Posts Tagged ‘Environment’

The global warming theory

October 16th, 2009

Understanding what Global Warming entails

Global warming refers to the fact that the atmosphere of the Earth is warming near its surface; the Earth’s atmosphere is thus getting hotter. It is believed that climate changes such as global warming have occurred throughout the history of the Earth and will continue to occur in the future. There is evidence to suggest that solar activity is a big offender with regards to global warming.

Theories relating to Global Warming

The greenhouse effect plays a big role in contributing to global warming. Gases that make up the Earth’s atmosphere are analogous to a greenhouse in that they allow sunlight to pass through and subsequently trap heat from escaping. The greenhouse effect, a naturally occurring phenomenon, keeps the surface of the Earth warmer than it would be otherwise. In recent years, the greenhouse wall has been thickened beyond naturally occurring levels due to a large amount of human produced compounds regularly released into the Earth’s atmosphere. When this takes place, even less heat is able to escape, which causes temperatures to rise. This process is called greenhouse warming and results in global warming.

The ozone is another theory commonly associated with global warming. The ozone is a naturally occurring gas in the lower atmosphere that helps to trap heat. The burning of fossil fuels creates even more ozone, as ozone is one component of smog. As ozone builds, so does the trapped heat, thus increasing the greenhouse effect and subsequently global warming. Apart from the lower atmosphere, the ozone also plays a crucial role in the upper atmosphere, where it shields the Earth from deadly ultraviolet (UV) radiation. However, CFC’s, the same human produced compound which acts like a greenhouse gas in the lower atmosphere, destroy the ozone. This results in holes appearing in our upper ozone layer.

Global Warming has far-reaching implications

Global Warming and all its related issues have far-reaching implications and as such can have a significant impact on human life. For this reason, it is important to find out for how long global warming has taken place on Earth, at what rate global warming is taking place, and what factors are causing global warming. Answers to these issues will prepare all of humankind to handle the different effects of global warming.

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Why recycling is so important.

October 16th, 2009

Even though recycling has become part of many people’s daily lives, it seems that the full importance of recycling is not always understood. Generally speaking, most people do understand that recycling plays a crucial role in helping to minimize the drain on the limited resources of the planet. However, this is not the only reason why recycling is of extreme importance to the world we live in today.

Reasons why Recycling is Important

• The process of recycling helps to minimize the presence of waste materials within our communities. Due to the simple fact that items like plastic, paper, and glass are reused to create new products, they do not end up taking space somewhere in a landfill. Since most people do not want garbage dumps located near their offices or homes, recycling makes it possible to avoid the creation of more landfills that would otherwise be necessary to accommodate all the waste.

• Recycling items also makes it possible to cut the cost of producing products significantly. The following is a good example of this: it takes anywhere from seventy-five to ninety-five percent less energy to produce aluminum cans from recycled products than it does to create them from raw materials. Thus, not only does recycling preserve raw materials, but it also eases the energy needed to manufacture different products.

• Another reason why recycling is important is the fact that it maintains a healthy balance in the ecology of the Earth. Less damage will be done to the planet’s forests, rivers, and other areas where wildlife is abundant, if it is not necessary to continue mining raw materials in order to produce the same amount of products. Since every form of life on the planet is dependent on the presence of another form of life, recycling is key to maintain an ecological balance and subsequently provide security for future generations.

• Creating new jobs comes with the process that is recycling. As more people recycle, the number of people required to collect, sort and process recycled items continues to grow. More job opportunities in the community means more money spent in local stores, more taxes collected for the town/city, and in general a healthier economy for the countries where recycling takes place.

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Why your company must Go-Green

October 16th, 2009

A green business is basically a business which attempts to function without having any sort of negative impact on its surrounding environment. Therefore, a green business is also sometimes called a sustainable business. Constantly being on the look out for better and newer ways should form part of becoming a green business. The business as a whole should thus become more environmentally friendly, beginning with the acquisition of raw materials all the way through to delivery of the product to the consumer.

Why should Businesses Go Green?

The concept known as green business forms part of a larger movement which aims to create sustainable or green living. Together with the aim of creating eco-friendly homes (green homes), this movement also tries to invoke change in the way businesses operate. When implemented, these changes create less of a carbon footprint on the ecology of the planet.

How to become a Green Business?

One of the first things a business can do to become a green business is to make changes to the facilities in which it operates. For example, this involves the preparation methods of any goods produced for shipment, the general cleaning of the facilities, and making use of synthetic chemicals in the production process. Generally, a business seeking to become a green business should consider the current level of carbon emissions generated by its production processes and subsequently seek to find ways to minimize or completely eliminate those emissions.

General office work in and around the business can also help a business achieve its goal of leaving less of an eco-footprint and thus becoming a green businesses. The office should become as close to paperless as possible, rather using electronic documents and communications which are shared over a network powered with wind or solar energy. Only recycled paper should be utilized if the use of paper is absolutely necessary. All other materials and equipment used in the office on a daily basis should be produced locally, thus minimizing the use of fossil fuels in transportation costs.

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