Global Warming Solutions essays

Global Warming Solutions essays Since the mid nineteen sixties, environmentalism has exploded as a movement. Many environmentalists view modern industrial society as unsustainable and the way that western society functions as damaging the earth's natural biosphere and cycles. There is a growing body of evidence to support the belief that our consumer culture and industrial processes are in fact destroying the delicate balance and complex interrelationships that nature has forged and upon which we still rely. The biggest worry of most 'green' groups at present is the well documented 'global warming' effect in which it is believed the earth's average temperature is rising, causing sea levels to rise (more to do with thermal expansion of water than ice cap melting), destruction of natural habitats and most worryingly to humans; climate change. However it would be ignorant to believe that the earth has always been as it is now, indeed rapid climate change is a natural phenomenon which has occurred countless times in the earths history; ice ages and warm periods mark definite periods in earths living history, a period of extreme warmth for example marked the Cretaceous Tertiary era boundary where over 90% of the land species of the earth became extinct allowi ng mammals to become the dominant class of species. Ice age and periods of warmth are common and a feuture of a dynamic planet. Despite this, geology and anthropology have discovered fresh evidence that suggests this latest climate change event may be different. Only in times of extreme volcanic activity or celestial change has a climate change period been so quick in taking effect, and this present one is accompanied by neither. Evidence to suggest that it is indeed human activity which is causing environmental disaster is growing. Statistical and historical evidence suggests there is a direct link between the actions of humans and environmental destruction. Although conclusive proof can easily be found for aci...

Cadmium Facts - Periodic Table

Cadmium Facts - Periodic Table Cadmium Atomic Number 48 Cadmium Symbol Cd Cadmium Atomic Weight 112.411 Cadmium Discovery Fredrich Stromeyer 1817 (Germany) Electron Configuration [Kr] 4d10 5s2 Word Origin Latin cadmia, Greek kadmeia - ancient name for calamine, zinc carbonate. Cadmium was first discovered by Stromeyer as an impurity in zinc carbonate. Properties admium has a melting point of 320.9Â °C, boiling point of 765Â °C, spcific gravity of 8.65 (20Â °C), and a valence of 2. Cadmium is a blue-white metal soft enough to be easily cut with a knife. Uses Cadmium is used in alloys with low melting points. It is a component of bearing alloys to given them a low coefficient of friction and resistance to fatigue. Most cadium is used for electroplating. It is also used for many types of solder, for NiCd batteries, and to control atomic fission reactions. Cadmium compounds are used for black and white television phosphors and in the green and blue phosphors for color television tubes. Cadmium salts have wide application. Cadmium sulfide is used as a yellow pigment. Cadmium and its compounds are toxic. Sources Cadmium is most commonly found in small quantities associated with zinc ores (e.g., sphalerite ZnS). The mineral greenockite (CdS) is another source of cadmium. Cadmium is obtained as a by-product during treatment of zinc, lead, and copper ores. Element Classification Transition Metal Density (g/cc) 8.65 Melting Point (K) 594.1 Boiling Point (K) 1038 Appearance soft, malleable, blue-white metal Atomic Radius (pm) 154 Atomic Volume (cc/mol) 13.1 Covalent Radius (pm) 148 Ionic Radius 97 (2e) Specific Heat (20Â °C J/g mol) 0.232 Fusion Heat (kJ/mol) 6.11 Evaporation Heat (kJ/mol) 59.1 Debye Temperature (K) 120.00 Pauling Negativity Number 1.69 First Ionizing Energy (kJ/mol) 867.2 Oxidation States 2 Lattice Structure Hexagonal Lattice Constant (Ã…) 2.980 Lattice C/A Ratio 1.886 References: Los Alamos National Laboratory (2001), Crescent Chemical Company (2001), Langes Handbook of Chemistry (1952), CRC Handbook of Chemistry Physics (18th Ed.) Return to the Periodic Table Chemistry Encyclopedia