Warning: The Most Surprising Effects of Global Warming

The wellness and wellbeing of the environment is in jeopardy, and this is having all kinds of effects on the way that we live our lives, many of which you may well not be aware of.

 

For example, did you know that your groceries are probably costing more because of the environment? Due to the North American Drought in 2012 (caused by low snowfall followed by extreme heat), around 80 percent of the agricultural land in America suffered. This has affected soybean crops, corn and both dairy and meat products. This has translated directly into a 2.5 to 3.5 percent increase in the price of food in the United States.

 

Clothing prices could also be on the increase as a result. Environmentalists are aware that textile production and overconsumption could lead to an increase in clothing prices. The depletion of the natural materials used to make clothes, along with the carbon emissions that the factories that make them cause are both taking a big toll on the planet. A group of scientists recently predicted that by around 2025, factories would have to start growing textiles to make clothes from bacterial cellulose, a compound produced from bacteria. Not a nice thought!

 

Speaking of bacteria, your chances of infection are now higher than ever before. Temperatures in Northern areas have continued to increase, leading insects to migrate to areas that they would not before have entered, and bringing illness and disease with them. Incidences of Lyme disease have almost doubled in Maine, and have risen twelve-fold in Vermont. Climate change also means that infectious agents transmit more easily from animals to humans.

 

It’s hitting you in your pocket too – insurance rates are going up because of the increase in weather-related disasters such as Superstorm Sandy and Hurricane Katrina.

Categories: clothing, clothing prices, environment, global, increase, nbsp, percent, prices, warming

Why Better Oil Prices Could Be Key to Saving Environment

The key to environmental wellness could lie within the oil and gas sector, which have the power to impose tougher controls on the emissions of greenhouse gasses. Unfortunately, for this to occur, Canada needs to be able to charge a much higher price for oil.

The extra revenue that this would generate would mean that the sector was able to deal with stronger government controls on emissions, which would be a strong way forward for the wellbeing of the planet.

Oil and gas companies would also be able to use this money to invest in cutting edge technology to help tackle the massive global problem of pollution.

Canadian crude oil currently falls a long second to American oil, but there are proposals for Keystone XL pipeline as a way forward to ensure that the Canadian oil commands the respect that it deserves.

Canadian crude is currently sold in the U.S. for a fluctuating prices, but the price that it commands is substantially less than what oil normal fetches on the global market. Installing a new pipeline from Canada to the coast in Texas would give the market place better access to the Alberta oil.

It is a complex issue, however, as environmentalists the world over are suspicious of the proposed Keystone XL pipe, believing that it represents increased greenhouses gasses emitting from Canada in the future.

This has led to further delays on the project, the decision on which has now been delayed until the summer of this year.

Ottawa is also lobbying for better market access for its oil. The sector promises that plans are well underway for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, thus making the deal positive for the environment, rather than negative.

Categories: emissions, oil, prices