The number of category 4 and 5 hurricanes has almost doubled over the last 30 years.

In the movie, “An Inconvenient Truth”, Al Gore claimed that the number of category 4 and 5

hurricanes has almost doubled over the past 30 years as of 2005. This claim is true. A category

4 hurricane is a hurricane with sustained winds going at speeds between 210 and 249 kilometers

per hour, whereas a category 5 hurricane has sustained winds going at speeds faster than 249

kilometers per hour. Both category 4 and category 5 hurricanes can inflict catastrophic damage.

Atmospheric scientists at Georgia Tech and NCAR studied hurricanes worldwide. These

scientists concluded that, “In the 1970’s, there was an average of about 10 category 4 and 5

hurricanes per year. Since 1990, the number of category 4 and 5 hurricanes has almost doubled,

averaging at about 18 per year globally.” Over the years, sea surface temperatures have been

increasing due to global warming. This increase in temperature is the likely cause of these more

powerful hurricanes, due to hurricanes acting like giant heat engines. It’s safe to say that the

heating up of the planet is the cause of the increase of category 4 and 5 hurricanes.

Sources
http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=104428
http://www.wunderground.com/education/webster.asp
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/sshws_table.shtml

The global climate change is a great concern to humans and animals around the world, but

technology is slowly adapting to fight this concern. Countries around the world are building

vehicles and machines that try to limit the amount of carbon dioxide that is depleting our

atmosphere. Scientists are also inventing revolutionary biosphere technology, which turns

harmful waste into green electricity. Low-tech solutions we could implement into our daily lives

to reduce our impact on the planet include; Riding a bike or taking public transit as opposed to

driving, and using energy efficient appliances.

Sources:
http://ezinearticles.com/?Climate-Change---A-Global-Challenge,-A-Global-Concern&id=4930569
http://www.davidsuzuki.org/what-you-can-do/reduce-your-carbon-footprint/what-you-can-do-at-home/

If society works together to combat climate change, we can increase the longevity of the planet.

Society can lower their CO2 footprint by driving less, composting organic materials, recycling,

and using less energy. Cities like Vancouver and communities like Sutherland can combat global

warming by reducing the amount of energy that is used up by making energy efficient

alternatives more accessible or making energy efficient alternatives mandatory. I feel that the

government should play a larger role in the conservation of the planet than they are right now

by implementing laws that would limit energy consumption.

Source:
http://www.davidsuzuki.org/what-you-can-do/reduce-your-carbon-footprint/what-you-can-do-at-home/