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Global Warming
By Holli Riebeek Design by Robert Simmon June 3, 2010

Throughout its long history, Earth has warmed and cooled time and again. Climate has changed when the planet received more or less sunlight due to subtle shifts in its orbit, as the atmosphere or surface changed, or when the Suns energy varied. But in the past century, another force has started to influence Earths climate: humanity
Previous versions of this article were published in 2007 and 2002. Archived versions are available as PDF files.

(NASA astronaut photograph ISS022-E-6678.) What is Global Warming?

Global warming is the unusually rapid increase in Earths average surface temperature over the past century primarily due to the greenhouse gases released by people burning fossil fuels.
How Does Todays Warming Compare to Past Climate Change?

Earth has experienced climate change in the past without help from humanity. But the current climatic warming is occurring much more rapidly than past warming events.
Why Do Scientists Think Current Warming Isnt Natural?

In Earths history before the Industrial Revolution, Earths climate changed due to natural causes unrelated to human activity. These natural causes are still in play today, but their influence is too small or they occur too slowly to explain the rapid warming seen in recent decades.
How Much More Will Earth Warm?

Models predict that as the world consumes ever more fossil fuel, greenhouse gas concentrations will continue to rise, and Earths average surface temperature will rise with them. Based on plausible emission scenarios, average surface temperatures could rise between 2C and 6C by the end of the 21st century. Some of this warming will occur even if future greenhouse gas emissions are reduced, because the Earth system has not yet fully adjusted to environmental changes we have already made.
How Will Earth Respond to Warming Temperatures?

The impact of global warming is far greater than just increasing temperatures. Warming modifies rainfall patterns, amplifies coastal erosion, lengthens the growing season in some regions, melts ice caps and glaciers, and alters the ranges of some infectious diseases. Some of these changes are already occurring.
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Introduction Global Warming

How is Todays Warming Different from the Past? Is Current Warming Natural?

How Much More Will Earth Warm?

How Will Global Warming Change Earth?

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GLOBAL WARMING AWARENESS

Global Warming Skeptics - Skeptics of global warming think that global warming is not an ecological trouble. Global Warming Facts - 8 Facts about Global Warming Causes of Global Warming - The Green house gases are the main culprits of the global warming. The green house gases like carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide are playing hazards in the present times. Green House Gasses are the ingredients of the atmosphere that add to the greenhouse effect. Al Gore Global Warming Initiative - Gore has written a book that archives his advice that Earth is dashing toward an immensely warmer future.

The average facade temperature of the globe has augmented more than 1 degree Fahrenheit since 1900 and the speed of warming has been almost three folds the century long average since 1970. This increase in earths average temperature is called Global warming. More or less all specialists studying the climate record of the earth have the same opinion now that

human actions, mainly the discharge of green house gases from smokestacks, vehicles, and burning forests, are perhaps the leading power driving the fashion.

The gases append to the planet's normal greenhouse effect, permitting sunlight in, but stopping some of the ensuing heat from radiating back to space. Based on the study on past climate shifts, notes of current situations, and computer simulations, many climate scientists say that lacking of big curbs in greenhouse gas discharges, the 21st century might see temperatures rise of about 3 to 8 degrees, climate patterns piercingly shift, ice sheets contract and seas rise several feet. With the probable exemption of one more world war, a huge asteroid, or a fatal plague, global warming may be the only most danger to our planet earth. Global Warming Causes As said, the major cause of global warming is the emission of green house gases like carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide etc into the atmosphere. The major source of carbon dioxide is the power plants. These power plants emit large amounts of carbon dioxide produced from burning of fossil fuels for the purpose of electricity generation. About twenty percent of carbon dioxide emitted in the atmosphere comes from burning of gasoline in the engines of the vehicles. This is true for most of the developed countries. Buildings, both commercial and residential represent a larger source of global warming pollution than cars and trucks.

Building of these structures require a lot of fuel to be burnt which emits a large amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Methane is more than 20 times as effectual as CO2 at entrapping heat in the atmosphere. Methane is obtained from resources such as rice paddies, bovine flatulence, bacteria in bogs and fossil fuel manufacture. When fields are flooded, anaerobic situation build up and the organic matter in the soil decays, releasing methane to the atmosphere. The main sources of nitrous oxide include nylon and nitric acid production, cars with catalytic converters, the use of fertilizers in agriculture and the burning of organic matter. Another cause of global warming is deforestation that is caused by cutting and burning of forests for the purpose of residence and industrialization. Global Warming is Inspiring Scientists to Fight for Awareness 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. The effect of global warming is increasing the average temperature of the earth. A rise in earths temperatures can in turn root to other alterations in the ecology, including an increasing sea level and modifying the quantity and pattern of rainfall. These modifications may boost the occurrence and concentration of severe climate events, such as floods, famines, heat waves, tornados, and twisters. Other consequences may comprise of higher or lower agricultural outputs, glacier melting, lesser summer stream flows, genus extinctions and rise in the ranges of disease vectors. As an effect of global warming species like golden toad, harlequin frog of Costa Rica has already become extinct. There are number of species that have a threat of disappearing soon as an effect of global warming. As an effect of global warming various new diseases have emerged lately. These diseases are occurring frequently due to the increase in earths average temperature since the bacteria can survive better in elevated temperatures and even multiplies faster when the conditions are favorable. The global warming is extending the distribution of mosquitoes due to the increase in humidity levels and their frequent growth in warmer atmosphere. Various diseases due to

ebola, hanta and machupo virus are expected due to warmer climates. The marine life is also very sensitive to the increase in temperatures. The effect of global warming will definitely be seen on some species in the water. A survey was made in which the marine life reacted significantly to the changes in water temperatures. It is expected that many species will die off or become extinct due to the increase in the temperatures of the water, whereas various other species, which prefer warmer waters, will increase tremendously. Perhaps the most disturbing changes are expected in the coral reefs that are expected to die off as an effect of global warming. The global warming is expected to cause irreversible changes in the ecosystem and the behavior of animals. A group of scientists have recently reported on the surprisingly speedy rise in the discharge of carbon and methane release from frozen tundra in Siberia, now starting to melt because of human cause increases in earths temperature. The scientists tell us that the tundra is in danger of melting holds an amount of extra global warming pollution that is equivalent to the net amount that is previously in the earth's atmosphere. Likewise, earlier one more team of scientists reported that the in a single year Greenland witnessed 32 glacial earthquakes between 4.6 and 5.1 on the Richter scale. This is a disturbing sign and points that a huge destabilization that may now be in progress deep within the second biggest accretion of ice on the planet. This ice would be enough to raise sea level 20 feet worldwide if it broke up and slipped into the sea. Each day passing brings yet new proof that we are now in front of a global emergency, a climate emergency that needs instant action to piercingly decrease carbon dioxide emissions worldwide in order to turn down the earth's rising temperatures and avoid any catastrophe. It is not easy to attach any particular events to global warming, but studies prove the fact that human activities are increasing the earths temperature. Even though most predictions focus on the epoch up to 2100, even if no further greenhouse gases were discharged after this date, global warming and sea level would be likely to go on to rise for more than a millennium, since carbon dioxide has a long average atmospheric life span.

You Can Help Fight Global Warming Many efforts are being made by various nations to cut down the rate of global warming. One such effort is the Kyoto agreement that has been made between various nations to reduce the emissions of various green house gases. Also many non profit organizations are working for the cause. Al Gore was one of the foremost U.S. politicians to heave an alarm about the hazards of global warming. He has produced a significantly acclaimed documentary movie called "An Inconvenient Truth," and written a book that archives his advice that Earth is dashing toward an immensely warmer future. Al Gore, the former vice president of United States has given various speeches to raise an awareness of global warming. He has warned people about the ill effects of Global warming and its remedies. But an interesting side of the global warming episode is that there are people who do not consider global warming as something that is creating a problem. Skeptics of global warming think that global warming is not an ecological trouble. According to the global warming skeptics, the recent enhancement in the earth's average temperature is no reason for alarm. According to them earth's coastlines and polar ice caps are not at a risk of vanishing. Global warming skeptics consider that the weather models used to establish global warming and to forecast its impacts are distorted. According to the models, if calculations are made the last few decades must have been much worse as compared to actually happened to be. Most of the global warming skeptics believe that the global warming is not actually occurring. They stress on the fact the climatic conditions vary because of volcanism, the obliquity cycle, changes in solar output, and internal variability. Also the warming can be due to the variation in cloud cover, which in turn is responsible for the temperatures on the earth. The variations are also a result of cosmic ray flux that is modulated by the solar magnetic cycles. Global Warming Skeptics The global warming skeptics are of the view that the global warming is a good phenomenon and should not be stopped. There are various benefits of global warming according to them. According to the skeptics, the global

warming will increase humidity in tropical deserts. Also the higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere trigger plant growth. As predicted, due to the global warming the sea levels will rise. But this can be readily adapted. Another argument of global warming skeptics is that earth has been warmer than today as seen in its history. The thought is that global warming is nothing to get afraid of because it just takes us back to a more natural set of environment of the past. Animals and plants appeared to do just fine in those eras of warm climate on the earth. According to few skeptics, the present chilly climate on the earth is an abnormality when judged over the geographical scale. Over geologic time, the earths mean temperature is 22 degrees C, as compared to today's 15.5 degrees C. Projects by Students for Students Library | FAQ | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use

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What is global warming? Global warming is when the earth heats up (the temperature rises). It happens when greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, water vapor, nitrous oxide, and methane) trap heat and light from the sun in the earths atmosphere, which increases the temperature. This hurts many people, animals, and plants. Many cannot take the change, so they die. What is the greenhouse effect? The greenhouse effect is when the temperature rises because the suns heat and light is trapped in the earths atmosphere. This is like when heat is trapped in a car. On a very hot day, the car gets hotter when it is out in the parking lot. This is because the heat and light from the sun can get into the car, by going through the windows, but it cant get back out. This is what the greenhouse effect does to the earth. The heat and light can get through the atmosphere, but it cant get out. As a result, the temperature rises.

The suns heat can get into the car through the windows but is then trapped. This makes what ever the place might be, a greenhouse, a car, a The squiggle lines building, or coming from the sun the earths are visible light and atmosphere, the lines and arrows inside the car are hotter. This infrared light. diagram shows the heat coming into a car as visible light (light you can see) and infrared light (heat). Once the light is inside the car, it is trapped and the heat builds up, just like it does in the earths atmosphere. Sometimes the temperature can change in a way that helps us. The greenhouse effect makes the earth appropriate for people to live on. Without it, the earth would be freezing, or on the other hand it would be burning hot. It would be freezing at night because the sun would be down. We would not get the suns heat and light to make the night somewhat warm. During the day, especially during the summer, it would be burning because the sun would be up with no atmosphere to filter it, so people, plants, and animals would be exposed to all the light and heat.

Although the greenhouse effect makes the earth able to have people living on it, if there gets to be too many gases, the earth can get unusually warmer, and many plants, animals, and people will die. They would die because there would be less food (plants like corn, wheat, and other vegetables and fruits). This would happen because the plants would not be able to take the heat. This would cause us to have less food to eat, but it would also limit the food that animals have. With less food, like grass, for the animals that we need to survive (like cows) we would even have less food. Gradually, people, plants, and animals would all die of hunger. What are greenhouse gasses? Greenhouse gasses are gasses are in the earths atmosphere that collect heat and light from the sun. With too many greenhouse gasses in the air, the earths atmosphere will trap too much heat and the earth will get too hot. As a result people, animals, and plants would die because the heat would be too strong. What is global warming doing to the environment? Global warming is affecting many parts of the world. Global warming makes the sea rise, and when the sea rises, the water covers many low land islands. This is a big problem for many of the plants, animals, and people on islands. The water covers the plants and causes some of them to die. When they die, the animals lose a source of food, along with their habitat. Although animals have a better ability to adapt to what happens than plants do, they may die also. When the plants and animals die, people lose two sources of food, plant food and animal food. They may also lose their homes. As a result, they would also have to leave the area or die. This would be called a break in the food chain, or a chain reaction, one thing happening that leads to another and so on.

The oceans are affected by global warming in other ways, as well. Many things that are happening to the ocean are linked to global warming. One thing that is happening is warm water, caused from global warming, is harming and killing algae in the ocean. Algae is a producer that you can see floating on the top of the water. (A producer is something that makes food for other animals through photosynthesis, like grass.) This floating green algae is food to many consumers in the ocean. (A consumer is something that eats the producers.) One kind of a consumer is small fish. There are many others like crabs, some whales, and many other animals. Fewer algae is a problem because there is less food for us and many animals in the sea. Global warming is doing many things to people as well as animals and plants. It is killing algae, but it is also destroying many huge forests. The pollution that causes global warming is linked to acid rain. Acid rain gradually destroys almost everything it touches. Global warming is also causing many more fires that wipe out whole forests. This happens because global warming can make the earth very hot. In forests, some plants and trees leaves can be so dry that they catch on fire. What causes global warming? Many things cause global warming. One thing that causes global warming is electrical pollution. Electricity causes pollution in many ways, some worse than others. In most cases, fossil fuels are burned to create electricity. Fossil fuels are made of dead plants and animals. Some examples of fossil fuels are oil and petroleum. Many pollutants (chemicals that pollute the air, water, and land) are

sent into the air when fossil fuels are burned. Some of these chemicals are called greenhouse gasses. We use these sources of energy much more than the sources that give off less pollution. Petroleum, one of the sources of energy, is used a lot. It is used for transportation, making electricity, and making many other things. Although this source of energy gives off a lot of pollution, it is used for 38% of the United States energy. Some other examples of using energy and polluting the air are: Turning on a light Watching T.V. Listening to a stereo Washing or drying clothes Using a hair dryer Riding in a car Heating a meal in the microwave Using an air conditioner Playing a video game Using a dish washer

When you do these things, you are causing more greenhouse gasses to be sent into the air. Greenhouse gasses are sent into the air because creating the electricity you use to do these things

causes pollution. If you think of how many times a day you do these things, its a lot. You even have to add in how many other people do these things! That turns out to be a lot of pollutants going into the air a day because of people like us using electricity. The least amount of electricity you use, the better. When we throw our garbage away, the garbage goes to landfills. Landfills are those big hills that you go by on an expressway that stink. They are full of garbage. The garbage is then sometimes burned. This sends an enormous amount of greenhouse gasses into the air and makes global warming worse. Another thing that makes global warming worse is when people cut down trees. Trees and other plants collect carbon dioxide (CO2), which is a greenhouse gas. Carbon dioxide is the air that our body lets out when we breathe. With fewer trees, it is harder for people to breathe because there is more CO2 in the air, and we dont breathe CO2, we breathe oxygen. Plants collect the CO2 that we breathe out, and they give back oxygen that we breathe in. With less trees and other plants, such as algae, there is less air for us, and more greenhouse gases are sent into the air. This means that it is very important to protect our trees to stop the greenhouse effect, and also so we can breathe and live.

T h e d i r t y

This gas, CO2, collects light and heat (radiant energy), produced by the sun, and this makes the earth warmer. The heat and light from the sun is produced in the center of the sun. (The sun has y layers just like the earth.) e l l This layer is called the core. Just like a core of an apple, it is in o the middle. Here there is a very high temperature, about w 27,000,000F. This heat escapes out of this layer to the next

layer, the radiative zone. This layer is cooler, about 4,500,000F. Gradually, the heat and light will pass through the convection zone at a temperature of around 2,000,000F. When it gets to the surface, the temperature is about 10,000F. Finally, the heat and light is sent into space. This is called radiant energy (heat and light). The radiant energy reaches the earths atmosphere. As a result of this process we get light and heat. When you pollute, you send chemicals into the air that destroy our atmosphere, so more heat and light cannot escape from the earths atmosphere. What are people doing to stop global warming? People are doing many things to try to stop global warming. One thing people are doing is carpooling. Carpooling is driving with someone to a place that you are both going to. This minimizes the amount of greenhouse gases put into the air by a car. Another thing that people are doing is being more careful about leaving things turned on like the television, computer, and the lights. A lot of people are taking time away from the television, and instead, they are spending more time outdoors. This helps our planet out a lot. Now, more people are even riding busses, walking to school, and riding their bikes to lower the amount of greenhouse gases in the air. Planting trees and recycling also helps. If you recycle, less trash goes to the dump, and less trash gets burned. As a result, there are fewer greenhouse gasses in our atmosphere. Watch what you buy. Many things, such as hairspray and deodorant, now are made to have less of an impact on the atmosphere. Less greenhouse gasses will rise into the air, and global warming will slow down. What is the government doing to stop global warming? The government is doing many things to help stop global warming. The government made a law called The Clean Air Act so there is less air pollution. Global warming is making people get very bad

illnesses that could make them disabled, very sick, and sometimes even die. The Clean Air Act is making many companies change their products to decrease these problems. Part of the law says that you may not put a certain amount of pollutants in the air. Hairspray and some other products, like foam cups, had this problem. Making and using these products let out too much volatile organic compounds (VOCs), ozone-destroying chemicals (chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), and related chemicals (such as CO2) into the air. Now, almost all of these products have a label on them telling people what this product can do to the environment and many people. By 2015 all products listed on the Clean Air Act will have this label on them: WARNING:contains or manufactured with (the chemical would go here. For example chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), a substance whichharms public health and the environment by destroying ozone in the upperatmosphere. Almost all of the other chemicals that could be harmful will have this label on them hopefully by this time (2015) as well. The Clean Air Act has also made car companies change some of the things inside of the cars. Cars pollute a lot. While cars make more than half of the worlds smog (visible pollution in the air), many things that cars need to move and heat up make even more pollution. Some things that are inside of cars, buses, trucks, and motorcycles, like gasoline, pollute the air when the fuel is burned. It comes out as a chemical and when mixed in the air, forms smog. Smog is a kind of pollution that you see in the form of a cloud. If you have ever been to California you can see a lot of smog in some places. Sometimes the smog gets so bad that you cannot see at all! Smog forms when car exhaust, pollution from homes, and pollution

from factories mixes in the air and has a chemical reaction. The suns heat and light add to the reaction. Cars, buses, and trucks are also responsible for over 50% of dangerous chemicals let into the air. Some of these chemicals can cause cancer, birth defects, trouble breathing, brain and nerve damage, lung injures, and burning eyes. Some of the pollutants are so harmful that they can even cause death. What are some of the other dangerous chemicals? Some other chemicals that cause air pollution and are bad for the environment and people are: Ozone- Ozone is produced when other pollution chemicals combine. It is the basic element of smog. It causes many different kinds of health issues dealing with the lungs. It can damage plants and limit sight. It can also cause a lot of property damage. VOCs (volatile organic compounds, smog formers)- VOCs are let into the air when fuel is burned. This chemical can cause cancer. It can also harm plants. NOx (nitrogen dioxide)- This chemical forms smog. It is also formed by burning sources of energy, like gas, coal, and oil, and by cars. This chemical causes problems in the respiratory system (including the lungs). It causes acid rain, and it can damage trees. This chemical can eat away buildings and statues. CO (carbon monoxide)- The source of this chemical is burning sources of energy. It causes blood vessel problems and respiratory failures. PM-10 (particulate matter)- The source of this chemical is plowing and burning down fields. It can cause death and lung damage. It can make it hard for people to breathe. The

smoke, soot, ash, and dust formed by this chemical can make many cities dirty. Sulfur Dioxide- This chemical is produced by making paper and metals. This chemical can cause permanent lung damage. It can cause acid rain which kills trees and damages building and statues. Lead- This chemical is in paint, leaded gasoline, smelters, and in lead storage batteries. It can cause many brain and nerve damages and digestive problems. Test yourself on global warming by figuring out a word search at the website below. When you enter this website, you will have to click on Global Warming Word Search to enter the page. Click on the website below to test yourself on global warming. http://globalwarming.enviroweb.org/games/ Kid can help stop global warming, too!! Although adults do many things to help stop global warming, kids can do just as much. Kids cant do hard things like making a law, but we can do easier things like not watching as much TV. You can listen to your parents when they say, turn off your lights or go play outside. Listening to them and actually trying to help can help you, your environment, and the world. Bibliography: Environment Global Warming and Greenhouse Effect. World Almanac 2000. Mahwah: World Almanac Books, 2000. EPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency). Global Warming Kids Site. http://www.epa.gov/globalwarming/kids. Last visited: December 2001.

National Geographic. Is Bleaching Corals Way of Making the Best of a Bad Situation? http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/07/ 0725_coralbleaching.html. Last visited: December 2001. Power Scorecard. Electricity and the Environment. http://powerscorecard.org/elec_env.cfm. Last visited: January 2002. EPA. The Plain English Guide To The Clean Air Act. http://www.epa.gov/oar/oaqps/peg_caa/pegcaain.html. Last visited: January 2002. Sun. World Book Encyclopedia, 1978. Global warming is actually good for rainforests, say boffins

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+3C, 1000ppm CO did jungles a world of good last time

2

By Lewis Page Get more from this author

Posted in Environment, 12th November 2010 11:48 GMT

Free whitepaper Trying to keep smartphones off your network? OK, so let's take it that global warming is coming: that temperatures are set to rise by easily 3C by the end of the century. Disaster, right? The tropical rainforests - lungs of the planet - will die, CO2 levels will thus rise even faster, a runaway process will set in and planet Earth will be transformed into a baking lifeless hell. Not so much, according to top boffin Carlos Jaramillo of the US Smithsonian Institution. Jaramillo, who works at the Smithsonian's Tropical Research centre, says that 60 million years ago temperatures were up to 5C higher than now and atmospheric CO2 was running close to 1000 parts per million - way beyond the planet-busting thresholds set by the UN - and yet the rainforests flourished.

"It is remarkable that there is so much concern about the effects of greenhouse conditions on tropical forests," says Jaramillo's Smithsonian colleague Klaus Winter. Scientists led by Jaramillo examined the fossil record of the Paleocene-Eocene jungles of Colombia and Venezuela. Their research is published today in leading boffinry mag Science. The boffins write: We observed a rapid and distinct increase in plant diversity and origination rates, with a set of new taxa, mostly angiosperms, added to the existing stock of low-diversity Paleocene flora. There is no evidence for enhanced aridity in the northern Neotropics. The tropical rainforest was able to persist under elevated temperatures and high levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, in contrast to speculations that tropical ecosystems were severely compromised by heat stress. "Rainforests were doing very well" during the high-carbon, significantly-hotter "thermal maximum" period studied by the scientists. They found that rather than making species extinct the warmth drove diversity and brought many new species into the world - including both passionflowers and chocolate. So it would seem that even if temperatures do climb as many forecasters predict, the consequences may not be disastrous after all. Jaramillo and his colleagues' paper, Effects of Rapid Global Warming at the Paleocene-Eocene Boundary on Neotropical Vegetation, can be read by Science subscribers here.

Global warming is actually good for rainforests, say boffins

Alert Print Post comment Retweet Facebook

+3C, 1000ppm CO did jungles a world of good last time

2

By Lewis Page Get more from this author

Posted in Environment, 12th November 2010 11:48 GMT

Free whitepaper Trying to keep smartphones off your network? OK, so let's take it that global warming is coming: that temperatures are set to rise by easily 3C by the end of the century. Disaster, right? The tropical rainforests - lungs of the planet - will die, CO2 levels will thus rise even faster, a runaway process will set in and planet Earth will be transformed into a baking lifeless hell. Not so much, according to top boffin Carlos Jaramillo of the US Smithsonian Institution. Jaramillo, who works at the Smithsonian's Tropical Research centre, says that 60 million years ago temperatures were up to 5C higher than now and atmospheric CO2 was running close to 1000 parts per million - way beyond the planet-busting thresholds set by the UN - and yet the rainforests flourished.

"It is remarkable that there is so much concern about the effects of greenhouse conditions on tropical forests," says Jaramillo's Smithsonian colleague Klaus Winter. Scientists led by Jaramillo examined the fossil record of the Paleocene-Eocene jungles of Colombia and Venezuela. Their research is published today in leading boffinry mag Science. The boffins write: We observed a rapid and distinct increase in plant diversity and origination rates, with a set of new taxa, mostly angiosperms, added to the existing stock of low-diversity Paleocene flora. There is no evidence for enhanced aridity in the northern Neotropics. The tropical rainforest was able to persist under elevated temperatures and high levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, in contrast to speculations that tropical ecosystems were severely compromised by heat stress. "Rainforests were doing very well" during the high-carbon, significantly-hotter "thermal maximum" period studied by the scientists. They found that rather than making species extinct the warmth drove diversity and brought many new species into the world - including both passionflowers and chocolate.

So it would seem that even if temperatures do climb as many forecasters predict, the consequences may not be disastrous after all. Jaramillo and his colleagues' paper, Effects of Rapid Global Warming at the Paleocene-Eocene Boundary on Neotropical Vegetation, can be read by Science subscribers here.

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Gary Braasch Photographer & Journalist PO Box 1465 Portland, OR 97207 USA Phone: 503.860.1228 Environmental Photography Website

The brilliant climate prints on display at the American Assn for the Advancement of Science from November through May were made by Fine Print Imaging of Colorado. They are also important supporters of conservation and nature photography. Review in Smithsonian Blog Now Available, Up to Date Paperback A new paperback edition of Earth Under Fire is now available in stores and for on-line ordering. Read the press release here.

Earth Under Fire: How Global Warming is Changing the World is a comprehensive look at the world wide effects of climate change, its implications, and what action is being taken about it. In dramatic photographs and quotes from world climate science leaders, this book shows how the earth is being

changed right now. Earth Under Fire ends with a vision of how we can slow global warming and improve the lives of people everywhere. Chosen one of the 50 Best Environmental Books and Media by Vanity Fair Information and preview at earthunderfire.com New films about kids taking climate action in their schools and communities.

How We Know What We Know About Our Changing Climate: Scientists and Kids Explore Global Warming, by Lynne Cherry and Gary Braasch, is an engaging and empowering look at the science of climate and how kids can learn by becoming citizen scientists. It was written especially for middle schoolers and their teachers, and a special page shows how much carbon dioxide can be reduced as kids work together to reduce climate change. This book replaces fear and dread over global warming with knowledge and the assurance that actions can be taken that help everyone and the world. Winner of Best Middle Grade Science Book of 2008 -- AAAS John Burroughs Young Reader Book "NSTA Recommends" National Science Teachers Assn. Please explore this book at HOW WE KNOW

For thousands of ideas, books, lesson plans and links about teaching climate change in all grades, visit Climate Change Education

Climate Photo of the Week

Throughout California and the Southwest, new energy sources are being constructed and connected to the grid. We are just returning from a two-week documentary trip from Lake Mead across to Los Angeles and up north back to Oregon, photographing and learning about the solar and wind energy being installed. Hydro power from Lake Mead nears a dangerous point because of the record low water behind Hoover Dam. More on this in a later dispatch.

The work on solar and wind shows the success of California's climate protection law, AB 32, which is under threat from a wrong-headed and perverse election proposition funded by out of state oilmen. We saw hundreds of people at work on the energy future encouraged by the California climate laws. Truck drivers are delivering huge Vestas wind turbines, and electricians, engineers and crane operators work to install the 300 foot towers for Terra-Gen's vast expansion of the Alta Wind center, Kern County. When completed these 190 turbines made in Pueblo Colorado by Portland Oregon-based Vestas will provide 570 megawatts of power -- and the entire project is estimated to create more than 3,000 mW.

Solar power is burning bright all around southern California and Nevada. The nation's only concentrated solar power station, owned by eSolar in Lancaster CA, focuses the sun on central towers with 20,000 ordinary mirrors, boiling water for a standard GE turbine. The 5 mW plant is a demonstration that this technology, used frequently in Spain and being demonstrated also now in India, is feasible for wide application. A new set of three similar solar plants is just beginning on BLM land near the NevadaCalifornia border -- and already employs hundreds. The BrightSource Energy installation to provide about 400 mW of power, is on land that is habitat for the California desert tortoise, Federally listed as threatened. So besides 50 fence installers, along with road builders, engineers and security staff being employed, the BLM and the company have 40 biologists patrolling the site to keep tortoises from being killed or injured. Eventually the project will put an average 650 to work in construction over the coming few years. The animals -- an estimated 32 of them live on the solar site -- will be relocated to nearby habitat. During the planning and public comment phase of the project, with input by BLM and NGO endangered species advocates, BrightSource reduced the size of the plant and its footprint to lessen its impact on the land and the tortoises.

Other energy issues and solutions in the West will be covered in coming reports, including new housing with solar roofs, energy and water saving technology, and other solar innovations like walls of glass that filter sunlight as well as generate photo-voltaic energy.

Meantime ocean temperatures in the western Pacific and the Caribbean are extraordinarily high, another reminder that global warming's effects are continuing. In the Caribbean, they are even worse than those of 2005 which bleached and damaged so much of the coral there, including endangered coral species in Virgin Islands National Park. Information, alerts and maps are available from NOAA at http://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/satellite/baa/index.html and from the Smithsonian, at http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-10/stri-srr101210.php and Science journal, at http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2010/10/caribbean-coral-die-off-could-be.html

Please see Climate News and Views. World View of Global Warming is an independent documentary project by photojournalist Gary Braasch, now in its 11th year, presenting a comprehensive look at global warming science, the world wide effects of climate change, its implications, and what action is being taken about it. Braasch documents this change through science reporting and photography from the Arctic to Antarctica, from glaciers to the oceans. Rapid climate change is occurring now and its effects are fast becoming one of the prime events of the 21st century. Every citizen of the world needs to be aware of rapid climate change: 1. Understand the problem, its causes and threats. 2. Let your leaders know the facts and that you expect them to act. 3. Do something today to reduce greenhouse gas output -please Take Action

Locations documented since April 1999. Site updated January 2010. Text and photography Copyright 2005 - 2010 by Gary Braasch. World View of Global Warming is funded by donations and grants. If you would like to contribute, please click HERE.

Photographers' Perspectives on Global Warming October 14 November 6, 2005 was shown at JW Gallery, Brooklyn. Posters from this exhibit are available. Please email your request.

This project would be impossible without scientists and observers around the world who have provided hundreds of scientific contacts and papers. See Background, Advisors, and Reference for documentation, funders and major advisors, without whom I could not complete the work. This project is privately supported and I seek donations through Blue Earth Alliance. World View of Global Warming is a project of the Blue Earth Alliance, Seattle Washington, a 501(c)3 taxexempt organization. The project is supported entirely by donations, grants, and license fees for the photographs. Information about how to contribute is on the Blue Earth web site, or contact Gary Braasch. Thank you. For other information about Gary Braasch's climate change projects and books, please see the books Earth Under Fire and How We Know What We Know About Our Changing Climate, and the exhibit "Climate Change in Our World" (information to the right above on this page). Link to PDF version
COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Photography and text Copyright 2005 - 2010 (and before) Gary Braasch All rights reserved. Use of photographs in any manner without permission is prohibited by US copyright law. Photography is available for license to publications and other uses. Please contact requestinformation@worldviewofglobalwarming.org. View more of Gary Braasch's photography here.

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Will EPA Regulators Leave America In The Dark? by Ben

Lieberman
Theres no doubt that federal regulations lead to economic harm, but could the wave of Obama regulations affecting electric power plants lead to electricity shortages as well? A new study from the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) finds reason

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The Renewable Fuels Association posted a note today deploring the recent lawsuit by the American Petroleum Institute over the EPA decision to increase the maximum blend wall for ethanol in conventional gasoline by 50% from E10 to E15. They claim that it is motivated by corporate greed. Oil companies are in the Read the full story

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EPAs Permitting Guidance for Greenhouse Gases - Does It Endanger Coal?
by Marlo Lewis 11 November 2010 @ 8:00 am Can environmental agencies use BACT determinations to require major emitting facilities to switch fuels? This arcane-sounding question is of great practical importance to energy consumers and the economy. It is a question addressed in EPAs long-awaited PSD and Title V Permitting Guidance for Greenhouse Gases, posted online yesterday in Politico. EPAs guidance document is intended to assist permit writers and permit applicants determine what constitutes best available control technology (BACT) for greenhouse gas (GHG) emitting facilities. On January 2, 2011, EPAs motor vehicle GHG emission standards will go into effect, making GHGs air pollutants subject to regulation under the Clean Air Acts Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) pre-construction permitting program. Any firm planning to build or modify a large GHG-emitting facility (e.g. a coal-fired power plant, an oil Read the full story

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Reaction to Obamas Reaction to Shellacking
by Myron Ebell 10 November 2010 @ 12:30 pm President Barack Obama left on Friday for a ten-day trip to Asia beginning in India. Before he left, he held a press conference on the election results and gave an interview to Sixty Minutes, which has been released by CBS ahead of its broadcast on Sunday night. In reply to two questions at his press conference, the President spoke at length about alternatives to cap-and-trade. He said, Cap-and-trade was just one way of skinning the cat; it was not the only way. It was a means, not an end. And Im going to be looking for other means to address this problem. The President said that there were several areas where he might be able to find common ground with the Republicans in Read the full story

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White House Science Scandal Obfuscated with Creative Grammar

by Chris Horner 10 November 2010 @ 12:28 pm In a blockbuster story soon to be swept under the carpet, Politico reports: The White House rewrote crucial sections of an Interior Department report to suggest an independent group of scientists and engineers supported a six-month ban on offshore oil drilling, the Interior inspector general says in a new report. In the wee hours of the morning of May 27, a staff member to White House energy adviser Carol Browner sent two edited versions of the department reports executive summary back to Interior. The language had been changed to insinuate the seven-member panel of outside experts - who reviewed a draft of various safety recommendations - endorsed the moratorium, according to the IG report obtained by POLITICO. In weasel words that even make this Washingtonian Read the full story

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Dramatic Increase in Climate Litigation - Deutsche Bank
by Marlo Lewis 10 November 2010 @ 8:00 am Deutsche Bank Climate Change Advisors (DBCCA) have just published Growth of U.S. Climate Change Litigation: Trends and Consequences. My thanks to climate scientist Chip Knappenberger for spotlighting the DBCCA report in his column yesterday on MasterResource.Org. DBCCA offer a birds eye view of the U.S. climate litigation landscape, provide data on the numbers and types of climate-related lawsuits, discuss their prospects for success and potential consequences, and emphasize that, absent congressional intervention, courts will make the final decisions about climate policy. DBCCA summarize their findings as follows: The number of climate change filings doubled between 2006 and 2007. They then reached a plateau for three years, but already in 2010 are on a path to triple over 2009 levels. The largest increase in litigation has been in the area of challenges to Read the full story

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Gulf Oil Spill Doesnt Spread To Voting Booths
by Ben Lieberman 09 November 2010 @ 1:07 pm Call it the election-day dog that didnt bark - or maybe the oiled bird that didnt fly the BP oil spill had virtually no impact at the polls on November 2nd. The fact that the biggest ecological scare of the summer was nearly forgotten by fall says a lot about where the American people stand on energy and environmental issues.

Less than five months after President Obama gave a primetime address hyping the Deepwater Horizon spill as the worst environmental disaster America has ever faced, there is scant evidence that even a single Congressional race was affected by it. This was not for lack of trying. In the first few months after the April 20th spill, many Congressional Democrats joined Read the full story

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What Is the President Thinking When It Comes to Fracking?
by William Yeatman 08 November 2010 @ 1:26 pm There has been a technological revolution in the natural gas industry over the last decade. In that time, a drilling process known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has become economically viable, thereby allowing for the exploitation of huge natural gas reserves that had been too expensive to recover. As a result, Americas natural gas supply has roughly doubled. In his post-election address last Wednesday, President Barack Obama indicated support for the fracking revolution. His administrations record, however, is decidedly mixed on the issue. On the one hand, the State Department is a big proponent of the technology, which it sees as a long term deterrent for Russia. As Ive noted elsewhere, environmentalist policies in some European countriesbut especially Germany-have rendered them increasingly Read the full story

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On Cap-and-Trade: They Lost, We Won
by Myron Ebell 08 November 2010 @ 1:03 pm Greens Desperate to Avoid Blame was the headline on Darren Samuelsohn and Robin Bravenders story in Politico on Wednesday. Environmental pressure groups moved quickly to spin the election results as having nothing to do with them. In particular, they claimed that passage in the House of the WaxmanMarkey cap-and-trade bill did not cause Democrats to lose. On the contrary, the reality is that WaxmanMarkey did contribute to the defeat of a number of Democrats, as I argue in Politicos Energy Arena. More significant is the fact that the new Republican majority in the House is largely skeptical of the claim that global warming is a potential crisis and is close to unanimously opposed to cap-and-trade and other energy-rationing measures. Not only is Read the full story

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EPAs Regs for Rigs - Next Phase of the Fuel Economy Fetish
by Marlo Lewis 05 November 2010 @ 8:00 am Today at MasterResource.Org, the free-market energy blog, I offer comentary on the Obama Administrations proposed rule to establish first-ever greenhouse gas (GHG) emission and fuel economy standards for semi-trucks and other heavy duty (HD) motor vehicles.

Although the rules ostensible purpose is to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and oil imports, about 93% of the claimed net benefits have nothing to do with either climate change or energy security. Supposedly, truckers will make out like bandits by adopting fuel-saving technologies they would already have purchased if they were as smart as the bureaucrats at EPA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Sound familiar? Just as cap-and-trade proponents tried to sell their stealth energy tax as a green jobs program when they couldnt sell it as climate protection, Read the full story

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An Election-Night Win For Domestic Energy Jobs
by Ben Lieberman 04 November 2010 @ 4:24 pm Draw up a map of the U.S. and shade in the regions that rely on energy jobs places like Appalachia, the Rockies, western Gulf states, Alaska and thats where we saw some of the strongest anti-Obama sentiment succeeding on election day. With few exceptions, the only Democratic congressional candidates who won in these areas were those able to distance themselves from President Obamas energy policies or to be more accurate, his antienergy policies. In its first two years, the Obama administration has tried to slam the door shut on domestic production of coal, oil, and natural gas. But now, many of the administrations Congressional allies in this effort have gotten a pink slip from their constituents. Obama will soon Read the full story

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Election Exegesis: Cap-and-Trade Hurts
by William Yeatman 03 November 2010 @ 4:10 pm House Democrats who voted for the Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade bill were big losers in the congressional elections. Approximately thirty Democrats who voted for Waxman-Markey were defeated. This does not include Democratic losses in open seats in which the incumbent chose not to run for-reelection. Representative Rick Boucher, a senior fourteen-term Democrat from Virginias coal district (the 9th), negotiated the deal that led to passage of Waxman-Markey by a 219-212 vote on June 26, 2009. Boucher lost and took many coal-state Democrats with him. One of the clearest messages voters sent last night was a repudiation of cap-and-trade and other policies to raise energy prices, said Myron Ebell, Director of CEIs Center for Energy and Environment. Other House Democrats who voted for Waxman-Markey and Read the full story

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Election Exegesis: BTU Tax Redux

by Chris Horner 03 November 2010 @ 4:01 pm Reconciling the various, final pre-election surveys of voter sentiment indicates a that its the spending, stupid. It is remarkable how quickly public consciousness has developed to know that debt equals taxes. Cap-and-trade is now dead, having proven, as we predicted serially, to be the 1993 BTU tax, redux. Members in the House voted on both measures on the assurance the Senate would not leave them hanging out to dry, isolated with that difficult vote, only to see their trust misplaced. As opposition grew more intense from the people-who were not at the table when their wealth was redistributed to various interests-the senators realized that they wanted to save jobs. Theirs. We also see that cap-and-trades ugly Plan B cousin, green jobs, is not only Read the full story

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Powered by Wordpress. Singapore: A leader in creating greener industry

Singapore is unlike any other Asian city in that this tiny republic has managed to maximize every potential financial opportunity that has been presented to it since the end of World War II. Few people are aware if it but Singapore is now the fourth largest financial trading center in the world. They follow only London, New York and Tokyo. Since 1997 economic growth of this island nation located at the tip of the Malay peninsula has exploded. The reason for this is simple. When the British returned Hong Kong to China after their 99 year lease ran out in 1997, Many ex-pats looked for a convenient Asian trading post with a stable government. Enter Singapore with its pro UK recent past. Until 1965, the republic was another centre of the British Empire. Singapore is geographically small. The total area of the city state numbers just 271 square miles. The country is comprised of 63 individual islands. 25% of the gross national product of Singapore comes from refining of raw materials. Another 25% is derived from transport and brokerage of same. All of this industrialization has not come without an ecological price. 100 years ago 90% of the land of Singapore was rain forest. That number plummeted to less than 15% before reforestation measures restored the rain forest to almost 25% of the usable land.

Singapore has become one of, if not the most, technologically advanced nations of the world. They lead the world in implementation of cutting edge clean technologies. A shining example of this is Singapores new Clean Tech Industrial Park. As part of a grand plan to achieve energy efficiency and total sustainability the governments economic development board has partnered with the local corporate community to set up a Green Development area. Not only is the project location itself setup for minimum eco-impact and maximum sustainability, but the work within the park is all focused upon development of clean tech solutions. It is the plan of the government of Singapore to lead the world in this area. Situated on 50 hectares of land the project, to be completed by 2030 will accommodate 20,000 workers. Emphasis on the development in placed on minimizing the office and industrial impact on the land. Simple ideas such as implementation of underground parking and passive lighting are blended with high tech solar power installations. Land optimization seems to be the central theme as all buildings are designed to return more of the original rain forest to the island. Singapore is a unique South Pacific weigh station in that it prospers as the ultimate global corporate middleman. This new industrial park will exist to develop sustainability technologies as well as incorporate them. The park streets will be lit exclusively with LEDS, the development of which having taken place in Singapore. The specific designs of these are then licensed for manufacture throughout the world. Rainwater is collected on the roofs of the massive office buildings. The system used for this gathering is further developed and marketed. Singapore became one of the wealthiest nations in the world by refining raw materials and exporting them around the word. Now they will likely pioneer the Green age by refining sustainability techniques and selling those ideas.

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A brighter tomorrow using LED lighting

A brighter tomorrow using LED lighting

Compared to incandescent light bulbs, Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) are a marvel. They put out equal or greater light, use 1/3 the electricity, and last up to 15 times longer than Thomas Edisons resistance based design. While compact fluorescent bulbs have proven superior to the original electric light they are not without their drawbacks. The most widely discussed of these failings is the use of mercury within the lamps. Few substances are as eco-unfriendly as mercury. Eventually even CFLs wear out and when they do proper disposal of the lamps can be difficult.

What if we were to look upon CFLs as less of a long term solution and more of a bridge to a truly sustainable lighting future. Many people may remember futuristic movies and television programs that depicted entire rooms being powerfully lit by panels. These panels were cool to the touch and allowed for an endless amount of lumens. It seems odd that ideas created for films such as 1972s Logans Run are now reality. The mainstay of this arrival of the future in lighting is the light emitting diode. We are all now well indoctrinated into a world where these blue white lights are heavily used. From humble beginnings as device indicators in the 1980s to those emergency flashlights we have fastened to keychains we all uses to open doors with at night, LEDs have evolved to be the efficient light source for the future.

Lighting Source Group is more committed to the future of LED lighting than any other corporate entity in the world. This commitment is shown in two areas. The first area that Lighting Science Group is working hard in to create a well lit yet green planet is in their product line. High lumens per watt LEDs from LSG are incorporated into every conventional lighting source imaginable. From the Times Square New Years Eve Ball with 32,000 brilliant LEDs to the light bulb you screw into the ceramic fixture in your closet. Lighting Science Group has integrated existing power supplies to their high tech low current luminescence. This integration goes even further with production of brilliant commercial lighting for areas such as parking lots and playgrounds. Integration of todays LED technology with past power supplies allows us to light the present but how will we continue to reduce energy waste while improving home and commercial lighting? Lighting Science Groups second area of emphasis is on research. Currently Lightning Science Group is hard at work developing more efficient Light Emitting Diodes. At the present time most commercial grade LEDs release around 60 lumens per watt. LEDs used in Lighting Science Group product give off a bright blue white 80 lumens per watt. This one feature alone results in huge energy savings. LSG research is looking forward to cool running LEDs that can emit as much as 200 lumens per watt. What is the result of all this present and future green planning? Each street lighting fixture converted from an incandescent, fluorescent or halogen process to low power consuming LSG products results in the savings of 1 barrel of oil, and ton less of CO2 placed into the atmosphere every year. Plus LED based commercial lighting uses 50% less electricity. Lighting solutions reliant upon low current draining LEDs are of course but one step towards a sustainable Earth. Passive lighting from fiber optics along with reflective and focal technologies will also help us change the way we light the world. In an environmentally friendly plan for the future we will want to and need to use all of the resources available to us. LED based lighting from Lighting Science Group will surely be one of them.

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The recyclable golf balls of Dixon Golf Do you think of recycling as something ne Recently some clever people at Dixon Golf

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The recyclable golf balls of Dixon Golf

Do you think of recycling as something new? 100 years ago people were returning glass bottles for refills of a new beverage called Coca Cola. Recycling is certainly not new. Most of the items we call disposable and allow to fill our landfills with today were at one time expected to be repaired and reused. Another example would be shoes. A good pair of shoes was meant to last 20 years as long as you had them resoled from time to time.

Recently some clever people at Dixon Golf set out to create a recyclable golf ball. They took on this challenge because golf balls, being as durable as they are, represent an item that is virtually indestructible. Nearly 300 million golf balls are discarded yearly in the United States alone representing a definitive green Earth hazard. Of course a golf ball is not a soda bottle or a plastic bag. It is not a simple item to grind up and melt down to make other goods. In fact, the chemical components of most major manufacturers golf balls are some of the toughest to breakdown in existence. Golf ball ingredients include heavy metals such as tungsten, cobalt and even lead. With that said, the folks at Dixon Golf knew that making a biodegradable golf ball was not really an option. But, like our Coke bottle and pair of Wingtip shoes, perhaps a golf ball could be refilled or resoled. That

was the exact development direction Dixon Golf chose. To make a golf ball that could be rebuilt and consequently reused. This was accomplished by creating a ball that used a different material for its core. The core of a Dixon Golf Ball is made from a special polymer that is 100% renewable. Also, the covers of Dixon Golf Balls are made of materials that are easily recycled to make other consumer products. Every part of a Dixon Golf Ball is reusable from the core to the cover. Golf balls are manufactured to exacting standards. All of those little dimples in a golf ball act as tiny wings to give the ball aerodynamic lift and control. Inside, the core of a golf ball is designed to compress upon forceful impact from the club. The head of a golf club, swung by an amateur, strikes the ball at an average speed of eighty miles per hour. The release of that compression sends the ball outward at a great speed. Making a golf ball that meets the requirements of amateur and pro golfers alike is no small feat. Making a ball that is also recyclable is almost impossible. We say almost of course, because making a completely recyclable golf ball is precisely what Dixon Golf has done. Dixon Golf has created a superbly crafted high quality golf ball that is the equal of any ball in play today. In independent testing Dixon Golf balls outperformed higher priced Titleist, Nike and Callaway balls. The same test showed that the Dixon Golf Earth ball received a 92% approval rating.

So how did Dixon Golf founders and Principals William Carey and Dane Platt create a recyclable golf ball that can out play the best on the market? Fortunately, the owners of Dixon Golf had spent years working in the golf ball industry for a manufacturer that made name brand balls. The construction of a Titleist differs greatly from a Nike ball and neither company is sharing their design secrets. But the principals of Dixon Golf didnt need anyone elses secret technology to aid them. They had a combined 30 years of ball making experience between them and knew firsthand the design characteristics that went into making a competitive ball. The trick would be to make a ball out of green materials that was designed from the outset to be rebuilt and resoled. Further, the 100 percent recyclable golf balls would need to perform equally as well as other brand name balls. But green golf doesnt stop there. Marketing is a major part of Dixons Green Golf Planning. When you purchase a Dixon Golf ball you can trade in your old Dixon Golf ball for a one dollar credit towards the purchase of Dixon Golf balls. Dixon Golf will even give you a 50 cent credit on any non Dixon Golf balls returned. Following through on this marketing swing, all of the materials used to make and market Dixon Golf Balls are recyclable including packaging and displays. At the present time there are two grades of Dixon Golf Balls, Earth, and Wind. The Dixon Golf Fire ball will be available beginning this summer. Each of these is designed for particular playing conditions and player abilities. While it is true that a Dixon Golf ball shanked into a pond will still need to be rescued by a diver, at least when it is recovered it can be recycled.

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The recyclable golf balls of Dixon Golf

Do you think of recycling as something new? 100 years ago people were returning glass bottles for refills of a new beverage called Coca Cola. Recycling is certainly not new. Most of the items we call disposable and allow to fill our landfills with today were at one time expected to be repaired and reused. Another example would be shoes. A good pair of shoes was meant to last 20 years as long as you had them resoled from time to time.

Recently some clever people at Dixon Golf set out to create a recyclable golf ball. They took on this challenge because golf balls, being as durable as they are, represent an item that is virtually indestructible. Nearly 300 million golf balls are discarded yearly in the United States alone representing a definitive green Earth hazard. Of course a golf ball is not a soda bottle or a plastic bag. It is not a simple item to grind up and melt down to make other goods. In fact, the chemical components of most major manufacturers golf balls are some of the toughest to breakdown in existence. Golf ball ingredients include heavy metals such as tungsten, cobalt and even lead. With that said, the folks at Dixon Golf knew that making a biodegradable golf ball was not really an option. But, like our Coke bottle and pair of Wingtip shoes, perhaps a golf ball could be refilled or resoled. That was the exact development direction Dixon Golf chose. To make a golf ball that could be rebuilt and consequently reused. This was accomplished by creating a ball that used a different material for its core. The core of a Dixon Golf Ball is made from a special polymer that is 100% renewable. Also, the covers of Dixon Golf Balls are made of materials that are easily recycled to make other consumer products. Every part of a Dixon Golf Ball is reusable from the core to the cover. Golf balls are manufactured to exacting standards. All of those little dimples in a golf ball act as tiny wings to give the ball aerodynamic lift and control. Inside, the core of a golf ball is designed to compress upon forceful impact from the club. The head of a golf club, swung by an amateur, strikes the ball at an average speed of eighty miles per hour. The release of that compression sends the ball outward at a great speed. Making a golf ball that meets the requirements of amateur and pro golfers alike is no small feat. Making a

ball that is also recyclable is almost impossible. We say almost of course, because making a completely recyclable golf ball is precisely what Dixon Golf has done. Dixon Golf has created a superbly crafted high quality golf ball that is the equal of any ball in play today. In independent testing Dixon Golf balls outperformed higher priced Titleist, Nike and Callaway balls. The same test showed that the Dixon Golf Earth ball received a 92% approval rating.

So how did Dixon Golf founders and Principals William Carey and Dane Platt create a recyclable golf ball that can out play the best on the market? Fortunately, the owners of Dixon Golf had spent years working in the golf ball industry for a manufacturer that made name brand balls. The construction of a Titleist differs greatly from a Nike ball and neither company is sharing their design secrets. But the principals of Dixon Golf didnt need anyone elses secret technology to aid them. They had a combined 30 years of ball making experience between them and knew firsthand the design characteristics that went into making a competitive ball. The trick would be to make a ball out of green materials that was designed from the outset to be rebuilt and resoled. Further, the 100 percent recyclable golf balls would need to perform equally as well as other brand name balls. But green golf doesnt stop there. Marketing is a major part of Dixons Green Golf Planning. When you purchase a Dixon Golf ball you can trade in your old Dixon Golf ball for a one dollar credit towards the purchase of Dixon Golf balls. Dixon Golf will even give you a 50 cent credit on any non Dixon Golf balls returned. Following through on this marketing swing, all of the materials used to make and market Dixon Golf Balls are recyclable including packaging and displays. At the present time there are two grades of Dixon Golf Balls, Earth, and Wind. The Dixon Golf Fire ball will be available beginning this summer. Each of these is designed for particular playing conditions and player abilities. While it is true that a Dixon Golf ball shanked into a pond will still need to be rescued by a diver, at least when it is recovered it can be recycled.

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A Volt from the blue

A Volt from the blue

When Chevrolet released photographs of their new electric hybrid car The Chevy Volt the automotive world was abuzz. What type of car was this? And how could it come from GM of all people? It didnt seem possible that General Motors could create such an innovative idea let alone produce such a forward thinking car. Most automotive insiders thought this was strictly a clay model concept car or at most some imaginary idea still sitting on GM drawing boards.

But it turns out that the Volt is a real car and a beaut of one at that. What is perhaps the most remarkable aspect of this new car that Chevrolet refuses to call a hybrid is its conventionally attractive styling. Sure most people will marvel at the Voltec drive train which differs from the Toyota Prius and Honda Insights in that the onboard internal combustion engine used has no direct mechanical connection to the drivetrain. The engine on the Volt runs at an economically constant speed so as to keep the 16 lithium ion batteries used at a steady current. That current then drives the Volts electric motor, which of course drives the wheels. When running by way of the current generated by the Volts gasoline generator into its 140 horsepower electric motor, the car averages a mere 50 miles per gallon fuel consumption but average in the mileage achieved from battery only silent running and that figure leaps off the line to a tremendous 150 MPG! On a fun note, if your batteries are fully charged and you run out of gas, you will still have 40 miles of driving in order to reach a station. The exterior of the Chevy Volt is more than attractive enough to lure buyers. This will be necessary with a planned initial sticker price for the car of $40,000. This figure is offset by a hefty tax credit of $7,500. Perhaps the one feature found in the Volt that anyone over thirty and born in the last fifty years has anticipated is the ability to drive the car for 40 miles before the gasoline engine is required. In fact, if your commute is within the national average of 33 miles daily then you might go weeks without visiting a gas

pump. You will have to plug your car into a conventional wall socket every night for a ten hour recharge. The Volts platform also allows for a quick 3 hour charge if plugged into a 240 volt socket such as those used by a clothes dryer. An electric car that can drive around town and go 70 miles per hour on the freeway was not too long ago the stuff of science fiction. We may not yet have the predicted flying cars for the new millennium but come November of 2010 there will be an automobile that we can plug into the socket just above the washing machine, charge overnight and drive to work in the morning.

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Ricoh is planning fifty years into the future

Ricoh is planning fifty years into the future

Where does environmental concern by business begin? Obviously when black soot is billowing out of smokestacks and the community is in an uproar most corporate entities will take action. But that kind of after the fact adjustment will not reduce our carbon footprint. Saving energy is the most direct route in existence towards reducing greenhouse emissions. Use less juice and we use less fuel to make that juice. Burn less fuel and we send less pollution into our atmosphere. For over twenty years major appliance makers have been manufacturing refrigerators and the like that are designed to use less electricity. Televisions using LCD screens consume 70% less power than their cathode ray tube predecessors. Even

PCs are being driven by latest generation Intel processors that are adaptable for lower energy consumption. The manufacturing sector has been making great strides towards saving us money on power used by many of our modern conveniences.

The solution is to take one giant step further with new designs that plan for a green future. One such idea in the making is Ricohs quick warm up copier. While most office copy systems require a lengthy nonproductive warm up time the new Ricoh models are ready to run in under ten seconds. This allows the machine to be at rest in energy-saver mode yet come quickly to life resulting in an overall power usage savings of almost 50%. This savings pales in comparison to Ricohs rewriteable paper system. Perhaps you remember as a child writing secret messages with lemon or potato juice on paper. No one could read the message unless they knew to warm the note over an incandescent light bulb. Once heated slightly the top secret magically appeared. Now consider that Ricoh has developed an image printing and erasing system that uses heat in the same manner to write on a sheet and erase it up to 200 times. While the process itself uses some energy, that use is minute compared to the energy used to produce a sheet of paper. This is the ultimate form of paper recycling. Point of use recycling saves energy so definitively that business costs for items such as copy making can be cut by as much as 90%. This does not even factor the submerged labor costs of purchasing and delivery of paper supplies. As companies such as Ricoh continue to develop these ubergreen technologies everyone on earth will delight in maintaining a high quality of life and convenience without sacrificing environmental comfort. Ricoh should be commended further for their overall eco-strategy that is based on a year 2050 long-term environmental vision. This planning embraces energy conservation, resource conservation, pollution prevention and reduction of paper use entirely.

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Climate Facts
Global Warming Heats Up the Insurance Industry
Without action to curb global warming pollution, average global temperatures will continue to rise, increasing the frequency and intensity of wildfires, heat waves, droughts, and floods. A changing climate means instability in the insurance industry: in 2005 insurers paid out a record $80 billion in weather-related catastrophic losses worldwide, while the following year brought record profits. A Supreme Court ruling on heat-trapping emissions is likely to create new liability for polluters and their insurers. To maintain consistent and affordable consumer coverage, insurers must conduct a comprehensive assessment of their global warming exposure and support responsible policy action to reduce heat-trapping pollution, like that championed by NRDC and industry leaders.
For more information, contact: David Tuft dtuft@nrdc.org 202-289-2435 The Reality of Global Warming The earth is heating up far faster today than at any time in history. Although the daily weather cant be attributed to global warming, the overall trend is clear. Over the past century we have seen rising temperatures, more intense precipitation, melting

ice caps, and rising sea-levelsall due to increasing concentrations of heat-trapping gases caused by the burning of fossil fuels. NASA reported that 2005 tied with 1998 for the hottest year on record, and all 10 warmest years on record have occurred since 1990. And its only getting hotterthe most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projects that the global average temperature will increase by between 4 to 11 degrees Fahrenheit this century if our reliance on fossil fuels accelerates. The IPCC, reflecting the consensus view of hundreds of the worlds preeminent climate scientists, concluded that heattrapping pollution has very likely caused most of the rise in global average temperatures since 1950. They predict that without action to curb global warming pollution, it is very likely that heat waves and heavy precipitation events will continue to become more frequent and hurricanes are likely to become www.nrdc.org/policy more intense.
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