Eddsworld - Climate Change

A short introduction to the issues of climate change and global warming.
From: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvqU_L5PZtk

Understanding Climate Change

To understand the issue of climate change and global warming, one must understand the meaning of the terms. Climate change and global warming are fairly self explanatory. Climate change refers to distinct changes in weather patterns in a location over a significant period of time, global warming refers to the standard rise in temperature around the world. (EPA par. 2-3) To comprehend how humans are impacting global warming, the terms greenhouse effect and carbon footprint must be noted. The EPA explains that the greenhouse effect is

a natural occurrence that helps regulate the temperature of our planet. When the Sun heats the Earth, some of this heat escapes back to space. The rest of the heat, also known as infrared radiation, is trapped in the atmosphere by clouds and greenhouse gases, such as water vapor and carbon dioxide. (par 4)

Human activities that produce greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide add to the strength of the greenhouse effect: which traps more heat on the Earth. This results in climate change and global warming over time. The group, Time for Change, labels the carbon footprint as “the sum of all emissions of CO2 (carbon dioxide), which were induced by your activities in a given time frame.” (par. 3) By enacting the proposed policy, the carbon footprint of the average American citizen and American corporation would be greatly reduced.
"Frequent Questions - Science | Climate Change | U.S. EPA." US Environmental Protection Agency. Web. 04 Apr. 2011.
"What Is a Carbon Footprint - Definition." Time for Change. Web. 14 Apr. 2011.

Wait, what proposed policy?

It is time for the United States government to enact a policy that would reduce the country’s carbon dioxide emissions by 25% by the end of the year of its passing to limit America’s impact on global warming, to serve as a positive example to others and to use the policy as a stepping stone to not only limit human influence on climate change but also possibly stop or reverse it. This policy would focus on curbing carbon dioxide emissions by corporations, power plants and as well as decreasing the carbon footprint of the common person.

Precisely

From: http://www.larsonsworld.com/images_blog/2004/040102_TomToles_GlobalWarming.gif

Large Changes

The greatest difficulty with combating global warming is the approach that should be taken. Since many of humanity’s activities produce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, there are many ways to face the global warming threat. In the end, there is no simple answer as to the measures that should be taken. Environment America informs that,

“U.S. power plants released 2.56 billion tons of carbon dioxide, equivalent to the amount produced by 449 million of today’s cars – that's more than three times the number of passenger cars registered in the United States in 2007. Coal-fired power plants are responsible for a disproportionate amount of this pollution – though coal produced two-thirds of U.S. fossil fuel electricity, coal plants emitted over 80 percent of fossil fuel global warming pollution.  Coal plants emitted about one-third of the nation's total global warming pollution.” (par. 5)

As a clearly great contributor of carbon dioxide, such power plants should be replaced by alternate energy. Wind, solar and nuclear power are all alternative energy sources that can be used to help stop our dependency on harmful coal powered plants. The CATO Institute elaborates on the difficulties of incorporating alternative energy sources (wind power in this case), stating, “First, wind remains uneconomic despite heavy subsidies from ratepayers and taxpayers over the last two decades. Second, from an environmental viewpoint, wind farms are noisy, land intensive, unsightly, and hazardous to birds, including endangered species.” (par. 7) Therefore implementing wind power would require a more isolated location, with vast amounts of land space and a lack of bird population. The energy source used in a specific location in the United States would depend on factors such as the size, energy emission efficiency and purpose of the plant that could best be replaced with specific energy sources, as well as safety factors (specifically concerning nuclear energy, whose risks have been seen in the recent nuclear disaster in Japan) and available space to build these alternative energy sources.

"New Report: Power Plants Emit Three Times the Pollution of All the Nation’s Cars." Environment America. 24 Nov. 2009. Web. 14 Apr. 2011.

"Renewable Energy: Not Cheap, Not "Green"" The Cato Institute. Web. 18 Apr. 2011.

Small Changes

Outside of power plants, there are many small decisions people can incorporate to reduce their carbon footprint and make great impacts as a society to cut down and stop climate change and global warming. Some of these actions include:

- Replacing your light bulbs with compact florescent light bulbs.
- Inflate your tires.
- Use recycled printing paper.
- Take shorter showers.
- Conserve water and electricity.
- Invest in a cloth bag for your shopping needs.
- Plant trees.
- Unplug items that are not used, especially at night.
- Put on a sweater instead of increasing heating at home.
- Air dry clothes instead of using a dryer.

For more details and information, check: "Take Action!" Stop Global Warming. Web. 25 Apr. 2011.

Animation: Climate change, energy & action

A short clip about small and large changes being made to stop climate change.

From: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_s9dxc_jVIY