In 1992 very few people had heard the term “Global Warming,” and fewer still could ever expect how big a part of our everyday lives the theory of Climate Change would play in a few short years. Business in the US was humming along blissfully. As always different industries were having their ups and downs but for the most part things seemed to be going pretty well.
On June 3 - 14, 1992 a group of international scientists and diplomats gathered in Rio de Janeiro Brazil to discuss the state of the world’s environment. That meeting produced a treaty that would eventually become known as the Kyoto Protocol. The intent of the treaty was to achieve “stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.” The Kyoto Protocol establishes legally binding commitments for the reduction of four specific gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and sulphur hexaflouride) and other groups of gasses produced by its member nations. By Dec. 11, 1997 the details of the treaty had been established and agreed to by its member nations. The treaty was signed and and entered into force on Feb 16, 2005.
Education
Why Climate Change Deniers Should Still Support Green Energy
Posted by: Heather Taylor - 02/19/10
Last week, two conservative Republican Senators, James Inhofe of Oklahoma and John Barrasso of Wyoming, called for an independent probe of the IPCC – the international scientific body that summarizes the latest climate science – and asked the Senate to halt all climate action until that happens.
The senators claim that because there were some errors included in the IPCC's 2007 report--for instance, how quickly the Himalayan glaciers might melt--the entire phenomenon of climate change must now be questioned.
I am not a scientist by training, but even I know their reasoning doesn't hold up. The few errors that have been uncovered in the thousand pages or so of the IPCC report have nothing to do with the science of whether and why climate change is occurring. Instead, those errors are about a few specific projections about what might happen in the future.
Saying we should discard the entire thrust of climate scientist because of a couple of sloppy projections is like saying the concept of evaporation is in doubt because a handful of scientists mistakenly said Lake Mead evaporates faster than we thought.
More Protection For Orangutans
Sir David Attenborough calls for more protection for orang-utans
By Louise Gray, Environment Correspondent
Last Updated: 10:40AM BST 29 Apr 2009
Sir David Attenborough has called for greater protection for the wild habitat of orang-utans amid fears "emotional" television programmes about rescued apes have failed to raise awareness of the need to protect the rainforests where the animals live.
Programmes like the BBC's Orang-utan Diary, following the lives of orphaned and rescued orang-utans at a refuge centre in Borneo, have recently raised awareness of rehabilitation schemes helping the great ape be reintroduced into the wild.
However conservationists argue the money would be better spent protecting the rainforests where the orang-utans live.
Making Your Small Business Green Affordably
It seems that everyone is talking about ways to go green right now. And while most businesses like the idea of making their venture more eco-friendly. there also seems to be a common misperception that going green is too expensive, too difficult, or both.
Well, I am here to tell you that neither is true. The fact is, not only can greening your business be good for the environment, it also can be good for the bottom line.
Here are a few simple ways to make your business greener and save some money at the same time:
The Trillion $$$ Market No One Knew We Needed
Climate Change Leads to Major Decrease in Carbon Dioxide
Climate Change Leads To Major Decrease In Carbon Dioxide Storage
ScienceDaily (Apr. 10, 2009) — The North Atlantic Ocean is one of the Earth’s tools to offset natural carbon dioxide emissions. In fact, the ‘carbon sink’ in the North Atlantic is the primary gate for carbon dioxide (CO2) entering the global ocean and stores it for about 1500 years. The oceans have removed nearly 30 per cent of anthropogenic (man-made) emissions over the last 250 years. However, several recent studies show a dramatic decline in the North Atlantic Ocean's carbon sink.
Concerned by this decline, a group of international scientists, including Helmuth Thomas, professor of oceanography at Dalhousie University, spent the last two years investigating the world’s largest carbon sink. They weren’t sure what was causing the decrease, whether it was man-made or natural reasons.