Will Earth still be home for us in coming years?

GLOBAL WARMING!
Should you care?

Our planet is heating up and we are responsible

Unless we take steps NOW to curb global warming, our way of life, our future, and our family are all in GRAVE DANGER.

Whatisis Globalincrease of the Warming? Global Warming defined as the

temperature on Earth. As the Earth is getting hotter, disasters like hurricanes, droughts and floods are getting more frequent.

How it works?

When did the problem begin?

The problems began when human activities created & released more gases in the atmosphere than are necessary.

1: Burning natural gas, coal & oil raise the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere & accelerate the

2: Many factories produce longlasting gases that contribute to the global warming

3: Population growth accelerates global warming as more & more people use fuels for heat,

4:

Intensive farming leads to global warming Some farming practices & use of fertilizers
produce gases that trap heat more than Carbon Dioxide. For instance, Nitrous Oxide, found in pesticides can retain 300 times more heat than CO2.

To decrease your carbon footprint, you can start with your dinner Aplate. carbon footprint is a measure of the amount of
greenhouse gases produced by human activities.

A U.N. report found that 18 % of global warming emissions come from raising

chickens, cattle, pigs, & other animals for food.

That's about 40 % more than all the trucks, cars, planes & all the forms of transport (13%) and all the homes & offices

Meat industry consumes more environmental resources

It contributes to land degradation, climate change & air pollution, water shortage and water pollution. Animals such as cows & sheep emit huge amount of methane due to flatulence and burping. "The released methane", the scientists say, "has 23 times the global warming potential of CO2."

5: Sawing off the branch we are

sitting onis Choking the Deforestation

Earth. 34 million acres of trees, the size of Italy, are cut each year.

Forests are vital for absorbing & storing the world's carbon dioxide (CO2).
When trees are cut & burnt the damage is two-fold: * The world's capacity to absorb CO2 is reduced. * Large amounts of

Global warming will kill BILLIONS this Century

Green house gases can stay in the atmosphere for hundreds and thousands of years. Here are few DEADLIEST effects of global warming..

A:

Spread of infectious disease

Global Warming leads to 150,000 deaths every year

These numbers could double by 2020

As the globe warms, disease-carrying mosquitoes & rodents spread, infecting people. Outbreaks of Dengue fever, Malaria, Chikingunia, Allergies & Asthma

More Intense Hurricanes are on the Way

The oceans are getting warmer, stronger hurricanes & calamities like tsunami are getting more frequent.

Increased intensity of droughts & heat wave

D:

Economic consequences

Natural calamities do billions of money in damage & disease outbreaks cost money to treat and control.

E:

Polar ice caps are melting

Sea levels are rising

* There are 5,773,000 cubic miles of water in glaciers and if they melt today the seas would rise about 230 feet. * The ice caps are fresh water & when they melt they will desalinate the ocean, i.e. make it less salty. This effect will alter ocean currents causing unnatural weather conditions * Temperature rise will endanger several species of animals. * Ice caps reflect excess sunlight back into space to maintain favorable weather conditions. With the ice caps gone less energy will be reflected causing further temperature increase.

The oceans are like giant storage heater

Oceans trap heat and absorb Carbon dioxide. They are like time-bombs, masking the real effects of the Carbon dioxide we have been releasing into the atmosphere. Constant disturbance of the sea currents is a threat awaiting to unleash.

G:

We will lose drinking water

As sea levels rise, sea water will invade coastal groundwater, making it salty hence undrinkable.

Food will cost as much as gold

H:
The threat to future food supplies from climate change weighs heavily on an expected world population of 9 billion people by 2050.

India Climate Change Profile

Impact on Environment and Society
India is highly sensitive to climate change. The country faces more erratic & heavier monsoon patterns, more floods and droughts, and steadily shrinking Himalayan glaciers.

BOMBAY, WEST BENGAL, GUJRAT, BIHAR went under water.

What surprise does the next monsoon hold for us?

Is our blue planet turning DRY?

-Out of all the water on this planet, only 2.5% of it is freshwater. Most is derived from glaciers.
-Himalayan glaciers are receding by 10-15 meters per year.

-In India, the Gangotri glacier is receding at an average rate of 23 meters per year. year -This will first increase the volume of water in rivers causing, widespread flooding. Then in a few decades this situation will REVERSE and the water levels in rivers will

Coastal Flooding
A NASA high-tech aerial survey shows that Global warming is melting 50 billion tons of ice in a year from the Greenland ice sheet. This is increasing the likelihood of coastal flooding around the world.
Cities like Mumbai, Goa, Kerela & others are in danger.

How does an Individual make an IMPACT on the worlds biggest environmental problem? Working at the individual level,
stabilizing the climate is a challenge but not an impossible task. Climate scientists say that planting more and more trees are quick, easy and cheap ways to

-Reduce Global Warming -Improve the ground water level -Prevent soil erosion -Promote the ecosystem -Reduce pollution -Improve soil fertility

Why plant trees?

The Art of Living is a multi-faceted non-profit organization that offers lifetransforming programs in over 144 countries. It has undertaken many projects Past and continuing relief efforts include: out of which one is Tree plantation Earthquake in Chengdu, (China), Virginia Tech Campus Shootings (USA), to help reduce
GLOBAL Lebanon, Iraq and Israel), ReliefPostFloods Unrest (Kashmir, WARMING.
(Surat, Mumbai and Gujrat),TrainBlasts (London & Madrid), Beslan School Hostage Crisis (Russia), Tsunami (India & Sri Lanka), Hurricane Katarina & 9/11 Terror Attack USA Vidharbha Farmer Suicides (India),Relief in times ofWar &

The Invitation The Art of Living Foundation, The United Nations Environment Program, World Alliance for Youth Empowerment and Sri Sri Agricultural Institute for Science & Technology in support of the
UNITED NATIONS MILLENIUM CAMPAIGN

Invites you to
GREEN EARTH ACTION

participate in

MISSION

STAND UP TAKE

www.artofliving.org

www.standuptakeactionaolunm

As a part of the Tree plantation drive 100 MILLION trees of different types will be planted all over the world.

A look at our journey so far

Various groups joining hands

*Thermal Power plant in Haryana, India. *DAV Group of Schools. *Army Campus, Pune, India. *Prison Inmates. *Radio Station Jingles. *Corporate bodies (Bosch Group, First Source, ONGC, Birla Sun Life, etc) *Schools & Colleges across the country

LETTER FROM

UNMC

LETTER FROM

UNEP

LETTER FROM

Govt. of INDIA

Houston City Controllers

endorsement

How can you help?

MILLENIUM DEVELOPMENT GOAL No.7 Ensure Environmental Sustainability

Mission Green Earth Stand Up Take Action (MGESUTA08) project targets to achieve:
TAKE ACTION- 15 JULY to 16 OCT 2008

Plant 100 million trees globally to support environmental sustainability. Play an active part in saving the Earth.
STAND UP- 17 OCT to 19 OCT 2008

Misson Green Earth Stand Up And Take Action 2008

MGESUTA is an initiative taken by
(MGESUTA)

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), United Nations Millennium Campaign (UNMC) in association with Art Of Living Foundation (AOL) to plant 100 million trees world wide between 15th July08 to 15th Oct08.

Take a pledge, Plant more trees Thank you