In the last 100 years, the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration has risen from about 0.027 per cent to over 0.033 per cent as a result of the increased combustion of coal and petroleum, in our industries and motors vehicles.
Carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere by being dissolved in the sea and being taken up by photosynthesis. Destruction of large areas of tropical forest could significantly reduce the proportion of carbon dioxide removed by photosynthesis.
An increasing concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide may have the effect of ‘trapping’ the sun’s radiant energy in a similar ways to a greenhouse. This could results in a warming of the Earth’s Atmosphere, the melting of the polar ice-caps and a rise in sea level. There could also be climatic changes which would affect the important food-growing areas of the world.
So far, there is little convincing evidence that the global temperature is rising but case against the continued deforestation is persuasive even if the ‘greenhouse effect’ is discounted.
Done by: AuDrey
Friday, August 29, 2008
Radioactive Waste.
Radioactive products, useless very carefully controlled, could pollute land, sea, air and inland waters. There once, an accidental discharge of radioactive waste from the nuclear processing plant at Sellafield, polluted the beaches and the sea in the area.
Nuclear or atomic power stations and the others industries use or process radioactive materials. The radiation from these materials can cause cancers such as leukaemia. The radioactivity cannot be destroy by burning or any others means of disposal and many of the compounds remain radioactive for thousand of years. The compounds have to be stored or transported in containers which do not allow the radiation to penetrate.
The wastes can be disposed of at the sea or by burying on land or on the sea bed but at present, there is considerable opposition to both of these methods.
Done by: AuDreY
Nuclear or atomic power stations and the others industries use or process radioactive materials. The radiation from these materials can cause cancers such as leukaemia. The radioactivity cannot be destroy by burning or any others means of disposal and many of the compounds remain radioactive for thousand of years. The compounds have to be stored or transported in containers which do not allow the radiation to penetrate.
The wastes can be disposed of at the sea or by burying on land or on the sea bed but at present, there is considerable opposition to both of these methods.
Done by: AuDreY
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
apology
RE: Apologies
Dear Rainbow society members:
I would like to make some apologies here:
1.regarding some delayed updates in this blog on the past few weeks due to our committee's members exam. Well, most of us have settled our qualify exam. This blog has been activated now (started 936pm).
2.Regarding the member cards, the distributions of member cards will be delayed due to some internal factor in our council committee. The date of member cards' distribution will be announced A.S.A.P once all the official/legal work have done.
3.The registration/purpose this society to the gov't sector (MOE) will too be delayed.
All of the matters which I have mentioned here will be solved as soon as possible. I promise you all that I will make our society run smoothly (mean solve all the matters) before March, 2009.
In this mean time, we can only have our informations/debates/discussions of some global warming impacted issues online/via internet,email,msn and others.
Sorry for the inconvenient.
Thank You.
Elly SEE
(President of Rainbow society).
Dear Rainbow society members:
I would like to make some apologies here:
1.regarding some delayed updates in this blog on the past few weeks due to our committee's members exam. Well, most of us have settled our qualify exam. This blog has been activated now (started 936pm).
2.Regarding the member cards, the distributions of member cards will be delayed due to some internal factor in our council committee. The date of member cards' distribution will be announced A.S.A.P once all the official/legal work have done.
3.The registration/purpose this society to the gov't sector (MOE) will too be delayed.
All of the matters which I have mentioned here will be solved as soon as possible. I promise you all that I will make our society run smoothly (mean solve all the matters) before March, 2009.
In this mean time, we can only have our informations/debates/discussions of some global warming impacted issues online/via internet,email,msn and others.
Sorry for the inconvenient.
Thank You.
Elly SEE
(President of Rainbow society).
How does it feel when all the memories you have with your friends are completely gone? Do you regret disturb and bully them? or do you even care about their feelings? You know what? Injury can be cure easily, but a broken heart, sadness cant be cure easily. Never ever try to make them feel that you are making fun of them. Talk to them, help them, treasure and cherish them. Because without them, you won't be able to be who you are right now.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Water Pollution
source: click here
What you dump into a river, sea, lake, etc can cause pollution. Especially when we usually dump into the water is what we do not need. Does it ever occurred in your mind that your trash is not needed to the organisms in the water? In fact, it might even be more harmful to the whole ecosystem then to you.
Our oceans absorb a great deal of the carbon dioxide and other pollutants being dumped in them. But pollution levels of our entire Earth system are reaching beyond carrying capacity. As the human population has increased, so has the deterioration of the Earth’s ocean ecosystems. Over two-thirds of the major cities in the world are built along the coastlines, and millions of people visit them each year. Pollution from developed areas drains into the oceans and kills marine life, threatens our health as humans, causes toxic algae blooms and forces beaches to close which has effects on the shorelines and the economy.
Our large population is destroying coral reefs and coastal habitat which are vital for breeding, food and shelter of the marine species. Vast amounts of pollutants are draining into our waters every day from human consumption. Ocean currents can carry pollutants far from the point of entry and further out in the ocean where different species consume and absorb them. Pollutants have caused major declines in species, and are threatening the Earth’s ecological stability; and therefore, threatening our life-support system.
We consume and dump a lot of harmful things into our oceans. We do so with reckless abandon and most of us refuse to face the facts. We can’t treat our planet so utterly terribly without facing consequences for our actions. The evidence is already there, and it is enormous. Ocean water is not a never-ending filter. Just because the bodies of water are extremely large, doesn’t mean they will absorb and cleanse themselves. Just imaging putting a little drop of bleach or another harsh chemical in a gallon of drinking water, would you still want to drink it? Imagine the harm it’s causing the marine life. Our oceans are littered with chemicals and other pollutants that are turning the water acidic and resulting in damaging acid rains. This chemical imbalance could, in theory, correct itself if given enough time. But the pollution must stop.
The list of things we dump into our oceans is large. Some of the toxins include: Sewage, toxic chemicals, pulp mill and manufacturing wastes, soaps, fertilizers, detergents, litter and refuse disposal, oil spills and leaks, runoff, radioactive wastes, plastics, and much more. All of these things are contaminating our oceans at an alarming rate. The fresh water, which makes up only about 3% of the Earth’s water, is also being polluted by these dangerous items. It is too much in excess of what the natural filtering and recycling systems can sustain. As some hazardous chemicals are banned locally and or worldwide, many other chemicals continue to be developed and dumped which cause harm to our oceans and its natural ecosystem.
When you think about man-made waste, you must think of things like huge cruise ships. These ships are like floating cities out on our oceans. Imagine the cumulative effect of what gets dumped into our oceans from ships that carry close to five-thousand passengers. If you calculate the more than half a million passengers that take these ships in just one summer season cruising the Alaska’s Inside Passage dumping over 200,000 gallons of wastewater daily, that’s millions of gallons a year. The world is full of cruise ships which do the same thing each year; they are all contributing factors to our problem of pollution. Ships carry non-native species and pathogens in their ballast waters and discharge them in water at destination ports. These exotic species can take over the native species and cause catastrophic harm and completely change the marine ecosystem and biodiversity.
We also litter the oceans with plastics and nets. Wildlife is dying from litter and uncontained trash improperly discarded by people. Plastic drink holders are killing fish and other animals like birds that are part of the oceans ecosystem. Marine animals sometimes mistake debris for food and they can swallow them or become caught and die. Debris and trash can be carried downstream in our rivers and endanger all life on its way to the ocean where it will drift along the ocean currents for years to come. Plastic floating in the ocean can resemble marine life like jellyfish. As a result, many creatures like the leatherback turtle can die from mistaking the plastic for its favorite food.
We dump approximately 7 billion tons of litter into our oceans annually. About 60% of that is plastic. Plastic items can take up to 20 years to decompose. That’s a very long time to have so many murder weapons in our ocean. Along with the waste dumped in by humans, it’s a wonder that our oceans can even support life. With the amount of abuse we dish out, they should have become inhabitable years ago. It won’t be long before they are.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Pictures of our surrounding...
Below are the pictures taken by our lovely member, Pei Fen :
Nice scene?
Who led this???
Love to live in this kind of environment?
Next time
please think,
before you throw your rubbish out from your car window
or
perhaps you might just leave it on the ground as what happened on those pictures..........................
Nice scene?
Who led this???
Love to live in this kind of environment?
Next time
please think,
before you throw your rubbish out from your car window
or
perhaps you might just leave it on the ground as what happened on those pictures..........................
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Global Warming is Changing the Wild Kingdom
Global Warming is Changing the Wild World
The planet is warming, humans are mostly to blame and plants and animals are going to dramatic lengths to cope. That's the consensus of a number of recent studies that used wildlife to gauge the extent of global warming and its effects.
The strange behaviors in the wild kingdom are leading many scientists to conclude the world is changing in unnatural ways.
A study analyzed numerous studies involving wild plant and animals for changes due to global warming. Out of the nearly 1,500 species examined, the researchers found that about 1,200 exhibited temperature-related changes consistent with what scientists would expect if they were being affected by global warming.There will be no doubt as animals only react directly according to what they feel.
Here are some changes occur among animals and plants due to unnatural climate change:
Land animals
*Reindeer are expected to disappear from large portions of their current range by the end of the century.
*Marmots are ending their hibernations about three weeks earlier than they did 30 years ago.
*Canadian red squirrels are breeding about 18 days earlier.
*Red foxes are spreading northward, encroaching on territory normally occupied by their arctic cousins.
*North American Fowler's toads are breeding six days later than they did a decade ago.
*Polar bears today are thinner and less healthy than those of 20 years ago.
Sealife
*Coral reefs around the world are predicted to increase by up to a third in size.
*Elephant seal pups are leaner because their prey is migrating to cooler waters.
*Loggerhead sea turtles are laying their eggs about 10 days earlier than they did 15 years ago.
*Rising temperatures are influencing the sex of Hawkbill turtle hatchlings, with more females than males being born.
*Tidal organisms like rock barnacles, mollusks, and tidal snails commonly found in warm southern waters are moving northward.
*Many fish species are moving northward in search of cooler waters.
Birds
*The diet of some songbirds are changing, with some avoiding insects that consume leaves exposed to high levels of carbon dioxide.
*North American tree swallows are laying their eggs about nine days earlier than they did 40 years ago.
*Common murres are breeding 24 days earlier than they did a decade ago.
Plants
*Some plants are thriving in areas where their growth was limited before, thanks to temperature changes that provide more water, heat and sunlight.
*American flowering plants like columbines and wild geraniums are blooming earlier than before.
Insects
*Edith's checkerspot butterflies are moving northward in search of cooler temperatures.
*A gene in the fruitfly Drosophila normally associated with hot, dry conditions has spread to populations living in traditionally cooler southern regions.
Increase in temperatures will not only affect ecosystems and wildlife but also human being. The rising of temperatures could aggravate health risks such as asthma for the elderly, the poor, and especially for those in poor developing countries. Many scientists believed that it may not be too late to save the earth from global warming even though it might be a very hard task to accomplish.
By: CeSCa (A.S.Rainbow Society)
Source from: LiveScience
The planet is warming, humans are mostly to blame and plants and animals are going to dramatic lengths to cope. That's the consensus of a number of recent studies that used wildlife to gauge the extent of global warming and its effects.
The strange behaviors in the wild kingdom are leading many scientists to conclude the world is changing in unnatural ways.
A study analyzed numerous studies involving wild plant and animals for changes due to global warming. Out of the nearly 1,500 species examined, the researchers found that about 1,200 exhibited temperature-related changes consistent with what scientists would expect if they were being affected by global warming.There will be no doubt as animals only react directly according to what they feel.
Here are some changes occur among animals and plants due to unnatural climate change:
Land animals
*Reindeer are expected to disappear from large portions of their current range by the end of the century.
*Marmots are ending their hibernations about three weeks earlier than they did 30 years ago.
*Canadian red squirrels are breeding about 18 days earlier.
*Red foxes are spreading northward, encroaching on territory normally occupied by their arctic cousins.
*North American Fowler's toads are breeding six days later than they did a decade ago.
*Polar bears today are thinner and less healthy than those of 20 years ago.
Sealife
*Coral reefs around the world are predicted to increase by up to a third in size.
*Elephant seal pups are leaner because their prey is migrating to cooler waters.
*Loggerhead sea turtles are laying their eggs about 10 days earlier than they did 15 years ago.
*Rising temperatures are influencing the sex of Hawkbill turtle hatchlings, with more females than males being born.
*Tidal organisms like rock barnacles, mollusks, and tidal snails commonly found in warm southern waters are moving northward.
*Many fish species are moving northward in search of cooler waters.
Birds
*The diet of some songbirds are changing, with some avoiding insects that consume leaves exposed to high levels of carbon dioxide.
*North American tree swallows are laying their eggs about nine days earlier than they did 40 years ago.
*Common murres are breeding 24 days earlier than they did a decade ago.
Plants
*Some plants are thriving in areas where their growth was limited before, thanks to temperature changes that provide more water, heat and sunlight.
*American flowering plants like columbines and wild geraniums are blooming earlier than before.
Insects
*Edith's checkerspot butterflies are moving northward in search of cooler temperatures.
*A gene in the fruitfly Drosophila normally associated with hot, dry conditions has spread to populations living in traditionally cooler southern regions.
Increase in temperatures will not only affect ecosystems and wildlife but also human being. The rising of temperatures could aggravate health risks such as asthma for the elderly, the poor, and especially for those in poor developing countries. Many scientists believed that it may not be too late to save the earth from global warming even though it might be a very hard task to accomplish.
By: CeSCa (A.S.Rainbow Society)
Source from: LiveScience
Olympics vs. Global Warming???
Olympics vs. Global Warming???
There had been reports from sources that by the time the Olympic-torch relay is over, the torch would have produced about 11 million pounds of carbon emission. In the long way of the torch, concerned conservationists had been protesting.
Also, when the Olympic torch is not carried around in streets and cities, it moved around via an Air China A330 painted with the Olympic logo. According to some sources, the A330 burns about 5.4 gallons of fuel per mile. The entire trip might have used about 462400 gallons. Estimating that every gallon of jet fuel burned produces 23.88 pounds of carbon dioxide, the Olympic Torch Relay had added about 11 million pounds of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.
11 million pounds of carbon dioxide is not a little amount. It took years for people to exhale 11 million pounds of carbon dioxide, but less than a year for the Olympic torch to emit this much of carbon dioxide. No wonder the environmentalists are protesting…
Some news had said that London has a plan to ensure that the 2012 torch relay ends up carbon neutral, so hopefully in 2012, there will not be another 11 million pound of carbon dioxide released into the air. Again.
Article By: Jessyca, Rainbow Society Secretary
There had been reports from sources that by the time the Olympic-torch relay is over, the torch would have produced about 11 million pounds of carbon emission. In the long way of the torch, concerned conservationists had been protesting.
Also, when the Olympic torch is not carried around in streets and cities, it moved around via an Air China A330 painted with the Olympic logo. According to some sources, the A330 burns about 5.4 gallons of fuel per mile. The entire trip might have used about 462400 gallons. Estimating that every gallon of jet fuel burned produces 23.88 pounds of carbon dioxide, the Olympic Torch Relay had added about 11 million pounds of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.
11 million pounds of carbon dioxide is not a little amount. It took years for people to exhale 11 million pounds of carbon dioxide, but less than a year for the Olympic torch to emit this much of carbon dioxide. No wonder the environmentalists are protesting…
Some news had said that London has a plan to ensure that the 2012 torch relay ends up carbon neutral, so hopefully in 2012, there will not be another 11 million pound of carbon dioxide released into the air. Again.
Article By: Jessyca, Rainbow Society Secretary
Monday, August 11, 2008
ELEPHANT seals in the Southern Ocean are giving scientists an insight into icy underwater environments usually inaccessible to humans.
Scientists say the information could have ramifications for understanding the effects of climate change on the planet.
Fifty seals have been tagged with sensors as part of an international project involving CSIRO and Antarctic Climate & Ecosystem Cooperative Research Centre scientists and their counterparts in the U.S., UK, Norway and France.
The primary aim of the tagging project is to learn more about the behaviour of seals and where they feed and swim but climate scientists can study the climatic conditions of oceans at the same time, using data from improved sensors attached to the seals.
They can study how rapidly sea ice forms as the seals swim around and under the sea ice in the Antarctic.
The more sea ice there is, the more heat is reflected from the planet.
The findings will be released tomorrow in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Co-author Dr Steve Rintoul said the seals went to parts of the ocean scientists cannot get to any other way.
"In the Antarctic we don't understand (the formation of sea ice) as well as we do in the Arctic and that is due to a lack of observations, but this is really closing a gap there," he said.
From http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,24164561-5006301,00.html
Scientists say the information could have ramifications for understanding the effects of climate change on the planet.
Fifty seals have been tagged with sensors as part of an international project involving CSIRO and Antarctic Climate & Ecosystem Cooperative Research Centre scientists and their counterparts in the U.S., UK, Norway and France.
The primary aim of the tagging project is to learn more about the behaviour of seals and where they feed and swim but climate scientists can study the climatic conditions of oceans at the same time, using data from improved sensors attached to the seals.
They can study how rapidly sea ice forms as the seals swim around and under the sea ice in the Antarctic.
The more sea ice there is, the more heat is reflected from the planet.
The findings will be released tomorrow in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Co-author Dr Steve Rintoul said the seals went to parts of the ocean scientists cannot get to any other way.
"In the Antarctic we don't understand (the formation of sea ice) as well as we do in the Arctic and that is due to a lack of observations, but this is really closing a gap there," he said.
From http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,24164561-5006301,00.html
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Beware of Drug Abuse
Initially, it looks affordable.
Subsequently, it becomes impossible.
Gradually crumbling my dignity.
I lose my loves ones and family.
Beware of lies curiousity,
from peer pressure and bad company.
Availing myself for good use,
refraining from drug abuse.
Subsequently, it becomes impossible.
Gradually crumbling my dignity.
I lose my loves ones and family.
Beware of lies curiousity,
from peer pressure and bad company.
Availing myself for good use,
refraining from drug abuse.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Money
Modern people like us cannot survive or live without money. Human beings have already considered money as an important part of their lives for centuries. Most people think that money is their everything, without money they cannot survive. Money can buy everything we want, what do you think about that? For me, money of course...can get almost everything humans want but the only exceptions are health and happiness.
Humans today can do everything just because because of 'money'. Money is a very common word which has been spoken by everyone of us. It seems like our community today like to apply the notion "no money, no talk!" shopping, clinics or hospital, restaurant or foods even donations all need money. We work hard and study because of money and living.
Money itself sometimes really do create or bring us lots of problems. Because of money, we dare and are forced to hurt our love ones, our family, friends even our earth. Money does lead us to do crime; do you agree? Crimes because of money are widely committed all around the world. The most common examples are kidnapping and drug's trade. Believe it or not, you are able to hire a killer to murder the one you hate! When human come to his or her dead ended road, she/he get no way to go just he/she might think of the fastest and easiest way to gain/earn money because of personal reasons like family's burden, unemployment,foods, educations and others. DO you realize all of these reasons are because of living and self-benefits? Gaining money from criminal/illegal activities are usually betrayed our consciences and make us lost our humanity. Another example which compiled with money and our only home, earth is deforestation. Deforestation means cutting down those big trunks or trees in the forest for selling or trading purposes. THose businessmen and authorities never think of how much would their future generation suffer if our earth has run out of trees! Deforestation has destroyed the habitat of animals and the growing ground for flora and fauna. Extinction of living organisms become active and has increased in this past decades due to the industrial revolution. This has also led to the suddenly increase of greenhouse gases,unstable climates, outbreak of unknown pandemics and others.
Human dare to do everything because of money even we have already know what side complications money will bring us in the future. Politicians and economists usually play a role in business of the earth natural resources. We can use the current issue on the dramatical hike of world fuel's price as an example. As we all know that back to the past years a gallon of fuel only cost around USD 35 but now it has hiked to USD 141 (early July) per gallon which is around 400% from the past price. What is the reason or factor leading to this? We are now demand for more fuels in our daily life. Usage of fuels play an important role in our life due to those dramatically increase of world fuel's price...Normal people like us suffer alots! We need more money to buy fuel for lubricant the thirst of our modern technology fantasy's living. All of these associated with money! Drilling non-renewable resources make our earth at risk of global warming, drilling those resources for money purposes speed up the sinking of our sea-bed down to our earth plate. Why we still practice or doing these? The only reason is just because of MONEY!
As a conclusion, money bring allot of problem to us. Only human is busying and then work/live for money; that is also a reason why human nowadays do something which betrayed their own consciences, religions as well as their humanity. I think this world will be much prettier and harmony if human could let themselves not to be too money faces and understand that happiness and family are everything; so conflictions, crimes and arguments of money's business will become less.
By Elly See (14/July/2008)
Humans today can do everything just because because of 'money'. Money is a very common word which has been spoken by everyone of us. It seems like our community today like to apply the notion "no money, no talk!" shopping, clinics or hospital, restaurant or foods even donations all need money. We work hard and study because of money and living.
Money itself sometimes really do create or bring us lots of problems. Because of money, we dare and are forced to hurt our love ones, our family, friends even our earth. Money does lead us to do crime; do you agree? Crimes because of money are widely committed all around the world. The most common examples are kidnapping and drug's trade. Believe it or not, you are able to hire a killer to murder the one you hate! When human come to his or her dead ended road, she/he get no way to go just he/she might think of the fastest and easiest way to gain/earn money because of personal reasons like family's burden, unemployment,foods, educations and others. DO you realize all of these reasons are because of living and self-benefits? Gaining money from criminal/illegal activities are usually betrayed our consciences and make us lost our humanity. Another example which compiled with money and our only home, earth is deforestation. Deforestation means cutting down those big trunks or trees in the forest for selling or trading purposes. THose businessmen and authorities never think of how much would their future generation suffer if our earth has run out of trees! Deforestation has destroyed the habitat of animals and the growing ground for flora and fauna. Extinction of living organisms become active and has increased in this past decades due to the industrial revolution. This has also led to the suddenly increase of greenhouse gases,unstable climates, outbreak of unknown pandemics and others.
Human dare to do everything because of money even we have already know what side complications money will bring us in the future. Politicians and economists usually play a role in business of the earth natural resources. We can use the current issue on the dramatical hike of world fuel's price as an example. As we all know that back to the past years a gallon of fuel only cost around USD 35 but now it has hiked to USD 141 (early July) per gallon which is around 400% from the past price. What is the reason or factor leading to this? We are now demand for more fuels in our daily life. Usage of fuels play an important role in our life due to those dramatically increase of world fuel's price...Normal people like us suffer alots! We need more money to buy fuel for lubricant the thirst of our modern technology fantasy's living. All of these associated with money! Drilling non-renewable resources make our earth at risk of global warming, drilling those resources for money purposes speed up the sinking of our sea-bed down to our earth plate. Why we still practice or doing these? The only reason is just because of MONEY!
As a conclusion, money bring allot of problem to us. Only human is busying and then work/live for money; that is also a reason why human nowadays do something which betrayed their own consciences, religions as well as their humanity. I think this world will be much prettier and harmony if human could let themselves not to be too money faces and understand that happiness and family are everything; so conflictions, crimes and arguments of money's business will become less.
By Elly See (14/July/2008)
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Saturday, August 2, 2008
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