From the research I have found it seems like the amount of storms, and the intensity of the storms is increasing. Global warming is heating up water in the tropics, and is making that water evaporate at an alarming rate. This raise in SST “ Sea Surface Temperature” seems to correlate with a raise in the amount of hurricanes. A hurricane is caused when water starts to evaporate rapidly; the hot air rises while the colder air is condensed into clouds. As more and more water is sucked up, the clouds begin to spin, and create wind. That is why hurricanes are normally found over tropical oceans where the water temperature is around 80 degrees Fahrenheit.

While storms amounts are not growing all over the world the North Atlantic shows a drastic increase in tropical storms and hurricanes. In the last 35 years the number of category 4 and 5 hurricanes have almost doubled along with an increase in wind speed and size.

Works Cited

"Changes in Tropical Cyclone Number, Duration, and Intensity in a Warming Environment -- Webster et al. 309 (5742): 1844 -- Science." Science/AAAS | Scientific research, news and career information. Web. 26 Feb. 2010. .

Coral is a very fragile species, and are essential to life in the ocean and bio diversity in the ocean. One of the main things effecting the coral population is global warming. When coral gets too warm it becomes bleached and dies. It only takes a 1-degree Celsius change in summer for coral to become bleached because they are already so close to there lethal limits. UV radiation also affects the coral, and is increased because of the earths thinning ozone layer, and may also lead to bleaching. Bleaching of coral is happening world wide and is destroying our natural underwater forests.

Springer Berlin / Heidelberg. "Response of Hawaiian and other Indo-Pacific reef corals to elevated temperature." Springer links. Web.

Web.

I was really amazed at the shear number of watts the world uses, and how we as humans power it. It was kind of scarring me to think that we would have to make a power-plant everyday for 50 years to have enough power to power the world, and that almost ever water way thinkable has a damn on it. It was crazy to think all the things we already have in place like wind energy, and geothermal energy, and that they don't really do that much in the grand scheme of things. it was really interesting to know the life span of all the fossil fuels and to know that we could have nearlly 2000 years left before we ran out of coal. It was nice to see that this man has hope. With all that information daunting him everyday, it is amazing to think that he can fix it. I like his solar paint idea, and i think this is a great guy to do it. He understands the problems and he understands what's needed. For the paint to be cheap, and have a zero co2 impact. All in all a very interesting video, and taught me a lot about what might happen in the distant future, and what i can do to help

Grant Noble

Effects of Deforestation on Global Warming

One of the reasons why deforestation effects global warming is because trees are sinks. In a tree’s lifetime it is sucking in all of the carbon, and pollution from the air and is transferring it into the ground, taking away carbon from the atmosphere. When a tree is cut down, it is a double whammy; it is takes away a sink, and in turn creating a source. What was once taking away carbon dioxide is now being burned and readmitted in to the atmosphere as green house gasses. Deforestation alone contributes nearly 22% of human caused carbon admissions, and “the burning of forests releases about two billion metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year.” The rainforests are important, because they are the world’s lungs, they convert CO2 into oxygen, and are responsible for 20 percent of the world’s oxygen. The more we cut down trees the less oxygen is produced, and the more CO2 we have in the atmosphere. “According to FAO figures, some 13 million ha of forests worldwide are lost every year, almost entirely in the tropics.” For you to understand the amount of pollution I am talking about I found this quote from “http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/deforestation-the-hidden-cause-of-global-warming-448734.html” “In the next 24 hours, deforestation will release as much CO2 into the atmosphere as 8 million people flying from London to New York.” Now that’s a lot of CO2.

Even though it seems like deforestation is a never-ending problem, it is a problem that can be solved with little to no technology. All that needs to be done is have political will, enforcement, and incentives. People just need to understand that the earth is more important then the money in there pocket.

Works Cited

"Deforestation causes global warming." FAO: FAO Home. Web. 11 Feb. 2010. .

"Deforestation: The hidden cause of global warming - Climate Change, Environment - The Independent." The Independent | News | UK and Worldwide News | Newspaper. Web. 10 Feb. 2010. .

Ecomii - The credible, comprehensive resource for a healthier more sustainable lifestyle. Web. 11 Feb. 2010. .

"Impact of Deforestation - Atmospheric Role of Forests." Rainforests. Web. 11 Feb. 2010. .