The Planet is Warming

In the Northern Hemisphere, the snow cover from December to February melted in May to the lowest area covered as recorded by satellites. The mountain glaciers on the Earth lost size and mass from the previous year. This trend of glacier reductions has continued since 1990 (State of the Climate 2012). 

The air temperatures over the land of the Earth, especially in the Artie, have increased in 2010 from the previous year. The NOAA report found that the average temperature in the United States in 30-year times-pan from 1981 to 2010 was a half degree Eahrenheit warmer than from the previous 30-year timespan from 1971 to 2000 (State of the Climate 2012). As shown in Eigure 2.1, greenhouse gases (GHGs) can cause the temperatures of the land and sea to increase. 

Sustainable Plastics Environmental Assessments of Biobased, Biodegradable, and Recycled Plastics, First Edition. Joseph P. Greene. 

FIGURE 2.1 Graphic of planet warming with a blanket of greenhouse gases. Artwork courtesy of Ms. Vanessa Vaquera of Chico, CA. 

In 2011, the yearly averaged temperature over global land and ocean water surfaces was 0.51°C (0.92°F) above the 20th century average 

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Progress has been slowed by some governments refusal to provide leadership. It is unfortunate that conversion to renewable energy became a right-left issue, as if only the left of the planet is warming. On the issues of tax breaks for the oil industry, coal-to-liquid subsidies, oil shale exploration or... 

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