Global Warming and VIRGINIA

Virginia’s diverse coastal and inland ecosystems face a serious threat from global warming. By 2100, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates average temperatures in the state could rise about 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit. Precipitation patterns are projected to change, with the likelihood of more extreme weather events such as floods and droughts. Additionally, sea level rise along Virginia’s 3,300 miles of coast will have a significant impact on the state’s coastal marshes and other critical wildlife habitat.

Global warming effects on Virginia wildlife
Virginia is home to an incredible diversity of native wildlife species, including 322 birds, 80 mammals, 202 fish, 60 reptiles and 74 amphibians. Rising temperatures and sea level in the state will likely change the makeup of entire ecosystems, forcing wildlife to shift their ranges or adapt.

• Warmer water temperatures due to global warming could lead to as much as a 61 percent decline in trout in the Appalachian region, as well as a 90 percent loss of habitat for brook trout in headwater streams.

• At the rate temperatures are increasing, the red spruce forests in Shenandoah National Park could be replaced with southern pines and oaks in the next 30-80 years, greatly affecting the animals and vegetation that call these unique mountain forests home.

• Chesapeake Bay historically has been an important waterfowl wintering ground, but sea level rise within the bay is changing the makeup of salt marshes, making them less attractive to many ducks and geese. Projections for the region suggest sea level rise will further reduce shallow water waterfowl habitat.

What’s at stake for Virginians?
Those who have lived in Virginia for any amount of time may think they know how to handle the heat, but global warming is something that cannot be ignored. The changes that come are expected to affect everything from the air we breathe and water we drink to the revenues brought in by tourism.

• Warmer water temperatures due to global warming could encourage the spread of diseases among oysters in the Chesapeake Bay, threatening the state’s oyster fishery, which is the lifeblood of some local rural communities.

• The EPA estimates sand replenishment for Virginia’s coastline could cost $200 million-$1.2 billion in the next century to compensate for a possible 20-inch sea level rise.

• Warmer average temperatures could increase concentrations of ground-level ozone, which is known to aggravate respiratory problems such as asthma, especially in children and seniors.

• Loss of wildlife and habitat could mean a loss of tourism dollars. In 2001, more than 3 million people spent nearly $1.9 billion on hunting, fishing and wildlife viewing in Virginia, which in turn created 43,014 jobs in the state.

GLOBAL WARMING NATIONAL POLICY SOLUTION:
2% POLLUTION REDUCTION PER-YEAR
A federal legislative solution can drive American ingenuity, create a new generation of American jobs, and meet our moral responsibility to confront global warming.

A GLOBAL WARMING BILL SHOULD:

* Reduce U.S. global warming pollution 2% per year, or 20% per decade, and on the order of 80% by the middle of this century. Scientists say the United States must cut our pollution at least this much to avoid the most catastrophic impacts of global warming.

* Encourage innovation and prevent facilities from being built that lock us into many years using old, inefficient technology.

* Provide funding to protect wildlife and their habitat.
Global warming is already adding new wildlife management burdens. Funding is needed to help continue the long tradition of fish and wildlife associated recreation.

For more information, visit: www.nwf.org/globalwarming.

The state has a number of incentives to encourage businesses and individuals to become more energy efficient and expand renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power, a key step to reducing harmful carbon pollution.

• Virginia offers property tax exemptions for any solar energy or recycling equipment on residential, commercial or industrial property.

• Virginia’s Solar Manufacturing Incentive Grant Program was created in 1995 and offers up to $4.5 million per year to encourage production of photovoltaic panels in the state.
Following some simple guidelines, you can cut your global warming pollution, become more energy efficient and give something back to nature.

• Plant shade trees: The Department of Energy says planting three trees strategically around your home can reduce your annual heating and cooling costs by an average of 40 percent.

• Convert to compact fluorescent bulbs: If every household in America replaced its next burned out light bulb with a compact fluorescent, we would prevent more than 13 billion pounds of carbon dioxide from being emitted.

• Become a Green Tag subscriber: Many states now offer options for homeowners to buy electricity from clean, renewable sources such as wind, solar and biomass that produce little or no global warming pollution. Green energy can also be purchased through the National Wildlife Federation by visiting www.nwf.org/energy.

• Act locally:
Contact your mayor and ask that (s)he sign the U.S.
Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, committing your city or town to meet or beat the global warming pollution reductions outlined in the Kyoto Protocol.

Source: http://www.nwf.org/globalwarming/statefactsheets.cfm

 

5.4 degrees? Unlikely. Even the global warming fear mongers put the likely temperature rise as less than that. 2007, which the fear mongers had predicted would be the hottest year in the history of the planet, turned out to be the coolest year of the past century.

Global Warming is essentially a scare tactic being used to deprive people of their freedoms. Yes, the earth has been on a warming trend. No, humans do not have the power to stop it. Better to spend our efforts learning to adapt, rather than trying to reverse nature.

 

I don't think that global warming is a fear tactic at all. The extent to which we as people are affecting it is uncertain, but I think we're definitely having a negative impact on the planet. When you throw something in the garbage and the truck picks it up, where do you think it goes? It doesn't disappear - it ends up in a landfill somewhere or on a barge off the coast of Jersey. Lovely. Gone but not forgotten by all.

On the other hand, I saw a show on the Discovery channel recently that showed how some companies are utilizing landfills in a way to minimize the impact, so the answer may be twofold: reduce the amount of garbage we produce, and find a way to make something out of it as these companies are doing.

As far as air pollution, when you see black smoke pouring out of big trucks or factories you can't believe it is harmless and doesn't have an impact on something. We haven't come so far in this country that we utilize a lot of clean burning fuels. Combine that with the amount of trees we chop down and land we bulldoze and the earth can have a tough time cleaning the air after us.

Note: I'm no scientist and I don't play one on tv.

 

P.S. -- I'd really love to see a serious use of solar and wind power in this country. That would be cool and clean for the planet.

 

Don't we already have a Global Warming thread?

 

Getting back on track...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23694819/

 

LED lights are a better choice

 

5.4 degree temperature rise? 20-inch sea level rise? Federal programs driving American ingenuity?

Does ANYONE really believe this? I am all for cleaning up the environment and we live a very environmentally friendly lifestyle, but this kind of obscene hyperbole and fearmongering is ridiculous.

By the way, love the post on getting rid of pollutants and toxins in the home--right on target. How many people are aware of the toxins they breathe in every night from their beds?

 

Yeah, you know that "new car smell?" What is that, really?

Seriously, though, I had read about furniture cushions being made from foam (not the shaving cream kind!) and the off-gassing it and the fabric treatments produce but I never gave it much thought. Last year we bought a chair and I actually had to open the windows to air out the house because the smell of the chair and the chemicals it had been treated with gave me a headache!

The same applies to plastics; in particular, shower curtain liners. That plastic odor you smell from a new plastic shower curtain liner is not a good thing for your body. I did a bit of research and learned that fabric liners are a better alternative (think of the ones in many hotels). They don't mildew as easily, don't get hard and crusty (think college dorm) and are easily washable.

Most of these things I never questioned until recently but after some research to separate the hype from the truth, I have been surprised to find out how many things in our homes are treated with chemicals to make them cleaner/last longer/work better/be easier. While those benefits may be true, the way they are made or perform are not necessarily good for you or the environment.

{{ OFF SOAPBOX }}

 

Not a soapbox. I never used to think any of this stuff was true, either, until we really started reading about it...and smelling all the chemicals on everything! We spend 1/3 of our lives in bed, not realizing mattresses are usually sprayed with fire retardant chemicals and can offgas formaldehyde.

Most of our furniture is sprayed and treated--it's just cheaper that way, but everything has a cost

Don't even get started on what they pump into cows and chickens to fatten them up...(including feeding them grain, which their stomachs are not made to process) which we then ingest by the pound. Oy.