Global Warming:
Cool Technologies For Turning Down the Heat
Global warming has become an indisputable phenomenon on our planet, yet many individuals,
industries and governments prefer to pretend it does not exist. The resulting climatic
changes and ozone layer depletion, however, are becoming painfully obvious, and creative solutions are urgently required to redress the delicate balance of our ecosystem.
The greenhouse effect is a natural and necessary process of the Earth's atmospheric
system. Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen and methane absorb radiation
and emit it back down to the Earth's surface, effectively warming the lower atmosphere. In a balanced state, concentrations of these gases are produced and absorbed by
natural terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems so that global temperature remains fairly
constant.
This natural balance is upset when more greenhouse gases are emitted into the atmosphere
than the ecosystem is capable of re-absorbing. These surplus gases increase the greenhouse
effect and global warming is the result.
Carbon dioxide (CO2), the most critical greenhouse gas, is primarily produced by burning
wood and fossil fuels. Thus far CO2 is responsible for 60% of the extra greenhouse
effect. The balance is further upset when the surface's ability to absorb these gases is reduced, which is currently occurring on a massive scale and is largely due to
deforestation. Trees absorb CO2 through the process of photosynthesis , releasing
oxygen and locking up carbon in the form of cellulose, sugars, starch and proteins.
Fewer trees means less CO2 absorption capacity. Absorption is further diminished by a reduction
of photosynthesizing plankton in the world's polar oceans. Increased levels of harmful
ultraviolet radiation, due to ozone layer depletion, are believed to be the primary cause of a 25% decrease of plankton in polar regions.
The Ministry of Supply and Services (1991) stated that today's warming could occur
100 times faster than the warming at the end of the last ice age. By 2100, unless
more effective reduction and absorption strategies are implemented now, atmospheric
concentrations are likely to approach 1200 ppmv (four times pre-industrial levels).
The last time the planet experienced this combination of conditions, it took only
ten years to make the Northern Hemisphere unhabitable. The oceans rose 30 feet above
their previous levels and then plunged to 25 feet below normal within a 100-year
period. On a recent episode of "The Nature of Things," Dr. David Suzuki said that "the effects
of uncontrolled global warming are second only to all out thermo-nuclear war."
With rising temperatures, crops will experience environmental stress. While northern
Europe and North America will experience longer growing seasons, higher soil moisture
and atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations, this will be offset by ultraviolet
radiation damage due to the depletion of the ozone layer. Agricultural production in
the central latitudes will be drastically reduced by depletion of aquifers, lower
rainfall, and higher ultraviolet radiation damage. Current strains of rice quickly
lose fertility if daytime temperatures exceed 35° C (95°F). In many Asian countries, growing
season temperatures are already approaching this limit, and crop yields are therefore
expected to drop by 40-50%. A decrease in staple crop production will have compounding and devastating effects on already-constrained and escalating populations.
Our global family cannot rely solely on governments to properly address climatic changes
that threaten our future generations. The world's scientists called for an immediate
60% reduction in global warming gases at the Rio Climate Change Conference in 1992. That was watered down by political pressures from special interest groups, and eventually
the current general working agenda of governments became, under the Rio Treaty,
a reduction of their emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2000. Even this modest
program is not being effectively implemented. Canada, as an example, is on track to
increase emissions 12-15% by the year 2000.
Global warming will, without a doubt, be the catalyst that reshapes and redefines
humanity's paradigm. As the effects of global warming becomes more severe, it becomes
less and less likely that we can maintain a world view that allows humankind to be
separate from and above nature. In this sense, global warming is the ultimate test of humanity
and our world view will be reshaped on the anvil of environmental reality.
In 1995, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reconvened in Berlin
where The Joint Implementation (JI) Strategy was introduced. This is a matrix in
which creative solutions can begin immediately. It is based on the premise that what
cannot be reduced can be removed from the atmosphere by growing plants (sequestration--the
locking up of carbon in biomass). The atmosphere is a global continuum; carbons emitted
in industrial countries can be sequestered anywhere in the world. Aside from sequestering carbon, reforestation and afforestation projects in developing countries have
tremendous social, economic, and ecological benefits. The holistic applications of
economic and human resources are being identified by a number of organizations in
order to initiate and optimize afforestation, reforestation, preservation and other carbon-sequestering
and -reducing projects and practices.
"Every person and business on the planet has a responsibility for their own greenhouse
gas emissions," says Maury Mason, CEO of Vancouver's Global Warming Research & Development
Corporation (GWRDC), and one of the driving forces of Greenpeace. "Consciousness is approaching critical mass, and must now be translated into even more meaningful
action."
GWRDC is currently developing software based on Ecological Footprint Modeling techniques
developed at UBC. This will enable governments, industry, and individuals to determine
the size of their ecological 'footprints' (impact on the environment). The software is scheduled for Beta testing in August of this year. A personal version will
also be available on the internet's World Wide Web to promote individual awareness
and participation.
Educational formats for primary, secondary, and post secondary environmental education
programs are targeted at shifting awareness to the new paradigm whereby we can examine
the impact of our daily consumer choices and make informed decisions. This software, combined with measurement tools and techniques developed by GWRDC's Dr. Steven
O. Links and others, will measure the amount of carbon absorbed by a given sequestration
project. This provides us with a tool to make informed energy consumption, product,
and lifestyle choices based on environmental impact as well as cost. An ECO-AUDIT will
allow leaders in business to demonstrate ECO-INTEGRITY. To qualify for tax credits
in the increasing number of jurisdictions offering them, companies will have to meet
the reduction and sequestration mandates under the Joint Implementation Strategy.
A global database of existing, planned, and available JI projects, combined with tax
treatment, political, and cultural analysis is also under development by GWRDC to
enable them to identify the most cost-effective project alternatives.
"GWRDC takes reforestation and afforestation one step further," says Mason. "We have
developed a technology that harvests water from the atmosphere and feeds it to tree
seedling roots. The 'Eden Device' can assist in reforesting huge tracts of semi-arid
land and can provide an important tool in the fight against desertification. This same
technology can be applied to supply clean drinking water with minimal environmental
impact. A staggering amount of energy goes into providing drinking water. The amount
of energy used for bottling, shipping, and disposing of water bottles is mind-boggling."
He added that United Nations and government-sponsored demonstration sites are scheduled
to start this summer.
All ecosystems have boundaries within which the precious balance of life is protected.
As a global family, we now face the critical collective challenge of redressing a
global warming spiral that threatens our Earth's survival. We have violated our
planet's boundaries and must now adjust our paradigms to consciously make mother earth our
first priority, and economics our second. If we look after the earth, the earth will
look after us.
Keith Wold, Director of Program Development for GWRDC, has contributed to and attended
the World Summits on Climate Change in Rio ('92) and Berlin ('95). For info, call
(250) 331-0992.
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