The Vegan Lifestyle

Global warming: what can we do to minimize it?

Summer is becoming hotter and longer. The climate is getting abnormal and unpredictable. Could our wasteful use of fuels and careless emissions of fumes to the air causing this global warming?

This summer is scorchingly hot. It is like standing on red-hot sands during dog days in a wide stretch of barren desert. Taking a bath gives a cool relief, but perspiration comes out right after. What an uncomfortable sticky feeling throughout the day!

Scientists say that this global warming is caused by the greenhouse effect of gases we’ve thrown out to the air. These are the carbon dioxide from car exhausts, manufacturing and petrochemical plants; nitrous oxide from fertilizers and fossil fuels; methane gas from livestock, manures, decaying materials, landfills, and marshes; chlorofluorocarbons from refrigerants of air conditioning units; ozone from industrial and chemical plants, and other hydrocarbon products.

How do these gases affect global warming?

These gases, also known as greenhouse gases or GHG, absorb most of the radiation from the sun. When solar radiation enters the atmosphere, 2/3 of it are absorb by the Earth’s surface, and 1/3 are reflected back to outer space by clouds in the atmosphere.

Half of the solar radiations that penetrate the atmosphere are infrared and these heat up the air directly, while those of higher frequency are absorbed by the sea and land surfaces upon reaching the ground. A portion of these solar radiations that reached the Earth’s surfaces are reflected back to outer space by sea ice, iceberg, permafrosts, glaciers, and snow.

During the cold clear night, these heat are dissipated and reflected back to space as infrared radiations, where they are absorbed by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This absorption of infrared radiations changes the rotational and vibrational states of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere causing these gases to emit more heat energy thereby increasing the temperature in the atmosphere.

The atmosphere radiates these heat to all directions. Some dissipate to the colder fringes in outer space, and some are reflected back to Earth where they step up global temperature. This increase in temperature depends on the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and on the amount of heat emitted by these gases during the absorption of the infrared radiations reflected from the Earth’s surfaces.

Solar radiation does not cause global warming. In fact, the Earth will freeze at a chilling minus 18 degrees Celsius even with the 2/3 of solar radiations absorbed by the Earth. It is the absorption of infrared radiations by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and the emissions of thermal heat that cause global warming.

Most of the time we do not feel so much heat because they are dissipated in very wide areas such as in space, large bodies of water, land masses, and in plants. But as the concentration of greenhouse gases becomes higher, more infrared radiations reflected from Earth’s surfaces are absorbed by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere resulting to more heat emissions, and these increase the air temperature that cause global warming.

Trees and plants help minimize the effects of global warming. They absorb carbon dioxide from the air and give off oxygen and water during photosynthesis to cool the air. That is why it is very important that we plant more trees to minimize global warming. If we will not act today, there will come a time, in fact it’s starting already, that even plants will not give off water and oxygen to cool the air anymore.

Though plants “exhale” carbon dioxide at night, they usually absorb carbon dioxide from air to produce oxygen and water to cool the air. But during hot and dry conditions, plants close their pores to conserve water, and switch to a process called photorespiration wherein they use up oxygen instead and give off carbon dioxide. A recent scientific study confirmed  this, and found out that the stomata of plants do not open wide to give off water and oxygen when there is a high concentration of carbon dioxide in the air. Instead they give off more carbon dioxide, adding up to the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

And this is not the only problem. The bodies of water such as oceans, seas, lakes and rivers that absorb most of the heat of the sun to cool the Earth are also absorbing lots of carbon dioxide, making them more acidic. And what happens when the water is acidic? The marine ecosystem is adversely affected causing destruction to coral reefs and marine lives.

The maximum concentration of carbon dioxide for an adaptable life on Earth is 350 parts per million per volume, but we have exceeded this level now up to a dangerous level of 390 ppmv!

There is no definite solution in sight yet even in a foreseeable future. Scientists estimate that carbon dioxide will stay in the air for another 300 years or more. The sea will become hotter and more acidic each day to the extinction of marine lives, and humans eventually. Scientists warned that 20% to 30% of corals worldwide are already destroyed, and more dead zones are appearing in coastal waters from decreases of oxygen and acidification of waters due to carbon dioxide absorption. The level of carbon dioxide in sea water is almost at saturation point.  We must act now before it’s too late!

Though nitrous oxide and methane have greater warming effects: 298 and 25 times respectively compared to carbon dioxide, they do not last longer. Carbon dioxide on the other hand stays in the atmosphere for 300 years or more. It constitutes a minimal 20% of the greenhouse gases on the air, but it is the greatest source of anthropogenic or man-made greenhouse gases, which is about 60%.

The fearful consequences of global warming are now being felt worldwide. The sea ice in East Siberian Sea shrank 38% below average in 2007 —  a meltdown of 210,000 square kilometers per day that is equivalent to the size of the United Kingdom. The massive ice sheets at the southern fringes of Greenland lost 101 billion tons of ice annually since 2003 up to 2005, and it is estimated that this will cause a 16 feet rise in sea level if all of these ice sheets will melt.

The ice meltdown in the Arctic is also endangering the lives of polar bears to extinction. The permafrosts in Siberia are thawing, showing up for the first time in thousand years the organic matters that were buried underneath them. The volcanic eruption of Eyjafjallajökull has been blamed on the thawing of the glacier which allowed the strong pressure of magma underneath to create fissures on the surface resulting to eruption.

These drastic effects of global warming have disastrous consequences to the inhabitants of this planet Earth. The thawing of permafrosts in Siberia can release hundred billion tons of methane, and the heating up of bodies of water due to carbon dioxide absorption can trigger the release of another hundred billion tons of methane trapped under the beds of oceans.  These massive releases of methane may trigger a devastating cataclysmic runaway climate change resulting to mass extinction events.

Besides the inundations of coastal cities around the world due to the meltdown of sea ice, iceberg, glaciers and permafrosts, and the severe droughts and rapid desertification of large areas in other parts of the globe, the extreme temperatures of global warming will also create more stronger cyclones, tornadoes, and typhoons that will wreck havoc and more destructions to properties, farms, livestock, and human lives.

Some of these frightening scenarios are already happening in our present time. The highest time to act is now. Let us stop blaming each other, and set aside our wrangling as to who will bear the bigger share in cost to solve this problem.

The Kyoto Protocol was a good start but not much was done. The Conference Of the Parties (COP-15) in Copenhagen held last December 7-18, 2009 was worse. It adjourned without agreeing on anything. There were 35,000 delegates from 193 nations, but they could not agree on how much reduction in temperature and what allowable carbon dioxide concentration in parts per million. And there were more heated debates as to who will take the bigger share in funding the project to solve this problem. Will it be the developed countries, the developing countries, or the underdeveloped countries of the Third World?

Everyone has a duty and a responsibility to help preserve this planet Earth. The Copenhagen Summit might have been a failure, but we can make our share to make this world more habitable. Let us reduce our fossil fuel consumption, and conserve more energy. Let us minimize our use of nitrous oxide fertilizers. Let us stop the emissions of chlorofluorocarbon and other ozone-precursor gases to the air, and protect the ozone layer from destruction. Let us switch to safer and cleaner energy alternatives such as solar, wind, and water. Let us plant more trees to absorb more carbon dioxide from the air and to help cool this planet.

Let us protect our planet Earth. Let us oppose all geoengineering manipulations such as HAARP, chemtrails, cloud whitening, and cloud seeding that may dangerously alter the delicate balance of our natural environment.

Our lives and the lives of our children and grandchildren are at stake. Let us help each other and work together to minimize global warming. Let us make this Earth a better place to live.

Global Warming: The Pros and Cons

Is our planet Earth really undergoing global warming or not?

The issue of global warming is a little bit confusing. Some scientists say it’s global warming, and others say it’s global cooling. Which one is true?

In a layman’s simple understanding, global warming is real. He may not have a knowledge of meteorology nor understand scientific jargons, but he feels the reality of hot temperatures brought about by pollutants in the air.

The authorities on whom we ought to depend and be accurately informed about global warming are themselves in disarray and not united in one opinion. Scientists are widely divided on issues regarding climate change.

Some scientists believe that the Earth is undergoing global cooling rather than warming. Others believe there is neither global warming nor cooling. Few believe that global warming is a natural process, and there is nothing to worry about it. Most believe global warming is caused by man-made carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere, but more do not agree with them.

The global warming issue is a big problem. The problem is not only one of uncomfortable hot temperatures, but also of confusion as to what to believe from whom. Scientists are disputing and refuting each other’s opinion and are not agreed on data presented and on other vital issues. They have heated debates at Copenhagen Summit, and adjourned without agreeing on anything. This is an exercise in futility that wastes time, efforts, and money. The problem solvers have become the problems themselves.

For people staying in tropical and other countries hit by severe droughts, and experiencing high temperatures,  global warming is real. But for people from countries in temperate zones and polar regions who are chilling under the extreme coldness, global warming is sheer nonsense.

But global warming is real in other countries. The droughts are severe, the lands are arid, and plants are withered and grasses are scorched. The waters are dried up, and the cattle are starved and emaciated. The day temperatures are extremely hot, and the nights are uncomfortably warm and unbearable.

How come it’s freezing at the other side of the globe? Is it simply due to the alternate exposure to the sun and to the tilt of Earth’s axis? Do the inhabitants at the other hemisphere not feel the intense climate change going on in other parts of the globe?

The extreme coldness being felt by people in temperate countries and polar regions might be related to global warming indeed. It might be coming from the meltdowns of sea ice, iceberg, glaciers, permafrost and snow. Obviously, these bodies of solid water will not melt if there is no unusual extreme temperature from global warming.

And this has a double effect. White surfaces such as sea ice, glacier, permafrost, and snow have higher albedos that effectively reflect solar radiations reaching the Earth’s surfaces. When they melt due to global warming, this reflectivity is greatly reduced allowing more heat from the sun to be absorbed.

People at the poles do not feel this heat directly. What they’re experiencing now is the coldness from ice meltdown caused by these heat. This condition is exacerbated by the diminishing of these reflective white surfaces due to meltdown caused by global warming. These people will feel the heat directly when all the ice are gone.

In 2007, the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) presented their Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) on global warming. This report was made through the cooperation of 2,500 scientists from 130 countries engaged by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

The report stated that the Earth is indeed undergoing global warming caused by greenhouse effect due to emissions of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. And it pinpointed anthropogenic or man-made carbon dioxide emissions as the biggest causative factor of global warming.

It also showed that the permafrost in Siberia, the sea ice, iceberg, glaciers, and snow at the poles are thawing, and the massive ice sheets of Greenland and those between it and West Antarctica  are also melting at fast pace. It is predicted that these meltdowns can increase the sea level which may inundate most coastal cities around the world.

According to this report, the bodies of water are becoming hotter and acidic due to carbon dioxide absorption, and this caused dead zones in coastal waters, and destroyed coral reefs and marine lives. This heating up of bodies of water due to carbon dioxide uptake, and the high atmospheric temperature will cause massive releases of methane from ocean beds and from underneath melting permafrost respectively which may trigger a devastating rundown climate change.

The report also pointed out that the increase in atmospheric temperature due to greenhouse effect is causing severe droughts and rapid desertification of large areas in some parts of the globe. These high temperatures will cause stronger tornadoes, cyclones, and typhoons that may wreck havoc and destructions to farms, livestocks, properties and human lives.

But a former adviser to Margaret Thatcher, Christopher Monckton revealed that the computer models used by IPCC were pre-programmed with overstated values resulting to 500-2000% overstatement of carbon dioxide’s effect on temperature. According to him, the results from all 5 computer models did not matched with the actual data gathered through radiosondes and satellites, and this strengthened the belief of dissenters that anthropogenic carbon dioxide emission is not the cause of global warming.

Some scientist alleged that the data presented in IPCC’s report about global warming are grossly flawed. They claimed that this pro global warming report was exclusively made through peer reviews done by scientists who were  either friendly, favorable, biased, or influenced by the authors of the report. And they suspected them of being paid and manipulated by influential people in some government agencies who have personal vested interests in global warming issues.

These scientists say that everything is happening as normal. According to them, global warming is a natural process that have always happened in all climate changes in the past, and this will eventually return to normal as time pass by.

They based their hypothesis on data taken from fossils of previous eras. They say that the increase in Earth’s temperature is even lesser now compared to climate changes in the past, and the concentrations of greenhouse gases are much lower now than before. In fact, they said that half a billion years ago, the concentration of carbon dioxide was 7 thousand parts per million per volume which is 18 times higher than at present.

They say that the inundations of coastal cities due to sea ice meltdown are highly improbable, and that the highest level of water attainable due to the meltdown of all ice sheets between West Antarctica and Greenland is only a minimal 2.5 inches! They are confident that the massive ice sheets of Greenland are stable enough against any meltdown as it had already survived 3 interglacial periods in the past at temperatures 5 times higher than today, and at a carbon dioxide concentration  of 1000 parts per million per volume compared to 390 ppmv at present.

There are still many pros and cons to the global warming issues. Scientists from both sides have their theories, data and evidences to prove and defend their stance. They have been wrangling in almost all summits, and have not reach a consensus of opinion on climate change yet.

Some of the arguments of the dissenting group might be plausible, but these do not consider the destructive effects of global warming on animals and human lives. It is very obvious that we will suffocate at a carbon dioxide concentration of 1000 parts per million per volume, and we will all die at temperatures 5 times greater than today!

Why waste time proving something that does not directly concern the safety of human lives? Greenland might have survived all those interglacial periods, but animals did not. And there were no human beings half a billion years ago. It’s useless discussing irrelevant issues that do not concern the safety of the lives of people. What matters most is the safe preservation of human lives during this precarious climate change.

The opponents of global warming hypothesis ridicule its proponents as alarmists. These scientists believe that carbon dioxide is not a pollutant, but a nutrient for plants that sustain life on Earth. They are not worried about carbon dioxide buildup in sea water that destroys coral reefs and marine lives, nor of the possible massive release of methane from thawing permafrost and from oceans’ beds. They say everything is happening as normal, and the best thing to do is to do nothing.

Let us pray and hope that their assumptions are correct. No one was there when those previous climate changes happened. Nobody knows exactly what happened during those eras to be able to say with certainty that it is normally safe, and nothing bad will happen to this planet Earth. What if something bad really happens, and we’re caught unaware?

It is indeed very possible that something bad can happen. We were taught at schools that animals became extinct because of those cataclysmic climate changes in the past. Shall we be blind to these facts and not consider them seriously? Shall we be ignorantly complacent, and suffer the same fate later?

Scientists are not united in their opinions about global warming. Some of them can be right and others wrong. It might be true that the computer models used to determine the effects of carbon dioxide emissions on global warming were pre-programmed with overstated values, and it could be possible as well that the data gathered through radiosondes and satellites were flawed. The devices themselves were good and efficient, but some variables and other factors were perhaps missing during those times when the data were taken.

This suspicion is inevitable considering that there is an inescapable truth as glaring as the sun that there is indeed a climate change being felt around the world at present. To say outright with certainty that there is no global warming based on facts from comparisons of data is not completely reliable. We cannot dismiss the fact that there is indeed a global warming going on, unless we pretend to be insensible to scorching heat or dead to feel nothing at all.

Let us use our common sense. Shall we say there is no global warming just because the data said so, even if our skins are burned, and the lands are parched and plants are withered and dying? It could be possible that our assumptions are wrong, for why should people feel these extreme temperatures if there is no global warming at all?

Let us think it over and consider this problem with impartiality. Let us relax a little bit from our rigid scientific rigors, step backward, and see the problem from outside the frame. It could be that we are poring over it very closely that we are unable to see the truth clearly.

As humans, our knowledge are limited, and we are liable to commit mistakes. Our sciences are not exact, and our computations are not always accurate. Our experiments are conducted in limited closed systems, and their results are bound to be wrong. We cannot always say with absolute certainty that something is correct based on data, research, and experiments.

We have a duty and a responsibility to our country and fellowmen. At this time when no one can ascertain if it is global warming or cooling, we need to pool our knowledge and efforts to study this problem seriously without bias or prejudice. I believe our scientists can do it, as they have successfully done in the past.

Anthropic coincidence is one of the many tangible proofs of God’s amazing love for man. The whole universe and all the things in it – space, time, events and conditions were created by God with man’s comfort and well being as its sole purpose.

Astrophysicist and other scientists call this incredible phenomenon as anthropic principle. In the whole universe, scientists have counted more than 150 anthropic coincidences or principles. These coincidences are interrelated with each other in precise accuracy, such that if one of these is not true, all the others are not true. And if all of them are not true, then the universe and all in it is not true and nonexistent.

This makes these principles or coincidences beyond refutation for the simple reason that if it is false, then I do not exist. But I do exist, and all of us as well. All of these is simply because God loves us so much as a priceless masterpiece of all His creations.

What are these coincidences or principles?

Let us start from the most basic coincidence: the precise complex composition of the air we breathe. Man has greatly benefited from this since the inception of his life in the fetus. Long before the brain developed and the heart started to beat, life was supported by the air which God has so accurately made for man.

Air is chiefly composed of nitrogen, 78 percent, and oxygen, 21 percent. It also contains argon, carbon dioxide, neon, helium, methane, krypton, ozone, and water vapor. Had the air composition been altered a little bit, life on this planet would have not existed.

Another mysterious coincidence is the formation, and arrangement of the innumerable stars and other heavenly bodies in the whole universe. We studied in Physics that they are held in place by gravity, a force exerted by particles called gravitons with a pull equivalent to a gravitational constant that applies to all heavenly bodies proportional to their masses and distances between them.

In our solar system, the planets are so arranged precisely in its respective orbits as to prevent  collisions. The distance between the Earth and the Sun is so precise that altering it would bring untold disasters and upheavals. Ninety three million miles from the Sun is so accurate, that a few hundred miles farther or nearer would freeze or scorch the Earth and all life in it respectively.

Even the distance and position of the Sun in the Milky Way is incredibly accurate relative to the other heavenly bodies in the galaxy. Milky Way is a spiral galaxy,and our Sun is near the edge of the spiral and a little bit far from its center as if safely cuddled in the bossom of God. Had it been nearer to the center, our Sun would have been instantly swallowed up by blackholes into nothingness, and had it been nearer the edge of the spiral, our Sun would have been catapulted to its destruction in the outer fringes of the galaxy.

These are just a few among hundreds of wonderful phenomenon that show God’s love and care for man. Other questions besides anthropic coincidences could be: Why is the water we drink is liquid and fluid?, and why is the food we eat is soft and palatable?

We can study biochemistry, and all the sciences to search the answers to the above questions. We can analyze the compositions and crystal structures of water and food, but the knowledge we can gain from it is so insignificant compared to its truest essence that we shall have barely scratched its surface. No matter how deep we dig, in the end we can only say that the answers are hidden mysteriously in the mind of an omniscient God.

What is chlorophyll?

I remember coming across this word chlorophyll during my elementary school days. My teacher in Science taught us that chlorophyll is the green pigment in the leaves of plants.

Why is chlorophyll very important?

We understood chlorophyll  as the green pigment in plant that is very vital in photosynthesis. We learned that plants converts carbon dioxide to organic compound such as sugar by the use of  energy from sunlight, releasing oxygen as a waste product. This is  the oxygen given off by plants that comprises the air we breathe to live.

What makes chlorophyll very vital in photosynthesis?

One of the two primary functions of chlorophyll is to absorb light and to transfer this light energy through resonance energy transfer to a specific chlorophyll pair in the reaction center of the photosystems. Photosystems are pigment proteins embedded in thylakoid membranes of chloroplasts in plants. It is in and around these pigment proteins that chlorophyll molecules are specifically arranged.

Chloroplasts are organelles in plant cells that conduct photosynthesis. It is this chloroplast that captures light energy to conserve free energy in the form of ATP,  and reduce NADP to NADPH through photosynthesis. In the stroma of chloroplasts are stacks of thylakoid membranes where this photosynthesis takes place.

Why is chlorophyll  green?

The color of chlorophyll is due to its selectivity in the absorption of light wavelengths from sunlight. Chlorophyll absorbs more strongly the blue and the red of the electromagnetic spectrum, and less of the green, thus the green color of chlorophyll-containing tissues such as plant leaves.

What is so important about chlorophyll?

Chlorophyll is not only vital in the process of photosynthesis, but is also very essential to our health. The molecular structure of chlorophyll is almost similar to hemin of the hemoglobin of human blood. Scientists noted that the chemical composition of chlorophyll is similar to that of the human blood. The only difference of chlorophyll and the hemin is their central component: chlorophyll has magnesium at its center, while hemin has iron. Scientists found out that the magnesium in chlorophyll is converted to iron during assimilation in the body, and they are unable to explain why.

Chlorophyll has many health benefits. It is a rich source of vitamin A, vitamin B complex, vitamin C, and vitamin E. Chlorophyll contains minerals such as potassium, sodium, magnesium, selenium, zinc, calcium, and iron. Chlorophyll contains 17 amino acids. It has antioxidants that neutralize the harmful effects of free radicals in the body.

Chlorophyll is a powerful liver detoxifier. It cleanses and purifies the blood. Chlorophyll has anti-inflammatory, and wound-healing properties. It was found out in some studies that chlorophyll has anti-carcinogenic properties, and may be used to treat liver cancer and other forms of cancer.

The following are the other health benefits of chlorophyll:

• it removes toxic heavy metals in the body
• it cleanses the digestive tract
• it lowers high blood pressure
• it lowers blood sugar level
• it eliminates bad breath, and reduces the odors of urine, feces, and wounds
• it increases oxygen utilization by the body
• it rebuilds , replenishes, and increases the red blood cells in the body
• it blocks the metabolism of harmful toxins that can damage DNA
• it breaks down calcium oxalates or kidney stones for elimination

The health benefits of chlorophyll are indeed many. Besides strengthening and boosting the immune system, chlorophyll cleanses the body at the cellular level. The health benefits of chlorophyll disprove the unfounded allegation that a vegetarian diet is deficient in vitamin B12, and vegetarians are anemic and sickly.

Spirulina and some seaweeds are good sources of vitamin B12, and vegetables rich in cobalt help the body to produce its own vitamin B12. The magnesium in chlorophyll itself is converted to iron during assimilation, and helps rebuild, replenish and increase the red blood cells in the body.

With the nutritious chlorophyll in green leafy vegetables, we can safely say that a vegetarian diet is the best diet for man. It is not only complete and balanced, but safer and healthy too.