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Global warming is the
increase in the average temperature of the Earth's
near-surface air and the oceans since the
mid-twentieth century and its projected
continuation.
Global surface
temperature increased 0.74 ± 0.18 °C (1.33 ± 0.32
°F) during the 100 years ending in 2005.
There are many natural
causes for warming, and for increases in green-house
gasses. All sources and contributors must be
considered to arrive at a valid model. A
single volcano can raise global temperatures, or
cause a year without a summer. These are
facts.
The Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes that
anthropogenic greenhouse gases are responsible for
most of the observed temperature increase since the
middle of the twentieth century, and that natural
phenomena such as solar variation and volcanoes
probably had a small warming effect from
pre-industrial times to 1950 and a small cooling
effect afterward. These basic conclusions have been
endorsed by more than 40 scientific societies and
academies of science, including all of the national
academies of science of the major industrialized
countries.
Climate model projections summarized in the latest
IPCC report indicate that global surface temperature
will likely rise a further 1.1 to 6.4 °C (2.0 to
11.5 °F) during the twenty-first century. The
uncertainty in this estimate arises from the use of
models with differing climate sensitivity, and the
use of differing estimates of future greenhouse gas
emissions. Some other uncertainties include how
warming and related changes will vary from region to
region around the globe. Most studies focus on the
period up to 2100. However, warming is expected to
continue beyond 2100, even if emissions stop,
because of the large heat capacity of the oceans and
the long lifetime of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere.
Increasing global temperature will cause sea levels
to rise and will change the amount and pattern of
precipitation, likely including expansion of
subtropical deserts.[8] The continuing retreat of
glaciers, permafrost and sea ice is expected, with
the Arctic region being particularly affected. Other
likely effects include shrinkage of the Amazon
rainforest and Boreal forests, increases in the
intensity of extreme weather events, species
extinctions and changes in agricultural yields.
Political and public debate continues regarding the
appropriate response to global warming. The
available options are mitigation to reduce further
emissions; adaptation to reduce the damage caused by
warming; and, more speculatively, geoengineering to
reverse global warming. Most national governments
have signed and ratified the Kyoto Protocol aimed at
reducing greenhouse gas emissions. A successor to
the first commitment period of the Kyoto protocol is
expected to be agreed at the COP15 talks in December
2009.
The developed nations
are the cleanest and most conservative in their
ecological matters on the planet. Third-world
and communist governments are the worst offenders.
Western countries can not solve green-house gas
problems without tackling the thrid-world.
Look to China, Russia, Brazil, Africa, and India for
the sources. This is reality!
The best-known eruption
of Krakatoa culminated in a series of massive
explosions on August 26–27, 1883, which was among
the most violent volcanic events in modern and
recorded history.
With a Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) of 6,[2] the
eruption was equivalent to 200 megatons (MT) of
TNT—about 13,000 times the nuclear yield of the
Little Boy bomb (13 to 16 kT) that devastated
Hiroshima, Japan during World War II and four times
the yield of the Tsar Bomba (50 MT), the largest
nuclear device ever detonated.
The 1883 eruption ejected approximately 21 cubic
kilometres (5.0 cu mi) of rock, ash, and pumice.
The cataclysmic explosion was distinctly heard as
far away as Perth in Western Australia, about 1,930
miles (3,110 km) away, and the island of Rodrigues
near Mauritius, about 3,000 miles (5,000 km) away.
Near Krakatoa, according to official records, 165
villages and towns were destroyed and 132 seriously
damaged, at least 36,417 (official toll) people
died, and many thousands were injured by the
eruption, mostly from the tsunamis that followed the
explosion. The eruption destroyed two-thirds of the
island of Krakatoa.
The combined effects of pyroclastic flows, volcanic
ashes and tsunamis had disastrous results in the
region. There were no survivors from 3,000 people
located at the island of Sebesi, about 13 km (8.1
mi) from Krakatoa. Pyroclastic flows killed around
1,000 people at Ketimbang on the coast of Sumatra
some 40 km (25 mi) north from Krakatoa. The official
death toll recorded by the Dutch authorities was
36,417, although some sources put the estimate at
120,000 or more. Many settlements were destroyed,
including Teluk Betung and Ketimbang in Sumatra, and
Sirik and Semarang in Java. The areas of Banten on
Java and the Lampung on Sumatra were devastated.
There are numerous documented reports of groups of
human skeletons floating across the Indian Ocean on
rafts of volcanic pumice and washing up on the east
coast of Africa, up to a year after the eruption.
Some land on Java was never repopulated; it reverted
to jungle and is now the Ujung Kulon National Park.
Ships as far away as
South Africa rocked as tsunamis hit them, and the
bodies of victims were found floating in the ocean
for weeks after the event. The tsunamis which
accompanied the eruption are believed to have been
caused by gigantic pyroclastic flows entering the
sea; each of the four great explosions was
accompanied by a massive pyroclastic flow resulting
from the gravitational collapse of the eruption
column. This caused several cubic kilometers of
material to enter the sea, displacing an equally
huge volume of seawater. The town of Merak was
destroyed by a 46 metre-high tsunami. Some of the
pyroclastic flows reached the Sumatran coast as much
as 25 miles (40 km) away, having apparently moved
across the water on a "cushion" of superheated
steam. There are also indications of submarine
pyroclastic flows reaching 10 miles (15 km) from the
volcano.
In the year following
the eruption, average global temperatures fell by as
much as 1.2 degrees Celsius. Weather patterns
continued to be chaotic for years, and temperatures
did not return to normal until 1888. The eruption
injected an unusually large amount of sulfur dioxide
(SO2) gas (a green-house gas) high into the
stratosphere which was subsequently transported by
high-level winds all over the planet. This led to a
global increase in sulfurous acid (H2SO3)
concentration in high-level cirrus clouds. The
resulting increase in cloud reflectivity (or albedo)
would reflect more incoming light from the sun than
usual, and cool the entire planet until the
suspended sulfur fell to the ground as acid
precipitation.
The eruption darkened
the sky worldwide for years afterwards, and produced
spectacular sunsets throughout the world for many
months. Also, a so-called blue moon had been seen
for two years as a result of the eruption.
Natural Causes adjust
our climate on a massive scale. While humans
play a role, keep that role in perspective, and
focus on where the damage is done. It is not
in your back yard, nor the SUV in your garage. |
The World Is Stranger Than You Can
Ever Imagine!
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