20 Years Later, 20 Things You May Not Have Known About Michael Jackson's HIStory

THANABALAN P JAGANATHAN

Thanabalan P Jaganathan is Executive Chairman of Global Oil 57 Group of Companies. The company set its primary objective to become a
significant player in both the conventional and unconventional oil and
gas markets.
To accomplish this, Global Oil has been building a solid
portfolio of assets within the highly prospective Saratov, Russia
region, and by embarking on the plan of acquiring commercially
attractive, low-risk oil and gas producing properties from major oil and
gas companies.

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Ovation for Ford at Star Wars event

• 6 HOURS AGO JULY 11, 2015 10:37PM

STAR Wars hero Harrison Ford has returned to the public stage for a special moment along with fellow cast members Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill, joining stars of the latest film.

LEGIONS of fans had slept outside the Comic-Con convention center in San Diego for days before the much anticipated appearance. They were rewarded for their commitment when they were treated to a behind-the-scenes look at the making of The Force Awakens, as well as a surprise outside concert attended by the cast bearing light sabres.

The Star Wars originals accompanied new cast members and actors Gwendoline Christie, Domhnall Gleeson, John Boyega and Daisy Ridley, as well as co-stars Oscar Isaac and Adam Driver, for a further glimpse at what fans can expect when the new film is released in cinemas in December.

The panel was Ford's first public appearance since crashing his small plane earlier this year and he received a standing ovation from fans as he walked on to the stage.

Clearly touched by the reception he received, Ford said: "The original Star Wars was the beginning of my working life, I was very happy to be a part of the story and the cast again."

The Indiana Jones star, 72, also suffered a broken leg during an accident on set but assured the crowds he felt "just fine".

Director JJ Abrams told devotees they could expect a new trailer later in the year, adding that one of his most important tasks was ensuring he did not let his love of the franchise interfere with the film-making.

"When you're directing a scene on the Millennium Falcon... it doesn't make the scene good," he said.

"It's definitely bitchin', don't get me wrong, but what's the story?"

The director revealed to fans that he already has a cut of the film but is still working on the final edit.

Ford, Fisher and Hamill all embraced on stage to the delight of fans before Abrams announced that panel attendees would be treated to a surprise outdoor concert of Star Wars music, performed by the San Diego Symphony.

Climate Change and Global Warming by THANABALAN P JAGANATHAN

What Is Global Warming And Climate Change?

Global warming and climate change refer to an increase in average global temperatures. Natural events and human activities are believed to be contributing to an increase in average global temperatures. This is caused primarily by increases in “greenhouse” gases such as Carbon Dioxide (CO2).

A warming planet thus leads to a change in climate which can affect weather in various ways, as discussed further below.

What Are The Main Indicators Of Climate Change?

As explained by the US agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), there are 7 indicators that would be expected to increase in a warming world (and they are), and 3 indicators would be expected to decrease (and they are):

Ten indicators for a warming world, Past Decade Warmest on Record According to Scientists in 48 Countries, NOAA, July 28, 2010

What Is The Greenhouse Effect?

The term greenhouse is used in conjunction with the phenomenon known as thegreenhouse effect.

• Energy from the sun drives the earth’s weather and climate, and heats the earth’s surface;
• In turn, the earth radiates energy back into space;
• Some atmospheric gases (water vapor, carbon dioxide, and other gases) trap some of the outgoing energy, retaining heat somewhat like the glass panels of a greenhouse;
• These gases are therefore known as greenhouse gases;
• The greenhouse effect is the rise in temperature on Earth as certain gases in the atmosphere trap energy.

Image source: Greenhouse Effect, Wikipedia(Link includes detailed explanation of the above image). Note, image above expresses energy exchanges in watts per square meter (W/m2)

Six main greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) (which is 20 times as potent a greenhouse gas as carbon dioxide) and nitrous oxide (N2O), plus three fluorinated industrial gases: hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6). Water vapor is also considered a greenhouse gas.

The Greenhouse Effect Is Natural. What Do We Have To Do With It?

Many of these greenhouse gases are actually life-enabling, for without them, heat would escape back into space and the Earth’s average temperature would be a lot colder.

However, if the greenhouse effect becomes stronger, then more heat gets trapped than needed, and the Earth might become less habitable for humans, plants and animals.

Carbon dioxide, though not the most potent of greenhouse gases, is the most significant one. Human activity has caused an imbalance in the natural cycle of the greenhouse effect and related processes. NASA’s Earth Observatory is worth quoting the effect human activity is having on the natural carbon cycle, for example:

In addition to the natural fluxes of carbon through the Earth system, anthropogenic (human) activities, particularly fossil fuel burning and deforestation, are also releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

When we mine coal and extract oil from the Earth’s crust, and then burn these fossil fuels for transportation, heating, cooking, electricity, and manufacturing, we are effectively moving carbon more rapidly into the atmosphere than is being removed naturally through the sedimentation of carbon, ultimately causing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations to increase.

Also, by clearing forests to support agriculture, we are transferring carbon from living biomass into the atmosphere (dry wood is about 50 percent carbon).

The result is that humans are adding ever-increasing amounts of extra carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Because of this, atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations are higher today than they have been over the last half-million years or longer.

— The Carbon Cycle; The Human Role, Earth Observatory, NASA

Another way of looking at this is with a simple analogy: consider salt and human health:

• A small amount of salt is essential for human life;
• Slightly more salt in our diet often makes food tastier;
• Too much salt can be harmful to our health.

In a similar way, greenhouse gases are essential for our planet; the planet may be able to deal with slightly increased levels of such gases, but too much will affect the health of the whole planet.

Image source: NASA.(Note, values shown represent Carbon Gigatons being absorbed and released)

The other difference between the natural carbon cycle and human-induced climate change is that the latter is rapid. This means that ecosystems have less chance of adapting to the changes that will result and so the effects felt will be worse and more dramatic it things continue along the current trajectory.

The Climate Has Always Varied In The Past. How Is This Any Different?

Throughout Earth’s history the climate has varied, sometimes considerably. Past warming does not automatically mean that today’s warming is therefore also natural. Recent warming has been shown to be due to human industrialization processes.

John Cook, writing the popular Skeptical Science blog, summarizes the key indicators of a human finger print on climate change:

John Cook, 10 Indicators of a Human Fingerprint on Climate Change, Skeptical Science, July 30, 2010

This graph, based on the comparison of atmospheric samples contained in ice cores and more recent direct measurements, provides evidence that atmospheric CO2 has increased since the Industrial Revolution:

(Source: NOAA) via: Climate Change: How do we know? NASA, accessed October 27, 2009

The above covers hundreds of thousands of years and shows how atmospheric CO2 levels have dramatically increased in recent years. If we “zoom” in on just the past 250 years, we see the following:

Global CO2 emissions, 1751–2010, Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC), 2013, last accessed February 1, 2015. DOI:10.3334/CDIAC/00001_V2013

NASA’s Goddard Institute of Space Studies (GISS) tracks atmospheric global temperature climate trends. As environmental engineer, D Kelly O’Day, explained on ProcessingTrends.com (link no longer available): “To facilitate assessments of long term trends, climatologists compare the mean for a base period with the annual mean. Differences between the annual mean and baseline mean are called anomalies. GISS uses the 1951 - 1980 period for their baseline period. They use the difference between the annual mean and the baseline mean to determine the global temperature anomaly for the year.”

O’Day originally produced a chart showing global temperature anomalies between 1800 and 2006 using data from NASA. I updated the chart he provided to include recently updated data up to 2014:

Sources: GISS Surface Temperature Analysis, NASA, accessed January 25, 2015; Global temperature, 1800-2006, ProcessTrends.com, accessed October 27, 2009 (link no longer available)

In the 1880 - 1935 period, the temperature anomaly was consistently negative. In contrast, the since 1980 the anomaly has been consistently positive. The 1909 temperature anomaly (-0.47oC) was the lowest year on record. Since 1909, global temperature has warmed, with the most recent years showing the highest anomalies of +0.6 oC in the past 120 years.