Task 8

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Global warming issues

Global warming is the change of the average temperature of the earth's atmosphere due to the increase of greenhouse gases resulting especially from pollution. If this problem doesn't decrease in the next years we will live in  an unhealthy environment.

The main problem that we are facing now is the lack of knowledge that people have about global warming. Most people think that global warming is just a myth that tree huggers use so people can think about nature and what mankind is doing to it.Moreover, global warming is affecting many parts of the world. “First there is the increase of temperature that causes the ice to melt which leads to a rise in water level.”(wikipedia.com) This could cause low land areas to flood  with water that will destroy plants, animal habitats and cause people to leave the area. Also the increase of temperature causes lakes to dry. Finally another problem and it is the largest cause of global warming is Co2 emissions. “This gas, CO2, collects light and heat, produced by the sun, and this makes the earth warmer”(http://library.thinkquest.org).

There are many different ways and solutions to prevent global warming. First of all we have to educate people so they have more information about global warming this is the first step. After education people will be aware about it and will try to reduce their carbon footprint. Second of all, Co2 emissions should be reduced from cars, industries and cities. We also should reduce the use of fossil fuels. Moreover, there are many solutions provided by companies and countries, for example cool city which is mainly a 1-km in diameter city which will have more environmental housing and resources. “Cool Cities not only bring real solutions at local levels they also showcase solutions for others to model and build leadership to ensure solutions are implemented at state levels and nationwide”(www.coolcities.com).

In my opinion I think that people are over reacting about global warming. I also think that most of the solutions are short term rather than long term solutions especially cool cities, I don’t think cool cities are a solution; they are  just rich people’s toys that they can live in and think that they are committed to this problem.

Bibliography 

1)An Inconvinent Truth.Dir. Davis Guggenheim. Pref. Al Gore. DVD. Paramount Classics,2006.

2)Helen O'Hara,http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/ReviewComplete.asp?FID=134187

3)www.Solutionsforglobalwarming.com/reviews

4)www.Wikipedia.com

Cool city

Since the start of the industrial revolution we are experiencing a sharp increase in economic development and  due to this increase there are problems such as traffic congestion, population pressure and energy consumption. If these problems aren’t solved as soon as possible we need to find another earth to live in; to solve this problem we have to decrease the amount of carbon dioxide emitted into the air by 50% so we can live in the earth we are in now. In Japan during the last 30 years GDP has doubled while energy efficiency has increase by 37% and oil consumption has decreased by 8%. 90% of carbon dioxide emitted into the air comes from building which is 55% and the 35% from transportation. 

Cool city is an environmental-friendly citys which is developed by SDCJ in Japan and they will build environmental cities in the Gulf region. The cities will be linked with a public transportation system that will be using solar water taxis, hybrid-cars and light-rail transit. The cities contain three main zones residential, commercial and business. The cities will use various techniques to reduce heat like tree planting, water channels and wind power. There is also a membrane that covers certain areas that use techniques that filter light and heat. They expect  CO2 reduction from two types of buildings eco tower which is reduced by 50% and eco residential which is reduced by 30%. Finally the overall percentage of CO2 reduction will reach 60.

In my opinion I think building small cities that will only be used by rich people is not a long term solution We should apply these technologies to cities rather than small areas with a 1-km radius to see them work.

How Europe can save the World

Main summary
The EU countries are trying to reduce the carbon emissions by 20% by 2020. They will do that by using renewable energy such as water tidal power and biofuels . However, renewable energy is expensive and it poses environmental dilemmas, for example wind farms disturb natural habitats. By 2010 cars’ carbon emissions should be reduced and power stations should eliminate it. Britain is introducing a climate change bill which will reduce the emissions by 60% by year 2050. In December the UN will convene the key meeting in Indonesia that will involve most of the world’s countries to address this matter because the world is at risk and work should be done about it. Other countries will only have to follow if the EU countries succeed, and if that happens the EU has promised to lift its targets by another 10 %.

Main idea
EU countries are some of the leading countries in the world. They are trying to reduce the carbon emissions in the coming years by using renewable energy such as water and air; many other solutions are also given and they need to be addressed soon so they can work on them. Other countries in the world are following the EU countries’ lead by reducing carbon emissions too.

My opinion
In my opinion I think the world should react to this matter because it is a critical matter and we all should work together so we can provide a better life for our next generation. I also support the EU’s hard work in reducing the carbon emissions. Their hard work will be shown in the next years when other countries will be acting like them. However to have the effect by 2020 all countries should work as soon as possible.

Carbon footprint

I measured my carbon footprint at http://footprint.wwf.org.uk/ and it was 3.60 planets.

Carbon footprint is the total greenhouse gases caused by individuals, organizations and products. My carbon footprint is average compared to the classmates; the class ranged from a lowest of 2.80 planets to a highest of 5.10 planets. The process of measuring our carbon footprint was simple; we had to answer some questions that reflect our life. Whether we live a healthy life or an unhealthy life we still produce carbon. The questions included the type of food we eat, the way we travel and how we live and types of our houses. The main way I have contributed to greenhouse gases are travel.

We can reduce our carbon footprint by changing our lifestyle, First we need to change the way we travel. Since the UAE has a weak public transportation system everyone uses his own car to go to work or travel around town. However I don’t think changing one person’s life style will have a different effect and we all need to change our life style to have a slight change in the effect.

An Inconvenient Truth

Patrick,(http://www.threemoviebuffs.com/review.php?movieID=inconvenienttruth), said that the movie is not good because he thinks that Al Gore is a self-important windbag and that he wants to be remembered as an environmentalist. He also refers to the movie as being more personal than discussing environmental issues. Moreover he says that Al Gore is a hypocrite because he is talking about people’s carbon foot print and he is flying around with a private jet giving his lectures. Last but not least he says that this movie is forgotten after 2 - 3 years and he thinks it will be interesting if the years to come can prove whether the movie is true or not.

Dave Calhoun,(http://www.timeout.com/film/reviews/83696/An_Inconvenient_Truth.html), said that the movie is good because the information he presents like graphs, pictures and movies are true and can't be denied. He also says that American people should start working on this problem; nevertheless he also mentions that one of the two countries that still didn’t sign the Kyoto treaty is the USA and that they should start thinking about it. Last but not least he says that the DVD should be used in classrooms across the USA.

In my opinion I agree with Dave Calhoun that people should start to think about this problem and work on it not only in the USA but all around the world. I also agree with him that the DVD should be used in classrooms around the world to help the new generation to think about this issue.

AlGore