Greatest threats to climate - the global warming

There is a growing concern over climatic changes around the world and increasing number of people are showing interest towards the global warming. Year by year, the temperatures of a region are increasing and one fine day it may reach to a level which common man cannot tolerate. In the recent 10K run marathon conducted in Bangalore, I have seen a lot of Majja run participants propogating some information to save the climate and what we can do to the climate on our behalf. Infact it is every citizen's responsibility to show a concern towards climate. By the way what is 'global warming'? Global warming is the rise in temperature of the earth's atmosphere. Carbon dioxide and other air pollution that is collecting in the atmosphere like a thickening blanket, trapping the sun's heat and causing the planet to warm up. It's said that by the time a baby born today is 80 years old, the world will be 6 and a half degrees warmer than it is now. Although local temperatures fluctuate naturally, over the past 50 years the average global temperature has increased at the fastest rate in recorded history. And experts think the trend is accelerating: the 10 hottest years on record have all occurred since 1990. Let us consider the case of cities like Bangalore. This city which was considered to be most serenic cool sity in 1990's is now grown to a temperatures around 37 ° C which was never imagined 10 years ago when it was not even around 30 ° C .

We keep reading about rising temperatures and sea-levels in other parts of the world like United States and the UK, but actually India is one of the most vulnerable countries when it comes to effects of global warming. India has a vast coastal line and the rising sea levels caused by global warming will cause an ecological disaster. This is according to a 1989 United Nations Environment Programme study. We already saw some warnings through Tsunami. - the massive tidal waves that have slammed into our costs have already taken the lives of many a thousands and left several others with no way of continuing their lives.

The Himalayan glaciers have started to melt and the average rate of retreat is almost twice (34 metres) per year as compared to the 1971 levels of 19 metres. The melting glaciers will cause temperatures and sea-levels to rise and there will be a cascading effect on the crops and the monsoons. Worse - whole islands are expected to vanish! In fact two have already gone under - two islands in the Sunderbans, an area which India shares with Bangladesh. Temperatures in the group of islands has already gone up by one degree centigrade. While some climatologists say that sea levels will increase by just 4-35 inches from 1990 levels in another hundred yea.... some feel that the range could be higher - 20-55 inches. Thats a lot and will affect human habitat in a big way.In fact, as far back as 1993 a study to evaluate the impact of rising sea levels on India was carried out by JNU (Jawaharlal Nehru University). They calculated what would happen if the sea-levels rose by just 1 metre…and they found that as many as 7 million people would be displaced and 5,764 sq km of land and 4,200 km of roads would be lost!

What can one do to save the global warming? On a daily basic this is what we can do to contribute to climate. These are simple, but are highly practical and effective.
1. Plant native and/or drought-tolerant plants. Some grasses, ground covers, shrubs and trees do not need to be watered as frequently.
2. Make sure you re-cycle newspapers, glass bottles, tin cans, and magazines.
3. Reuse your shopping bag plastic instead of getting new ones each time you go to the market.
4. Donate your unwanted clothes.
5. Turn off the faucet when you are brushing your teeth. Avoid water wastage.
5 .Turn off electrical devices (lights, fans, tv, computers, etc.) when they are not in use. Again saving electricity will mean saving water used to generate electricity.
6. Use “Energy Efficient” appliances. They will save you about a third on their energy bill with similar savings of greenhouse gas emissions, without sacrificing features, style or comfort
7. Check for leaks (toilets, faucets, pipes, irrigation systems, etc.). • Install a low-flow shower head
8. Ride your bicycle instead of driving for short distances. Atleast try to walk. Walking is a good excercise.
9. Have showers instead of baths. Shower will take less water than a bucket.
10. Solar water heaters than Electric ones would mean saving power.

And the list goes on..... And now I am sure you will have enough ideas in your brain to save environment. Implementation of simple steps is very much important.