earth’s temperature, these changes may or may not be attributed to global warming.  This is where the debate once again enters the picture.  Regardless, if the earth’s temperature continues to rise you may not see the changes firsthand, but your children will and this is why you are urged to take action or at least examine global warming in-depth to see what there is that you can do to help. These changes may include warming temperatures, as well as stronger storms, and varying weather conditions around the globe.

There is no doubt that the earth's climate is constantly changing.  Some people feel that it is part of the normal cycle of events on this planet.  Yet, most scientists agree that there are drastic changes occurring that are due to unnatural global warming.  

The weather is getting decidedly warmer.  For the most part, the United States has already warmed up some.  In some places, the average rise in temperature is around four degrees Fahrenheit.  However, all the states show some degree of warming.  

The first and second warmest years on record were 1998 and 2006, respectively.  In fact, every year from the first to the second warmest years, ranked within the warmest 25 years in the US.  In 2006, the annual average temperature was 55 degrees Fahrenheit.  Recent warm years point to a climate change being brought on by global warming.  

Speaking of the global warming debate, there are many scientists, as well as politicians and other well known figures who claim that global warming is nothing to be concerned with.  In fact, many claim that reducing green house gas emissions, especially from industrial related activities, can have a worse impact on our economy than global warming.  Both sides of the global warming debates have evidence that backs up their views and theories.  

In addition to your future family, global warming may also have an impact on sea and wildlife as it has been said that coral reefs are becoming unstable due to the large amounts of toxins in our waters.  Many animals rely on coral reefs for shelter and food.  Other types of wildlife may be affected as well, such as bears, some recent reports claim that bears are hibernating later in the year.  This can have a huge impact on the wildlife cycle, as well as the outdoor activities enjoyed by many humans. Global warming is very regularly and widely debated and these debates often lead to confusion.

Global Warming and Building Green

Building green is one of the solutions to global warming that some do not consider, it is the designing and construction of buildings with the environment in mind, these green practices may have an impact on slowing global warming.  

Houses give off a high percentage of a country's total carbon dioxide emissions.  In the United States, the figure is about 38%.  Since carbon dioxide is one of the greenhouse gases, houses contribute strongly to global warming.  

One way to cut the greenhouse emissions of houses, and therefore help stop global warming, is to minimize the energy use needed to sustain comfortable living in a house.  There are several ways to do this.  

One way is to be careful about what building materials are used, quickly renewable sources such as bamboo and straw are an example of a good green building material.  Also, building materials can be used that originates near the building site.  This cuts down on transportation, and so cuts down on emissions of greenhouse gases and global warming.  One example is stone houses built with local stone.  

Buildings are also often built using recycled materials like wood from older homes that have been demolished, this prevents the cutting down of new trees. Deforestation is a major contributor to global warming, so green building techniques like these will help the situation.  

Heating and cooling have a big effect on the amount of global warming caused by a house.  Some ways to help this are very simple.  One is to design the house to sit on the lot so that sunlight will come in through the windows and warm the house.  It can also be oriented so that breezes will blow through the windows more naturally for cooling.  In this way, passive solar energy can be used to heat and cool the house, which cuts down on greenhouse emissions from a home. Insulation is important to maximize on the cool or heat that is in the house, if a home is insulated well, it will use less heat or cooling from a power source.  The main heating and cooling source in most green houses will be solar panels, wind power, or hydropower.  Any of these sources will power a house with minimal effects on global warming.  

The state of Washington has created a law for buildings built after 2005, that requires buildings larger than 5000 square feet to use green building practices.

Green building is important for a number of reasons. One just happens to be that it can reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases.  If green building can help stop global warming, perhaps it is time for everyone to build green.  

Climate Changes Due To Global Warming

Climate changes due to global warming can be seen in the prevalence of drought.  Years are becoming drier in recent decades due to global warming.  This is caused by the heat that is building up around the earth's surface.  Excessive evaporation intensifies drought even more during the spring and fall.  

Global warming has upped the level of drought.  A major drought in the US lasted from 1999-2002.  There were only two other droughts in the last forty years that were so widespread and devastating.  Crops were damaged or would not grow at all, thus shortening the food supply.  

There have been more and more frequent droughts in the West in recent years.  The last 30 years in particular have seen numerous droughts.  These droughts have spawned wildfires that set new records in 2006 for number of fires and of acres burned.  Further proof of global warming is seen in these destructive wildfires.  

While the overall effect of global warming is heat followed by drought, there are still storms.  Since global warming energizes the atmosphere, these storms will be different.  When all is going well, a gentle rain will soak into the earth gradually, causing no more than a minor inconvenience to people.

Because of global warming, storms are becoming more destructive.  While there have certainly been droughts, rainfall totals have risen in the past century.  This surprising fact is due to the fact that when the rain comes, it comes in rapid downpours.  The sky opens up and dumps water on the earth very quickly in many cases.  This is followed by dry periods.  

The number of times it rains in a year has increased during the last 50 years due to global warming.  What is more, global warming is causing storms to intensify.  Storms which would have been ordinary thunderstorms in the past are morphing into raging tempests.  Hurricanes have been rated higher in recent years as global warming affects their intensity.  

Global Warming's Impact on Wildlife

When it comes to global warming, much of the focus is placed on how it can impact us, personally, and future generations to come.  As important as this is, it is also important to remember that global warming stretches far beyond human impact.  Wildlife will also be affected by global warming as well.

Cities and towns are experiencing an increase in temperatures as well and many record high temperatures are being made, this may make life uncomforable for us, but it has an even bigger impact on animal ecosystems.  

For starters, it is important to examine polar bears.  In fact, when many individuals think of global warming and wildlife, polar bears are the first thought that comes to mind.  This is due in part to the media attention that is circulating them.  Many environmentalists and wildlife experts feel that polar bears will become extinct in certain areas of the world, due to melting ice.  This ice melting is directly related to the earth’s increase in temperatures.  Unfortunately, polar bears rely on ice shelves when hunting.  Many are unable to swim long distances without them.  If polar bears do not perish because of the extended swims, they will because of the lack of food in the area.

Birds are another form of wildlife that can be impacted greatly by global warming because as the earth's temperatures increases, birds change their migration paths, most   birds, have a set pattern that they follow in order to find food. The changes in this pattern can lead to trouble for many migratory birds, who essentially travel too far as the weather misleads them.

Birds and polar bears are not the only forms of wildlife that will be affected by global warming.  Insects, mice, and other rodents will also change their habitats.  Rodents and many insects, such as mosquitoes often bring diseases along with them.  

The Economics of Global Warming

Global warming can be very expensive for local economies in regions affected by climate change.

Destructive storms can create large financial losses.  Hurricane Katrina caused more than 81 billion dollars in damage.  Storms like Katrina have most likely been boosted to their extreme levels of force by warm ocean waters, that may be created from global warming.  

Food crops can be lost during droughts brought on by global warming.  Storms intensified by global warming can damage agricultural buildings and injure animals.  Floods resulting from these storms can drown out crops before they can be harvested.  

This all translates into lost revenues for both farmers and investors.  It also means higher prices for consumers of agricultural products.  Consumers already know what it is like to pay exorbitant prices for foods that have been damaged while in the fields.  If global warming continues on its present course, this will be a common occurrence.  

Gasoline prices have an effect on the economics of communities.  When gas prices are high, people will patronize business establishments that are close to their homes.  This hurts the chances of success for a business that is not in a heavily populated area.  Global warming is directly affecting the economics of businesses in this way.  

The family economics of global warming are undeniable, too.  As the climate changes, more energy is needed to cool houses.  Those extra degrees of heat in the atmosphere mean that families will have to set their thermostats higher, or pay a higher price.  

In many regions, everyone pays for the energy mistakes of earlier times.  Coal burning power plants are now being refitted to reduce emissions, which will have a big impact on preventing global warming.  Yet, the economics of it show that people will have to pay with higher utility bills to make this advantage come true.  

There are thousands of ways that global warming is affecting the world's economy at this moment.  People are paying for the harm global warming is doing.  They are also paying for adjustments to their homes, cars, and city infrastructures to reduce global warming, but if everyone helps, these costs should go down.  

Global Warming's Effect on Ecosystems

Since global warming has such a profound impact on the earth's surface and oceans, it is not surprising that it affects the ecosystems of earth.  Species depend on a fairly consistent habitat in which to live.  Global warming changes habitats and endangers these species.  

One of the habitats already being affected by global warming is the Polar Regions.  Vast amounts of ice are melting at both poles.  This makes it hard for the species in these regions to survive.  For instance, polar bears' habitat is altered.  Where once they could swim a short distance from ice floe to ice floe, that is no longer the case.  

Now, the ice floes are so far apart that many polar bears drown trying to make the swim.  According to the US Geological Survey, their numbers will decrease by half in the next forty or so years.  The melting polar ice cap will be too much for most polar bears to survive.  Global warming will eventually lead to their extinction if left unchecked.  

Global warming is pushing a reported 2000 species toward the poles.  The climate becomes warmer in the habitats the plants and animals are used to.  They naturally gravitate towards a cooler climate that will match the earlier climate of the region they left.  They were moving at a rate of 3.8 miles per decade.  

Another ice habitat being ruined by global warming is the penguins' home in Antarctica.  They have been declining in number rapidly for the last 25 years.  In fact, in that amount of time, 33% of the penguins are gone.  The global warming melting the ice has made their habitat inhospitable to them.  

The health of sea creatures in their habitats is also being threatened by global warming.  In California, sea life is moving northward.  This is a behavior designed to keep the creatures at a temperature that is most like the one they are adapted to.  They naturally do this as a means of survival.  When all the water is too warm, they will have nowhere to go.  

Sea creatures are being put in danger of extinction because of global warming.  This happens because the extra carbon dioxide in the air mixes with the ocean water.  It changes the acidity of the water.  

The sea plants and animals are then in an environment for which they are not suited. If global warming continues, many will not be able to survive, The earth's coral reefs could disappear if there is only a 3.8 degree Fahrenheit rise in temperature.  

Movies on Global Warming

It seems that people are coming from all directions to make movies about global warming.  Many people are moved to educate people about the subject and want to reach the widest possible audience.   

Al Gore has released a movie named "An Inconvenient Truth" as a feature length documentary movie.  The movie boils down to a power-point presentation that Gore has given many times on the subject of global warming in a low-key, personable way.  

The 60 Minutes documentary, The Age of Warming, which aired April 1, 2007, is a must-see for those interested in global warming.  Scott Pelley explores Antarctica to find evidence of global warming and discovers that penguins are being endangered by their loss of habitat.  He also finds glaciers that are in the process of rapidly melting into lakes.  

Some fictional movies have been made with the theme of global warming.  One is The Day After Tomorrow, starring Dennis Quaid and Jake Gyllenhaal.  While the science may not be precisely or even nearly right, it is a good disaster flick with all kinds of natural disasters.  Bring out the popcorn, but do not expect to be educated.  

An Earth Story, starring Ross Gelbspan and John Hutchison is another of those documentary-type movies.  It tells the story about all those scary predictions of climate change due to global warming.  The sub-title is An Alternative to Extinction.  That alone should explain how dramatic this movie is.  The solutions to global warming are equally dramatic.  

Not exactly a traditional movie, Dr. Elisabet Sahtouris' Crisis as Opportunity: Living Better on a Hotter Planet is unique.  Instead of being distraught and woeful, Sahtouris views global warming as a natural evolutionary process.  She sees it as a beneficial challenge that will help people learn to live together as they never have before.  

Energy Crossroads: A burning need to change course, is a documentary movie about the energy crisis.  It deals with the amount of oil that will be left in the future and the different ways to overcome that crisis.  However, a good part of this movie is devoted to a study of how energy issues are tied to global warming.  

A set of movies called the Secrets of the Millennium, is pbably the best one for information on global warming.  It is titled Secrets of the Millennium: Man vs. Nature: Who Will Win?    

Many celebrities have made their own movies on global warming.  Some of them are not available for viewing yet, and some of them can be seen on the internet.  One example is global warming films by Leonardo DiCaprio that can be viewed on his website.  As the reality of global warming sets in, more movies will certainly deal with the subject.  

Even though global warming itself is largely debated, many state that the prevention tips often suggested are ones that can do great good for the earth anyways.  These tips involve keeping your heat at a moderate level, using energy efficient light bulbs, limiting your car use, or purchasing a hybrid or another energy efficient vehicle.