Class of 2016 C

Carbon Dioxide from Power Plants: Nearly 40% of our carbon dioxide emissions come directly from the process of burning ‘fossil fuels” in order to generate electricity. Of that almost 40% of our CO2 emissions directly attributed to generating power, over 90% of it comes from the burning of coal. Coal emits 25% more carbon per “unit of energy” than oil and 70% more carbon than natural gas. Carbon Dioxide from Automobiles: Approximately 1/3 of the carbon dioxide emissions released into our environment comes from the burning of gasoline in internal-combustion engines of automobiles, buses, motorcycles, “SUVs,” recreational vehicles, trucks and of course, motor sports. As motor sports (racing) continue to grow in popularity, the huge amount of fuel being used continues to grow annually. Just NASCAR alone, which is only one of numerous racing associations, admits that it burns over 1 million gallons of gas per year when you combine the gasoline used for the racing, trials, practice runs, etc. That doesn’t even take into account the gas spent traveling, hauling the cars, equipment, team and tools for each car back and forth to the track

Carbon Dioxide from Airplanes: The United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that aviation currently is responsible for just under 5% of global warming and that the figure could very well rise to approximate 15% by the year 2050. Carbon Dioxide from Buildings: Scientists claim that something so very mundane as the regular maintenance, temperature control and cleaning of buildings structure actually account for nearly 12% of carbon dioxide emissions. Methane: CO2 is not the only “Greenhouse Gas” that the planet is contending with these days. While carbon dioxide may be primary greenhouse gas, methane actually is 20 times more effective as CO2 at trapping heat in the Earths atmosphere. Emissions of methane released into our atmosphere have risen 145% in the last 100 years. Methane naturally occurs as part of the biological processes behind everything from bovine flatulence to the organic bacteria and sulfur’s commonly found in bogs, springs, and wells. Methane is a natural form of gas that is released in rice paddies as well as the composting and decomposition of organic matter. However, methane gas is also released during the processing and preparation of fossil fuels. Water Vapor: Believe it or not, something as natural and simple as “water vapor,” is the most prevalent and effective greenhouse gas on the planet. But, much of the cause behind its increasing levels entering the atmosphere is due to already increased global warming that has taken place, due to increased levels of CO2, methane as well as other greenhouse gases.

Water vapor is responsible for 2/3 of the heat currently trapped in the Earth’s atmosphere by all greenhouse gases. The hotter the atmosphere gets, the higher the level of “relative humidity” which holds the heat in even better. Nitrous Oxide: Yet another of the infamous “Greenhouse Gasses, Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a colorless, non-flammable gas with a slightly sweet odor. Most commonly known as “laughing gas” and used as a medical anesthetic, nitrous oxide is naturally produced by oceans and rainforests. Nitrous oxide is naturally broken down in the atmosphere through chemical reactions that occur with sunlight. Some of the most prevalent “man-made” sources of nitrous oxide are agricultural fertilizers, nylon, catalytic converters and nitric acid, along with the burning of organic matter. Deforestation: According to NASA, besides, human caused carbon dioxide emissions released into the environment, deforestation actually now is the 2nd most prolific cause of atmospheric CO2 influx. Deforestation is responsible for nearly ¼ of all carbon emissions entering the atmosphere. The planet cuts and burns nearly 34 million acres of trees each year, including millions of acres of “rainforest,” equal to the size of the entire country of Italy. The process of deforestation is “doubly” dangerous for the planet, because not only are we adding millions of tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year, but we are also wiping out the most effective cleansers of that deadly CO2 gas, the trees and plants that naturally “thrive” by consuming the carbon dioxide and offering up pure, clean, breathable oxygen as a free byproduct of the plant life cycle.

Melting Permafrost: Permafrost is the frozen soil throughout the arctic and sub-arctic regions, that contain all kinds of organic matter such as all kinds of frozen plants and animals that have been frozen solid and held inert for 30,000 years. Approximately 25% of the land mass of the Northern Hemisphere is “permafrost,’ or soil with a temperature of 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius) or less. Permafrost has acted like a jail cell for carbon, methane and other greenhouse gases for several thousand years, perhaps dating back to the last “Ice Age.” As glacial regions and permafrost begin to melt, the 50 billion tons of carbon that scientists estimate is held in a state on inactive, suspended animation under the frozen surface of the tundra will begin and continue to be released into our atmosphere, creating a greenhouse effect that would make the residents of the hottest and most humid tropical islands faint in mere minute. OK … so now we know the causes of Global Warming. It’s not ALL our fault, but we certainly have played a significant role in the decline of our environmental integrity. However, when you stop to think about it, that’s actually good news! You see, if we played a major role in creating, the problem, that logically means that we can also play a major role in SOLVING the problem! So just like in a good game of chess … it’s your move!

At the 2011 conference delegates from about 200 nations gathered together in Durban, South Africa. One of the issues left unresolved was the future of the Kyoto Protocol, the 1997 agreement that requires major industrialized nations to meet targets on emissions reduction but imposes no mandates on developing countries, including emerging economic powers and sources of global greenhouse gas emissions like China, India, Brazil and South Africa.

In December 2011, the European Union’s highest court endorsed the bloc’s plan to begin charging the world’s biggest airlines for their greenhouse gas emissions from Jan. 1, 2012, setting the stage for a potentially costly trade war with the United States, China and other countries.

Airlines for America, an industry lobby group and one of the plaintiffs in the case, said that its members would be required to pay more than $3.1 billion to the E.U. between 2012 and 2020. It said its members would comply with the system “under protest,” but would also review options for pursuing the case in Britain’s High Court, which had referred the original complaint to the European court in 2009.

The United States has been criticized at the United Nations gatherings for years, in part because of its rejection of the Kyoto framework and in part because it has not adopted a comprehensive domestic program for reducing its own greenhouse gas emissions. President Obama has pledged to reduce American emissions 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020, but his preferred approach, a nationwide cap-and-trade system for carbon pollution, was passed by the House in 2009 but died in the Senate the next year. United States emissions are down about 6 percent over the past five years, largely because of the drop in industrial and electricity production caused by the recession.

In March 2012, the E.P.A. unveiled a draft rule that would limit carbon dioxide emissions from new power plants to 1,000 pounds per megawatt-hour.

To open an avenue to companies still planning to build coal plants, for example, the E.P.A. said it would allow new ones to begin operating with higher levels of emissions as long as the average annual emissions over a period of 30 years met the standard.

Scientists learned long ago that the earth’s climate has powerfully shaped the history of the human species — biologically, culturally and geographically. But only in the last few decades has research revealed that humans can be a powerful influence on the climate, as well.  

That conclusion has emerged through a broad body of analysis in fields as disparate as glaciology, the study of glacial formations, and palynology, the study of the distribution of pollen grains in lake mud. It is based on a host of assessments by the world’s leading organizations of climate and earth scientists.

human-related greenhouse gases — produced mainly by the burning of fossil fuels and forests.

Global warming has become perhaps the most complicated issue facing world leaders. Warnings from the scientific community are becoming louder, as an increasing body of science points to rising dangers from the ongoing buildup of human-related greenhouse gases — produced mainly by the burning of fossil fuels and forests.

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.