GLOBAL WARMING

GW

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Problems & Solutions Report

Measurements of temperature taken by instruments all over the world, on land and at sea have revealed that during the 20th century the Earth’s surface and lowest part of the atmosphere warmed up on average by about 0.6°C.

Global warming is broadly seen today, worldwide, as a main problem facing humans. Basically defined, it is the heating up of the earth's atmosphere because of higher greenhouse gas emissions. The dread is that increasing temperatures will lead to melting polar ice-caps and rising sea levels, which could cause flooding affecting millions in densely-populated low-lying areas of the world, and an increase in the rate of natural disasters such as Tsunami.

Let us examine the subject in more detail. There are some problems of global warming such as increases in temperature of the air and sea, stronger storms, melting of sea ice, longer droughts, and extreme heat waves.

Turning to the solutions of global warming. One of them is, planting trees to help absorb excess CO2 and to provide shade and windbreaks. Another way is to recycle items and help unplug fridges that are not in use much.

The movie, An Inconvenient Truth is directed by Davis Guggenheim, 2006, presented by Al Gore, severely highlights the dangers concerned. We watched the movie and read reviews of it, typically positive, for example, Brandon Fibbs, however some critical, e.g. Scott & Eric. The film was very well presented, with lots of arithmetical information, graphs and charts as well as some very impressive photographic proof. Moreover, we calculated our carbon footprints & mine was 3.22 .The class averages for CRC was 3.86.

We have answered some questions to get our footprint. It is purely scientific information; however I have some doubts.
In addition, how can we find a solution if not everyone agrees about the range of the problem? Nicholas Stern, in A Blueprint for a Safer Planet, has recommended that controlling global C02 emissions is attractive, doable & inexpensive, but Nigel Lawson, in A Load of Hot Air, has refuted this:
The Stern Review sought to dispute that atmospheric greenhouse gas (chiefly carbon dioxide) concentrations could be stabilized at somewhat low global price, and the resulting advantage from preventing much further warming would far outweigh that charge.

I think global warming is actually bad for our atmosphere. What it does is increase the temperature in our atmosphere and makes our average temperature on the earth is surface higher than normal. This can be bad for us because the increase in temperature could possibly melt the polar ice caps and create flooding or it could just simply cause a drought.

It is easy to put suggestions and solutions to solve any problem. But the hard part is to activate these suggestions and take actions to achieve the goal we want.

Bibliography:

An Inconvenient Truth. Dir. Davis Guggenheim. Perf. Al Gore. DVD. Paramount Classics, 2006.

Lawson, Nigel. "A Load of Hot Air." Rev. of A Blueprint for a Safer Planet: How to Manage Climate Change & Create a new Era of Progress & Prosperity, by Nicholas Stern, Bodley Head, 2009. The Spectator 29 Apr. 2009.

Brandon Fibbs, http://brandonfibbs.com/2006/05/24/an-inconvenient-truth/

Scott Nash & Eric
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/inconvenient_truth/articles/156,
http://footprint.wwf.org.uk/

Cool Cities

· The problems which have been associated with economic development are population pressure, traffic congestion and Co2 emissions.

· If these problems are not solved, we need another earth, clearly impossible.

· We have to decrease carbon dioxide emissions by 50%.

· In Japan during the last 30 years GDP (Gross Domestic Product) has gone up 100 percent while energy efficiency has increased 37 percent and oil consumption has decreased 8 percent.

· 90% of carbon dioxide emitted into the air comes from buildings & transport.

· Cool city is a green city with negligible CO2 emissions.

· SDCJ is building it, a group of Japanese companies.

· Three types of transportation that will be used in Cool City are light transit rail/monorail; solar water taxis; hybrid cars.

· There are 3 different zones: Business; Commercial/Cultural; Residential.

· There are some techniques that will reduce heat such as tree-planting; waterways; rooftop membranes.

· Expected CO2 reductions: for eco-towers 50% & for eco-residences 30%.

· Overall percentage of reduction of Co2 emissions is expected to be 60%.

My opinion:
For me, I am unconvinced that it will be activated in the UAE because of the population's lifestyle and culture. Moreover, people in the UAE are not accustomed to living in a cool city. On the other hand, foreign people are more than Emiratis in the UAE so it is may be ok to establish this city. In my experience, winners never quit and quitters never win so I back up any new idea even if it is strange in the beginning.

How Europe can save the world(Summary3)

Part 1

Will Hutton, in How Europe can save the world, The Observer 11.03.07, says that the EU took a decision to decrease its carbon dioxide emissions by 20 per cent by 2020 from their 1990 level. They will use alternative energy to cover their needs and keep the infrastructure intact.
Carbon emissions from cars will be completely reduced starting from the beginning of next year. Although Although alternative energy is better and preserves the environment, it is so expensive and needs very big capital to establish.

Part 2

Will Hutton, a committed pro-European, says that the EU is able to direct the world to reduce global GHG emissions. Moreover, the problem is known by most people in the world so he hopes that it helps EU governments to take action to decrease climate disasters.

Part 3

In my opinion, the writer is very optimistic and that is good but I have learnt that the words are easier than the actions. Therefore, all suggestions and recommendations are not activated because in these current days the world faces financial crises and that makes the status more dangerous. Finally, I wonder if the EU will be able to save the world in the near future.

New Western Harbour Development(Summary2)

Part 1

Many people, bats, birds, and insects live in Sweden's new Western Harbour development. In this place, there are lots of innovations in waste management, renewable energy and sustainable transport. But the planners went one step further by demanding that developers also incorporate measures to promote biodiversity.
Each developer had to choose ten designs. One of them is installing bat boxes inside a plot's boundary, only using materials in the courtyards that had been used before, and installing shelves suitable for swallows to nest on.
Nine seabirds in the western side of the port were discovered recently. The planners generally get good marks for making biodiversity a priority. Although, the Bo01 houses incorporated features to promote sustainable living and biodiversity, residents have tended to buy them simply for their location or appearance. The aim for the new developments is to raise awareness so people buy them because of their green credentials.
Some of the activities were done to instill the importance of living sustainably and maintaining Earth's biodiversity. Developers are being asked to install rooftop wind turbines and follow even more stringent rules for encouraging biodiversity than with Bo01.
The Western Harbour model is being adopted by Malmo in its city-wide environmental building programme. This will increase the number of habitats across a wider area, making it easier for plants and animals to become established and naturally increasing biodiversity.

Part 2

People live with great groups of organisms in this life. Therefore we should be increasing the necessary measures to enhance biodiversity. In addition, there are several indicators of biological diversity and an increase in green spaces in Western Harbour, Malmo.

Part 3

I agree with the writer and I would like to add that governments have big a responsibility to take the first step towards incorporating biodiversity as standard in town planning. Moreover, spreading awareness and increasing campaigns are important factors to instill the importance of living sustainably and maintaining Earth's biodiversity.

An Unsinkable ship?(Summary1)

Part 1

No matter how large ships are, and equipped with all safety equipment, they remain vulnerable to risk from external conditions.
Many inventions have emerged to maintain the safety of ships, including the use of computers in the manufacture of the model which is able to protect the ship from the external pressures. Another example is the technique to isolate the water by using watertight compartments.
On the other hand, the human factor plays an important role in maintaining the safety of ships through the right application of these new techniques.
There must be advance preparations for what happens after the accident; one of them is the availability of the lifeboats and another is the rapid intervention of the Coast Guard.
As the saying goes prevention is better than cure. We must avoid a risk by taking action earlier. For example, forecasting weather before going out on any trip.

Part 2

People can control internal conditions of ships but it is difficult to do that in external conditions. There are some factors which may affect safety of ships such as recent innovations, the human element and prevention.


Part 3

I agree with the writer and I would like to add that we are learning from our mistakes so we should make a solution for each mistake. Another thing, travelling by ship is very nice and it takes long time to get where you want. Moreover it carries lots dangers; so many people prefer travel by planes rather than ships because now we are living in time speed.

Carbon Footprint

I calculated my carbon footprint at http://footprint.wwf.org.uk/&

it was 3.22.Most of the students had parallel, or higher, figures. The average figure for CRE was about 3.87. The main factors which contributed to my figure were classified as:

1) travel 2) stuff 3) home

My personal carbon footprint is the GHG (greenhouse gases) emissions that I individually am responsible for. However, companies, institutions, ADMC, and countries all have carbon footprints. The UAE's carbon footprint per capita is the highest in the world.

What can I do to decrease my carbon footprint?

I don't spend a lot on consumer goods, or travel.

Bathroom products are the main contributor to my carbon footprint but I'm not sure what I can do to make significant change. Admittedly, I drive a medium petrol vehicle but I can not switch to the train here in Abu Dhabi because there aren't any until now but it could be at the end of this year in Dubai. I could use the bus but I can not see that it would make much difference as my journey to a college is only a few minutes. My car has been well serviced and I've had it for 5 years. I believe it pollutes a lot less than most of the local buses I've seen, which also happen to be very unsafe in my experience.

With regard to air travel, I prefer to fly from the UAE to Europe to spend my summer holiday every year.

With regard to food, my diet is very healthy and I can't observe what I can do to make it better apart, presumably, judging from the quiz, from becoming vegetarian or vegan. I play football every day and eat a variety of food which has high nutritional value.