Everyone has heard the song and dance accompanying global warming; the ice caps are melting, temperatures are fluctuating and the ocean temperatures are rising (or falling) beyond acceptable levels.

As if this wasn’t bad enough, there is more environmentalism concerns surrounding global warming that aren’t as well advertised, but can affect our day to day lives.

Everyone has heard the song and dance accompanying global warming; the ice caps are melting, temperatures are fluctuating and the ocean temperatures are rising (or falling) beyond acceptable levels.

As if this wasn’t bad enough, there is more environmentalism concerns surrounding global warming that aren’t as well advertised, but can affect our day to day lives.

1. Aggravating Allergies – If your allergies have gotten worse over the years, or you just recently developed allergies, global warming might be to blame. Research has shown that the higher carbon dioxide levels and warmer temperatures associated with global warming are also playing a role by prodding plants to bloom earlier and produce more pollen. With more allergens produced earlier, allergy season can last longer.
2. Moving to Higher Ground – It might be hard to notice, but chipmunks, mice, squirrels, and the slightly scarier polar bear are all moving to higher elevated ground due to changed in their habitat caused by global warming.
3. Always Sunny in… the Arctic – The melting of the polar ice caps is only one effect global warming is having on the arctic. Plants that are usually under ice for most of the year and starting to bloom earlier as the ice around them melt earlier in the year. Chlorophyll has been found in larger amounts than in ancient times, meaning a biological boom in the Arctic in recent decades.
4. Disappearing Lakes – Lakes in the Arctic have literally been disappearing, supporting the suggestion that global warming is working the fastest on our polar caps. Scientists are hypothesizing the ground under the lakes are thawing, and therefore allowing the water to seep into the land.
5. Sinkholes, Rockslides and Diseases, Oh My! – The ice caps are not the only places where land is thawing. The permanently frozen layer of soil beneath Earth’s surface. This may lead to seriously destabilizing effects which could develop into sinkholes, creating damage to thinks like houses, railroads and highways. There is even reason to believe that diseases like smallpox will reemerge as the ground around decaying dead bodies’ thaws.
6. Animals Miss Their Meals – Because spring is starting sooner, animals that migrate might miss out on the food supply. Ones that can reset their internal clock might stand a chance, but if animals miss their food supply, they will eventually die out and not be able to pass on their genetic information to future generations.
7. Forest Fires Increase – Along with the raging hurricanes and melting glaciers, global warming is also causing more volatile forest fires. In the past decade, the numbers of forest fires have increased, as have their lifespan and areas in which they can reach. Scientists have correlated the rampant blazes with warmer temperatures and earlier snowmelt. When spring arrives early and triggers an earlier snow-melt, forest areas become drier and stay so for longer, increasing the chance that they might ignite.

Since its creation in 1999, the G-20 (the Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors) has helped to strengthen the economic stability of nations around the world.

This week on April 2, the summit will not only tackle the financial crisis, but it will also try to develop a stimulus plan to tackle global climate change.

Since its creation in 1999, the G-20 (the Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors) has helped to strengthen the economic stability of nations around the world.

This week on April 2, the summit will not only tackle the financial crisis, but it will also try to develop a stimulus plan to tackle global climate change.

This week’s meeting

One of the hopes of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown for the summit is to deal directly with the threat of climate change, which has become a huge factor in the economic downfall of many countries. Due to climate change, some countries have been unable to produce crops, they don’t have access to clean drinking water and homes have been destroyed.

This week’s G-20 meeting all comes before a new climate treaty that hopes to be signed in Copenhagen next week. This treaty hopes to create a $2-3 trillion global stimulus on green causes, such as building wind energy farms that will create new jobs and focus more on green energy.

So, how else would bringing up the topic of global climate change positively affect the economy? Governments could benefit from investing in green bonds that are invested in clean energy.

What do you think about a global climate change stimulus? After spending trillions to bail out banks, some countries may need more than just some convincing.

Source: Reuters

This year the green festival will feature 140 films from over 50 filmmakers, covering topics such as organic restaurants, global warming, the disappearance of honey bees and much more…

Do you go to school in or near Washington DC? If you do then you should definitely check out the 17th annual Environmental Film Festival that takes place in DC from March 11-22.

This year the green festival will feature 140 films from over 50 filmmakers, covering topics such as organic restaurants, global warming, the disappearance of honey bees and much more.

Here is an excerpt from a featured film that focuses on climate change in Bangladesh:

Check out the Environment Film Festival website to learn how you can support the efforts of these environmental films.

Let’s face it: we can’t avoid climate change. There is no such thing as ‘average weather’ anymore, and as long as global warming continues to devastate our surrounding environment every living creature will be in danger.

So, if we can’t avoid global climate change then what can we do about it?

The first step you can take is to get educated about climate change. And that’s where the Climate Institute steps in…

Let’s face it: we can’t avoid climate change. There is no such thing as ‘average weather’ anymore, and as long as global warming continues to devastate our surrounding environment every living creature will be in danger.

So, if we can’t avoid global climate change then what can we do about it?

The first step you can take is to get educated about climate change. And that’s where the Climate Institute steps in.

Our friend Corinne Kisner from the Climate Institute sent us some great information about the organization:

Founded in 1986, the Climate Institute was the first non-profit organization established primarily to address climate change issues. Working with an extensive network of experts, the Institute has served as a bridge between the scientific community and policy-makers and has become a respected facilitator of dialogue to move the world toward more effective cooperation on climate change responses.

The Climate Institute’s mission is to…

• CATALYZE innovative and practical policy solutions toward climate stabilization and educate the general public of the gravity of climate change impacts.
• ENHANCE the resilience of humanity and natural systems to respond to global climate change impacts especially among vulnerable groups (e.g.Native American tribes and Small Islands).
• WORK internationally as a bridge between policy-makers, scientists and environmental institutions.

The Climate Institute also offers an entire collection of articles about climate change, ranging from topics on Clean Energy Sources to Climate Change in Pop Culture. You can see the list of articles here.

There’s even a Green Campus section on the website that offers college students resources on global climate change. You can find a link to Green Student U there!

Green Student U would like to thank Corinne for providing us with information about the Climate Institute.

Remember, we can do something about global climate change if we learn about it and do our part to protect the environment.

The Pesticide DDT was used during WWII to stop mosquitoes from spreading diseases such as malaria. It was also used as an insecticide for agriculture.

But the government took environmental initiatives and banned the use of it in the 1970′s because it was found to cause cancer in humans and decreased the eggshell reproductive quality in birds such as the bald eagle…

The Pesticide DDT was used during WWII to stop mosquitoes from spreading diseases such as malaria. It was also used as an insecticide for agriculture.

But the government took environmental initiatives and banned the use of it in the 1970′s because it was found to cause cancer in humans and decreased the eggshell reproductive quality in birds such as the bald eagle.

And in a recent article by BBC News it was found that DDT was responsible for premature puberty in girls from developing countries.

So if it was banned over 40 years ago, why is it still showing up in the tissue of Antarctic penguins?

Frozen Findings

According to Heidi Geisz and other researchers from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, the levels of DDT found in the tissue of these penguins have remained the same since the early 1970s. And even though the levels are not enough to kill the penguins, it could be enough to decrease the quality of their eggs.

The levels of DDT have remained the same for so long because the pesticide is a part of the life cycle of Antarctica.

The DDT is evaporated into the air, it becomes trapped in glaciers and it is absorbed into tiny krill. As the temperature warms and melts the glaciers, the penguins eat the krill and then have the pesticide in their system.

You can read the entire article here.

That means the penguins have to worry about global warming and DDT, both of which are destroying their natural habitats.

Even though it looks like this trend is unavoidable, we hope that Geisz and the other researchers continue to study what is happening and find some sort of way to halt or stop the process before these creatures are gone forever.

One of the best ways to choose a college is to hear opinions from other students who have attended that college. That’s the point of the website myUsearch.com. It offers a blog with useful advice for students, as well as a search tool that matches students with colleges.

We were recently informed from our friend Jill that she wrote an article for myUsearch about the rise in various green jobs across the U.S…

One of the best ways to choose a college is to hear opinions from other students who have attended that college. That’s the point of the website myUsearch.com. It offers a blog with useful advice for students, as well as a search tool that matches students with colleges.

We were recently informed from our friend Jill that she wrote an article for myUsearch about the rise in various green jobs across the U.S., and how more colleges and universities are offering green degrees to meet the demand of these jobs.

From degrees in wind energy technology to environmental law, these will all be important for the future of our planet.

Read Jill’s Green Careers for a Greener Planet article.

Last year about 300 million compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) were sold in the U.S., thanks to people being more concerned about global warming.

The only bad thing about CFLs is that they contain small amounts of mercury in them, so when they are thrown away and broken the toxic vapors from the mercury can be inhaled by humans. And that can be a health risk…

Last year about 300 million compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) were sold in the U.S., thanks to people being more concerned about global warming.

The only bad thing about CFLs is that they contain small amounts of mercury in them, so when they are thrown away and broken the toxic vapors from the mercury can be inhaled by humans. And that can be a health risk.

So despite their eco-friendliness, many people think that it is too risky to throw away these bulbs.

That is until engineering students and researchers at Brown University developed a material that could absorb the mercury.

How does it work?

What the students did was they created a prototype of a special lining that would be placed inside CFL packaging. That way if any bulbs broke inside the packaging the mercury would be absorbed safely. Or if the mercury spilled on the floor or a table, the packaging could be placed on top of it to absorb the liquid.

The students also created special lining for plastic bags that would soak up any mercury from broken glass that was thrown away.

You can read more details about the story here.

If this material proves to work effectively, it could dramatically impact our environment, especially if the government approves energy-efficient lighting by 2012.

Let’s hope that the Brown University students continue improving this amazing discovery.

The North Pole is supposed to be one of the few places in the world that is always covered by ice. But researchers have been watching its Arctic sea ice slowly melt over the years.

Mark Serreze, from the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center in Colorado, says “The issue is that, for the first time that I am aware of, the North Pole is covered with extensive first-year ice.” And first year ice is extremely thin, so that’s not a good thing…

The North Pole is supposed to be one of the few places in the world that is always covered by ice. But researchers have been watching its Arctic sea ice slowly melt over the years.

Mark Serreze, from the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center in Colorado, says “The issue is that, for the first time that I am aware of, the North Pole is covered with extensive first-year ice.” And first year ice is extremely thin, so that’s not a good thing.

Due to warming temperatures attributed to global warming, the ice is getting so thin that it’s breaking apart. Which means ships that could not sail across the frozen terrain before can now explore undiscovered territory.

What’s even worse is now that the ice is melting and is allowing for human exploration, countries like Russia are fighting for the region’s potential oil reserves.

Do you see why global warming is such a catastrophe, not only to the environment, but also to our entire eco-lifestyle?

You can read the entire article here.

This is certainly something that can affect the entire world, just like how carbon emissions are at a record high and how our cities are more polluted today than ever before.

We hope all of these situations are addressed so we can continue to find new ways to stop global warming from devastating our world’s natural resources.

It’s no secret that China’s massive population contributes to the country’s carbon dioxide emissions problem. Plus, China is home to 16 of the 20 most polluted cities in the world.

And that’s why there is such controversy about having the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing. With all the smog that is notoriously linked to Beijing and nearby cities, the pressure for cleaner air is forcing Chinese environmental officials to quickly meet international pollution standards…

It’s no secret that China’s massive population contributes to the country’s carbon dioxide emissions problem. Plus, China is home to 16 of the 20 most polluted cities in the world.

And that’s why there is such controversy about having the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing. With all the smog that is notoriously linked to Beijing and nearby cities, the pressure for cleaner air is forcing Chinese environmental officials to quickly meet international pollution standards.

Just how bad is pollution in China?

There were over 250,000 riots or public disturbances in 2005 in China that were linked to pollution.

One story of a pollution riot centered on a woman named Chen Li Fang. She lived with her husband on a farm in the Hunan Province raising animals and rice.

Then a chemical processing plant moved in a mile away, and Chen and other villages started to experience health problems such as stomach pains and vomiting. Cattle started to die and fields stopped producing rice.

The villagers realized that the smog and chemicals from the plant, which had been pouring into the Xiang River (their source for drinking water), were the main culprits of their declining health.

Chen organized a riot with other villagers to overtake the factory, but she received a short jail term when the police stormed the building.

After her release she slept 2 weeks in a train station to meet with an official from the Environmental Protection Administration, but still had no luck.

Finally, after reaching lawyers at the Center for Legal Assistance to Pollution Victims, she is filing a lawsuit against the plant.

You can read the rest of Chen’s story here.

If this is just one story from one citizen living in the country, can you imagine what the factories and buildings are doing in overpopulated cities like Beijing?

The Olympics

When Beijing made a bid in 2001 to be the host of the 2008 Olympics, it promised to show that it would meet the international standards on four major pollutants:

• Sulfur Dioxide ‘ Can cause breathing problems, sore throat and coughing.
• Nitrogen Dioxide ‘ Poisonous if inhaled.
• Inhalable Particles ‘ Can cause lung damage.
• Chemical Oxygen Demand ‘ Amount of organic compounds in water.

Right now Beijing meets 3 of the 4 standards (still working on inhalable particles), and State Environmental Protection AdministrationVice Minister Zhang Lijun says everything will be done to ensure that the city has clean air.

Can it be done?

Until the air standards are satisfactory, some athletes are choosing to train outside of China.

You can read the entire article here.

Hopefully the air will be clean enough for the Olympic athletes to excel at their events. It’s already a tragedy that pollution has taken away the livelihood of people like Chen.

It would be an equal tragedy for athletes who have worked their entire lives to be impeded by something that we could have controlled all along.

At a Los Angeles Auto Show in November 2007, Volkswagen introduced a new car that will be the first green vehicle to pass the emission standards of all fifty states.

The 2009 TDI Clean Diesel Jetta will feature the zippiness and cool style of the regular Jetta, but it will produce 90% less nitrous oxide emissions.

At a Los Angeles Auto Show in November 2007, Volkswagen introduced a new car that will be the first green vehicle to pass the emission standards of all fifty states.

The 2009 TDI Clean Diesel Jetta will feature the zippiness and cool style of the regular Jetta, but it will produce 90% less nitrous oxide emissions.

The TDI Engine (Turbo Direct Injection)

So what makes the Clean Diesel Jetta so clean? It has to be the engine, which helps to control nitrous oxide emissions.

The engine basically acts as a storage vault that holds the nitrous oxide emissions, filters them and then burns them off later. It also has a common-rail fuel injection system that helps it to control pollution.

This new Jetta will also feature 140 horsepower and 236 lb-ft of torque, making it easier to zip smoothly and quickly through the streets.

Surprisingly, test drivers found that the engine was rather quiet while running.

You can read more about the TDI Jetta here.

Volkswagen is one of the largest car manufacturing companies in the world, so it’s great to know that they’re avid supporters of investing in projects that promote biofuels.

The TDI Clean Diesel Jetta, which will be available for purchase later this year, will be a great addition to the world of alternative energy vehicles, and maybe it will inspire future pollution-reducing engine technologies.