“We have passed the tipping points, but, we have not passed a point of no return. We can still roll things back in time but it is going to require a quick turn in direction.” Dr. James Hansen - top climatologist of NASA

Many people are aware that global warming has serious implications for all life on our planet. Animal farming, the burning of fossil fuels by factories, power stations, cars and other forms of transport release huge amounts of gases such as carbon dioxide and methane. These gases create a “green house” effect by trapping the Sun’s heat and warming our planet and atmosphere. However, few people know of the immediate effect that this is having on our Earth. Did you know that from September 3 to 9, 2007, (in just 6 days) 69,000 square miles of Arctic ice melted and disappeared? That’s a piece of ice the size of the state of Florida, USA. The American space agency, NASA, recently revealed satellite images showing that this summer alone, 552 billion tons of ice had melted from the Greenland ice sheet. NASA climate scientist Jay Zwally said, “At this rate, the Arctic Ocean could be nearly ice-free at the end of summer 2012, much faster than previous predictions.”

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with US former Vice-President Al Gore, is bringing attention to this critical situation. On Tuesday, January 15, IPCC Chairman, Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, announced at a press conference the urgency of the matter and stated that “lifestyle changes” are one thing that can halt climate change. His message was loud and clear: Don’t eat meat, ride a bike, and be a frugal shopper -- that’s how you can help put the brake on global warming.

Rising sea level and loss of habitats

Scientists are extremely worried because the melting ice is causing a faster rate of global warming as well as immediate changes in climate and weather systems. The reason is because the sea ice acts as a mirror, reflecting about 80% of the Sun’s heat energy back into space. If you take away this mirror, the Sun’s heat will be absorbed directly into the oceans, raising the water temperature more, which in turn melts more ice and causes more warming of the Earth and the seas.

Robert Correll, a scientist who chairs the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, said, “If there is no ice, the ocean is going to continue to heat, and that is going to accelerate the global warming process.” In fact, according to research from University of Washington’s Michael Steele, summer surface temperatures of the Arctic Ocean are the highest ever in recorded history, with some places being 8 degrees Fahrenheit above normal.

The melting of the polar ice caps and the consequent warming of the Earth’s seas could have very serious ramifications according to John Atcheson, a geologist who has headed various government agencies. According to his research, 400,000 million tons of methane gas are trapped in ice structures beneath the ocean floors, which might be released into the atmosphere if the water’s temperature increases by a few degrees. This could be disastrous because methane is 20 times stronger than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas. So, if this massive amount of trapped methane were to be released in to the atmosphere, it would likely cause run-away global warming with devastating consequences for our planet.

Oceanic poisonous gases

The effects of global warming on the sea’s temperatures have lead to the occurrence of “dead zones” in the ocean. These are massive areas of water that have no life due to oxygen deprivation and the release of poisonous hydrogen sulfide gas (H2S). According to reports from the United Nations, over 200 of these dead zones now exist. One that emerged in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Oregon, USA, in the last year has increased four times in size. Jane Lubchenco, a professor of marine biology at Oregon State University said that there is nearly a complete absence of oxygen in this area. When the oxygen disappears a new bacteria takes over and produces hydrogen sulfide gas, which is lethal to most marine and terrestrial life. The two main reasons for the lower levels of oxygen in the water are both related to global warming: (1) As the water gets warmer it has less ability to absorb oxygen; (2) The disruption of the water currents and weather prevents oxygen being transported to the area. Some scientists say that this could be a sign of things to come for the Earth’s oceans.

We can reverse this!

The good news is that, it’s not too late to turn things around. One of the top experts on global warming and the head of NASA’s climate research, Dr. James Hansen, wrote in a recent letter: “We have not passed a point of no return. We can still roll things back in time but it is going to require a quick turn in direction.” Various governments and organizations have been taking action and trying to find further solutions. Most recently in Bali, Indonesia, an international conference brought together diplomats representing nations around the world who came together to try and find ways to save the planet.

However, as Dr. Hansen often likes to remind people, the answer is for every person to take personal responsibility for their actions. Hence, changes to our lifestyle are significant. That means taking public transport more and walking or using a bicycle, using bio-fuels instead of fossil fuels, using energy-efficient appliances and unplugging when not in use and buying only what we really need. These are all small steps that every individual can take to save this beautiful planet. The most important change, as emphasized by IPCC Chairman Dr. Pachauri, is to stop eating meat.

So to be part of the solution, encourage everyone to adopt the compassionate and distinctly more “eco-friendly” vegetarian or vegan diet! Let’s make 2008 the year to help preserve our Earth and the lives of all Her inhabitants.

References:
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iIVBkZpOUA9Hz3Xc2u-61mDlrw0Q
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/1215-24.htm
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=3ef937b0-01db-4b32-a7eb-e1256e5b5624&k=3152
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/01/07/healthscience/ice.php
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=3991705
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/GlobalWarming/story?id=3582433&page=1
http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/cgi-bin/blogs/voices.php/2006/08/12/dead_zone_startles_scientists_graveyard
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1200/is_22_167/ai_n14791407
http://www.livescience.com/environment/ap_060727_dead_zone.html

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