Dealing with climate change - Green Mark program

Updates from climate change sg on facebook: Singapore’s “Green Mark” program aims to cover 80% of its buildings by 2030 could see a reduction in building electricity use of 22% and net economic savings of over US$400 million. 
Learn more about 2015 climate plan @ http://bit.ly/1fiX5P8 





Climate change impact on cities are greater due to the increasing influx of people and the infrastructure development. Read more about it @ http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/asias-coastal-megacities-at-natures-mercy 29 Aug 2015

Deforestation contributes to climate change as forests store carbon while acting as a filter taking the heat-trapping carbon dioxide gas out of the atmosphere.  According to a study by the Washington-based centre for Global Development, tropical forests covering an area nearly the size of India are set to be destroyed in the next 35 years, a faster rate of deforestation than previously thought. If current trends continue, tropical deforestation will add 169 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere by 2050, the equivalent of running 44,000 coal-fired power plants for a year according to the study.
Source:  http://www.straitstimes.com/world/tropical-forests-the-size-of-india-set-to-be-lost-by-2050

A good article on the cause and effects of global warming:  http://planetsave.com/2009/06/07/global-warming-effects-and-causes-a-top-10-list/

Global Warming Cause:
1. Carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel burning power plants
2.Carbon dioxide emissions from burning gasoline for transportation
3. Methane emissions from animals,  
 4. Deforestation, especially tropical forests for wood, pulp, and farmland and thus more Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. 
5. Increase in nitrogen oxides from the increased usage of chemical fertilizers on croplands 

Global Warming Effect: 
1. Rise in sea levels worldwide
2. More killer storms
3. Massive crop failures

Here are some common misconceptions about climate change highlighted by National Climate Change Secretariat for the National Climate Change competition 2015 -https://ncccsg.wordpress.com/ 

Global warming vs climate change 
These two terms are often used interchangeably, but they have different meanings. Global warming refers to the increase in the Earth’s average temperature. Climate change, on the other hand, does not only refer to global changes in temperatures, it also refers to changes in weather patterns due to rising temperatures over a long period of time. Climate change brings about more occurrences of heat waves, droughts and heavy rainfall in various parts of the world. 

Littering 
While being environmentally-friendly can help to address climate change, littering does not cause climate change. Climate change is caused by the burning of fossil fuels that releases greenhouse gases (such as carbon dioxide) into the atmosphere when energy is produced. It certainly is not caused by the irresponsible act of littering. Recycling, on the other hand, keeps litter off the ground and is a way to address climate change because it requires less energy to recycle materials such as paper, metal and glass as compared to making them from scratch. 

Ozone depletion 
The depletion of the ozone layer and global warming is not the same thing, and neither is one the cause of the other. The ozone hole is caused by human-produced chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), while global warming is caused by excess greenhouse gases produced by human activities released in the atmosphere. 

Carbon monoxide 
Carbon monoxide is an air pollutant, and can cause harm to our health. Although it contains one part carbon, similar to carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change), carbon monoxide is not a direct contributor to climate change.

Interesting interactive map on carbon emission and impacts: http://www.carbonmap.org/#

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