Wednesday, December 10, 2008

The Issue of Transportation and Extreme Events in Global Warming

By Elias Maseko

Gasoline-burning cars are a major contributor to global warming. In fact, they are the second largest cause of global warming pollution in the United States. It would be beneficial if the cars could be more efficient. If they could burn cleaner fuels, it would even be better.

Future technologies for cars, such as fuel cells, may ease global warming even more. Fuel cells change hydrogen fuel and oxygen into electricity. Then, the electricity is used to run the vehicle. This technology has already been used by NASA and is projected to help ease global warming in the future.

Some cars are flex-fuel cars which can be run on different fuel sources. They can use alcohol, gasoline, or a combination. E85 is mostly ethanol with 15% of the fuel being gasoline. This fuel performs a little better than pure ethanol, but is more conducive to cutting down on global warming than gasoline.

The world, especially the US, can make some changes in the way they move about and transport their goods. If people do nothing, greenhouse gasses will surely increase drastically. However, if changes are made, global warming will be cut to a very large degree.

Effects of extreme events

Heat, of course, will be an important factor in global warming. There will be more days that are hot, higher daytime highs, and many lasting heat waves. This will affect people, animals, and the environment.

Another effect of the higher temperatures caused by global warming is that tourism will make gradual shifts. A region that had the ideal temperature one year might be too hot the next. Then, tourists will move further north for their vacations.

As global warming gets worse, precipitation will become more intense. This will lead to floods, mudslides, landslides, and avalanches. Soil erosion will be a fact of life. At the same time, there will be increased risk of drought. This will lead to more forest fires. It will also limit the quantity and quality of the water supply. - 16492

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