Global Warming

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Global Warming

• L. David Roper
• Professor Emeritus of Physics
• Virginia Polytechnic Inst. St. Univ.
• roperld_at_vt.edu
• http//arts.bev.net/RoperLDavid

Global Warming may be the greatest challenge that
humans have encountered in the last 10,000 years.
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Global Dimming due to pollution by burning coal.
Global Dimming due to pollution by burning oil.
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Last 200 Years Earth Temperature and Population
Data
The root problem is too many people caused by the
availability of easy energy! Mother Nature will
take care of the problem if humans do not.
The rapid temperature increase is very similar
to the rapid world
population increase.
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The Medieval Warm Period was not warmer than
today!
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Farming began.
Next Ice Age should have started here.
The Climatic Optimum was not warmer than today!
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Projected sea-level rise into the future
1 meter
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1 Meter Sea-Level Rise in Miami Beach, Florida
http//www.architecture2030.org
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1000-Year Dust Bowl in Southwest United States
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Carbon-Dioxide Concentration for Last 60 Million
Years
These concentrations correlate well with
temperature.
The last time CO2 was 1000 ppmv was 40-million
years ago!
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We are only smelling the smoke nowthe fire
is yet to be seen!
Region of Disaster!
8C
Temperature CO2 are mutually reinforcing
(positive feedback).
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About 8 Gt/yr in 2006!
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Peak Oil
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Limit Due to Peak Fossil Fuels
Black curve fossil-fuels non-fossil fuels
emissions.Red points are measured data. Peak is
450 ppmv, in the disaster zone!
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Limit Due to Peak Fossil Fuels
Peak temperature is about 1.3C above 1700
temperature. It remains almost level for a long
time.
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Saturated Ocean Vegetation
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Saturated Ocean Vegetation
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Wild Card of Arctic Carbon Release
Half of Arctic carbon is released.Puts ppmv
well into disaster zone.
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Wild Card of Arctic Carbon Release
Peak temperature is about 1.8C above 1700
temperature and drops slightly.
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Saturation and Arctic Carbon Release
Over 1000 ppmv peak at 2150!!
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Saturation and Arctic Carbon Release
Dotted curve is for climate sensitivity changing
from 3 to 4 with time.
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Immediate Action Needed!

• Move to electric rail transportation for freight
  and mass people movement asap.
• Change personal transportation to biofueled
  plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles asap.
• Make biofuels using only biofuels.
• Build all new buildings with solar collectors and
  gardens on their roofs and with high energy
  efficiency.
• Do not build any more coal power plants.
• Use petroleum only for chemicals, not to burn.

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• Human-made Global Warming is challenging our
  Homo-sapiens brain to recognize the truth of
  climate science, make plans to mitigate Global
  Warming and put the plans into action. We are
  having trouble doing all three.

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References

• http//www.roperld.com/science/GlobalWarmingpredic
  tion.htm
• http//www.roperld.com/science/GlobalWarmingMathem
  atics.htm
• http//www.roperld.com/science/sealevelvstemperatu
  re.htm
• http//www.roperld.com/science/GlobalIceMassLoss.h
  tm
• http//www.roperld.com/science/GlobalWarmingRoper.
  htm