Global warming

Global warming is caused by the build up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere such as carbon dioxide and methane, which form a sort of blanket over the Earth, trapping in heat that would normally escape the atmosphere. The leading greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide, a pollutant emitted from the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and natural gas. While it is true that there has always been some natural climate variability, record levels of carbon dioxide are having a far reaching change over our weather, sea levels, and climate.

Throughout ice ages, higher concentrations of carbon dioxide have correlated with higher temperatures. Humans are exacerbating global temperatures through industrial activity which dramatically increases carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere. In its recent report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change found that 2005 carbon dioxide levels significantly exceed average concentration levels over the past 650,000 years.

Solutions to global warming - renewable energy, energy efficiency and new environmentally sound technologies - already exist. The latest report from the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) confirms that hundreds of technologies are now available, at very low cost, to reduce climate damaging emissions, and that government policies need to remove the barriers to these technologies.Implementing these solutions will enable people to usher in a new era of energy, one that will bring economic growth, new jobs, technological innovation and, most importantly environmental protection.However, for green solutions to global warming to find a foothold in the market, governments and corporations need to shift away from polluting technology. In most industrial countries, conventional electricity is heavily subsidised, and the negative environmental impacts of its production are not reflected in the cost to end-users.The time has come for us end our addiction to fossil fuels and other climate damaging technologies. Here you can discover how clean renewable energies, like wind, solar, bioenergy, hydroelectric and other sources can combine to create a clean energy revolution.

In order to stop global warming, many countries are showing their action. The Kyoto Protocol set out specific commitments by individual developed countries to reduced emissions by an average of 5.2% below 1990 levels by the period 2008-2012. However, it would take three further meetings until the "Marrakesh Accords" were agreed, which provide sufficient detail on the procedures for pusuing objectives set out in the Kyoto Protocol.

There are many non-government organization are also putting their effort to help our earth. Greenpeace is one of them. Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning organisation that acts to change attitudes and behaviour, to protect and conserve the environment and to promote peace.

Post 1- Engineering Analysis

In people’s mind, engineering analysis involves searching an equation that fits for a problem, substitute numbers into equation and ‘turning a crank’ to generate the answer. The process of analysis relies heavily on mathematics and physics, people usually think it is tedious. Actually, the engineering analysis is more than what the people usually think it as. Engineering analysis requires logical and systematical thinking about the engineering problem; it means dealing with a problem step by step and correct method. In engineering course, we heard a word ‘troubleshoot’ quite frequently. I think it also can be used in the area other than engineering field.
For troubleshooting, the engineer must first be able to state the problem clearly, logically and concisely. The engineer must understand the physical behavior of the system being analyzed and know which scientific principle to apply. In other field, such as banking industry, it may be the financial system and accounting principle, the method is not limited in engineering area. Then he or she has to apply the correct tool and method, and know how to implement. Engineer must generate a solution which is consistent with the stated problem and any simplifying assumption. Finally, they must ascertain that the solution is reasonable and contains no errors.
Therefore, I think the course trained us those engineering analysis method is a way to systematically analyze complex information and apply a holistic approach in designing solutions, and the way is not only limited in engineering field as well as in other area.