12 Nov 2011
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November 12, 2011 admin

Tackling Climate Change through Standards

V.Balaram

National Geophysical Research Institute

(Council of Scientific and Industrial Research)

Hyderabad-500 606.

E-mail: balaram1951@yahoo.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need javascript enabled to view it

 Factors that can shape climate are often called climate forcings. These include such processes as variations in solar radiation, deviations in the Earth’s orbit, mountain-building and continental drift, and changes in greenhouse gas concentrations. There are a variety of climate change feedbacks that can either amplify or diminish the initial forcing. Some parts of the climate system, such as the oceans and ice caps, respond slowly in reaction to climate forcing because of their large mass. Therefore, the climate system can take centuries or longer to fully respond to new external forcings.Global warming is the increase in the average temperature of the Earth’s near-surface air and oceans since the mid-20th century and its projected continuation. Global surface temperature increased 0.74 ± 0.18 °C (1.33 ± 0.32 °F) during the last century. The atmosphere has become a dumping ground for all nations for pollution of all sorts. Some lasts a long time and is shared with all. One consequence is global warming. Several scientists have put in efforts to understand the effects of climate change during the last 25 years Dr. Albert Arnold Gore Jr. received Nobal Peace Prize in 2007  along with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), for their efforts to built up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change.World’s population explosion which would touch 9 billions mark in 2025,  is one of the major causes for this disastrous situation. Despite China being the most populus country in the world, it has succeded in cutting down the growth rate when compared to several other countries including India. We must work on this aspect in addition to our work on the improvement of basic infrastructural facilities such as providing safe drinking water, housing to all our people, providing good roads, electricity and schools to all our villages.The main greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmoshphere are water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and ozone. Human activities are causing greenhouse levels in atmosphere to increas. Industry, electric power generation, agriculture and transportation are the four top sources of greenhouse gases. This greenhouse gases  cover is traping the infrared radiation making the Earth to warm up which is  called golbal warming. The raising temperatures could have disastrous effects on ecosystems if these trends persist. Rapid increase in temperature would wipe out specis not able to to adopt quickly enough.  Polar ice caps could melt raising the sea levels and flooding  coastal cities.The Arctic is often called  Earth’s refrigerator becaues the sea ice helps to cool the planet by reflecting  the Sun’s radiation back into space.

With less ice, the Sun’s  warmth is instead absorbed by the open water, countributing  to warmer temperatures in the water and air. According to some recent studies (GRL 2009), the Arctic ice is melting so fast that most of it could be gone in 30 years. Experts and scientists agree to say that a dramatic climate change would have enormous developmental, economic, social and environmental stresses on our planet. The World Standards Day message is assigned by the leaders of the principal international standardization organizations. These organizations are coordinating their work to ensure that government, business and society are provided with the necessary tools to help combat global climate change and to support the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by increasing energy efficiency, while facilitating sustainable development and offer a system of standardization whose output includes standards for the following aspects of the fight against climate change:

 

  • Monitoring and measurement of greenhouse gas emissions
  • Measuring the carbon footprint of networks and products
  • Designing and building energy efficient homes and workplaces
  • Benchmarking for good practices including environmental and energy efficiency labeling
  • Promoting good practice for environmental management and design, and for energy management
  • Disseminating innovative technologies that promise to help reduce the effects of climate change
  • Fostering the introduction of new energy-efficient technologies and services."

International reference materials of various natures have an important and very critical role to play in the accurate estimation greenhouse gases and measuring the carbon foot print in the climate change studies, for example. The National Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad worked on the development of several geological and environmental reference materials and also executed several national and international projects related to this aspect. The institute is also working on innovative technologies to reduce the adverse effects of climate change. For example carbon dioxide sequestration studies are taken up in collaboration with several national and international organizationsAll of us must contribute towards achieving clean and green environment. There are several easy cost-effective ways to reduce greenhouse emissions and save money as well. For example, switching over to energy-efficient light bulbs and vehiclesd opening windows in summer and using air conditioning only on very hot days and using a clothes line for drying clothes and avoiding using clothes dryers where possible and saying ’no’ to plastic bags for shopping by taking your own reusable ones, paying bills and conducting business online as much as possible, etc.

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