Glaciers and Global Warming



Perhaps the best sign that global warming is upon us are the melting of most of the world’s glaciers.  Glaciers are large moving masses of ice.  They are our souvenirs from the last ice age.  Glaciers are the earth’s largest reservoirs for fresh water and the threat of global warming has triggered a phenomenon called glacial retreat.

Scientists site the increase of greenhouse gasses as the main cause of glacial retreat.  Studies show that glaciers all over the world have shown significant shrinkages over the years mainly due to the rapid rise of the earth’s temperatures.  Mountain ranges in the Andes, Himalayas, Alps, Rocky Mountains and Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania have shown the most drastic glacial loss.

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Mosquitoes Threatening Animals to Extinction



..and you’d think mosquito-borne diseases are for humans alone? Apparently not, because these blood suckers are driving animals from all over the world to extinction!—something that sends researchers and local government agencies across the globe into frenzy to stop mosquitoes from making further- and ultimately, irreversible- damages.

Earlier this month, it was reported that mosquitoes in the Galapagos Island developed a rare taste for reptilian blood and were sucking off blood from Galápagos tortoises and its close cousins. In this course of action, mosquitoes are passing diseases unknown to a reptilian’s system that could kill them which was exactly what local biologists fear of. Galapagos wildlife is the island’s most notable feature and the very reason why they were declared as one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. That alone warrants preventive measures from its local government as they believe mosquitoes breeding in the island are undergoing potentially dangerous mutation stages.

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Greenland Ice Melt Will Cause Severely High Sea Levels



Greenland’s ice sheets are melting and it is already exceeding its expected rate according to researchers. Because of this, there is a predicted sea level rise that is frighteningly severe for the years to come. Researchers fear that if it continually gains pace, some parts of the world will be erased permanently on the face of the Earth and worse, without any warning.

It was predicted that there would be 12-20 inches rise in sea levels if Greenland glaciers continue to melt and will ultimately affect North America and some of its neighboring cities. Not only will it affect those residing near coasts but it will also affect the drainage systems which will result to flooding of major cities all over the world.

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Global Warming Causing Frequent Heat Waves



Summer is just around the corner and one can easily notice that days are now warmer and more humid than last year’s. It is quite impossible nowadays to spend the whole day out at the beach—with or without sunblock!

Climate experts even predicted that hot and humid days will occur frequently and a lot longer this year and, unfortunately for the years to come which will result to life-threatening heat waves. Heat waves are known to earn fatalities over the countries it hit in the past. Aside from that, heat waves put children under 4 years of age and older people 65 years above in a greater health risk—usually fatal.

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Clean Coal Technologies



When it comes to coal and environment, the issue is more of availability and affordability, and that is what keeps coal from being stricken out of the energy sources list in our times. Generally considered as a big threat to the environment, coal is known to release large quantities of carbon dioxide in the air, adding to the problem of greenhouse effect (global warming), when it is converted to electric power. But coal power generation also gives out other harmful emanations like oxides of sulfur and nitrogen.

Still, coal is, so far, the cheapest solution for the problem of generating electric power on a large scale. In the US alone, it currently accounts for over half of the total amount of electric power generation. Wind power, on the other hand, is less than one per cent of the total power generated in the US. In developing countries, replacing coal with alternative sources of power is, at this time, next to impossible due to technological and cost issues. For environmental friendly approaches to power generation, there is hardly any other choice than focusing on clean coal technology.

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