Global Warming and its impacts

Global Warming is the increase of Earth's average surface temperature due to effect of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels or from deforestation, which trap heat that would otherwise escape from Earth.

Global Warming Impacts

Many of the following "harbingers" and "fingerprints" are now well under way:

1.     Rising Seas--- inundation of fresh water marshlands (the everglades), low-lying cities, and islands with seawater.

2.     Changes in rainfall patterns --- droughts and fires in some areas, flooding in other areas.

3.     Increased likelihood of extreme events--- such as flooding, hurricanes, etc.

4.     Melting of the ice caps --- loss of habitat near the poles. Polar bears are now thought to be greatly endangered by the shortening of their feeding season due to dwindling ice packs. 

5.     Melting glaciers - significant melting of old glaciers is already observed.

6.     Widespread vanishing of animal populations --- following widespread habitat loss.

7.     Spread of disease --- migration of diseases such as malaria to new, now warmer, regions.

8.     Bleaching of Coral Reefs due to warming seas and acidification due to carbonic acid formation --- One third of coral reefs now appear to have been severely damaged by warming seas.

9.     Loss of Plankton due to warming seas --- The enormous (900 mile long) Aleution island ecosystems of orcas (killer whales), sea lions, sea otters, sea urchins, kelp beds, and fish populations, appears to have collapsed due to loss of plankton, leading to loss of sea lions, leading orcas to eat too many sea otters, leading to urchin explosions, leading to loss of kelp beds and their associated fish populations. 

Alternatives to Fossil Fuels

Bioenergy or Biofuels:

Bioenergy can be produced from a variety of biomass feedstocks, including forest agricultural and livestock residues; short-rotation forest plantations; energy crops; the organic component of municipal solid waste; and other organic waste streams.

Direct solar energy:

These technologies harness the energy of solar irradiance to produce electricity using photovoltics.

Geo thermal energy

Utilizes the acceptable thermal energy from the earth interiors, where the heat is extracted from a  reservoirs that are naturally sufficient hot and permeable(Hydrothermal Reservoirs)used to generate electricity, analogue to fuel source

Hydropower:

Uses the potential energy stored in the water(at rest) by making the water to flow from higher to lower elevation. used to produce hydro electricity, encompasses the large centralized urban needs of energy.