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THE CARBON TRACK El Mundo, Natura supplement, 10 of November of 2007 The CO2 is, like the calories, necessary
for our survival, but in excess it could alter the climate increasing the
conservatory effect natural with the undesired consequence of global heating
of the atmosphere. Lately this problem has been enlarged in such a way that
it has given rise to the agreement of reduction of these emissions of Kioto
in 1998, that forces the different industrialized signatory countries which
are the great majority
and many developing ones, adding a total of 175, with the
exception of the U.S.A. that has retired it under the mandate of present
president George Bush after the signature of its predecessor Bill Clinton. In
particular, The climatic change is a global phenomenon but that as much has its origin in the great polluting actions of the companies like in the small ones of the consumers. To drive a car, buy household-electric appliances, use apparatuses that spend electricity, etc., are all of them acts that generate a carbon track, that is to say, that contributes something in the temperature ascent of the surface of the planet. At the moment it is in rows this concept, "carbon track", which can be measure of different ways, so and as can be read in different webs in the network com, for example: It is the computer of the "track of the carbon" that offers the official page of the European Commission. It indicates of detailed form of the daily habits that produce more gas discharges of effect conservatory. Page in English language that, besides to calculate the carbon track, offers practical advice for the reduction of the emissions in the daily life. www.safeclimate.net/calculator Site that calculates the carbon track having as basic criteria the transport and the domestic power consumption. http://www.usctcgateway.gov/tool/ English Web in which the CO2 can be turned in measures easier to understand, as the gallons of gasoline or the annual consumption of light. Institute for the Diversification and Saving Energy of Spain. THE TEST Of CO2 TO CALCULATE THE INDIVIDUAL CARBON EMISSIONS PER YEAR presented in this number of Natura of the newspaper El País uses in general parameters facilitated by the Institute for the Diversification and Seving Energy (IDEA), and it takes shape in the following calculations: 1. - We warmed up the climate when we warmed up the house. To multiply the consumed cubic meters of gas in a year by 0,0023. The obtained result is it in tons. 2. - The electricity, an increasing cost. To multiply kWh consumed in a year by 0,00065. The obtained result is it in tons. 3. - In car to all sides. To multiply the amount of gasoline consumed in a year, litres, by 0,003. The obtained result is it in tons. . 4. - The vacations. To multiply the amount of CO2 generated by its flights in a year by0.00011 tons per kilometre. In order to calculate the emissions of the flights can be used the information that appears in the Web www.carbonneutral.com/flightcalculator.asp It is important to consider the emissions of the flights since a fort increase of this type of transport in the future is anticipated. 5. - The life train. In this last
parameter, the values proposed are exposed by the Briton George - If it acquires the last new features in technology or articles of consumption in general and is addict to the packaged food: register three tons of CO2. - If it likes to consume but you acquire new products normally only when you need them and if you make your purchase in the supermarket, you should write down two tons of CO2. - If you produce your own ecological products, only buys local products to reduce power cost and emissions
of transport, and if you recycle or reuse all the products that can, note
only Finally add all tons and kg of CO2 and compare the total with the following table: From one to
three tons: you emit little CO2, equivalent to the one of hermit or to the
one of an inhabitant of a country very little developed like From 3 to 6
tons: you are below the average of From 6 to 9 tons: it is the Spanish objective, according to the agreements of Kioto. From 9 to 12
tons: you are consuming in excess, but not yet it exceeds the average of
present From 12 to 15
tons: you are exceeding the average of From 18 to 21
tons: you are in the average of a citizen of the More than 21 tons: you are a criminal of carbon. If you have been scared of the number that has been from your individual emissions, a good measurement would be the decision to change the traditional tungsten light bulbs by one of the low consumption, choosing, if it can be, those of more duration (15,000 hours) with preference to those of smaller duration (3,000 hours). This is an effective measurement to the delay of the popularization of the futures leds, that already begin even to be observed in some electronic device and inclusive in some automobile.
SOME ABBREVIATIONS AND ORGANIZATIONS IN RELATION TO THE CLIMATICCHANGE Although of that to be spoken more is of CO2, exist other gases of effect conservatory (GEI), among them the water steam that, in spite of being one of most powerful, normally it is not considered at the time of making global calculations on the subject. In the protocol of Kioto the gases took shelter of following effect conservatory: carbon dioxide (CO2) the methane (CH4) that is 23 times more powerful molecule to molecule that the CO2; nitrous elóxido (NÒ); the perfluorocarbons (PFC); the hydrofluorocarbons (HFC); and hexafluorure of sulfide (SF6), that warms up 22,200 times more than CO2 molecule to molecule. Thus, carbon dioxide in fact is less powerful if we considered a single molecule, but it is, with difference, the most abundant, reason why it represents the main problem. The day 17 of November IPCC finish publishing the third report on the climatic change elaborated by the Intergubernamental Panel for Climatic Change (IPCC), after the other two already emitted throughout the present year. These abbreviations designate to the committee of experts jointly created by World-wide Meteorological Organization (OMM) and the Program of United Nations for the Environment (UNEP) in 1988.. The Protocol of Kioto is an international treaty that had its origin in 1997 from the Convention Frame for the Climatic Change of the United Nations. It is of binding character for the signatory countries committing these to reduce their emissions of effect conservatory for the period 2008-2012 with respect to year 1990. As an example
of the consequences that could cause this global heating we have a projection
of increase of temperatures for year 2050 with respect to the everage levels
of period 1971-2000, made by the atmospheric agency of the
NASA EARTH OBSERVTORY Next it is presented the already classic graph that at its moment popularized the exvicepresident of the U.S.A. Al Gore in which the great correlation that stands out lately exists between the vertiginous increase of the emissions of CO2 in the atmosphere and the increase of the temperature of this one. The measurements foresee that will be arrived at the tactically important point in 50 years.
Graph of the correlation between the emissions of carbon to the atmosphere and the increase of the temperature of this one (part 2ª)
Graph of the correlation between the emissions of carbon to the atmosphere and the increase of the temperature of this one (part 2ª) |
