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Archive for July, 2009

Is A Forever Recovery Expensive?

Is it Expensive to Be Green?

By Cindy Taylor

This is a question many people have asked me and unfortunately the answer is not that easy. While, yes, to buy organic and items that are green can be quite costly, there are also many ways to be green that are very affordable. You do not need to spend a lot of money to be green. It simple requires a willingness to be a better steward of God’s planet and some creativity.

When I first decided that I wanted to be green, I was not swimming in the green…if ya know what I mean. LOL! However, I had a desire to be a better steward of the planet and I started to brainstorm. Out of that brainstorming came Green Christian Network. It helps me be more creative and I am forced to come up with cheap and free ways to be an environmentally minded person.

Yep, that’s all it takes, people. Willingness and effort.

Eco Tips to Get Your Started on the Greener…Cheaper Path

Recycle. most states have recycling programs and they provide the bins and pick up service for minimal cost. It is actually a part of your garbage bill…at least it is in my town. this ONE act can do a world of good for the environment!

Reuse. start thinking about ways that you can reuse the items you use every day.

Limit paper use. stop overusing paper towels and paper products like they are going out of style. make the most of everything and use it more then once. we have many paper tips here.

Stop wasting. waste is something anyone and everyone can stop doing. it is free and simply requires willingness.

These are just a few simple changes to get you started. If you implement even one of them, you are already making a difference!

Is A Forever Recovery Expensive

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A Forever Recovery Arctic Warming

By: Gordon Petten

Science Daily has published The Arctic is warming much more rapidly than previously known, at nearly twice the rate as the rest of the globe, and increasing greenhouse gases from human activities are projected to make it warmer still, according to the findings of a 300-strong team of international scientists.

At the rate global warming is going, the Arctic is predicted to lose half of its summer ice as the century closes when temperature is projected to rise by another 4 to 7 degrees Celsius by year 2100. This melting is to include a sizeable section of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Major global impacts will be continued rise in sea-level and intensifying global warming, as per the final report of the ACIA or the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment. The exercise was ordered by the Arctic Council, an executive body composed of the 8 eArctic nations, 6 indigenous POs or Peoples Organizations, and the IASC or the International Arctic Science Committee. The latter is a worldwide organization appointed by 18 national science institutes.

The assessment’s report was first broadcast in detail at a symposium in Reykjavik, Iceland in November 9 to 12, 2004. ACIA’s data were based on an average estimate of emissions of CO2 and other gases that aggravate the greenhouse effect in the years to come. The report also integrates results from 5 major climate simulations done by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change or IPCC.

As Robert Corell, ACIA Chair mused, people in the Arctic are feelng the impacts of global warming as the Arctic is now seeing the fastest and extremely serious climate change. These are predicted to increase even more as the years roll by.

Here are some of the findings:

In the past 50 years, winter temperatures in Alaska, Western Canada and Eastern Russia have registered an increase of as much as 3 to 4 degrees Celsius. And in the next century, temperatures are projected to increase by

4 7 degrees Celsius or 7 13 degrees Fahrenheit.

As mentioned earlier, summer sea ice in the Arctic is seen to drop by 50% at the turn of the century. There is even a prediction of its almost complete disappearance which can kill ice living seals. This will prove too much for the indigenous peoples of the region. who depend on these animals for food.

Global warming increases melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet, increasing the rates at which sea levels rise. In the long run, Greenland will hold enough melted ice that sea level could rise to as much as 7 meters or 23 feet. The coastal towns around the Arctic now face the risk of erosion and flooding because of this.

The possibility of the extinction of some species of seals and polar bears is very evident.

Health and food security of the natives are also areas that can be affected. This poses a challenge on the other tribe’s culture.

A Forever Recovery Arctic Warming

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Global Warming: Brief A Forever Recovery Introduction

By: Simon Rosser

The term Global Warming has been in common usage for some time and usually refers to recent warming of Earth’s atmosphere,which also implies a manmade or human influence.

Earth’s atmosphere comprises many gases: oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide (hereafter abbreviated to CO2) and water vapour, to name a few. These gases are collectively called greenhouse gases and they keep the Earth’s temperature at a comfortable 15°C. Without them Earth would be a freezing -18&degC.

Since pre-industrial times, usually taken to be before 1750, we know from ice-core records that CO2 levels were about 280 ppm,that’s 280 parts of CO2 per million parts of air. As industrialisation got underway humankind started to farm the land more intensely than ever before, which included deforestation for agriculture and settlements. Later - since about 1850 or so - the burning of fossil fuels for energy and transport has added considerably to greenhouse gas levels, particularly CO2.

This has resulted in CO2 levels increasing to about 385 ppm, a rise of about thirty-seven per cent from pre-industrial levels - mainly as a result of burning fossil fuels.

How do we know this?

Well, data from ice-core records that go back at least 650,000 years now show us that CO2 levels have fluctuated naturally during this time between 280 and 300 ppm. CO2 levels have also been measured accurately from the top of Mauna Loa Volcano in Hawaii since 1958, and results show an increase in CO2 levels from 315 ppm to 385 ppm since that time.

Therefore CO2 is now at eighty ppm more than it has been for at least 650,000 years of Earth’s history. It is a known scientific fact that higher levels of greenhouse gases will lead to higher temperatures, which appears to be happening now. The world has warmed by an average of 0.74 degrees during the last 100 years or so. As a result of this warming, polar ice has started to decrease and melt, and so have Earth’s land-based glaciers. This in turn is causing sea levels to rise, which is putting low-lying islands at risk of flooding or total submersion, and will eventually threaten more and more of the world’s coastal cities and regions.

Things may get worse, however, because once Earth’s atmosphere starts to warm, the warming itself may cause further positive feedback mechanisms to kick in. A warmer atmosphere holds more water vapour, which is itself a powerful greenhouse gas. This will in turn cause further warming, and so on.

Melting ice results in more sunlight being absorbed by the surrounding ‘darker’ water and land, and that results in further warming, and more melting ice. Methane deposits currently held in a frozen but stable state under the sea and under the permafrost may be released as the oceans warm and permafrost melts, which will cause further warming. This is very worrying as methane is a potent greenhouse gas and around twenty times more powerful than CO2 when talking about it’s ability to warm the Earth’s atmosphere.

This is global warming in a nut shell, however there are of course far more complex issues involved as global warming will not affect the whole planet in the same way at the same time. Some parts will experience more drought, some parts more rainfall, and some parts more extreme weather such as floods and heatwaves.

Global Warming: Brief A Forever Recovery Introduction

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A Forever Recovery about Carbon Dioxide

A-Z of Global Warming: Carbon Dioxide

By: Simon Rosser

We are well into our alphabetic A to Z journey on global warming. C for Carbon dioxide is one of the main players in the global warming problem. Carbon dioxide, chemical symbol co2 is a chemical compound composed of one carbon and two oxygen atoms.

CO2 is present in the Earth’s atmosphere at a low concentration, around 0.038% by volume, and is one of many gases that make up Earth’s atmosphere. CO2 is measured in parts per million by volume of air (PPMV). Atmospheric carbon dioxide comes from many natural sources including volcanic eruptions, the combustion of organic matter, the respiration of living aerobic organisms, and unfortunately from manmade (anthropogenic) sources, which we all know from the news is being linked to global warming and climate change.

Since the industrial revolution particularly the mid nineteenth century, the burning of fossil fuels for energy to provide electricity, power factories, homes and for all our transport needs has released massive amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere. Not only the burning of fossil fuels, but changes in the use of the land for agriculture and deforestation has further added to global manmade CO2 levels. According to the World Wildlife fund some 29 gigatons which is 29 billion metric tons of CO2 was added to the atmosphere in 2004 alone from burning coal, oil and gas.

If we go back 250 years or so, to pre- industrial times, usually taken to be around 1750, CO2 levels in the atmosphere were around 280 parts per million by volume (ppmv). However levels of the gas have been increasing steadily ever since.

HOW DO WE KNOW THIS?

Well, pioneering scientist Charles Keeling (1928-2005) started taking atmospheric CO2 measurements in 1958 from Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii. Those measurements have been recorded and are now known as The Keeling Curve. Charles Keeling was the professor of oceanography at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography (SIO) which is in San Diego, USA, and he followed the work of another eminent scientist and director of the SIO, Roger Revelle. Dr Revelle was instrumental in creating the Geophysical Year in 1958 and SIO’s first programme looking at atmospheric CO2 back in 1956.

Monthly CO2 measurements were collected from a height of 3397 metres (11,140 feet) at the Mauna Loa Observatory situated on the slopes of Earth’s largest volcano, Mauna Loa in Hawaii which was chosen for its remoteness to populations and vegetation so as not to skewer the readings.

Measurements have been taken over a 50 year period between 1958 and present, which show a rise in CO2 levels of 70 ppmv from around 315 ppmv to around their current level of 385 ppmv. The effects of CO2 in the atmosphere can even be measured on a cyclical basis, and this can be seen in the saw toothed keeling graph. Because there is greater land area, and thus far more plant life in the Northern Hemisphere compared to the Southern Hemisphere, there is an annual fluctuation of about 5 ppmv peaking in May and reaching a minimum in October. This corresponds to the Northern Hemisphere growing season. The amount of CO2 in the atmosphere drops towards spring when uptake by the plants and trees by photosynthesis is greatest. The opposite occurs in winter when the plants die off and CO2 levels increase again.

Continuous readings in this way have only been taken since 1958, however scientists have discovered that prior to the industrial era, circa 1750, CO2 levels stood at around 280 ppmv and this data has been revealed from air trapped in ice core records, taken from both the Antarctic and Arctic. Perhaps the most startling is the fact that CO2 levels are now around 85 ppmv higher than at any time during the last 650,000 years. Records from ice core records go back that far and have shown atmospheric CO2 levels to range from 180-300 ppmv during that period. The level of CO2 in our atmosphere now stands at 385 ppmv, and is increasing steadily.

The Keeling curve has become one of the most recognisable images in modern science as it shows with no uncertainty the effects of humankind’s fossil fuel pollution of Earth’s atmosphere.

CO2 levels have increased by 37% since pre-industrial times and have been increasing by an average of almost 1.4 ppmv a year since measurements began in 1958, although some months the figure has been higher, sometimes lower. In the last ten years however, the average increase appears to be around 1.9 ppmv each year, which indicates the rate of increase is increasing.

Whilst CO2 is a natural greenhouse gas, and important in natural concentrations to maintain Earth’s climate, anthropogenic CO2 is now pushing up Earth’s temperature. Earth’s natural sinks, like the Amazon rainforest and the oceans struggle to absorb the additional CO2 now being added to the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels. It is a know scientific fact that higher levels of greenhouse gases, of which CO2 is a component cause a warming of Earth’s atmosphere. If CO2 is not kept in check and continues to rise at current levels it will eventually cause Earth’s temperature to increase to levels which maybe critical to life on Earth.

A Forever Recovery about Carbon Dioxide

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Learn More with A Forever Recovery

I Want to Learn More About Global Warming

Lance Winslow

Most people understand that global warming is the theory that mankind through their emissions as CO2 into the atmosphere, pollution, is causing the planet to heat up. Climate change on the other hand is the admission that the planet is indeed heating up slightly a few agrees, but rather supports the theory that the Earth goes through cycles, changes and fluctuations on a periodic basis and there is nothing we can do about it anyway.

Many people wish to blame global warming on the oil companies or our power electricity infrastructure and that really is not very fair. Some environmentalists want to blame all the people who drive SUVs or blame all the truck drivers - this really isn’t fair either. It is amazing how little the public really knows about global warming and how alarmed everyone is over this theory.

Do you want to learn more about global warming and the reality of what is really going on or what the theory is all about? Most people just listen to the mass media hysteria and the various Hollywood films like “The Day After Tomorrow” that have come out like the one by Al Gore was involved with showing a catastrophic event that happens because of mankind’s pollution and global warming.

It makes sense to educate the public as to what is really going on and not further incite hysteria and scare tactics in order to move a particular agenda. We recommend that you go out and learn more about global warming so that you know what you are talking about when you discuss this with other people.

Perhaps you can set the record straight as many people do not really understand what global warming is and why higher ambient temperatures are occurring or to what extent that mankind may or may not be involved in the heat increase.

Learn More with A Forever Recovery

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Simplifying Your Life from A Forever Recovery

Help Stop Global Warming while Simplifying Your Life

By: Nathan Brown

It seems that each passing moment brings more facts about what some scientists say is the greatest challenge that humanity will face global warming. While no experts can really predict what will happen to the earth’s atmosphere, the basic science is fairly simple: several gases are responsible for altering the way the earth’s surface and atmosphere absorb heat from the sun. Carbon dioxide (CO 2) is thought to be the primary gas responsible for the current warming trend. Do you know what is responsible for the majority of carbon dioxide emissions? It’s the burning of fossil fuels. While global warming is a complex issue that faces every inhabitant of planet earth, there is one simple solution that everyone can make to help stop global warming. And you don’t have to do anything.

The Major Issue To Address Is Your Addiction To Your Car

That’s right, you can help stop global warming by simply not driving! Do you struggle to imagine your life without owning a personal automobile? You’re certainly not the only one. America’s love affair with the personal automobile has a history so long that it is deeply embedded in our culture. For many, the automobile symbolizes a rite of passage, a higher standard of living and a means to freedom. Unfortunately, the use of personal automobiles is a major cause of global warming. On the bright side, you can make a big contribution to solving global warming by refraining from using your automobile. In the United States, the only sector responsible for emitting more carbon dioxide than transportation is electricity generation. While reforms to make electricity generation could take years of bureaucratic process and infrastructure development, you can take a major step to help stop global warming today by reducing your automobile use.

The Solution That Can Help You Stop Global Warming - Walk, Bike, and Use Public Transportation

The fossil fuels burned while driving are immense. If you drive 12,000 miles a year in a car that achieves an average of 20 miles per gallon, that activity is responsible for producing six tons of carbon dioxide. This number may seem meaningless, but consider that the average American home and car are responsible for 7.5 tons per capita each over the same year you can see what a tremendous impact driving has on the atmosphere. According to the American Public Transportation Association, traveling by public transportation produces half of the CO 2 as personal vehicles. Walking and biking produce no emissions and provide the additional benefit of giving you a sense of freedom that cannot be afforded by any motorized vehicle.

By altering your life in this way, you can be a beacon for others who have yet to take the plunge themselves. Changing light bulbs is not an act that is visible to the public at large. Walking, biking and using public transit are public acts which make a strong statement that you are committed to help stop global warming. By adopting this simple solution yourself, you will inspire others to join in the collective action that is necessary to halt this potential global catastrophe.

The Simple Fact Is You Can Be Happier Without Owning Your Own Car If You Make Car Free Living A Major Focus In Your Life

If you are still reading, you probably take issue with the the idea of being happier without a car. But many people have kicked their habit of owning a personal vehicle and have not looked back. Once you let go of your addiction, you will notice that your quality of life has improved and the car’s singular benefit of convenience will seem bygone . Take a moment to ponder the possible benefits: less time behind the wheel in traffic; a healthier body; one less major possession needing upkeep; more free time and more money. Now consider the fact that the average household in the U.S. spends 17% of its budget on owning and operating personal vehicles . Imagine being liberated from that financial burden! You will be able to spend more money on what you enjoy or perhaps spend less time working.

As with other addictions, though, going cold turkey is not always the most effective method. Try first committing to using alternative transportation on one day a week when you would normally use your automobile. As you grow accustomed to this change, make an effort to increase the number of trips you take in this manner. When prepared to realize the full economic benefits of this solution, you can take the final step and sell your vehicle. This may seem like a treacherous transition, but for occasional use, many people make use of car sharing. Car co-ops provide access to car for people who have given up owning a vehicle, but still want occasional access to one. Car sharing is available in hundreds of cities. If none exists in your city, consider starting a car sharing co-op or relocating to an area where you are not so dependent on your own vehicle.

Simplifying Your Life from A Forever Recovery

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Animals Affected by A Forever Recovery

Global Warming- How are Animals Affected by Global Warming

By: Kelvin Ho

It is not a secret that we humans have been destroying the environment for years. It is now that some of us are trying to make all people aware of the affects that our lack of care has had on the environment and what will happen if we do not make changes now and try to stop the progress of global warming. Our focus, or drive, is the thought of what type of world are we leaving our children. We also need to be looking at how global warming is affecting our animals now and in the future if we do not stop and make the needed environmentally safe changes.

There are numerous studies that are being conducted and have been conducted where watching animal behavior and traits to measure the status of the environment. These studies are showing that our Earth is changing in unnatural ways and it is disturbing. Think about the fact that right now as things stand, reindeer will no longer wander the places they currently do, they will disappear.

Marmots no longer hibernate the same amount of time that they used to. Actually compared to thirty years ago, they are ending hibernation three weeks earlier. The Canadian red squirrel is breeding 18 days earlier. Studies are showing that the red fox is moving north and invading the territory of its Arctic cousin. Polar bears are not as healthy as they were 20 years ago and they are thinner.

If we look at the sea and our creatures there we also see changes that should cause alarm. Coral reefs are expected to increase by up to a third in size. Elephant seal pups are thinner because their prey is migrating to cooler waters. Our turtles are changing behavior as well, the loggerhead is laying eggs 10 days earlier and the Hawkbill turtle hatchlings are having more females then males due to temperature changes.

Birds are changing their diets to insects that do not consume leaves that have been treated with high amounts of pesticides. What does all of this mean? It means that global warming is going to cause many of our animal species to become endangered if not extinct.

The melting ice, the warm seas, the spreading dessert are all threats to our animals. These changes, no matter how subtle have a dramatic influence on the lives of our wildlife. In the sea the disappearance of the tiny organisms that the larger creatures feed off of is causing the sea life to migrate northward.

Keeping in mind that global warming plays a huge part in our weather and climate, the increased storminess destroys the breeding colonies of the albatross that already battle the possibility of being captured and killed by fishing boats. The rise in sea levels wipe out the nesting sites of the sea turtles, seals and wading birds are also on the list of species to be affected by their habitats being destroyed.

Thought the very source of nature is change, and adaptation, the changes that are taking place in our environment due to global warming are just happening to fast. The speed is what makes it difficult for the animals to adapt effectively and this will cause us to loose a lot of our wildlife. Can you imagine a world with no reindeer? What about the day that the Sahara dessert covers all of Africa and makes migration impossible for birds?

These are changes that we can see everyday and we need to start paying attention to them. The predicted elevation of sea level by an amazing three feet coupled with the disruptions to the Earth life support systems should be our wake up call.

Animals Affected by A Forever Recovery

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A Forever Recovery Warming Motives

The Global Warming Motives

Author: AUGUST Leo

At this moment, there are a lot of natural disaster or bad effect of global warming happen in our environment. There are several kinds of regions that have rainy day that much harder than usual. On the other hand, there are several kinds of regions that have sunny day much hotter than usual. More than that, there is also bad impact that caused from those kinds of unusual condition, such as: big flood, land slide in every where, and so on. Actually, you may think how all of those disasters happen in our life. There are several kinds of indicator that can give signal to us about the real threat of global warming.

First indicator of global warming is the melting of ice in the North and South Pole. Currently we can see that there is rapid change of condition in those poles where the ice is melting faster than before. This condition is also threatening the creatures who live at those poles. Second is the increasing of sea surface level. There is an amazing result of research done by environment experts which they said that if all of Greenland were melting down, it can increase the level of sea surface more than 7 meters.

Beside of that, there are also several kinds of motive that caused global warming exist in our life, such as: the extreme change of climate, hot waves that become wilder than before, and the glacier is running out periodically.

We now can see that storm is getting bigger and could trigger a disaster. So what are we waiting for?

A Forever Recovery Warming Motives

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A Forever Recovery about What we Are Doing

What Our Nations Are Doing About Global Warming

By: Kadence Buchanan

Global warming is a problem that needs to be faced head-on by the leaders of the nations of our planet. The call to arms has been sounded; many countries are now doing research into the causes of global warming, as well as committing to actions to help decrease the effects of global warming. In the United States, a Global Change Research Program has been crafted which represents one of the largest efforts ever pursued when it comes to understanding global warming. The Environmental Protection Agency is also in the fight, helping to partner with businesses and individuals to help try to achieve a baseline for curbing the problem so that we can all benefit. The United Nations has also drafted several proposals when it comes to climate change; the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change has been created. This organization was formed to consider what possible actions we can do to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, the convention was formed to help us to plan for what we should do if the inevitable temperature change happens.

The Kyoto protocol represents a firm commitment that many nations have signed, which targets countries when it comes to the responsibility of greenhouse gas emission. 163 countries have ratified the protocol thus far, and 35 of these countries still have a ways to go when it comes to reducing their emissions to a reasonable level. The targets specified in the Kyoto protocol estimate that the number of greenhouse gases emitted in total around the planet should face a 5% decrease. While this change isn’t huge, it does represent a step in the right direction when it comes to facing up to our global responsibility.

Technology cooperation is another innovation that is helping the international community to deal with the problem of global warming. This strategy involves the sharing of developments of environmentally friendly technology between nations to help us adapt to the changes that we need to make to stop this problem. Also, the nations of the planet are working together to establish firm laws when it comes to land usage, changing land usage, and forestry.

A Forever Recovery about What we Are Doing

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