Polar Bear at Risk of Extinction - GW

  
Perfectly at home in one of the world's most forbidding environments, polar bears spend their summers roaming the Arctic on large chunks of floating ice. They drift for hundreds of miles, finding mates, hunting for seals and fattening themselves up for the winter. Without these thick rafts of sea ice, the world's largest bear could not survive. Yet at this moment, the polar bear's Arctic habitat is literally melting away beneath it due to global warming.

Over the past three decades, more than a million square miles of sea ice -- an area the size of Norway, Denmark and Sweden combined -- has disappeared. Scientists predict that, if the current rate of global warming continues, most, if not all, of the bears' summer sea ice will be gone by 2100. As a result, the world's polar bears could face global extinction by the end of this century.

In May 2006, the threat of global warming to polar bears prompted the IUCN-World Conservation Union, one of the world's leading environmental bodies, to add the bears to its "Red List" of threatened wildlife. Classified as "vulnerable," which is defined by the IUCN as a species facing a "high risk of extinction in the wild," the worldwide population of roughly 20,000 polar bears could decline more than 30 percent over the next 45 years.

Already, the ice on the southern edge of the polar bear's range is melting about three weeks earlier than in the past. The loss of those critical weeks leaves the bears less time to hunt, eat and store up fat. As a result of early melting, there has been a 14 percent decline in the western Hudson Bay polar bear population over the past ten years -- a decline clearly caused by global warming.

In addition, a growing number of polar bears may be drowning as they are forced to swim more often, and for longer distances, in search of ice sheets. According to a report by the U.S. Minerals Management Service, researchers observed four dead polar bears floating 60 miles off Alaska in September 2004 and said it was likely that many other bears swimming far offshore also drowned.

Under pressure from an NRDC lawsuit, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has agreed to consider protecting the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act –- and announced it will make a preliminary decision in December 2006. If the agency proposes federal protection, NRDC will rapidly mobilize millions of Americans during the public comment period on behalf of a final decision that protects the polar bear. But if these crucial safeguards are denied, we will immediately challenge the agency's decision in federal court.

To help protect the polar bear, please revisit this page in early January, when the newly elected Congress takes office, and send a message urging your senators and representative to save the polar bear's Arctic habitat. In the meantime, you can support our ongoing campaign of public pressure to save these majestic bears by making a gift to NRDC's BioGems Initiative.

http://www.savebiogems.org/polar/

A September 2005 report revealed that the polar ice cap has shrunk by more than 20 percent since 1979, losing an area the size of Colorado in the preceding year alone.

Too much rain - Weather Pattern Change!

Peoples lost their homes, property, their life and more then that - their future! The Global Warming has show their mighty. We can feel it coming. More nature event coming up everyday. What can we do? We destroy our own world? That what happen to the ice-edge? Our world renewing itself. Let's stop this. We are human. We can think the way! CHEERS!

This pic taken at the west Malaysia town called Kota Tinggi. I used to stop at this town for breakfast during my fishing trip at Pulau Dayang. I can't imagine the flood is so serious!

Antarctica Erupts!

Antarctica Erupts!A trip to Mount Erebus yields a rare, close-up look at one of the world’s weirdest geological marvels
By Laura HelmuthPhotographs by George Steinmetz
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George Steinmetz was drawn to Mount Erebus, in Antarctica, by the ice. The volcano constantly sputters hot gas and lava, sculpting surreal caves and towers that the photographer had read about and was eager to see. And though he'd heard that reaching the 12,500-foot summit would be an ordeal, he wasn't prepared for the scorching lava bombs that Erebus hurled at him.
Steinmetz, 49, specializes in photographing remote or harsh places. You're almost as likely to find him in the Sahara as at his home in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. Thanks to his expedition to Erebus last year, funded by the National Science Foundation, he's one of the few photojournalists to document up close one of the world's least-seen geological marvels. Most of his photographs were taken during the soft twilight that passes for night during the polar summer.


The flanks of Erebus are spiked with ice towers, hundreds of them, called fumaroles. Gas and heat seeping through the side of the volcano melt the snowpack above, carving out a cave. Steam escaping from the cave freezes as soon as it hits the air, building chimneys as high as 60 feet.

The scientists who work on Mount Erebus say that its ice caves are every bit as much fun to explore as you might expect. But the scientists are more interested in the volcano's crater, with its great pool of lava—one of the few of its kind. Most volcanoes have a deep central chamber of molten rock, but it's typically capped by cooled, solid rock that makes the hot magma inaccessible. On Mount Erebus, the churning magma is exposed at the top of the volcano, in a roiling 1,700-degree Fahrenheit lake perhaps miles deep. "The lava lake gives us a window into the guts of the volcano," says Philip Kyle, a volcanologist at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology.

Mount Erebus looms over the United States' main research base in Antarctica, McMurdo Station, on Ross Island. Most of the year scientists monitor the volcano remotely, gathering data from seismometers, tilt meters, GPS signals, video cameras and microphones. They helicopter the 20 miles from McMurdo to Erebus at the beginning of the six-week field season, which lasts from mid-November to early January, when the temperature on the mountain can reach a balmy -5 degrees. Still, winds can whip at 100 miles per hour, and blizzards and whiteouts are common. The researchers often get stuck in their research camp—two 16- by 24-foot huts at 11,400 feet elevation—waiting for the weather to clear. Out of the eight days that Steinmetz spent on the volcano, he was able to work for only two.

On their first clear day, Steinmetz and Bill McIntosh, also of New Mexico Tech, rode snowmobiles up to the crater's rim. As they headed back down, Mount Erebus spattered lava over the area they'd just explored. "It looked like shotgun blasts," says Steinmetz. "There were puffs of hot steam where the lava bombs hit." Kyle, who has been monitoring the volcano for more than 30 years, says it had recently broken a two-year quiet spell. Mount Erebus had started acting up in early 2005, and when scientists arrived it was erupting several times a day, each time ejecting 50 or so lava bombs.


The largest are about ten feet wide—great blobs of bubbly lava that collapse like failed soufflés when they land, some almost a mile away.
Erebus and the rest of the continent will come under more scrutiny than usual in 2007, as scientists head to the ends of the earth for the fourth International Polar Year since 1882. They'll try out new monitoring techniques, study how Antarctica and the Arctic influence worldwide weather, and probe what kind of life could exist in the extreme cold and winter-long dark of the poles.

Mount Erebus' ice caves are among the most promising places for undiscovered life in Antarctica. Though they grow or shrink depending on how much heat the volcano emits, inside they maintain a temperature of about 32 degrees. Says McIntosh: "The caves are wonderful because they're so warm."
George Steinmetz'sphotographs of Peruvian pyramids and Mexican cave paintings have appeared in Smithsonian. Senior editor Laura Helmuth specializes in science.

If you don't like GREEN!

Get the picture?

Do you like GREEN?

Earth will become MARS

This is a joke from my friends. But I think that his joke quite reasonable. What we know that our planet the CO2 level is increasing. If the CO2 level keep going up (95%) Earth will become MARS! So I called it planet EARTHMARS!

Plant a Tree for Green Christmas

Planting a Tree

Select a site that is in full sun. Dig the hole twice as wide as the root ball (container), and no deeper than the height of the root ball. The soil that you dig out of the hole is what you use to backfill around the root ball. No soil amendments are recommended when planting a tree; therefore, no compost, peat moss, or shredded pine bark should be added to the backfill.

After planting the tree, build a 4-inch tall berm around the edge of the hole. Fill the berm with a mulch (i.e. shredded bark, compost). The mulch and berm make it easier to water the tree and reduce weed competition.

For most trees, staking is not recommended; however, if the tree trunk is not sturdy enough, use two stakes, one on either side of the tree, and give the trunk support for the first year only. Below are diagrams of a typical tree planting.

Right after planting, water the tree in by filling the bermed basin with water. This will settle the existing soil around the root ball. For the first week after planting, lightly water the tree every day (about one pint of water each day). The second week, water every other day with about one quarter of water. During week three, water every third day with two quarters of water. Week four and beyond, water once a week if needed. The goal is to wean the tree slowly off of supplemental irrigation, and get the root system large enough for the tree to thrive on natural rainfall.

REMEMBER: These are just guidelines. Use your index finger to check the soil moisture under the mulch. If the soil is cool to the touch, do not water. If it is warm and dry, then water. More plants are killed by over-watering than by under-watering.

with friends

with family

with your mates

with panda (so cute)

Understanding Global Warming

The simple way!

The term "global warming" is a specific case of the more general term "climate change" (which can also refer to "global cooling," such as occurs during ice ages). In principle, "global warming" is neutral as to the causes, but in common usage, "global warming" generally implies a human influence. However, the UNFCCC uses "climate change" for human-caused change, and "climate variability" for other changes [8]. Some organizations use the term "anthropogenic climate change" for human-induced changes. Also, "global warming" may refer to both the observed and the predicted warming.

Causes
- Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere
- Alternative hypotheses
- The solar variation theory

Expected effects
- Effects on ecosystems
- Effect on glaciers Miniature rock glaciers
- Destabilization of ocean currents
- Sea level rise and environmental refugees
- Spread of disease
- Financial effects
- Biomass production
- Opening up of the Northwest Passage in summer
- Further global warming (positive feedback)

Can we preserve this place forever? GLOBAL WARMING attacking our world!

Things you can do today to reduce Global Warming

Take Action!

There are many things you can do in your daily life that can have an effect on your immediate surrounding, and on places as far away as Antarctica. Here is a list of things that you can do to make a difference.
There are many things you can do today to reduce your own adding to on this problem!

Tropical Tree Growth Slowed
Other big changes are being monitored in the tropics, too. Data on tree growth, tropical air temperatures and CO2 readings collected over 16 years indicate that a warming climate may cause the tropical forests to give off more carbon dioxide than they take up. This would upset the common belief that tropical forests are always a counterbalance to carbon, taking huge amounts out of the atmosphere. The study, by Deborah and David Clark of the La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica, and Charles Keeling and Stephen Piper of the Scripps Institution, reports that rainforest trees grow much more slowly in warmer nighttime temperatures, which is a hallmark of climate change in the tropics.
Tropical Tree Charles Keeling

Landscaping Your Home for Energy Efficiency
In Winter, by maximizing solar heating while deflecting winds away from your home; andin Summer by maximizing shading while funneling breezes toward your home. [Source]

Buy a Hybrid Car
The average driver could save 16,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $3,750 per year driving a hybrid.

Buy a Fuel Efficient
CarGetting a few extra miles per gallon makes a big difference. Save thousands of lbs. of carbon dioxide and a lot of money per year.

Carpool When You Can
Own a big vehicle? Carpooling with friends and co-workers saves fuel. Save 790 lbs. of carbon dioxide and hundreds of dollars per year.

Inflate Your Tires
Keep the tires on your car adequately inflated. Save 250 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $840 per year.
Change Your Air Filter
Check your car's air filter monthly. Save 800 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $130 per year.

Reduce Garbage
Buy products with less packaging and recycle paper, plastic and glass. Save 2,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide per year.Composting helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the number of trips trucks must make to the landfill as well as the amount of methane released by our landfills.

Use Recycled Paper
Make sure your printer paper is 100% post consumer recycled paper. Save 5 lbs. of carbon dioxide per ream of paper.

Buy Minimally Packaged Goods
Less packaging could reduce your garbage by about 10%. Save 1,200 pounds of carbon dioxide and $1,000 per year.

Unplug Un-used Electronics
Even when electronic devices are turned off, they use energy. Save over 1,000 lbs of carbon dioxide and $150 per year.

Plant a Tree!
Trees provide a microclimate and sustained moisture for you. Trees suck up carbon dioxide and make clean air for us to breath. Save 2,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide per year.

p.s. "If every single person in this world plant a tree, there will be heaven on earth."