10 Facts About Pollution
I'm truly sorry Man's dominion
Has broken Nature's Social union ...
The best laid schemes o'mice an' men
Gang aft a-gley [often go awry]
- Robert Burns, Scottish Poet
(1759 - 1796) "To a Mouse."
1. For every one of the 6 billion people on earth, nearly four tons of carbon dioxide is spewed into the air annually.
2. World wide, rainforests are dissapearing at a rate of one and a half football fields per second. Each spring the forests beathe in oxygen and the earth breathes out again the following autumn, but like a heavy smokers lungs the earth is loosing its ability to breathe at all. Just a few centuries ago, earths equator was girdled by a green belt of 15 million sq. miles of rain forest, an area about 5-times that of contiguous US. Now the equiv. of 3 USA's worth of Forest are GONE! there is only 6.2 million sq. miles left ...
3. Americans consume 22% of the worlds oil, even though they make up just 5% of the world's population - as a result the past 100 years has seen heat trapping gases increase by 22%
4. Other 'warming gases' are; methane, nitrous, oxide and chloroflurocarbons (or CFC's). CFC's were invented by Thomas Midgley, Jr. whilst working for General Motors. CFC's exist at parts per trillion (ppt), however, each molecule has more than 12,000 times the heat-trapping potential of a molecule of CO2.
5. Our atmosphere was first compared to a "Glass Vessel" in 1827 by the French mathematicians, Jean-Baptiste Joseph Fourier. IN 1850 British physicist James Tyndall took things further and tried to measure the heat trapping properties of various componenets of the atmosphere. He discovered that (suprisingly) that the twomost common gases, nitrogen and oxygen, have no heat-trapping ability; 99% of the atmosphere has no insulating properties at all. It's up to a few trace gases, water vapour, CO2, methane and others to keep the planet cosy.
6. Importance of CO2 as earth's climate regulator was confirmed when scientists drilled out Ice Core in Antartica. They extracted a mile long cylinder of ice. Dating back 160,000 years they found an unbroken record of both temp and atmospheric levels of CO2; these two factors alone controlling previous thaws and ice ages.
7. Every time CO2 descends so do the temperatures. When temps were avg. 5oC, CO2 = 190ppm (parts per million) Throughout the 160,000 years the temps fluctuated between 190 - 280 ppm.
By the end of the 1900's CO2 = 300 ppm
8. In 1896 Arrhenius spelled out in an essay; "we are evaporating our coal mines into the air." You used to be able to stand on a hill and see up to 70 miles away, now you can only seeabout 15 miles.
9. In the year AD1 there were about 250million humans on earth. It took 1,650 years for that number to double. Between 1650 and 1930 the human population rose 4 times to 2 billion. By the turn of the century 6 billion on Earth - 3X the population just 70 years earlier.
10. There are about 500 million cars on the planet and by 2030 it is expected to double to 1 billion cars ... It is believed that current fuel supplies peaked in 2006.
When you consider that the entire atmosphere of Earth weighs 5 million, billion tons, it seems okay - but remember only a little CO2 controls the warming.
Facts courtesy: Global Warming by Andrew Revkin.
Has broken Nature's Social union ...
The best laid schemes o'mice an' men
Gang aft a-gley [often go awry]
- Robert Burns, Scottish Poet
(1759 - 1796) "To a Mouse."
1. For every one of the 6 billion people on earth, nearly four tons of carbon dioxide is spewed into the air annually.
2. World wide, rainforests are dissapearing at a rate of one and a half football fields per second. Each spring the forests beathe in oxygen and the earth breathes out again the following autumn, but like a heavy smokers lungs the earth is loosing its ability to breathe at all. Just a few centuries ago, earths equator was girdled by a green belt of 15 million sq. miles of rain forest, an area about 5-times that of contiguous US. Now the equiv. of 3 USA's worth of Forest are GONE! there is only 6.2 million sq. miles left ...
3. Americans consume 22% of the worlds oil, even though they make up just 5% of the world's population - as a result the past 100 years has seen heat trapping gases increase by 22%
4. Other 'warming gases' are; methane, nitrous, oxide and chloroflurocarbons (or CFC's). CFC's were invented by Thomas Midgley, Jr. whilst working for General Motors. CFC's exist at parts per trillion (ppt), however, each molecule has more than 12,000 times the heat-trapping potential of a molecule of CO2.
5. Our atmosphere was first compared to a "Glass Vessel" in 1827 by the French mathematicians, Jean-Baptiste Joseph Fourier. IN 1850 British physicist James Tyndall took things further and tried to measure the heat trapping properties of various componenets of the atmosphere. He discovered that (suprisingly) that the twomost common gases, nitrogen and oxygen, have no heat-trapping ability; 99% of the atmosphere has no insulating properties at all. It's up to a few trace gases, water vapour, CO2, methane and others to keep the planet cosy.
6. Importance of CO2 as earth's climate regulator was confirmed when scientists drilled out Ice Core in Antartica. They extracted a mile long cylinder of ice. Dating back 160,000 years they found an unbroken record of both temp and atmospheric levels of CO2; these two factors alone controlling previous thaws and ice ages.
7. Every time CO2 descends so do the temperatures. When temps were avg. 5oC, CO2 = 190ppm (parts per million) Throughout the 160,000 years the temps fluctuated between 190 - 280 ppm.
By the end of the 1900's CO2 = 300 ppm
8. In 1896 Arrhenius spelled out in an essay; "we are evaporating our coal mines into the air." You used to be able to stand on a hill and see up to 70 miles away, now you can only seeabout 15 miles.
9. In the year AD1 there were about 250million humans on earth. It took 1,650 years for that number to double. Between 1650 and 1930 the human population rose 4 times to 2 billion. By the turn of the century 6 billion on Earth - 3X the population just 70 years earlier.
10. There are about 500 million cars on the planet and by 2030 it is expected to double to 1 billion cars ... It is believed that current fuel supplies peaked in 2006.
When you consider that the entire atmosphere of Earth weighs 5 million, billion tons, it seems okay - but remember only a little CO2 controls the warming.
Facts courtesy: Global Warming by Andrew Revkin.
Learning Something Everyday
Nowadays, even my boss doesn't drive his car to work if he doesn't have an appointment. He opts for his bicycle.
Thank God for staying near to the office!
For me, I try to walk to work at least 3 times a day and only drive if i need to.
From The Home Front
Enviro Warrior
Dream Herald
Esoteric Bookshop
I'm really tired this afternoon, as I was putting up new posts all day nearly.
Thanks for stopping by.
Yes I am big on only taking what we need and no more. It's amazing how little the average family can make do with and I find resourcefulness a life affirming skill.
I hope everyone who reads this post is inspired to take one less thing this week, than last week.
Talk again soon,
Lilla.
Stress Alive
Man Lessons
Very good food for thought, this.
From The Home Front
Enviro Warrior
Dream Herald
Esoteric Bookshop
Sometimes there is just no other way of saying it, is there?
I like your picture, you have a lovely 'face,' I will be over to visit you soon,
when I have some time ... *wink*
L.
Falling Haiku Leaf
Inner West Life
The Crap Genie is out of the bottle. What are we going to do about it? Such a shame about Al Gore.
From The Home Front
Enviro Warrior
Dream Herald
Esoteric Bookshop
What do you mean shame ...?
That he didn't make the election?
L.
I see a lot of focus on the environment here in the US around Earth Day, but then it fades out of focus until the next year's Earth Day rolls around.
I'd love to see a marketing campaign targeted toward the youngsters wherein tips and advice are demonstrated in commercials during cartoons and other children's programming. Here in the US we see lots of anti-smoking campaigns and anti-gang campaigns, and even commercials and advertisements that encourage family meals around the kitchen table. However, not much is said or done via marketing in regard to environmental health and well being.
From The Home Front
Enviro Warrior
Dream Herald
Esoteric Bookshop
I agree with you about the school education, 100 per cent, however, they will have no future if those heard-headed, mind-sets don't start to soften, now.
This is a problem that cannot be ignored anymore, especially for those who have children. I guess the first step is to ensure that this issue is one of the top three being addressed by your preferred party the next time you are at the polls.
There are cheap, clean, sustainable alternatives out there and (like small children), it may be time to demand some of them. Meanwhile, parents should be getting themselves onto their local PTA's and PCA's respectively and talking about just such a progressive education. One suited to our world now and not a victorian era, long gone... particularly for us colonists out in the new worlds, where the land and climate dictates its own parameters of living and lifestyle.
(This always sends me off on an architectural tangent on the ineffective housing still being built in the hotter zones of Autralia. Luckily, I can see signs of intelligent evolutionary design peeking through here and there...)
Again, I believe it's about good people getting up and doing something about what they don't like, and finding non-violent ways to help change it, like Al Gore. Who was it who said; There is always a way forward if you step back and stand still long enough to find it.
Thanks for the thoughts,
Lilla.
Learning Something Everyday
Right on! I agree upon what you said.
This also happened to me yesterday when me and my choir team hiked up the Bukit Lembing and when we reached the summit, we saw many tourist there but at the same time, many rubbish like empty plastic bottles and waste paper snacks.
So all of us scrambled and picked up the bottles into a plastic bag and brought it down to throw away.
From The Home Front
Enviro Warrior
Dream Herald
Esoteric Bookshop
That sounds like something I would do. We are lucky in Australia, due to a really good advertising campaign many years ago about picking up our own litter. It was very successful and you will remember from your time here, how clean most parts of Australia are. It remains a beautiful country.
I can remember seeing so many trashed places in my travels - especially through tourism -
I always liked the adage; tread lightly upon the earth and was raised to only take what I needed. It is hard for me to understand anything else.
I will come and see if you have written about your climb, I look forward to seeing photo's of the views.
Lilla.
Learning Something Everyday
I forgot I actually posted at my blog about this place.
Here is the link:
Bukit Lembing / Panorama – A hill that for hiking lovers
Hope you enjoy the two best captured (from my camera) from the summit.
From The Home Front
Enviro Warrior
Dream Herald
Esoteric Bookshop
I'll be along directly...and hopefully for no views of pollution like my latest post?
Lilla...
From The Home Front
Enviro Warrior
Dream Herald
Esoteric Bookshop
This is mohammed from INDIA, iam working on something that's called the green world project
Its a campaign to create awareness among global warming
i went through your post regarding pollution
i totally agree with those facts
I am Running short off data which can make this campaign more sucessfull
mail me your email address and we can talk one day. see ya thank you.
mohammed_jaan@hotmail.com
From The Home Front
Enviro Warrior
Dream Herald
Esoteric Bookshop
From The Home Front
Enviro Warrior
Dream Herald
Esoteric Bookshop
thank you for the invitation. I will indeed write to you soon, but for now must take care of more nonvirtual duties. But I will be in touch within a little time.
regards,
Lilla ..
see ya.
From The Home Front
Enviro Warrior
Dream Herald
Esoteric Bookshop
The good news is perhaps in the prophecies of the native people, especially the Maya and the pending 2012 *shift* in consciousness, when much will be put to rights so that you may indeed see your dream come true.
There is a book on 2012 in my Esoteric Bookshop post that may offer you some hope and insight into the truths of 2012 and what to expect.
Don*t worry too much about it for now, just do what you can to minimise your own impact on the planet, all will be well int he end, as the major changes take their new forms.
Lilla ...
a lotI MEAN SO MUCH!!!LEAGUE OF LEGENDS ( . Y . )
Very good!
you fail.
i hate you.
jokes ily.