The Secret of Global Warming

Companies fight to keep global warming data secret
In the current day and age, people are obsessed with numbers, statistics and anything that puts quantitative data to everything. The EPA's recent proposal would require the largest emitters of greenhouse gasses to make available online the amount of gasses they release. The major concerns are that other businesses will learn the company secrets and that people only need to know what is put into the air. If competitors learn the secrets then the theory states that prices will begin to rise for consumers. This means that consumers would be paying for the extra costs that are involved with gas emissions rather than the businesses. The EPA wants to limit greenhouse gasses so the companies that produce way too much heat-trapping gas would be put in the spotlight which would be better for consumers. The belief that people only need to know what factories put directly in the air seems somewhat unfair. If the data was placed online, there would only be a select few that could accurately understand all the numbers. The masses would likely only hear about what all the data means rather than attempting to understand it themselves. If the data was not released online then fewcould "double check" the data leading to more quick assumptions.

The Fertilizer Dilemma

Fertilizer Overloading Earth's Plant Life
The creation of synthetic fertilizers was a monumental moment for crops. Farmers started seeing yields that were much larger than they had before. At first glance that seems like everything is good. More crops means more food for more people and with the ever increasing population there needs to be an increase in crop yields. The article mentions that fertilizer use has increased 800% from 1960 to 2000. Unfortunately the synthetic fertilizers are expensive and very bad for the environment. The nitrogen from the fertilizers is having an effect on climate change, creating more dead zones in oceans and is drastically changing the nitrogen cycle. The report that came out with these findings gave solutions such as better crop rotation or limiting the amount of fertilizer use. This may seem like a hassle but as prices increase for synthetic fertilizers farmers only option is to find a better way to see increase crop yields.

The Environment and Rice

Environmental changes lowering yields of miracle rice
One could venture to say that a vast majority of the population eats rice on a regular basis. Rice is a food that is essential to maintaining the population in the world. In the 1960's the 'miracle rice' variety was developed and has been producing higher crop yields than any other variety. One of the advantages of genetically engineering crops are the higher yields but there is still the risk of genetic drift. When research showed that the 'miracle rice' had a 15% less yield than before people became concerned with genetics. Research now shows that the environmental changes are responsible for the decrease in yield. Changes in the environment can cause major problems with crop yields as well as for the population who rely on the crops. There are probably many solutions for this problem but where things stand now there is a cycle of decreasing crop yields. As the population increases, the environment most likely changes. As the environment changes, there are lower rice crop yields. This will continue until people start to die off from starvation,  a new rice variety created or people work to prevent a change in the environment.

Wind Farm Concerns

Wind Farms Change the Weather
When anything and everything is built there are always opponents to the project no matter how necessary or not. Wind farms might not be the most important projects being invested in, but they do have the potential to help reach energy goals. As mentioned in the article, Obama hopes to have more energy be wind generated than ever before. Since wind energy is one of the most plentiful and easily accessible sources of energy it should be fairly easy to reach this goal. Some of the major concerns with wind farms is the negative effects they have on the weather and the danger it poses for people near by. Unfortunately, the danger of death from broken wind turbines is hard to avoid. The number of deaths from wind turbines is no where near the number of deaths involved in coal or oil production and consumption. As for the fact that wind farms change local weather, yes this is probably true. Planting trees, constructing buildings and even paving the ground also cause substantial changes to local weather. This does not mean that the weather change should be ignored, but rather it just needs to be monitored just in case.

On Geoengineering

This Washington Post Opinion Article is about whether we should geoengineer the planet. This has always been a very touchy topic. The appeal of a quick solution to climate change draws many people in. Adversely, who is to say that a quick fix won't cause more problems. As mentioned in the article, the best solution would be to pursue research into geoengineering while also reducing carbon emissions. These two should always hand in hand. Without lowering carbon emissions we are only delaying a problem and if it is unlikely that reducing carbon emissions could undo the damage that has been done and will be done.

CA Global warming law

Californians split on global warming law
California has always been one step ahead when it comes to environmental laws. Despite there being issues with smog there has been a big initiative to improve the air quality and prevent further destruction. The new global warming law was just what CA, and the rest of the world, needed to slowly head towards sustainability. Proposition 23 exemplifies the issues with environmental law. The people know that the greenhouse gas law has been helping and will continue to help the state. But out-of-state oil companies and businesses can put out a proposition that says the law will be suspended until the unemployment drops back below 5.5%. Almost forever, people have been taking the view that if we don't protect and help the environment then they can make more money. By suspending the bill there is no guarantee that the unemployment will go down. There are other ways to decrease unemployment, even by helping the environment. If states would put money into green business and green works there would be more jobs for the unemployed and more help for the environment. The disagreement between the political parties continues to prevent any substantial environmental law to be passed.