Because of the recent events and devastation caused Hurricane Katrina, many notable Scholars, Politicians and Scientists are blaming global warming for the increased activity and strength of hurricanes.
In fact, 2005 has set a record for number of developed hurricanes in the US and the season doesn't end for another 9 weeks. In fact, at this very moment, another extremely destructive hurricane, "Rita", is churning its way towards Texas and/or Louisiana.
If you do a little research, you will find that from 1961 through 1999 the USA was experiencing a "lull" in hurricane activity, averaging about 13 storms each decade. From 1871 through 1960, the average number of storms per decade was right at 20. So far, the current decade has yielded 9 hurricanes; at that rate we should end up with 22 or 23 hurricanes by the end of 2010. Seems high? Guess what, from 1941 - 1950, the USA recorded 24 hurricanes.
So does this historical data fall in line with the thinking of the "eager to jump on the global warming bandwagon"? No, because the US population has almost doubled since 1950 and therefore the level of "greenhouse gases" being emitted should have doubled as well. And yet the number of hurricanes has remained the same or lessened from 1961 - 2000.
So what does all this mean? Well, on the one hand you could say that the increase from 2001 - 2004 is significant and could be cause for alarm. And yet you could also make a case that the data does not support any conclusion at all.
The one thing you need to think about is that any data can be manipulated to show what the particular analyzer wants you to believe. You must be objective - gone are the days of being a "Straight Ticket Democrat or Republican" - and you have to seek out both sides of an issue in order to determine the real truth. And also remember that every story or report has some amount of truth in it as well as exaggeration - it is up to you to figure out how much of each.
When Ice Melts, Do The Oceans Rise?
Nearly every day the news has some report or blurb about how the Glaciers at the North Pole are melting. Huge floating Icebergs are being released into the ocean; often times the reports speculate on the causal effect of rising sea levels and changing ocean temperatures.
Of course this accompanied by a resounding chorus of "it's because of Greenhouse Gases from Global Warming" and we need to change our ways before we destroy the world. I may sound rude but it gets very tiring to hear that almost everything I do during my waking hours is probably destroying the Earth.
Now, on the surface these claims appear to be telling of a legitimate danger and a possible effect of our tendencies of non-restraint towards the Earth and its' environment. But let's take a moment to think about this and really understand these statements of doom and gloom.
First, let's consider the greenhouse gases causing Global Warming - sounds plausible, but take a step back and look at history just to make sure. Didn't the Earth suffer through an Ice Age several hundreds of thousands of years ago? What made that end? There were no factories, no automobiles and no humans - at least not like modern man. So what ended the Ice Age?
According to scholars, the Earth has been through many Ice Ages over the course of the last 4 million years, with the last one ending about 10,000 years ago. Although many scientists will dispute and say the Earth is still in an Ice Age due to accumulation of glacial ice in the Arctic and Antarctic regions.
There are three main factors which cause the beginning or ending of each ice age - atmospheric content (especially CO2 and Methane), Milankovitch Cycles (changes in the Earth's orbit around the sun), and the arrangement of the continental shelves. To what extent or amount each of these three factors actually contributes is the great debate among scientists and scholars?
So it is apparent that prior to man existing, ice ages came and went. Since man wasn't around then, we certainly could not be blamed for the on-set or off-set of any particular ice age.
Now, on to the melting and oceans rising - The Arctic does not have a land mass under the glaciers. Arctic glaciers are actually an ice shelf extending from Canada, Alaska, and Russia. If the weight of the 'Ice' is borne by the oceans water and there is 'Displacement' i.e. the glacier is on top of the water, the melting of it will not raise the ocean level. Think of a glass of ice water - does the glass overflow when the ice melts? Then - No, the Ice is displacing the water volume.
However, the land masses in the Arctic region do have mountains of snow & ice that can be added to our oceans from surrounding lands. Check out the map at; http://maps.grida.no/go/graphic/arctic_conservation_area_caff_topographic_map
Moreover, the Antarctic does have its own land mass where the snow and ice is also over 2 miles thick; therefore using the same logic, the sea water would certainly rise if that should also melt.
Certainly, we need to do whatever we can to protect the Earth's environment because we will be protecting ourselves, our children and their children; however that doesn't mean we should throw out all sense of logic and reason too. You just have to look at everything, and remember that global temperatures are causing very unusual weather all around our planet Earth.
New Ideas
Many environmental problems are blamed on global warming, and with the devastating effects of recent hurricanes, which seem to be growing in number and intensity, environmentalists are hypothesizing there is a connection between global warming and hurricanes.
Win Wenger, director of a think tank called Project Renaissance, believes he has developed a method to reduce hurricanes.
His suggestion is to do exactly the opposite of what global warming is doing right now. He suggests that ocean-based storms, which turn into hurricanes, are fuelled by warm surface waters. If that is true, global warming would have a distinct impact on the increase in number and intensity of hurricanes!
His suggestion is to mix cold water into the warmer surface waters. He suggests this by doing a couple of things. First, one could pump air into the colder layers of ocean water and let it bubble up to the surface, carrying some of the cooler waters with it. Or, using tubes, one could pump cooler water through a tube into the warmer areas.
He goes on to suggest that any pumps necessary could be run by natural gas, which is already present in the hurricane-stricken areas. In fact, he says that oil rigs could take this on as a pilot project.
The benefits, if successful, would have dramatically positive impacts along any coastal region experiencing hurricane weather now. In fact, insurance claims would go down, insurance rates could diminish, the costs of damage and government subsidy would drop, as well as lost wages from missed work and evacuation, and tourist dollars would not be reduced either.
They say that the estimate cost of damages by Hurricane Katrina was over $200 billion. Do you think that it would cost that much to pump cold water into warm water in strategic areas in the ocean?
Well it makes you wonder!
Copyright (c) 2008 Mervyn Rees
We are on the doorstep of environmental and energy crises. In 2003, the fourth hottest year since 1880, thirty-five thousand Europeans died in a heat wave. Today we watch as glaciers recede and ice shelves break off into the sea. In the US, we import over 60% of our oil. Energy has been the primary motivator for two wars resulting in thousands of American armed forces deaths and hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths in the Middle East.
Hurricane Katrina exposed our energy supply/demand vulnerability - petroleum and natural gas prices skyrocketed, causing economic upheaval after just this one storm. In 2006, the US trade deficit set a record for the fifth straight year. This is not sustainable and leaves the US vulnerable to a sell-off in US stocks and bonds that would stall the economy. Finally, fossil fuel combustion has caused mercury in fish, acid rain, and increasing incidence of asthma.
These are effects and risks that can be grouped under four categories, which I call The Four Biggies:
1) Global warming (global climate change) 2) Dependence on foreign energy 3) Trade deficit 4) Pollution from non-renewable fuels
These serious problems are all related to the combustion of fossil fuels and our dependence on the finite supply of these fuels. The sooner we address this underlying issue, the easier it will be to fix The Four Biggies.
Society gets enormous benefits from small amounts of fossil fuels. However, the market does not internalize (account for) all the costs of fossil fuel trade, masking the true cost of "cheap energy" and giving false signals on environment and energy problems. Simply put: Non-renewable sources of energy should cost more.
We need a market-based solution to set the stage for our ingenuity, drive, and marketplace to fix our energy problem and solve The Four Biggies. We need a solution similar in function and scope to our patent and antitrust laws - that is, we need to change the "rules" for the long-term benefit of all.
One very effective approach is tax shifting - that is, lowering taxes on beneficial activities (like labor) and raising them on negative activities (like burning fossil fuels), with the net effect on the average consumer being a financial wash.
To apply this concept to The Four Biggies, Congress would cut federal income taxes but raise taxes on non-renewable energy sources like oil, coal, and natural gas to replace the lost revenue. This tax shift should be phased-in over 10 years. For individuals and families, the shift should be as close to cost-neutral as possible. Those that pay no income tax or currently receive a credit - that is, those whose increased energy costs could not be offset by lowering their income taxes - would be reimbursed for their additional energy costs in other ways, such as a larger credit and/or subsidized transportation.
The very first things that should change under a tax-shifting plan to address global warming (and other problems) are the massive federal subsidies given to US companies that operate in the arenas of oil, gas, nuclear, coal, and mining.
Examples of such institutionalized subsidies include:
1) Waivers of insurance requirements for nuclear power plants and the massive annual government spending on US nuclear-power management and infrastructure via the Department of Energy's annual budget.
2) Pricing of mining concessions on federal lands based on a US law that is more than a century old.
3) Financial incentives to oil companies to "go out and find more" at the same time these companies are raking in record profits and cutting exploration and development budgets so they can reinvest their cash in their own stocks as they anticipate further supply constriction, price increases, and even higher profits in the future.
4) Weak pollution laws for all extractive and energy industries and lax enforcement of the regulations that do exist.
Eliminating such giveaways and dirty profits - with the changes being reflected in the prices of the products produced by these industries - would be an easy first step in any effort to shift taxes from workers' paychecks to polluters' products.
The resulting higher prices for fossil-fuel energy will reduce our use of it and stimulate the US alternative (renewable) energy industry by "leveling the playing field." As consumption of non-renewable energy decreases, an automatic "ratchet" mechanism would further shift taxes from income to energy to maintain the incentives and the tax base.
Alternative-energy industries have been hindered by cheap fossil-fuel and nuclear energy, both of which are heavily subsidized. Between 1985 and 2005, alternative energy in the US grew by a mere 0.5%, according to the Energy Information Administration. Phased-in intentional increases in energy prices would make many alternative-energy projects economically viable. The renewable energy industry would grow rapidly, refining their technologies and achieving economies of scale.
This would create an export boom, since other countries face similar problems and are already seeking solutions. A revitalized alternative energy industry will create technical jobs in the US and a mighty economic engine providing life-enhancing products for people all over the world.
This shift in taxes will improve our positions on trade, fossil fuel dependence, pollution, and greenhouse gases - The Four Biggies.
Both Mervyn Rees & James Nash are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Mervyn Rees has sinced written about articles on various topics from Information Technology, Family Travel and Cars. Mervyn Rees - The author of, 'The Secrets of Biodiesel'. An active young 72 year o. Mervyn Rees's top article generates over 27100 views. to your Favourites.
James Nash has sinced written about articles on various topics from Environment, Painting and Environment. James Nash is a climate scientist with Greatest Planet (). Greatest Planet is a non-profit environmental organization specialising in carb. James Nash's top article generates over 368000 views. to your Favourites.