GLOBAL WARMING – IMPACTS AND FUTURE PERSPECTIVE Edited by Bharat Raj Singh Global Warming – Impacts and Future Perspective http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/2599 Edited by Bharat Raj Singh Contributors Juan Cagiao Villar, Sebastián Labella Hidalgo, Adolfo Carballo Penela, Breixo Gómez Meijide, C. Aprea, A. Greco, A. Maiorino, Bharat Raj Singh, Onkar Singh, Amjad Anvari Moghaddam, Gabrielle Decamous, Oluwatosin Olofintoye, Josiah Adeyemo, Fred Otieno, Silvia Duhau, Ernesto A. Martínez, Sotoodehnia Poopak, Amiri Roodan Reza, Hiroshi Ujita, Fengjun Duan, D. Vatansever, E. Siores, T. Shah, Robson Ryu Yamamoto, Paulo Celso de Mello-Farias, Fabiano Simões, Flavio Gilberto Herter, Zsuzsa A. Mayer, Andreas Apfelbacher, Andreas Hornung, Karl Cheng, Bharat Raj Singh, Alan Cheng Published by InTech Janeza Trdine 9, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia Copyright © 2012 InTech All chapters are Open Access distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license, which allows users to download, copy and build upon published articles even for commercial purposes, as long as the author and publisher are properly credited, which ensures maximum dissemination and a wider impact of our publications. After this work has been published by InTech, authors have the right to republish it, in whole or part, in any publication of which they are the author, and to make other personal use of the work. Any republication, referencing or personal use of the work must explicitly identify the original source. Notice Statements and opinions expressed in the chapters are these of the individual contributors and not necessarily those of the editors or publisher. No responsibility is accepted for the accuracy of information contained in the published chapters. The publisher assumes no responsibility for any damage or injury to persons or property arising out of the use of any materials, instructions, methods or ideas contained in the book. Publishing Process Manager Daria Nahtigal Typesetting InTech Prepress, Novi Sad Cover InTech Design Team First published September, 2012 Printed in Croatia A free online edition of this book is available at www.intechopen.com Additional hard copies can be obtained from orders@intechopen.com Global Warming – Impacts and Future Perspective, Edited by Bharat Raj Singh p. cm. ISBN 978-953-51-0755-2 Contents Preface IX Section 1 Global Warming and Its Impact 1 Chapter 1 A New Perspective for Labeling the Carbon Footprint Against Climate Change 3 Juan Cagiao Villar, Sebastián Labella Hidalgo, Adolfo Carballo Penela and Breixo Gómez Meijide Chapter 2 The Impact on Global Warming of the Substitution of Refrigerant Fluids in Vapour Compression Plants: An Experimental Study 41 C. Aprea, A. Greco and A. Maiorino Chapter 3 Study of Impacts of Global Warming on Climate Change: Rise in Sea Level and Disaster Frequency 93 Bharat Raj Singh and Onkar Singh Chapter 4 Global Warming Mitigation Using Smart Micro-Grids 119 Amjad Anvari Moghaddam Section 2 Climate Change Due to Various Factors 135 Chapter 5 The Issue of Global Warming Due to the Modern Misuse of Techno-Scientific Applications 137 Gabrielle Decamous Chapter 6 Impact of Regional Climate Change on Freshwater Resources and Operation of the Vanderkloof Dam System in South Africa 165 Oluwatosin Olofintoye, Josiah Adeyemo and Fred Otieno Chapter 7 Solar Dynamo Transitions as Drivers of Sudden Climate Changes 185 Silvia Duhau and Ernesto A. Martínez VI Contents Chapter 8 Environmental Benefit of Using Bagasse in Paper Production – A Case Study of LCA in Iran 205 Sotoodehnia Poopak and Amiri Roodan Reza Section 3 Effects of Alternative Energy on Environment 223 Chapter 9 Energy Perspective, Security Problems and Nuclear Role Under Global Warming 225 Hiroshi Ujita and Fengjun Duan Chapter 10 Alternative Resources for Renewable Energy: Piezoelectric and Photovoltaic Smart Structures 263 D. Vatansever, E. Siores and T. Shah Chapter 11 Study of the Consequences of Global Warming in Water Dynamics During Dormancy Phase in Temperate Zone Fruit Crops 291 Robson Ryu Yamamoto, Paulo Celso de Mello-Farias, Fabiano Simões and Flavio Gilberto Herter Chapter 12 Efforts to Curb NOx from Greenhouse Gases by the Application of Energy Crops and Vegetation Filters 317 Zsuzsa A. Mayer, Andreas Apfelbacher and Andreas Hornung Chapter 13 Impact of Uses of 3-Dimensonal Electronics IC Devices and Computing Systems on the Power Consumptions and Global Warming Issues 337 Karl Cheng, Bharat Raj Singh and Alan Cheng Preface Global Warming becomes the field of attention for many modern societies, power and energy engineers, academicians, researchers and stakeholders. Everywhere, major problems of depletion of fossil fuel resources, poor energy efficiency and environmental pollution are required to be attended on priority. This book is written to create awareness to the energy engineers, academicians, researchers, industrials and society as a whole. It lays emphasis on the current status of global warming and its impact on climate changes. We all know that humanities are at risk due to Green House Gases and are a main cause of Global Warming. Our beautiful Earth Planet is being destroyed, due to excessive exploration of earth’s reservoirs and other serious manmade problems. The main objective of this book is to produce a good document from the point of view of knowledge seeker or public readers at large end for those who are eager to know much about Global Warming and its impact on the Climate Changes, besides those who have raisen their voice for its remedial measures. Some of the general and important burning areas about the Global Warming issues are: i. What is Global Warming? ii. Is Global Warming, caused by human activity, even remotely plausible? iii. What are the Greenhouse Gases? iv. How much have we increased the Atmosphere's CO 2 Concentration? v. Is the Temperature Really Changing? vi. Is there a connection between the recent drought and climate change? vii. Global Warming Impacts, Discussing global climate changes, Response of Government. viii. Possible Problems with Carbon "Sequestration" Although we know that Global Warming is the increase of Earth's average surface temperature due to the effect of Greenhouse Gases such as: Carbon Dioxide through emissions produced from burning of fossil fuels or from deforestation, which traps heat that would otherwise escape the Earth. This is a type of Greenhouse Effect. The most significant Greenhouse Gas is actually Water Vapor, not something produced directly by humankind in significant amounts. However, even slight increase in atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide (CO 2) can cause a substantial increase in Earth’s atmospheric temperature. X Preface There are two reasons for global rise in Earth’s atmospheric temperature: First, although the concentration of these gases is not nearly as large as that of Oxygen and Nitrogen (the main constituents of the atmosphere), neither Oxygen nor Nitrogen is greenhouse gas. This is because neither has more than two atoms per molecule (i.e. their molecular forms are O 2 and N2, respectively), and so they lack the internal vibrational modes that molecules with more than two atoms have. Both water and CO 2, for example, have these "internal vibrational modes", and these vibrational modes can absorb and re-radiate infrared radiation, which causes the greenhouse effect. Secondly, CO 2 tends to remain in the atmosphere for a very long time (time scaled in hundreds of years). Water vapor, on the other hand, can easily condense or evaporate, depending upon local conditions. Water vapor levels, therefore, tend to adjust quickly to the prevailing conditions, such that the energy flows from the Sun and re-radiation from the Earth achieves a balance. CO2 tends to remain fairly constant and therefore behaves as a controlling factor, rather than a reacting factor. More CO 2 means that the balance occurs at higher temperature and water vapor levels. The ultimate effects which we are likely to face as 21 st Century challenges are: 1. Rising Seas inundation of fresh water marshlands (the everglades), low- lying cities, and islands with seawater. 2. Changes in rainfall patterns droughts and fire in some areas, flood in other. 3. Increased likelihood of extreme events such as floods, hurricanes, etc. 4. Melting of the ice caps loss of habitat near the poles. Polar bears are now thought to be greatly endangered by the shortening of their feeding season due to dwindling ice packs. 5. Melting glaciers - significant melting of old glaciers is already observed. 6. Widespread vanishing of animal populations following widespread habitat loss. 7. Spread of disease migration of diseases such as malaria to new, now warmer, regions. 8. Bleaching of coral reefs due to warming seas and acidification due to carbonic acid formation One third of coral reefs now appear to have been severely damaged by warming seas. 9. Loss of Plankton due to warming seas The enormous (900 miles long) Aleution island’s ecosystem of orcas (killer whales), sea lions, sea otters, sea urchins, kelp beds, and fish populations, appears to have collapsed due to loss of plankton, sea lions, orcas eating too many sea otters, urchin explosions, loss of kelp beds and their associated fish population. It has been found that though number of books on ‘Global Warming’ is available, but no elaborate and in depth research papers are documented to alarm the situation, impact on climate changes and its remedial measures. In this book, the subject matter has been presented in a very systematic and logical manner which will satisfy all class of readers and research scholars for the development of an eco-friendly society. . GLOBAL WARMING – IMPACTS AND FUTURE PERSPECTIVE Edited by Bharat Raj Singh Global Warming – Impacts and Future Perspective http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/2599. orders@intechopen.com Global Warming – Impacts and Future Perspective, Edited by Bharat Raj Singh p. cm. ISBN 978-953-51-0755-2 Contents Preface IX Section 1 Global Warming and Its. refrigerant fluids in vapour compression plants on global warming; Impacts of global warming on rise in sea level and disaster frequency, and Global Warming mitigation using smart micro-grids etc.