Energy from the sun warms the inside of cars, which you have experienced if you’ve ever gotten into a hot car that was parked in the sun. The process that causes this is basically the same as the process of global warming – and just as undeniable
Global Warming Is As Undeniable As Gravity – Here’s Why
If you’ve ever gotten into a car on a sunny day, you know that global warming is real. The inside of the car will be much hotter than the air outside. This is because light energy from the sun gets into the car, and the interior car surfaces absorb this energy, which heats the car’s seat, dashboard, floor, etc. The car’s roof and windows then trap the heat, and the whole inside of the car gets hotter.
A greenhouse (with walls of glass) or hoop house (with walls of plastic) works on (more…)
Bill McKibben and 350.org Can Magnify and Speed Their Impact
Bill McKibben, leading the international climate campaign 350.org, urged an attentive audience at Natural Products Expo West to make a difference for the future of the planet. Over 5200 demonstrations, which circled the globe in 181 countries on October 24, 2009, show grassroots understanding of the need to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide to no more than 350 parts per million. The current level of 390 parts per million, rising with no end in sight, spells catastrophe for life on earth as we know it.
The most significant part of the talk was McKibben’s answer to an audience question. One woman asked why 350.org does not include a truly sustainable diet as a critical action item in the campaign. She pointed out that a recent analysis by Worldwatch Institute demonstrates that 51% of greenhouse gases are directly traceable to raising animals for food.
The effect of these native ruminants, in an intact ecosystem, on greenhouse gases is in no way like the impact of cows
The obvious solution to getting at least halfway to the goal of stopping climate change is simple, rapid, and no cost – eat a plant-based diet.
In his response, McKibben acknowledged that factory farming animals is a huge cause of climate change. However, he was not advocating immediate action to change diet. Instead, he advanced the idea that a carbon tax, once enacted, would make factory farmed animals so expensive that meat would be priced out of the range of most people. This would happen because people in the animal foods business would have to pay the “true cost” of their carbon impact.
McKibben also theorized that “grass fed cattle” could actually be helpful in reducing greenhouse gases. The theory is that, as large animals roam and trample vegetation into the soil, the ground itself stores carbon and keeps it from (more…)
“Global Warming” is Real, But The Reality Goes Far Beyond Warming
With a frigid winter chilling much of the country and heavy snows setting new records, people have an easy time concluding that global warming is just a myth. Maybe you, or people you know, think it’s a scientific theory that did not pan out.
Record snows lead the way in climate change
In fact, once you understand global warming, you may be alarmed that all the snow so far is just a taste of what is to come over the next decade. “Global warming” indicates that the earth’s temperature, on average, is rising. It does not mean it will always be hotter in every location on each day of the year.
“Climate destabilization” and “climate change” are both more accurate descriptors of the weather shaping up worldwide. Average temperature, evaporation, wind and ocean current patterns, and forests, among many other factors, determine the complexity of weather day by day. Over time, weather on each day forms the overall pattern that is climate.
We are used to a specific climate pattern throughout the year in different parts of the globe. As those patterns shift with rising greenhouse gas concentrations and subsequent higher average temperature, weather will become more extreme. Hot places will get hotter, but the cold will get colder. Droughts and floods will (more…)
Where Does the Weather End and Climate Change Begin?
Weather is simple – rain, snow, hail, sun, wind, temperature. You can look out your window and see what it is right now.
If you’ve lived in the same place for a while, you can probably guess what the weather will be like in a few hours, too. You may even be able to predict ahead a day, and be right as often as the weatherman is. Unless you live somewhere with monotonous weather, though, you will have a hard time projecting the specific temperature and rainfall next week without help from scientific measurements.
Climate, in contrast, is a billion piece jigsaw puzzle. Climate is a pattern. Unless you keep detailed records over a long period of time, you can’t really tell for sure if the climate is changing. This is because the day-to-day weather
The gathering clouds of climate change threatens life as we know it
will bounce around all over the place.
You may have a hard time seeing the overall climate picture even for your own little corner of the world. So you can understand how much more difficult it is to determine climate patterns over millions of years for the entire planet. Yet a world wide network of scientists is engaged in this urgent task.
Climate scientists are not all on one formal team. Instead, these researchers are a loosely knit and shifting network communicating by email, published journal articles, data exchange, conferences, telephone, and meetings.
As with any group of people, climate scientists will have their differences of opinion. Sometimes a few of these researchers will say or do something that they wish would never be publicly aired.
Think about any team you’re a part of, whether at work, on a sports team, in a club or neighborhood committee, at your church, or even an informal circle of friends that meets for lunch every once in a while. Really, aren’t there differences of opinion, people who are less (more…)
Five Ways that Raising Animals for Food Accelerates Global Warming More than We Thought
In 2006, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization published the groundbreaking Livestock’s Long Shadow. This historical report focused attention on environmental facts that were long-known but studiously avoided by both consumers and policymakers.
Livestock’s Long Shadow documents the horrific environmental consequences of raising farmed animals for people to eat. Water shortages. Air and water pollution. Degraded soil. Deforestation. Extinction of wild plants and animals.
The list is heart breaking for anyone who cares about the future of our planet. I worry every day about the world my daughters are inheriting. How long
Global warming and climate change are here now
can we sustain even basic necessities on a plundered planet?
Most famously, this United Nations report documents that 18 % of greenhouse gas emissions can be directly traced to raising animals for food. This staggering impact is more than all transportation combined. You could scrap every truck, car, plane, and train on the planet – or you could stop raising farmed animals and have an even greater effect on climate change.
Now two respected researchers document that the impact of animal agriculture on global warming is almost three times worse that the UN estimated in 2006. The respected, independent nonprofit World Watch Institute published this analysis in their November/December 2009 magazine.
The study’s authors thoughtfully question what the United Nations left out or ignored. These pros have really done their homework. Their article demonstrates five major sources of greenhouse gas emissions from farmed animals left out of Livestock’s Long Shadow. The mistakes the authors found include overlooked sources of greenhouse gases, undercounted methane, and global warming contributors put into incorrect categories.
So what’s the bottom line? Over half – 51% – of global warming is directly caused by farming animals. You can have a direct, immediate impact on your kids’ future just by changing what you eat for dinner. Can you think of a single valid reason not to do this?
Changing what you eat is not nearly as hard as you think it might be. It’s not as painful as watching droughts, floods, disease, famine, and hurricanes rip people’s lives apart as global warming accelerates. Thank you World Watch Institute for these fearless insights. We don’t want to confront our comfortable habits, but we must.
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Blog posting by Janice Stanger, Ph.D. Janice authored The Perfect Formula Diet, the smart person’s nutrition book built on sustainable food choices. Enjoy six kinds of whole foods for permanent, hunger-free weight loss and health.
