Hamish Fraser asked:


Today, ‘prevent global warming’ seems to be the necessity of the day. It is high time we noticed effects of industrialization on the planet. It is no more difficult to notice that global warming has been changing climate of the world. Large ice masses that initially adorned both the north and south poles are melting as a very fast speed. This shows warming is affecting us since the water levels will increase drastically. Melting of ice masses will also mean changing in climatic conditions all around the world. Effects of which will be difficult for humans and animals alike.

You can prevent global warming by uniting against it. It does not matter what your place of residence may be; however, you can contribute towards reforestation and help reduce green house gases and carbon dioxide considerably. You can also help in cooling the earth down substantially. Global warming is also the result of using fossil fuels like petrol, diesel, CNG, etc. with industrialization there has been growth in number of car owners, this has made global warming faster.

You can easily prevent global warming, you should use all those facilities provided to you consciously. A little saving of water, fuel, electricity, etc per person can make a lot of difference to our planet.

In order to prevent global warming there are several organizations which are working actively so they can increase forests around the world. Increasing forests is a good and a constructive alternative to solving this problem of global warming. It is true that rain forests and tropical forests around the world are being cut down to fulfill demand for wood and paper, this is causing deforestation. A simple solution to this problem is replanting the trees that have been cut off and letting these grow back again naturally. These lush green trees in the tropical rain forests have worked as lungs for all the world for ages. Reduction in these forests will accelerate the disaster brought in by global warming.
Several governments around the world are taking steps and implementing laws that will help curb production of green house gases and make the world a better place for our children. However, these laws will take time in being implemented. Till the time, these actually come into being, all world’s population can contribute a little more by planting trees around them and prevent global warming.

You will find concerns about global warming being echoed online too. In fact several organizations have opened their websites so that they can spread awareness about the current situation amongst general public. These organizations will also educate you about how a small contribution from you will make a ton of difference in world’s ecological climate.

You can contribute to this cause to as low as $10 just once, and a chunk of deforested land will be taken for reforestation so all its natural habitat can be restored. Such organizations generally specify the place where they are being carrying out reforestation so you can contribute and prevent global warming.

Dilip Dahanukar asked:


 

My wife told me one evening that her friend Sarah was to visit India and would be spending a day with her. There was nothing in it that alarmed me as my wife, who is a painter, has friends all over the World and somebody or the other is always visiting her. But when she told me that Sarah was an astrophysicist, my ears perked up. She had missed me during her visit last year as I was out of town.

     Sarah arrived wearing a gorgeous sari looking like a senior accomplished stately woman. Indians like me are now used to a white woman in a sari with years of watching Sonia Gandhi on the TV. With Sarah was her friend Needra, a young tall dark beautiful Sri Lankan woman who too was an astrophysicist! She said she was wearing a sari for the first time at the insistence of Sarah. When I asked her about it, Sarah went on a detailed narrative how she was initiated into wearing a sari by the wife of the Director of the Institute and had thereafter adopted the sari as her preferred dress. I noted her crystal clear memory as the event had taken place at least thirty years back!

Sarah started talking to me about my book which I had written in 1978 and a copy of which my wife had given her on her last visit. The book was about National Planning and many of the ideas written in it had since then materialized. But I had forgotten about it! I brushed it aside and told them about my new books on science fiction. One of them, titled Alby was about a computer entity who ventured out into deep space. But I wanted them to read it first so I gave them a copy and didn’t tell them what it was all about. I also gave them a copy of my book eMaya on how to stop Global warming, to see if they are interested about our planet.

I offered them Single Malt whiskey to get them talking, but as they sipped they did not bring up any topics of Universe or Space. Neither of them mentioned any galaxies, black holes, not even the solar system! Sarah talked about the scientists and the lives of their families, and many small memorable events that took place when she worked with them in India. Needra was to give a lecture on a subject of astrophysics in Pune to a group of scientists there. She did not disclose any snippets from her forthcoming speech. She never even mentioned the subject of her lecture.

But the amazing quality which seeped through their beings vibed something immortal. They watched everything with tremendous zeal and intensity and absorbed their communication with whomever they met with rapt attention of all their senses. Looking back about my encounter with them I felt that they were like visitors from deep space; from an unknown destination wandering about from galaxy to galaxy imbibing everything what they sensed to take it back with them. They appeared timeless creatures wandering about in appreciation of the Universe.

Why do they radiate such immortality? Why do they appear so close yet so distant? Why do they take such deep interest in their fellow colleagues and their families? These were the question marks which popped up in my mind. I tried to find answers and in the process discovered the truth. They were into astrophysics which is the science of the Universe. A dictionary search as to its meaning yielded the following:

Astrophysics:  The branch of astronomy that deals with the physical and chemical processes that occur in stars, galaxies, and interstellar space. Astrophysics deals with the structure and evolution of stars, the properties of interstellar space and its interactions with systems of stars, and with the structure and dynamics of clusters of stars such as galaxies.   

It dawned on me that if you are dealing with the structure and evolution of stars and dynamics of galaxies, you are exploring and trying to understand a very long time span ranging for billions of years. When you study the subject intensely, you go deep into it and it occupies your mind. No doubt the mind of a devoted astrophysicist is possessed with stars, comets and galaxies. Their minds are stretched to infinity. They pervade the whole Universe. These astros dream into space, of black holes and super novas. Why are they dwelling on such remote objects? Are they agents of Providence to prepare Man for his scheme of things?

Then I realized that there are only a few persons in the whole World who are into this discipline. Their knowledge is of no practical use to any human requirement now or in anyone’s lifetime. As their knowledge does not touch the life of the common man, they keep it within themselves taking care not to mention it in public. I thought that if they talked about a twin star system in a distant galaxy 1000 light years away and the rotation of their moons, they might find the eyes of the lay listeners questioning their sanity.  But within their community there are open and frank and have nothing to hide about the sky and what it beholds! They band together as a very closely knit family. Everyone knows everyone in the field and they exchange the smallest detail about the lives of one another. But this intensive interest in life spills over to their friends who are not into astrophysics. My wife and I are fortunate to experience such extraordinary friendship.

Sarah and Needra went travelling to South India where they met more of their kind. And when they returned, we had them over for dinner. Much to my disappointment, they had not read my science fiction book Alby. They were more interested in participating in their friends’ earthly lives. I was a bit disappointed as I looked forward to an interesting discussion on my science fiction. I mentioned to them parts of the story and that the spaceship engine in the book accelerates the ship to 80% of the speed of light without ejecting out any mass! It is a practical answer to travel to nearby stars of the Milky Way. It was then the two sat up. Sarah immediately discarded my idea. But I goaded them to read the book and check the results of the prototype engine on Google.

But they had perused through my other book eMaya on Global warming. Sarah had seen the reviews on Amazon. She got talking on it. She said she was impressed with the way I had handled a difficult and a dry subject and brought the concerns about emissions, ice melting, nuclear power and population in simple and lucid terms. Needra remarked that it had a lot of information on all subjects concerning climate control of Earth and much more. They both really enjoyed reading it. I was amused to see that these astrophysicists were concerned about few degrees rise in temperature of our planet. Normally they wouldn’t bat an eyelid to see the temperature of a star shoot up by a million degrees, explode and become Super Nova! But Sarah had liked the book and agreed with the conclusions of eMaya on climate control.

We parted with hugs, handshakes, and pleasantries. I got a feeling that these starry women knew more than any mortal like me. I wondered what their mission would be in their next lives. I wished I could offer them a galactic penny for their thoughts! But I consoled my mind by saying that wait, they will be back! And now I am patiently waiting for the next encounter.

 

Enviro Saver asked:


A common mistake made by people who have a limited understanding about global warming will often loosely refer to the problem as either climate change or global warming. While the two have much to do with each other, they are two separate things that are related to the same cause, which is carbon dioxide put into the atmosphere by human activity. Global warming is referring to the rise in the average global temperature. It is this rise in temperature that causes the climate changes being seen around the world.

It may seem like it isn’t a big deal, but this really is something people should be concerned about. Global warming has been proven to be greatly caused by the greenhouse gases, mainly carbon dioxide that people are putting into the air through their daily activities. These emissions are caused by cars, airplanes, factories, businesses, or anything else that burns fossil fuels. While there are other greenhouse gases put into the air, carbon is what makes up the largest contributor from human activities. Many don’t realize that global warming affects everyone, perhaps not in the most obvious way every day, but it does affect everyone. Global warming is what is causing the earth to warm, which, as mentioned before, causes the major climate changes that are being seen. What are some of these major climate changes and what does this have to do with people? Floods, severe hurricanes, odd weather patterns such as abnormally cold or warm winters; all of these are products of global warming.

Food and resources come from the natural world and if global warming causes severe drought (which it is in many places around the world), the crop yield will be much lower and money is lost. Not to mention that it’s less food available to people. Global warming is also what is warming the polar ice caps and drying up other fresh water resources. Life needs fresh water and without it, life tends to die.

It is something that people can change if they can take responsibility over it. It is possible to slow and stop the global warming, making the world a healthier place with the necessary resources available. It means that the burning of fossil fuels has to stop. Using energy sources that don’t require the burning of fossil fuels is what is needed. The sun and wind are both excellent examples of the tireless sources of energy available to humans. Saving water and producing less waste is also needed to reduce the carbon emissions. As more people turn to alternatives instead of burning fossil fuels, global warming could be stopped, which in turn would stop causing the major climate changes that have been the cause of such devastation in recent years.

Enviro Saver asked:


There is a lot of debate going on regarding whether Global Warming is actually here or not. Many of the world’s leading scientists are saying that Global Warming has already arrived, so there is very little anyone can do to stop it; however, there are steps that people can take in order to reduce the effect of Global Warming. At this point, doing as much as one can do reduce the effects is essential, which means making some sacrifices and making some big changes in how one lives their life. Whether Global Warming is already here or has not quite arrived yet, it is best to start making the healthy changes now; healthy changes that will not only help them, but will also greatly help the natural environment.

How much does one have to change their life? Really, it all depends on how the person lives their life now. If a person already lives a very green life, then they will not have to change a lot; however, a person who is used to living in a way that takes a large toll on the environment will have to make some big changes. First, a person should live in a smaller home. Larger homes are only a drain on the resources and are one of the largest greenhouse grass producers, after vehicles, businesses and factories. Getting rid of the old car and purchasing a hybrid, riding a bicycle or just walking are other things a person needs to do to reduce the effects of Global Warming. Becoming more environmental in general, by planting trees, purchasing local foods, re-using more, recycling more, avoiding plastic and paper when possible and doing what they can to their house to reduce energy consumption are all ways that can reduce the effects of global warming.

All it takes is one person to become greener in how they live. It only takes one person changing how they live to a better way of life to bring out the same kind of change in others. That one person who shares their ideas will influence others who will think the changes are a good idea and start to make the same changes in their own lives. Those people will then influence others in the same way. People will often forget the power that one person has in influencing change; one person has the power to make all the difference in the world when they put their energy into it.