Global warming is quite a recent phenomenon that came to international prominence only by

the end of the 20th century.

But man-made pollution was known to affect the climate system of the planet as long ago as
the middle – end of the 19th century.

It was first suggested in 1863 that changes in the composition of the atmosphere due to
pollution could lead to climate change. In 1896 the Swedish scientist Svante Arrhenius made
first actual calculations of the effect of greenhouse warming in which he estimated that a
doubling of carbon dioxide [in the atmosphere] would increase the global average temperature
by 4 ° C to 6 ° C. (2)

As a general guidance, we identify the following three main indicators of global warming:

• Rise of air and ocean temperature,

• Rise of global sea level, and

• Loss of snow & ice cover

What is Global Warming:

Rise of Global Surface Temperature

• Scientists estimated that, since the late 19th century there was a real (though
irregular) increase in the global surface temperature.

• A trend towards global warming was observed during the period of 1910 to 1940.
The temperatures declined slightly from 1940 through 1975, picking up again during the
1980s. (3)

• The decline of the temperature during the post-World War II period may have
been due to the masking of global warming by aerosols. (4)

• During a 100-year period of 1906 – 2005, the global average temperature rose
by 0.74 ° C. (5)

• There is no reasonable doubt that during the last couple of decades the planet
witnessed some of the hottest years on record.

• As an example, 11 of the 12 years between 1995 and 2006 have ranked among
the 12 warmest years since 1850. (6)

• By middle 1980s, there was a wide appreciation of the global

warming phenomenon and potential dangers it was posing to the planet.

• During that time, the international community came together to

establish an institutional framework that would provide space for further
research and development of policy recommendations for managing this
issue.

• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a

scientific body, was established by the United Nations in 1988 for the
purposes of evaluating the risk of climate change caused by human
 activities. It does not carry out research as such, but bases its
assessments on peer reviewed and published scientific literature. In
2007, the IPCC and Al Gore, former US Vice President, shared the Nobel
Peace Prize for their work towards promoting the awareness of climate
change. (7)

• United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

(UNFCCC) is a non-binding treaty aimed at “stabilization of greenhouse
gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent
dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system”. The
UNFCCC was a product of the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro in
1992. (8)

• Kyoto Protocol , adopted in 1997, is a follow-up agreement to

the UNFCCC. Kyoto Protocol sets out mandatory requirements for
signatories to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to certain levels, with
1990 as the base year. (9)

What is Global Warming:

Rise of Global Sea Level and Loss of Snow & Ice Cover

During the 20th century, the sea levels rose by 17 cm (6.7 inches); they rose faster in the
2nd half of this century than in the 1st. (10)

The sea level rise is consistent with the temperature rise and general warming tendency.

It has been predicted that by the end of the 21st century the sea level may rise by further 18
to 59 cm (7 to 23 inches), depending on a range of different scenarios. (11)

Loss of snow cover has been another indicator of climate change. Snow cover in the Northern
Hemisphere declined by 4% between 1920 and 2005. (12)

As a specific example of this problem, Canada’s eastern Arctic Archipelago decreased by 15%
between 1969 and 2004. (13)

The decrease in snow cover has also been consistent with the general warming trend.

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What is global warming again ??

Global warming is a very serious issue that affects everyone on the planet.

One real solution to solving this issue may be investing in green technologies.

Investment in green technologies

We know for sure that the use of fossil fuels (i.e. oil, gas and coal) is one of the major causes
of environmental pollution and global warming.

It is difficult to imagine an activity that would not utilize fossil fuels in one way or another.

Not only are fossil fuels non-renewable resources, they are also very dirty ones.
 For example, fossil fuel combustion is a source of atmospheric emissions of carbon dioxide and
methane.

Carbon dioxide and methane are the most powerful greenhouse gases, i.e. the ones which
contribute to global warming.

The global warming effects can be truly devastating, ranging from floods and hurricanes to
droughts, to name just a few.

Therefore, development of renewable sources of energy should be the top priority target for
green investments.

The international renewable energy, as a green industry, has already made huge technological
advances, and is continuing to push ahead with the help of private capital as well as various
governmental support schemes.

Another large sector is of course agriculture whose main greenhouse gases include methane
and nitrous oxide.

Waste management and industrial processes (incl. manufacturing of building materials) are a
couple of other sectors which bear their own share of responsibility for producing some
greenhouse gases.

Cars and heavy vehicles should also be a serious focus for green investments.

Other interesting green industries to look at are green building, energy efficiency technologies
and a newly emerging carbon emissions market.

A huge potential for green investment lies with the forestry industry, especially reforestation
projects, as well as the recycling industry.

This is a good framework of the areas which should be considered by green investors for
moving their capital into.

We discuss these areas in more detail below.

Top Priority Areas for Green Investment

Green Investment - Renewable Energy

If you ever need to choose only one industry to invest in, put your money into renewable
energy.
It is the most important area whose success or failure will determine the state of the Earth’s
environment in the future.

There are several types of renewable energy that deserve our special attention.

Solar Energy

Solar energy is the most abundant renewable energy resource on the planet.

Some experts claim that the world’s annual energy demand can be met by harnessing solar
radiation received by the Earth within just one hour. (1)

Solar energy obviously has an enormous potential for green investing and is a fantastic target
for environmentally conscious investors.

There are two main types of solar technology on offer:

• Thermal solar energy (solar energy is captured to produce heat)

Thermal solar energy can be used for water heating systems, cooling & ventilation systems.

It can also be used to generate electricity indirectly from heat (solar thermal power).

Water heating systems may normally be installed locally for clients’ use while electricity
generation requires large areas of land for installation of energy collectors such as special
parabolic troughs, dishes and towers.

• Photovoltaic solar energy (solar cells are used to convert solar light directly into
electricity)

Solar Panels

Solar PV is an established technology and has been on the market for a long time.

Photovoltaic solar panels can be installed locally (for example, on buildings’ roof-tops) or
remotely (for example, large PV power plants).

Most modern solar panels are silicon-based but due to most recent shortages of silicon
production a new photovoltaic technology – thin-film cells – is gaining traction.

It is widely accepted that the success of solar energy development and commercialisation
depends on governmental policies, subsidies & other incentives.

This industry is not yet totally ready to compete against traditional electricity resources.

However, as the oil resources are steadily declining, solar energy industry may well start
witnessing its real growth much faster than expected.
Wind Energy

Most wind energy is used to generate electricity.

Individual wind turbines may be installed locally to provide electricity for isolated locations as
well as for homes, small businesses etc. (“off-grid”), while large wind farms are usually
connected to electrical grids. (2)

Wind power technology appears to be quite mature, and has been used for many years in
different parts of the world.

But like solar energy, wind power faces its own challenges as well.

Wind turbines need to be placed in carefully selected locations with suitable wind
characteristics; variability of wind speeds may lead to unpredictability of a wind plant output;
many good wind sites are located far from demand and require an additional construction of
transmission lines and other capital investments.

Other challenges include aesthetics (large wind turbines covering beautiful landscapes are not
always aesthetically pleasant), impacts on animals (birds may be killed by turbine blades),
operational accidents (a turbine may disintegrate or catch fire). (3)

This green industry also depends on governmental subsidies and other public support
measures.

Geothermal Energy

Geothermal energy is the energy generated by the heat located under the surface of the Earth.

It is used mainly to heat buildings and generate electricity.

Even though it does not make regular headlines like solar and wind energy, geothermal power
is certainly an interesting source of renewable energy for green investors.

It is widely considered to be clean and safe for the environment, in spite of the fact that
geothermal power plants may produce up to 5% of carbon dioxide emissions of a fossil fuel
plant. (4)

Geothermal energy appears to be getting popular among the international investment

community, especially in view of climbing fossil fuel prices.
Biofuels

Biofuels are renewable types of energy derived from biological sources such as plants. They can
come in solid, liquid or gas form.

Corn is not an efficient source of energy

One type of biofuel – ethanol – is produced from crops such as sugar cane or corn and can be
used as a fuel for traditional cars.

Another type – biodiesel – is produced from oils such as palm oil and can be used as a fuel for
diesel cars.

Ethanol and biodiesel are currently the most common types of biofuels.

It is quite a complex area.

While biofuel is considered to be a renewable resource, there are several issues that green
investors will need to take into account before making decisions.

First of all, replacement of traditional dirty fossil fuel sources with biofuels is supposed to
reduce global warming.

However, it is not totally clear whether the reductions of carbon emissions (global warming
agents) realized through production and use of biofuels are actually so significant as to achieve
real results in the fight against global warming.

Second, vast areas of rainforests are cleared for biofuel crop plantations in developing
countries. This deforestation in itself is a major cause of biodiversity loss and a significant
source of carbon emissions.

Third, biofuel crops start competing against food crops for land. This situation gives rise to food
shortages around the world.

On the other hand, biofuels do offer some interesting opportunities.

For example, one of the “next-generation” types – algae biofuel – offers a much higher
productivity than crop-based biofuels that we’ve discussed above, and is touted as a great
future opportunity for environmental investing. (5)

In another example, biofuels may be produced from waste materials. This will not only be a
production of additional quantities of renewable energy but will also contribute to “green” waste
management.

Weighing all the pros and cons before putting money in this industry should make it clearer if
such investments can indeed be called “green investments”.

Hydroelectric Power

Though dam-generated hydroelectric power is a renewable source of energy, it may have wide-
ranging environmental impacts on the geographical areas where dams are built.
 In one word, construction of large dams implies a drastic transformation of nature on a massive
scale which may lead to changes in local weather patterns, flooding, destruction of rainforests
and many other problems.

Justifiably, environmentalists are very concerned about all these issues.

It is easy to see why large-scale hydroelectric dams are not suitable opportunities for
environmental investments.

“Micro-hydropower” however may be a different case.

Green Investment - Agriculture / Organic Foods

Organic farming requires a lot less energy than conventional farming, uses natural inputs and
processes for growing crops, and avoids the use of artificial fertilizers and pesticides and
genetically modified organisms.

Green Field in Switzerland

Photo: Reto Fetz

Organic foods have dramatically risen in popularity over the last several years.

It is not surprising then that such high demand for organic foods would not only mean higher
profits for green investors, but also outstanding benefits for the human health and for the wider
environment.

As an example, distributors and retailers of organic foods will be among the obvious targets for
environmental investing.

Green Investment - Water Technologies

Waste water treatment

Waste water (sewage water) contains vast amounts of energy that may potentially be
recovered by wastewater treatment plants and re-used either by plants themselves or
elsewhere.

Many wastewater plants already recover a certain percentage of energy from sewage; and this
technology may yet become even more efficient as more research is conducted into this field.

This is certainly an area of interest for green investors as waste water may become a
significant source of renewable energy in the future.

Another developing technology is recycling waste water back into drinking water.

While this may not immediately sound very hygienic, we know of some municipalities in the US
which are already making investments into this sector.
 Sustainable water supplies

As the water shortages around the world become all too apparent, there is no doubt that this
area will be a very important one in the 21 st century.

Agriculture, industry and residences consume huge amounts of water, and securing sustainable
water supplies has already become a big issue both in the US and many other countries.

Investments in water desalination and purification technologies as well as water infrastructure

companies will be among those in the spotlight for green investors. (6)

Green Investment - Green Cars

Green car investments promise to be a massive hit in the investment community.

Green cars are the vehicles that use renewable sources of energy or consume significantly less
gasoline / diesel than traditional oil-powered cars.

There are currently 3 main types of green cars that green investors can look out for:

• electric cars (run on electric motors)

• hybrid cars (electric motors plus traditional internal combustion engines), and

• hydrogen cars (use hydrogen instead of gasoline)

It is undoubtedly one of the most exciting “green” sectors with a promising future.

Green Investment - Green Building

Construction and operation of industrial, residential and office buildings are major sources of
environmental pollution and greenhouse gases.

These processes can surely be improved through the most efficient use of energy & raw
materials as well as efficient planning. This is known as a green building approach.

You will find more and more stocks of manufacturers of green building materials as well as
green construction companies in which in you can invest your money.

Green Investment - Energy Efficiency

Energy efficiency industry offers anything from energy-saving consultancy services to

manufacturing of energy-efficient light bulbs, washing machines and cookers, etc.

I have heard of an electricity-saving device that can be easily installed at home and start
producing savings of up to 40% off your electricity bills.
 I can't help but point out another big green investment area - the smart grid.

Though not strictly an energy efficiency opportunity, the smart grid is an electricity
transmission and distribution network that offers consumers advanced technology to manage,
much more effectively, their demand for electricity right from their homes.

For example, this system could tell you the time of the day when it would be most cost-
effective to run your dishwasher or washing machine, thus saving you the money and saving
the planet from more pollution.

Another area worth mentioning is advanced battery technology which would offer more efficient
ways of storing and using energy from batteries (for example, in electric cars).

This industry should be of special interest to green investors as it can indeed provide great
technological solutions for big problems.

Green Investment - Carbon Emissions Market

The carbon emissions market is a quite new concept.

It is also called a cap-and-trade system.

Its main idea is to bring carbon pollution under control by allowing companies to buy and sell
carbon credits through international trading platforms.

For example, Company A is allocated a certain amount of carbon emissions that it is allowed to
produce in year 2007. This is a cap component of the system.

If Company A produced less emissions in 2007 than it was allowed to, it can go to the market
and sell the rest of these emissions to Company B which happened to produce more carbon
emissions in 2007 than it was allowed to. This is a trade component of the system.

Under the Kyoto Protocol, companies and institutions from developed countries are also allowed
to create and trade new carbon credits by investing in “green” projects in developing countries.

Such projects (for example, planting a forest) are expected to reduce and remove carbon
dioxide and other greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.

We expect to see many green investing opportunities in this sector presenting themselves in
the coming years.

Good investment targets will be the companies which will be under-utilizing their emissions
credits and selling them on the market. (7)

Another interesting example is Generation Investment Management, an investment firm co-

founded by Al Gore. This firm invests in green companies which put long-term environmental
sustainability at the top of their agenda.
Green Investment - Reforestation

Reforestation is probably the most genuine green industry we can think of.

Like carbon markets, reforestation is an emerging area which has a big potential to attract
serious interest from green investors.

You will already be able to find interesting investment products related to reforestation
projects.

Basically, such products offer clients a fantastic opportunity to make long-term investments in
sustainable timber, a valuable product on international markets.

If you do decide to try your luck here, make sure you invest your money in multi-cultural
plantations, and not in mono-cultural ones.

It is a well-known fact that mono-cultural plantations (e.g., teak plantations) are harmful to the
environment; whereas multi-cultural ones (i.e., mixtures of many species of trees) aim to
benefit both investors and the environment in many different ways.

Since deforestation is a huge problem throughout the globe, we expect to see a lot of activity
with reforestation projects, especially in tropical countries.

Green Investment - Recycling

Recycling is another fascinating environmental investment opportunity.

In our age of “disposable everything”, what can be more important than recycling the waste we
generate every single day?

Recycling is recovery, reprocessing and re-use of waste materials for new products.

So where does the waste come from?

It comes from 4 major areas – industrial, commercial, municipal & residential activities which
generate solid waste and waste water.

Many types of waste such as metals, paper & wood, glass, plastics, waste water can be
effectively recycled and re-used.
 I would like to note here that recycling of paper & wood products is of paramount importance
to the health and well-being of tropical ecosystems.

Vast areas of pristine rainforests are destroyed every year for different reasons, one being the
manufacture of often disposable paper & wood products.

So, if you really care for rainforests and biodiversity residing within them, then consider
investing in the paper & wood recycling industry.

Recycling should certainly be one of the top green investment areas. It also appears to be one
of the most developed green sectors to invest in.

Waste management is another, broader term which is sometimes used interchangeably with
the term recycling.

Other Green Investment Industries

There is no doubt that we are going to see the growth of other green industries as well.
There are several other terms, used interchangeably with green investment:

environmental investment
ethical investment
socially responsible investment
sustainable investment

See the differences between these terms in the Green Investing Defined article.

For example, packaging, green banking, ecotourism are just another several sectors which can
certainly help improve the state of the environment.

Green investment is part of socially responsible investing.

So if you want to look at a broader set of investment ideas for your capital, you should
probably investigate industries & companies analysed within the framework of socially
responsibility as well.

What is Not Environmental Investment

Let's diverge a little bit from specific areas of green investment and talk about green
credentials of other industries.

Virtually every industry on the market is now trying to present itself as environmentally friendly
and eager to help bring major pollution problems under control.

Although we can justify many of them as genuine attempts at introducing greener technology
and more efficient business practices, the "environmental" claims of some industries are just
plain untrue (if not bold deceptions).

This process of trying to deceive the public with green claims is called greenwashing.

My "favourite" example here is that of nuclear energy. This industry claims to have the capacity
to reduce global carbon emissions and thus help deal with the global warming issues.

To a certain extent, this may be true in respect of carbon emissions.

But it is impossible to understand how it can be called "green" when nuclear plants produce
highly radioactive waste (scientists still don't know how to handle and store it properly) that
takes thousands of years to degrade.

Should I even mention the highly hazardous operations of nuclear facilities which present
serious danger to the areas surrounding them (remember Chernobyl?) ?

Well, nuclear energy is definitely not a part of environmental investing.

We just need to wait and see if any other sector will surpass the nuclear lobby in their
environmental claims.

Here is my guess ...

What about clean coal, everyone?

Types of Green Investments

So let's imagine you want to go green with your investments.

What types of investments are available then?

You can now find several established financial instruments on the market, ex., green stocks,
green bonds, green funds as well as some other ones such as green savings accounts, green
money market accounts and green certificates of deposit.

You can visit the following pages to find out more about these instruments:

o types of environmental investments

o what is a green fund

o list of green funds

Green Investment – Is It Worth a Try?

Of course, it is.

To put it simply, our current wasteful lifestyles exert such an enormous pressure on the
environment that no one knows just for how long the planet will be able to continue providing
its vital support for all of us human beings.

Green investment can prove to be an efficient tool for bringing about real solutions to current
environmental challenges.

What is Global Warming:

The Science of Global Warming
 In order to understand the mechanics of global warming, let’s see how the Earth is “powered”
by the Sun (through solar radiation), how the energy (radiation) between these two entities is
continuously recycled, and how this cycle maintains the equilibrium temperature of the Earth.

Here is how this process works: (14)

• The Earth receives its original supply of shortwave radiation from the Sun

• The Earth then reflects 30% of this solar radiation back into space in its original shortwave
form

• The Earth absorbs the remaining 70% of this solar energy and then re-radiates it back into
space in the longwave form (infrared radiation)

So in order to maintain thermal equilibrium, the amount of shortwave and longwave radiation
leaving the Earth must be equal to the amount of the original shortwave radiation received
from the Sun.

Thus, for a certain amount of radiation being exchanged with the Sun the Earth will achieve a
certain equilibrium temperature.

What is Global Warming - The Greenhouse Effect

Experts point out that for the Earth as a whole, the equilibrium “radiative” temperature (i.e. the
temperature required to reradiate all the energy received from the Sun) at the outside of the
atmosphere is −18°C. So if the Earth’s atmosphere was totally transparent to all wavelengths
of radiation, then the average temperature at the surface of the planet would also be −18°C
[making it most likely uninhabitable]. (15)

But thankfully, during the last step of the radiation cycle described above – when the Earth re-
radiates solar energy back into space in the longwave form, the atmosphere absorbs (“traps”)
some of this upward-going longwave energy.

The atmosphere then emits longwave radiation in all directions. Some of this radiation will go
back down towards the Earth adding to the original shortwave solar radiation received by the
planet.

This added amount of radiation raises the Earth’s equilibrium temperature [to around +15°C]
and makes life as we know it possible on our planet. (16)

Therefore, the process of emission of longwave (infrared) radiation by the atmosphere which
results in the warming of the Earth is called
the greenhouse effect.
 What is global warming:
The greenhouse effect

The Earth’s atmosphere is a unique environment which consists of a number of naturally

occurring gases.

The content of the atmosphere is roughly as follows: (17)

• Nitrogen (around 78% of the total)

• Oxygen (around 20% of the total)

• Water vapor (substantial amount)

• Carbon dioxide (small amount)

• Trace gases (hydrogen, argon, helium and other gases)

It is exactly some of these gases in the atmosphere (e.g., water vapor and carbon dioxide) that
trap the upward-going longwave radiation emitted by the Earth, re-emit it in all directions and
thus contribute to the warming of the planet.

The gases that take part in this process are called radiatively active gases, or greenhouse
gases.

Among the most important naturally occurring and man-induced greenhouse gases are:

• Water vapor

• Carbon dioxide

• Methane

• Nitrous oxide
 • Ozone

There are natural concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere which work to keep
the planet warm.

These natural concentrations were pretty much constant during the Holocene (a period that
started roughly 11,500 years ago) and before the industrial revolution. (18)

However, with the advent of the Industrial Age at the start of the 19th century, the
concentrations of greenhouse gases have increased dramatically and have been attributed to
human actions.

In simple terms, this means that the functioning of the modern industrial society produces
additional amounts of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere.

These additional amounts trap even more longwave radiation and re-radiate it back to the
Earth.

This, in its turn, leads to the rise of the surface temperature and establishment of a new
“equilibrium” temperature with a new given amount of radiation in the system.

Thus, human-induced increases in greenhouse gas concentrations are now so significant that
they have been largely blamed for the recently observed accelerated rates of global warming.

What is Global Warming - Radiative Forcing

What is global warming:

Heated Earth
Photo: Thiago Kunz

Following the discussion of the greenhouse effect above, it becomes clear that the rise in the
average temperature of the Earth (i.e. global warming) can take place in 3 ways: (19)

• An increase in the shortwave solar radiation that enters the atmosphere at the top

• An increase in the percentage of the radiation that actually reaches the surface through
the atmosphere (currently 70% of the total solar radiation), and

• An increase in the concentration of the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere

Such increases (as well as decreases) in the quantity of radiation circulating through the
Earth’s atmosphere are measured in terms of “radiative forcing”.
Therefore, radiative forcing is the net change in the amount of radiation that comes into, and
goes out of, the atmosphere. It is measured in Watts per square meter (W m2).

This net change in radiation quantity may be compared to the total shortwave solar radiation of
around 342 W / m2 per year that the Earth currently receives. (20)

Positive forcing (i.e. net increase in the amount of radiation) contributes to the warming of the
Earth’s atmosphere. Greenhouse gases contribute to positive forcing.

Between the years 1765 and 2000 the Earth witnessed a net increase of 2.45 W / m2 in the
total amount of radiation. Carbon dioxide, an extremely important agent of global warming, has
contributed around 60% to this increase. (21)

This is an example of the positive forcing effect on the global temperature.

Negative forcing (i.e. net decrease in the amount of radiation) contributes to the cooling of the
Earth’s atmosphere. Aerosols are an example of a climate agent that contribute to the negative
forcing effect.

To summarize it all, the greenhouse effect and radiative forcing are among the most important
concepts that lie at the heart of the science of global warming.

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What is Global Warming:

Global Warming Causes & Effects

The main fundamental causes of global warming are two-fold:

The first one is our total dependence on the burning of fossil fuels to generate energy to power
our industrialized lifestyles.

The second one is the way we use our land to produce food, timber products etc.

These economic activities are the major drivers of an increase of greenhouse gas
concentrations in the Earth's atmosphere.

See the Global Warming Causes article for more detail.

What are the main global warming causes?

While there are several natural causes that may influence the temperature of our planet, a vast
majority of climate scientists attribute the recently observed global warming phenomenon mostly
to human activities.

It is, first of all, the types of technology and energy that we use to power our industrialized
lifestyles, and, second, the way we use our land, that are causing pollution and driving the
process of global warming.

Got an opinion about global warming

and want to share it with the world?
Click here.
 Fundamental Global Warming Causes

It is no surprise that global warming is a result of human-induced pollution.

As we have seen before, there are many types of environmental pollution and specifically air
pollutants, which negatively affect the health of the environment but do not directly contribute
to global warming.

Instead, the main immediate global warming cause is the increased concentration of
greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

The greenhouse gases are the by-products of many human activities.

Once emitted, some of these greenhouse gases end up in the atmosphere, where they trap a
certain amount of originally solar energy (which would have otherwise escaped to space), and
thus radiate this energy back to the Earth raising the planet’s average temperature.

So, the first fundamental global warming cause is an absolute dependence of the modern
human society on the burning of fossil fuels, which is the most important source of greenhouse
gas emissions.

The focal point of this cause is the generation of energy for use both in industry and
commercial/private sector.

Fossil fuel combustion is especially heavily used as a source of energy for industry.

In fact, industry literally cannot exist without fossil fuels.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the main greenhouse gas emitted as a by-product of fossil fuel
combustion. This gas is the most important immediate global warming cause.

Some amounts of carbon dioxide are removed from the atmosphere by the carbon sinks, such
as tropical rainforests and oceans, as part of the process of carbon exchange between the
atmosphere and the Earth (“carbon cycle”).

This carbon exchange has been taking place for thousands of years. It is an implicit guarantor
of the Earth’s climate stability since the amount of carbon on the planet is more or less
constant.

Carbon is indeed “the chemical basis of all known life” (2).

The carbon content of past living organisms has been stored in the form of fossil fuels – oil, gas
and coal (3), which we use in virtually every aspect of our lives.

But the problem is that, as Barry Commoner notes, (4):

“The amounts of these fuels burned to provide society with energy represent the carbon captured
by photosynthesis over millions of years. So, by burning them…we have returned carbon dioxide to
the atmosphere thousands of times faster than the rate at which it was removed by the early
tropical forests.”

In other words, we now release very large amounts of carbon dioxide at a very high rate, and
the nature is unable to remove it in good time.

This leads to the accumulation of extra carbon in the atmosphere and, consequently, to global
warming.
 We have some other industry-related activities (usually called industrial processes) which are
also significant sources of greenhouse gases such as fluorocarbons, carbon dioxide as well as
small amounts of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O).

The products whose manufacturing causes the emission of these gases include cement,
minerals, chemicals, metals.

Many activities related to industrial processes use large amounts of energy and thus produce
significant amounts of greenhouse gas emissions through fossil fuel combustion.

But industrial processes also produce greenhouse emissions not related to fossil fuel
combustion but rather related to the use of specific methods and materials for the manufacture
of the products mentioned above.

So the first global warming cause is related to activities which are performed to generate
energy for industry and commercial & private sector needs.

The second fundamental global warming cause is related to the way we use our land, i.e.
land use.

Among other applications, most common land use activities include:

• Modern agricultural practices employed to breed animals, grow cereals, fruits & vegetables
and other foods, all for human consumption.

The two important greenhouse gases emitted by agricultural practices are methane (CH4) and
nitrous oxide (N20).

• Clearance of land for timber sales or for the expansion of human settlements / cattle
ranches.

Alongside a cocktail of pollution released as part of this process, the main greenhouse gas emitted
is carbon dioxide (CO2).

A very important element of this area is tropical deforestation, especially by way of forest fires,
which alongside other pollutants causes the release of carbon dioxide.

A significant component related to, but different from, land use is waste management.

The main greenhouse gas emitted as a result of waste management activities is methane, with
some small amounts of nitrous oxide.

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Natural Global Warming Causes

The following natural factors may cause an increase in the Earth’s temperature: (5)
Changes in solar energy output

Since the sun is the only source of energy for the functioning of the Earth’s climate system, any
changes in solar output may lead to climate change and, specifically global warming.

It is predicted that a change in solar output by only 1% per century may change the average
temperature of the planet by between 0.5 to 1.0°C.

Changes in the Earth’s orbital characteristics

Changes in the shape of the Earth’s orbit around the sun as well as the tilt of the Earth’s axis
alter the total amount of solar energy received by the planet. This would also affect the planet’s
temperature.

Summary of Important Anthropogenic Greenhouse Gases

Global Warming Pollution

So, among the most important anthropogenic greenhouse gases we have:

• Carbon dioxide (CO2)

• Methane (CO4)

• Nitrous Oxide (N2O)

• Fluorocarbons (incl. hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and perfluorocarbons (PFCs))

• Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6)

Many of these gases come from natural sources.

But it is the human-caused contribution of these gases to global warming that we are
interested in for the purposes of our discussion.

We will focus on three greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide – since
they are the main anthropogenic contributors to global warming.

Carbon dioxide is by far the most important past and current greenhouse gas, followed by
methane and nitrous oxide.

According to the calculations of the potential impact of each greenhouse gas on the future
global temperatures weighed by their global warming potential and based on the year 2000
emissions data, the contribution of each gas to the total temperature rise over the next 100
years is projected to be: (6)
 • carbon dioxide – 72%

• methane – 19%

• nitrous oxide – 9%

Although some non-greenhouse air pollutants do not directly contribute to global warming,
once in the air they may be transformed into actual greenhouse gases (for example, carbon
monoxide (CO) may be transformed into carbon dioxide (CO2) ) and thus indirectly contribute
to climate warming.

Such non-greenhouse gases are called precursor gases.

Some of the most important precursor gases are carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx)
and volatile organic compounds (VOC).

How can we neutralize global warming causes?

One way to deal with this issue is by developing alternatives to fossil fuels.

Green investment is a new area that is devoted to actively exploring alternative renewable
energy sources.

Major Economic Sectors Acting as Global Warming Causes

As we described above, energy and land use activities are the major anthropogenic sources of
greenhouse gas emissions, complemented by industrial processes and waste management.

The pie chart below shows the shares of each sector in the total amount of global greenhouse
gas emissions (weighed by their global warming potential).

The energy sector is by far the largest emitter of greenhouse gases (70%) followed by the land
use sector (23%), waste management (4%) and industrial processes (3%).
Below we analyse exactly which sub-sectors within each sector are the biggest emitters of
certain greenhouse gases.

Global emissions of greenhouse gases (weighed by their global warming

potential) based on the year 2000 emissions data (EDGAR), in
teragram (Tg) (7)

Global Warming Cause:

ENERGY SECTOR

CH4 N2O % of
Sub-sector CO2 Total
(CO2eq) (CO2eq) total

8,814 3 30 8,847 31%

Power Generation

Industrial Sector 4,398 8 9 4,415 15%

(excl. refineries etc)

4,276 22 32 4,329 15%

Road

Residential, Commercial, 3,390 42 7 3,439 12%

and Other Sector

Other Transformation
2,222 9 5 2,236 8%
Sector
(incl. refineries etc)

Gas Production & 0 1,235 0 1,235 4%

Transportation

Non-Energy Use and

916 0 0 916 3%
Chem. Feedstocks
(CO2 only)

0 849 0 849 3%
Coal Production

654 0 6 660 2%
Air

Oil Extraction,
291 262 0 554 2%
Transportation and
Handling
 428 0 1 429 1%
Intl. Shipping

390 0 1 390 1%
Rail and other non-road

0 345 0 345 1%
Biofuel Residential

25,778 2,774 90 28,642 100%

Total:

As we can see, power generation is the biggest source of greenhouse gases (specifically,
CO2) within the energy sector, with 31% of the energy sector’s total emissions.

Power generation includes public electricity and heat production, according to the UNFCCC
emissions reporting guidelines. (8)

A very significant proportion of power plants around the world depends on fossil fuels (coal,
natural gas, oil) as their sources of energy.

And as we know, fossil fuel combustion is the primary global source of carbon dioxide, the most
powerful of all greenhouse gases acting as global warming causes.

Coal is a particularly dirty fuel.

It is not only a source of greenhouse gases including carbon dioxide and methane.

It is also a source of other waste products such as heavy metals (including arsenic, lead,
mercury etc) polluting the environment and resulting in radioactive waste. (9)

Many countries heavily depend on coal for power generation. For example, in 2006 coal was
used to produce roughly 49% of total electricity capacity of the US. (10)

Developing countries such as Russia are especially dependent on coal as this resource is still in
plentiful supply.

In addition to coal, natural gas- and oil- based power plants are also serious sources of
greenhouse gases.

Industrial sector generates around 15% of the energy sector’s total emissions and includes
fossil fuel combustion to power primarily manufacturing industries such as iron & steel,
chemical, paper production and other industries.

Road transport is, of course, another major generator of greenhouse emissions (15% of the
total amount), as still a vast majority of road vehicles around the world are currently powered
by liquid oil.

Together these three sub-sectors – power generation, industrial sector and road transport –
produce slightly more than 60% of the total greenhouse gas emissions related to the energy
sector. Theforefore, they act as major global warming causes.

The biggest greenhouse gas emitted by the energy sector in general is, without doubt, carbon
dioxide – it makes up 90% of all the greenhouse gas emissions.

Top
 Global Warming Cause:

LAND USE SECTOR

CH4 N2O
Sub-sector CO2 Total % of total
(CO2eq) (CO2eq)

Deforestation, incl. Tropical 2,740 243 28 3,012 31%

Forest Fires

0 2,001 0 2,001 21%

Animals, Enteric Fermentation

0 984 0 984 10%

Rice Cultivation

0 0 822 822 9%
Arable Land, Fertilizer Use

Animal Waste Deposited to 0 0 796 796 8%

Soil

0 0 573 573 6%
Leaching & Run-off

0 0 467 467 5%
Crop Production

0 212 166 378 4%

Animal Waste Management

0 233 41 274 3%
Savannah and Shrubs Fires

Deforestation, Post-Burning 0 0 181 181 2%

Effects

0 0 115 115 1%
Atmospheric Deposition

2,740 3,671 3,189 9,601 100%

Total:

As for the land use sector, deforestation, animal enteric fermentation and rice cultivation are
the top 3 sub-sectors with the largest greenhouse gas emissions.

Deforestation causes 31% of the total land use emissions and is a very serious problem not
only from the point of view of global warming but also in respect of irreversible plant and
animal diversity loss with negative consequences for many different groups of people and the
planet as a whole.

Since forests are one of the largest storages of carbon, deforestation particularly through forest
fires is a major source of carbon dioxide emissions globally.
This is especially true for many tropical countries which are host to tropical rainforests and all
the natural resources coming with them.

Read more about deforestation in the case study below.

Enteric fermentation by farm animals (such as cattle, sheep, goats etc) is another important
source of greenhouse emissions (21% of total land use emissions).

Enteric fermentation is a process through which animals produce methane in their digestive
tract and then either belch it or pass it out as gas. (11)

It is one of the reasons why there are now global calls to start abandoning meat-based diets in
favour of vegetarian ones.

Rice cultivation is one more major cause of methane emissions, producing 10% of total land
use emissions.

There are several sub-sectors within the land use sector which emit significant amounts of
nitrous oxide. This is specifically true because of a widespread use of artificial fertilizers in
agricultural production.

The main greenhouse gases emitted by land use activities are methane and nitrous oxide, with
a significant amount of carbon dioxide produced as a result of deforestation.

Top

Global Warming Causes:

INDUSTRIAL PROCESSES

CH4 N2O
Sub-sector CO2 Total % of total
(CO2eq) (CO2eq)

826 0 0 826 79%

Building Materials

0 0 196 196 19%

Chemicals

0 21 0 21 2%
Iron & Steel

0 0 7 7 1%
Solvent Use

826 21 202 1,049 100%

Total:

For industrial processes, the most important sub-sector is building materials. It includes
production of cement which generates a big share of the total global anthropogenic carbon
dioxide emissions.
 Global Warming Cause:

WASTE MANAGEMENT SECTOR

CH4 N2O
Sub-sector CO2 Total % of total
(CO2eq) (CO2eq)

0 736 0 736 48%

Human Wastewater Disposal

0 577 0 577 38%

Landfills

0 135 85 219 14%

Waste Water Treatment

0 1,448 85 1,532 100%

Total:

The main gas emitted by the waste management sector is methane.

Case Study:
Deforestation as One of the Major Global Warming Causes

There is no doubt that over the last several decades deforestation has become one of the
greatest sources of greenhouse gas emissions and, therefore, one of the most important
contributors to global warming.

Read more about different causes of rainforest destruction leading to deforestation here.

As we have seen from the figures above, deforestation accounts for at least 7% of the total
global greenhouse gas emissions (though many sources often refer to a figure of 20% here -
that depends on particular methodology applied to derive this figure), with the main gas being
carbon dioxide plus smaller amounts of methane and nitrous dioxide.

Tropical rainforests play a very important role in regulating global and regional climate
patterns.

So their destruction inevitably causes disruptions in many environmental services as well.

An extremely important service provided by the rainforests is the removal of carbon dioxide
from the atmosphere by photosynthesis. In other words, it acts as a pollution / carbon dioxide
sink and storage.

So in global warming terms, deforestation leads to: (12)

• release of carbon dioxide from the trees back into the atmosphere
 • release of carbon stores held in the soil into the atmosphere

• destruction of forests as carbon sinks for future carbon dioxide removal (i.e. damage to
the planet’s future “carbon-sequestration” potential), and

• all of the above will further contribute to the global warming effect

However, the global warming effect from deforestation may be counterbalanced by the Earth’s
increased albedo ratio. The higher albedo ratio means that the Earth will be able to reflect more
solar energy back into space and thus contribute to global cooling.

The issue of deforestation has recently received a special international attention for several
different reasons:

1. Deforestation is a source of greenhouse gas emissions and therefore global warming.

2. Environmental services provided by the rainforests benefit all the inhabitants of the planet
rather than just citizens of the rainforest host countries.

3. It is very difficult to control deforestation on a local level.

4. The vast majority of Earth’s remaining forest cover is located in developing countries in the
regions around the equator.

These countries desperately need resources provided by the rainforests for their own economic
and social development.

The challenge to the international community is to find sustainable ways of rainforest

management which would guarantee economic development for host countries as well as
rainforests’ healthy functioning.

Global Warming Causes:

Conclusion - Are We Ready to Change the Way We Live?

To summarize it all, greenhouse gas emissions are the immediate global warming causes. And
such emissions are produced by virtually every imaginable human activity.

So it is clear, that in order to eliminate the global warming causes we need to drastically cut
our greenhouse gas emissions.

And for that we need to start changing our lifestyles to make them more economical and
appreciative of the environmental health, and of course start developing new, renewable
sources of energy.

There are probably a couple of “latent” global warming causes which we can attend to almost
immediately if we really want to:

• Our own lifestyles and lack of desire to change them.

For example, simple things like saving electricity at home, switching to more efficient technologies,
or recycling can make a real difference.

• Absence of political will to implement required changes.

Unfortunately, ubiquitous presence of vested interests (especially those of oil companies) prevents
political leaders from driving the real change that we need forward.

It’s interesting to note that though global warming has been known to be a problem since the
1980s, we did not make much progress in the direction of cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

Ironically, by 2005 we actually witnessed an increase in global GHG emissions as compared to

the Kyoto Protocol’s base year of 1990. (13)

Of course, it is no easy task to reverse the process of global warming.

But it surely does not mean that we should not at least try.

Top

Global warming causes - can we ever eliminate them?

Of course, we can but it will require everyone to show a complete dedication to this cause and
make many personal sacrifices.

Investments in green technologies may prove to be a vital step towards finally removing our
dependence on dirty fuels.

Global warming effects

The effects of global warming are indeed numerous and far-reaching.

Among other things, they include: changed climate patterns and the rise global sea level,
reduction in snow cover & glacier retreat, rise in extreme weather events such as floods &
droughts, loss of plant & animal diversity, reduced water supplies and decrease in agricultural
productivity.

See the Global Warming Effects article for more detail.

Global warming effects are leaving their mark on the planet as a whole, as well as on every
plant, animal and ecosystem, in some way or another.

In this article we discuss the most obvious effects of global warming on our environment.

Global Warming Effects on Climate and Global Sea Level (2)

According to IPCC’s 2007 predictions, the global climate and sea level are likely to undergo the
following changes:

Global Warming Effects

 Global warming will bring significant changes to the Earth's climate

Changes to Climate Patterns

• The greatest increase in the temperature is projected to occur over the

polar region of Northern Hemisphere due to:

o melting of sea ice, and

o associated reduction in surface albedo

• Northern Hemisphere will warm faster than Southern Hemisphere

• Greater warming over lands than over the oceans

• Changes in global precipitation patterns:

o Increased precipitation in polar and subpolar regions

o Decreased precipitation in middle latitudes

 While precipitation near the Equator is projected to

increase, the rainfall in subtropics is projected to decrease

o Droughts and floods in many areas

 Decreased summer precipitation and greater rates of

evaporation in North America, Europe and Africa will be a cause of
decreased soil moisture and droughts in many regions

 Changes in the hydrological cycle (greater rates of

evaporation and precipitation) may lead to intense precipitation
and flooding in many regions

• Oceans are likely to continue to warm for several centuries (!) due to
greenhouse concentrations which have already taken place

• Decrease in the global circulation of the oceans that helps carry warm
water from the subtropics towards the coastal regions of Europe, and thus helps
moderate the climate of this continent; such a disturbance could cause
“dampening of surface warming”, rather than actual cooling, in the north of the
Atlantic Ocean

Extreme Weather Events

There is a certain level of agreement in the scientific community that many
extreme weather events that we are now witnessing on a more regular basis
are consequences of increasing global temperatures. (3)

There are many extreme weather events that may be attributed to global
warming:

• Floods

• Droughts

• Heat waves

• Extreme winter cold and snow fall

• Tornadoes

• Extreme storms

• Tropical cyclones / hurricanes / typhoons

Currently, scientists are still debating whether an increase in intensity of

tropical cyclones, which have an enormous destructive potential, is a result of
rising ocean temperatures.

There seems to be a lot of evidence to support the statement that global

warming is a major cause at work here. (4)

Extreme weather events in general are projected to increase as a result of

global warming.

Changes to Global Sea Level

• Further increase in global sea level is expected due to the melting of ice
cover including Greenland and Antarctica:

Global Warming Effects:

Greenland Ice Cracking
Courtesy: Flickr.com

o Complete melting of Greenland ice sheet would be caused by only

an additional 2 ° C and would cause global sea level to rise by 5 – 6
meters.
 This event would submerge a substantial number of islands and lowland regions.
Among other regions, these would include:

 US Gulf Coast and Eastern Seaboard (including the lower third of

Florida)

 Much of the Netherlands and Belgium

 Heavily populated tropical areas like Bangladesh

 World’s major cities – Tokyo, New York, Mumbai, Shanghai, Dhaka

 If the complete loss of the West Antarctic ice sheet were to occur, this
would lead to a 10.5 m rise in the global sea level.

This event might take several centuries to occur but it is possible that the
rate of loss might be a lot faster.

Top

So what is the solution?

The global warming effects may be reduced and indeed prevented if we

start investing in green industries & technologies.

Global Warming Effects on Physical Environment

The global warming effects have a potential to be so disastrous that many terrestrial and
marine ecosystems and habitats around the planet may, at best, be severely damaged, and at
worst, disappear altogether.

Global Warming Effects:

Kiribati Flooded
Photo: Herve Damlamian

Coastal ecosystems such as wetlands, salt marshes and mangrove swamps, are the most
vulnerable ones. Rising sea levels as well as warming-induced catastrophes which may strike
coastal areas, will naturally affect millions of human settlements inhabiting them as well.

UN Environmental Programme (UNEP) 2002 report suggests that 40% of the world’s total
population live in coastal areas less than 60 km from the shore. (5a)

These populations and their environmental support systems are without doubt the most
vulnerable groups at risk of climate change consequences.
 There is a real fear among some small island inhabitants that their lands may totally disappear
under water because of rising sea levels caused by global warming.

As an example, the government of the Maldives - an archipelago of almost 1,200 coral islands
located in the Indian Ocean with most islands lying just 1.5 meters above the sea level - is
considering a purchase of land elsewhere in the world for a complete relocation of this nation,
because of the fear that these islands will be totally flooded by rising sea levels. (5b)

Apart from coastal areas, virtually every type of other ecosystems will be affected in some way
or another.

Global Warming Effects on Terrestrial Ecosystems & Habitats

Global Warming Effects on Forests

Forests are sensitive ecosystems which are seriously affected by global

warming.

Warmer climate encourages the growth of pests which destroy forests in

unprecedented numbers.

A good example of that is a pine beetle infestation of forests in British

Columbia, Canada, which would have killed 50% of the pines by 2008. (6)

Forest ecosystems also face the risk of wildfires due to the warmer climate.

There is a double relationship between global warming and forest wildfires.

Originally, wildfires may be caused by global warming. But since forests are
huge carbon storages, wildfires become an actual cause of global warming in
their own turn, because carbon dioxide which is released during the fires
contributes to the greenhouse effect.

Tropical rainforests are also part of a so-called carbon cycle positive feedback.
Please see more here.

Global warming certainly puts forests in an unenviable position.

Fore example, Amazon is the biggest remaining tropical rainforest on the

planet. The IPCC projects that: (7)

By mid-century, increases in temperature and associated decreases in soil water are projected to
lead to gradual replacement of tropical forest by savanna in eastern Amazonia.

Global Warming Effects on Mountains (8)

Mountains cover roughly 25% of the Earth’s surface and provide habitat for
plants, animals and people inhabiting these areas.

Apart from an increased number and intensity of forest fires and reduced
diversity of wildlife, another significant effect that climate change will force
upon the mountainous ecosystems is the melting of their snow cover and
retreat and disappearance of glaciers.

Global Warming Effects on Marine Ecosystems & Habitats

Ocean Acidification (9)

 Oceans are the world’s biggest carbon sinks and have absorbed about half of all
anthropogenic carbon dioxide since around 1800.

But this important environmental service comes at a big price: the oceans have
become significantly more acidic as a result of this process.

Ocean acidification has been implicated for damaging some of the most
beautiful creatures on the planet – coral reefs, as well as other shell-forming
organisms.

Global Warming Effects on Biodiversity & Animals

Indeed, rising global temperatures put famously rich biodiversity of tropical rainforests and
other ecosystems at an extremely high risk of disappearance.

In its most recent assessment, the IPCC re-iterates that:

We discuss animal extinction in more detail here.

20-30% of species assessed so far are likely to be at increased risk of extinction if increases in
global average warming exceed 1.5-2.5°C (relative to 1980-1999) (10), and

As global average temperature increase exceeds about 3.5°C, model projections suggest
significant extinctions (40-70% of species assessed) around the globe. (11)

Global warming does not only make vegetation “gasp for air” but also leads to animal habitat
loss.

This is an especially big problem for sensitive species such as tropical frogs.

For example, cloud forests [e.g., in Central America] which are vital habitats to certain
amphibian species are disappearing fast as a result of the warming temperatures.

The loss of these habitats leads to extinction of the amphibians dependent on these forests for
their survival. (12)

Polar bears have become “poster children” for the melting of Arctic ice due to climate change.

Melting ice reduces the ability of polar bears to find enough food as they prefer to use ice as a
platform to hunt for prey.

Another example of how damaging global warming effects can be is that of the orangutan.

Orangutans may be seriously affected by the spread of viruses and bacteria which normally
thrive in warmer conditions. This, among many other things, may push these animals even
closer to the brink of extinction.

It is not only the habitat loss and spread of diseases that may cause animal extinction. It is
also the availability of food and water for animals that will likely be made more scarce as a
result of global warming.

Above are just three examples of animals affected.

The list of animals at risk of climate change will, of course, be longer and longer as the planet
gets hotter and hotter.
 Global Warming Effects on Various Seasonal Processes of Plants &
Animals (13)

Many seasonal processes are also affected by global warming.

We are starting to witness:

• Earlier leaf production by trees

• Earlier greening of vegetation

• Changed timing of egg-laying and hatching

• Changes in migration patterns of birds, fish and other animals

• Reductions and re-distributions in populations of algae and plankton; this

threatens the existence of fish and other animals that rely on algae and plankton
for food

Top

Global Warming Effects on Humans

As virtually all types of plants, animals and environmental ecosystems will be affected by
warmer climate in some way or another, so will the human society in all its complexity be
affected by often unpredictable, wide-ranging and far-reaching global warming consequences.

By far the most important areas from the point of view of human well-being affected will be:

• Water supplies

• Food supplies, and

• Human health

Global Warming Effects:

Where is the water?
Photo: Fatih Kocaman

Water makes up 70% of the human body’s chemical composition. It is therefore a resource
without which we cannot exist.

This precious resource is now under serious threat from global warming.
By the middle of the 21 st century, water availability is projected to [temporarily] increase in
higher latitudes and in certain wet tropical regions [due to melting of mountain glaciers], and
decrease in drier parts of the tropics and subtropics, especially during the summer period. (14)

Ironically, the dry regions of the world will get even drier and will suffer severe droughts,
especially southern Africa, Middle East, western North America and western Australia. (15)

The water quality will also be negatively affected by heavy precipitation events which may
contaminate drinking water supplies.

Energy generation will also affected by water scarcity. Reduced water supplies will have a
negative impact on the power plants depending on water for their functioning, for example,
dams, nuclear plants etc. (16)

Agricultural productivity for food supplies is, in general, projected to decrease as the
temperatures rise.

Agricultural food production will be further affected by extreme weather events such as
droughts and floods. The warming of oceans will have a negative impact on commercial
fisheries. (17)

Human health is also under unprecedented stress from global warming. We have already seen
an example of the damage caused by a heat-wave that hit Europe in 2003 - 35,000 deaths.
(18)

Extreme events such as floods and tropical cyclones will be another major cause of human
deaths.

Among other things, a number of infectious diseases is certainly expected to rise. It’s a well
known fact that disease-carrying insects breed well in wet hot conditions, hence, the result.
That will be especially true for tropical countries.

Many millions will suffer from malnutrition because of shortages in food supply. (19) This will
lead to weakened immune systems and general health deterioration.

Of course, getting familiar with a dry set of facts about global warming effects
is not enough to understand and “feel” the real depth of the problem.

Probably not many people know that it is exactly global warming that lies at
the very heart of a well-known and deeply sad ethnic conflict in Darfur, Sudan.
(20)

The conflict, that started in 2003, was preceded by decades of drought,

desertification and overpopulation in this African country.

This situation forced camel-herding nomads from the Arab Baggara tribes
searching for water for their livestock to travel south, the land populated by
non-Arab farming communities, and fight for scarce resources. (21)

No one can produce an exact number of deaths that have occurred so far
during this conflict. But some estimates put it at least at above 450,000
deaths. (22)

In another tragic example, the most recent 2008 tropical cyclone Nargis in
Myanmar (Burma) has caused, by preliminary estimates, at least 100,000
deaths. (23)
 As we’ve seen above, rising ocean temperatures may well contribute to the
intensity of tropical cyclones.

We can perhaps suggest that the sheer force of destruction of the Myanmar
cyclone may point to global warming as a possible culprit.

Global Warming Effects:

Positive Feedback Mechanisms of the Climate System

The climate of the Earth is a very complex system. There are many variables that scientists
have to account for in order to produce reliable future climate projections.

Water Vapor
Chili Geyser
Photo: Olivier of Flickr

One very important aspect of the climate system is a so called positive feedback mechanism.

A positive feedback is defined as “a feedback loop system in which the system responds to
perturbation in the same direction as the perturbation.” (24)

To put it simply, global warming has an adverse impact on some components of the Earth’s
environment.

These components, as a result of the original warming impact, start acting in a way that even
further contributes to the warming effect, and so the process goes on and on.

In other words, they become both an effect and a cause of global warming.

Below we discuss several obvious positive feedback mechanisms which set in motion the
vicious circle of global warming.

Water vapor feedback – as the temperature rises, the amount of water vapor in
the atmosphere will also rise. Since water vapor is a very strong greenhouse
gas, this increased amount of water vapor in the atmosphere will lead to even
greater warming. (25)

Cloud cover feedback – global cloud cover increases as the global temperature
rises and the water vapor content of the atmosphere also increases. Different
types of clouds have different impacts on the temperature. An increase in low
cloud cover tends to cool the Earth, while an increase in high cloud cover would
lead to greater warming. The net effect is estimated to be a positive radiative
forcing, i.e. net warming. (26)
 Ice albedo feedback – ice has a high albedo ratio. As global ice cover
decreases, the Earth will absorb more solar radiation which will lead to further
warming of the surface. (27)

Carbon cycle feedback – important carbon reservoirs: oceans, tropical

rainforests, wetlands & permafrost. (28)

Oceans: 1) warmer surface waters will hold less dissolved

carbon dioxide; 2) oceans are largest carbon sinks; larger
amounts of anthropogenic carbon dioxide will increase levels of
ocean acidification, which will threaten oceanic fauna
responsible for absorbing carbon into their skeletons or shells –
this will lead to smaller amounts of carbon being absorbed by
the oceans; 3) rising temperature may lead to a slowdown in
oceanic flows which are responsible for the burial of carbon
within deep ocean.

Tropical rainforests: warming and drying of tropical regions lead

to the loss of forest cover. Increased temperatures lead to the
decline of plants’ rates of photosynthesis, and therefore reduce
the general capacity of tropical forests to remove (“sequester”)
carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Wetlands & permafrost: global warming may cause release of

methane (greenhouse gas) by wetlands and permafrost as well
as by the continental shelves of the oceans. This will lead to
further climate warming.

How can we help the situation?

Yes, it's true - the global warming effects are far too serious to ignore.

No doubt investing in green industries may be one solution to mitigate them.

What is Global Warming:

Case Study – Dramatic Shrinkage of the Arctic Ice Cover

What is global warming:

Alaskan Ice Melting
Courtesy: Flickr.com
 As global warming marches on and its effects unfold, the shrinkage of the Arctic ice cover that
has been observed by the beginning of the 21st century may possibly be called a “poster case”
for global warming.

This particular region is not only a passive recipient of the global warming phenomenon with all
its effects following, it is also an active agent in bringing about further global changes as a
direct result (feedback) of the warming effects it is experiencing now.

In other words, it is both a result and a cause of global warming.

The Arctic Climate Impact Assessment prepared by the Arctic Council and released in 2004
gives an excellent overview of the current state of the Arctic region from the point of view of
climate change.

All the information provided below is based on the findings of this report. (22)

Here is some evidence that global warming is indeed affecting the Arctic region:

• In the past few decades the Arctic average temperature increased at twice the rate as the
rest of the world

• Declining snow cover; widespread melting of glaciers and sea ice

• Rising river flows: river discharge to the ocean has increased and spring peak river flows
are now occurring earlier

• Increased precipitation much of which comes in the form of rain, with the largest increases
in autumn and winter

• Rising permafrost temperature leads to permafrost thawing

Some of the current and potential future effects of the Arctic shrinkage:

• Removal of the highly reflective Arctic ice cover reduces the albedo of the Earth – the
ability of the planet to reflect a certain quantity of solar energy back to space. This leads
to the Earth absorbing more sunlight and further contributes to climate warming.

This is exactly when the Artic ice melt becomes a cause of global warming.

• Global and regional sea level has risen by 10 – 20 centimeters during the last century, as a
result of the warming process. This will affect the ocean circulation patterns and,
consequently, global and regional climate

• Arctic climate change will have an impact on global biodiversity because some migratory
species rely on the Arctic grounds for breeding and feeding

• Forests will replace a significant proportion of existing tundra, and tundra vegetation will
move into polar deserts. The larger tree cover is expected to increase carbon removal from
the atmosphere, though the reduced reflectivity of the surface will most likely outweigh
this effect.
Global warming is expected to increase forest fires and destruction of trees by insects. This will
lead to the loss of valuable biodiversity-rich old-growth forests.

• Reduction in sea ice will have a devastating effect on polar bears, ice-dependent seals and
local people who use these animals as a food source

• Reduced sea ice will allow for extraction and shipping of oil which will further damage the
marine habitat and negatively affect the health of local populations

• Many coastal communities face exposure to storms because rising sea level and a
reduction in sea ice will allow high waves and storm surges to reach the shore; these
storms in their turn will lead to coastal erosion

• Indigenous communities face major economic and cultural impacts whose lifestyles are
closely linked to the health of their ecosystems

It is becoming more obvious that changes to the Arctic system are happening much faster than
predicted even several years ago.

The WWF 2008 update report on the Arctic climate change makes a reference to ”the recent
severely accelerated melting of both the Greenland Ice Sheet and the Arctic sea ice.” (23)

For example, the extent of Arctic sea ice was the lowest on record in September 2007.
During this period, the extent of sea ice was 39% less than its 1979 – 2000 mean. The main
reason for this is believed to be climate warming which reduced both the area and thickness of
multi-year ice and made the remaining ice more vulnerable to summer thaw. (24)

The melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet would have a particularly significant effect on global
sea level. If this entire ice sheet melted, it would raise the sea level by 7.3 meters, with
destructive effects all over the planet. (25)

It is pretty clear that the real solution to the Arctic shrinkage problem lies in solving the issue
of global warming as such.

The sooner we sort it out, the better – the time is certainly running out fast.

What is Global Warming:

Conclusion

We hope we provided enough information to answer your very important question - what is
global warming.

Global warming is probably the biggest challenge that humanity is facing right now. We can
also think of it as being part of air pollution.

The evidence is clear: global warming is caused by our own actions.

Up to today, we have already emitted such huge amounts of greenhouse gases that they will
be enough to cause the warming to continue for decades and possibly even centuries ahead.
There is a real need for every single citizen of the Earth to act, and act right now, no matter
how small our actions may seem to us.

As they say, tough times bring great opportunities.

Maybe, this period of trial for the whole planet is also a great opportunity for us to bury our
differences and come and act together - there is simply no other real way to beat this global
challenge.

Top
Is global warming unstoppable?

It may or may not be ... All depends on our immediate actions.

Green investment is one option we all should consider if we want to take real steps
against global warming.

And solar electricity should be one of the top priority industries for green
investments.

In fact, building your own solar panels and using solar energy systems to meet at
least part of your home electricity needs sounds like a great opportunity for diy
enthusiasts.

As of today, solar electricity provides a very small share of the total electricity supply in the
world. However, it has an enormous potential which is especially important while we are facing
such challenges as global warming, environmental pollution and others.

The Sun is the most abundant and primary source of virtually all energy on Earth. In fact, most
types of renewable energy including wind and ocean are powered by the sun.

We cannot imagine the existence of our own race (let alone many other plant and animal
species) without the sun embracing our beautiful planet every day with its rays of unlimited
energy and warmth.

The most important thing we need to do now is to find efficient ways of harnessing it for the
benefit of people and for the sake of keeping the Earth's precious ecosystems intact.

Finding solutions for generating efficient and affordable solar electricity is perhaps the single
most important aim we need to achieve in order to tackle our current environmental
challenges.

There are several technologically established ways of sun-powered electricity generation:

In addition to that, there is also a lot of activity in the area of relatively new technologies such
as thin-film photovoltaics, organic photovoltaics and others. We discuss them below as well.

• solar photovoltaic technology (PV)

• concentrating solar photovoltaic technology (CPV)

• concentrating solar thermal technology (CST)

 Solar PV technology is able to generate electricity directly from sunlight via the photovoltaic
effect when the energy of solar photons is allowed to create electron flows using
semiconductors. (1)

Solar thermal technology in its turn provides for an indirect way of electricity generation: first it
produces steam and then uses this steam to produce electricity by running a conventional
turbine generator. (2)

We start our discussion with photovoltaic technology.

Solar Electricity - Solar PV

The beauty of photovoltaics is that it converts sunlight directly into electricity by allowing the
energy of solar photons to create electron flows with the help of semiconductors; this is its
main advantage over solar thermal technology.

Eco-Village: Solar Panels On Roof Tops

Photo: Tom Chance

On top of being one of the most established solar power technologies, solar photovoltaic power
offers individual consumers the flexibility and convenience of installing solar panels right in
their residences, for example, on rooftops.

For those PV owners who are connected to the grid systems of their countries (ex., Germany
and Spain), there is an added bonus: they may be able to sell some of their excess solar power
back into the grid at the rate of so-called “feed-in tariffs”.

PV technology is also an excellent opportunity for off-grid locations where no other option for
power connection is available.

No wonder it has become an option of choice for small- and medium-sized applications.

But even though it is now widely used in the form of stand-alone devices, we are witnessing an
appearance of multi-megawatt utility-scale PV plants throughout the world as well.

Solar Electricity - Traditional Solar PV Power

 Individual photovoltaic cells consist of several layers of different material; the main type of
material is a semiconductor, such as silicon.

PV cells on their own are not powerful enough to provide significant amounts of electricity. So
they are normally connected together into photovoltaic modules which may then be arranged in
arrays.

Construction of utility-scale photovoltaic power plants (as opposed to individual installations of

private PV systems) is an important recent development.

PV power plants supply electricity to large numbers of consumers like traditional utilities do. In
this case consumers will pay for their actual electricity use instead of having to incur a
significant capital cost for installing a private PV system which in reality means making an up-
front payment for around 20 years of power supply.

One of the most fantastic things about solar PV that I am really excited about is that now you
can build your own solar panels and install them for use in your own house.

Now we all can implement diy solar power right in our residences and start producing
affordable, pollution-free solar electricity for the benefit of the environment as well as our bank
accounts.

I have written a detailed article on building your own solar panels here.

Solar Electricity - New Solar PV Technologies

Concentrating solar photovoltaics (CPV)

Achieving the maximum possible efficiency of converting sun light into solar power has always
been a challenge for the PV industry.

For example, the theoretical maximum efficiency of traditional silicon photovoltaic cells is 29%
(3) which is now considered quite attainable.

But we know that much higher efficiency can be achieved with relatively new (though quite
developed) concentrating solar photovoltaic technology (CPV).

The basic principle of CPV is that special reflective solar collectors (ex., in the form of a dish)
concentrate solar light on a small area of PV chips located at the focal point of such a collector.

This technology can potentially achieve efficiency as high as 50%. It also offers further savings
since solar collectors are cheaper than an equivalent area of solar cells based purely on
expensive silicon. (4)

This technology offers a utility-scale service to the consumer.

Thin film photovoltaic cells

In response to the high production costs and rigidity of traditional, crystalline silicon solar
panels, the PV industry is investing a lot of effort into developing the next generation of solar
power technology – thin film solar cells.

Thin film solar cells are made by depositing several extra-thin layers of PV material on to a
flexible or hard substrate thus forming a finished product.

This is of course a very exciting type of new technology which can offer many benefits indeed.

The benefits are not only lower manufacturing costs and big savings in the use of precious
resources such as silicon. Thin film solar panels also offer the flexibility with which they can be
installed inside or outside buildings or other objects or taken to remote areas and used when
centralized power supply is not available. This is not even to mention their aesthetic advantage
over traditional solar panels.

A major challenge here though is the efficiency of thin film cells which is significantly lower
than that of their crystalline silicon counterparts.

Popular types of PV compounds that are used for the production of thin film cells are:

• silicon (amorphous, proto-crystalline, nano-crystalline, or black silicon)

• cadmium telluride

• copper indium gallium selenide

However, such compounds are limited resources too, and may also be expensive for use in the
manufacturing process.

In this sense development of organic solar cells looks really promising because they can be
produced cheaper and technologically easier than other types of thin film cells.

Organic solar cells are called so because they are based on carbon compounds found in
plentiful supply in nature. They are so flexible that they can be used for a whole variety of
different applications incl. clothing, packaging, consumer electronic devices etc.

One of my favorite types here are organic dye-sensitized solar cells which are highly flexible
and use organic dyes from plants (such as berries) as one component to generate PV
electricity.

Solar Electricity - Solar Thermal Power

We understand clearly that the efficiency rate at which a certain type of technology converts
sunlight into solar electricity is one of the deciding factors for private green investors who
would be willing (or not) to put funds into the development of such technology.
 Parabolic Trough
Photo: Wikimedia.org

From this perspective, many experts are now touting concentrating solar thermal technology
(CST) as an achievable solution which can realistically replace fossil fuels in the foreseeable
future.

CST generates electricity by using reflective collectors (ex., lenses or mirrors) to concentrate
sun light and produce heat (hence the term thermal) which is then used to run a conventional
thermal power plant.

It has been reported that the theoretical maximum efficiency of CST would be around 95%. (5)

Different types of CST can achieve different rates of efficiency. For example, some types of
parabolic troughs will work at 56%, solar power towers with heliostats – at 73% and dish
concentrators – at 80%. (6)

Solar Electricity - Solar Thermal Technologies

A parabolic trough is the most developed type of CST. It is a parabolic reflector that focuses
sunlight on to a receiver (a tube) which is located above the central line of the reflector and
filled with a working fluid that is heated by sunlight. The heated fluid flows through the receiver
and is then used as a source of heat for a power plant. (7)

Solar Power Tower

Photo: Wikimedia.org

The big advantage of parabolic troughs over PV cells is that it is much cheaper to store energy
in the form of heat than in the form of electricity. It means that such CST electricity can be
obtained on demand at any time of the day (incl. peak times and nights) which is not cheaply
available with PV technology.
A concentrating linear Fresnel reflector is a variant of parabolic troughs, with one main
difference: it uses many flat thin mirror strips to focus sunlight on two tubes with the working
fluid. The advantage of the Fresnel reflector over parabolic troughs is that it is much cheaper to
produce flats strips than curved parabolic collectors.

A solar power tower, with the receiver at its very top, gets concentrated sunlight from a field of
heliostats (mirrors that track the sun) surrounding the tower. The sunlight heats the working
fluid inside the receiver which is then used as a source of heat for a thermal power plant.

A dish-Stirling system is a stand-alone dish that consists of a collection of mirrors focusing

sunlight on to a receiver which is located at the focal point of the dish, and heating the working
fluid. A Stirling engine then uses the working fluid to generate power.

Most CST technologies offer a utility-scale service.

Build your own solar panel? Is that really possible?

Yes, it is. Now you, me and anyone else can do it - there is plenty of information available on
the internet on how to do it.

Not only will using solar electricity save you money, it will also help the environment. It cannot
get better than that, can it?

Here is your own step-by-step guide to help you on your way to using clean, renewable energy.

Build Your Own Solar Panel

Stage 1 - Tools & Materials

Prepare the tools and materials you will need for building your panel first.

Photo: Brian Dorey

You want to make sure you have everything at hand before starting the process. If you
are not a particularly handy man (or handy woman :)) type and don't have all the tools
immediately available, you may need to either purchase the missing ones or, more
economically, borrow them from your relatives or friends.
A diy solar panel will normally consist of:

• a frame including:

o a backing - the frame's main support component

o a substrate - which will slide inside the backing and actually hold the solar
cells

o border strips - attached to the edges of the backing for general protection

• solar cells which will be the main "collectors" of sunlight

• wire components such as tabbing wires for solar cells and other connecting wires

• frame cover such as plexiglass

The process of building a panel will include:

• building a backing and a substrate

• tabbing solar cells with wire (for cells which are not pre-tabbed)

• connecting tabbed cells into strings

• attaching the cell strings to the substrate

• connecting the strings with wire

• attaching a cover to the panel and sealing it

So let's summarize the tools and materials that we'll need:

Materials Tools

Plywood or Aluminum (backing & substrate) Saw

Wood strips (backing's border) Paint brush

Glue / Screws (backing's border) Screwdriver

UV protector paint (backing & substrate) Solder iron

Silicone caulk (backing) Rosin flux pen

Plexiglass (panel cover) Caulk gun

Solar cells Panel output multi-meter

Wire Gloves / Eye protection

 Solder

If your budget permits it, you can decide to choose more durable material for your
backing - aluminum - rather than plywood. However, plywood is also a good choice.

Ordering stuff on the internet is often much cheaper than buying from a local shop.

Solar cells are the most important components of any solar panel. For diy solar panels,
getting your solar cells from the internet is perhaps the only viable option.

Again, it is preferable to get new solar cells. If you are on a limited budget though, you
can choose to buy cheaper damaged / broken solar cells but they will naturally require
a lot more work and may not function at 100% of their capacity.

Build Your Own Solar Panel

Stage 2 - Build Panel Frame

Sample Panel Backing Photo: Brian Dorey

Start the process with building your panel backing and substrate.

The size of your frame will be determined by the number and arrangement of solar
cells inside the panel. If each cell has a voltage of around 0.5 V and you are trying to
build a panel with an 18 V output, then you will need 36 cells connected in series. This
will be enough to charge a 12 V battery (that you may want to use to store solar
energy).

If you are using 3" x 6" solar cells and are planning to arrange 4 cells across and 9
cells down inside your panel, then the dimensions of your frame would be as follows:
 Backing 35" long 27" wide

Substrate 32" long 24" wide

Border Strips 35" long 25" long

These dimensions allow for some space between the cells, as well as between the cells
and the borders.

Action:

• Cut your material to size for the backing, border strips and substrate

• Glue / screw down the border strips to the backing

• Cover the backing and the substrate with 3 layers of UV protector paint (if your
material is wood); give them enough time to dry properly

• Make sure the substrate will fit just fine inside the backing

Build Your Own Solar Panel

Stage 3 - Tab Solar Cells

Next, tab your solar cells with wire.

You will need tabbing wire, flux pen, solder and solder iron to tab the cells.

This is what a typical untabbed solar cell looks like:

Diagram 1:
Front of Untabbed Solar Cell

Tabbing the cells means soldering tabbing wires to the front of each cell, along the
white lines (electrodes) as seen above.

This is what a solar cell should look like once you've finished tabbing it:
 Diagram 2:
Front of Tabbed Solar Cell

The length of your wire ribbons should be slightly shorter than the height of two cells
since the loose ends will be soldered on to the back of other cells to form a "string".
You will see how to do it in the next stage.

Action:

Before tabbing your solar cells, test them with a multi-meter to make sure
they work fine.

You can do this by attaching the negative and positive leads of your multi-
meter to the negative and positive electrodes of the cell (the front of the
cell is negative and its back is positive).

• Cut your wire to size for all the cells you are planning to tab

• Work with one cell at a time

• Use a flux pen "to wet" the white lines of a cell first

• Take a piece of wire and apply a little solder to one half of it by carefully pushing
the solder down the wire with a solder iron

• Press the soldered half of the wire very gently along the white line with a solder
iron; keep moving the iron up and down the white line until the wire is properly
attached

Build Your Own Solar Panel

Stage 4 - Connect Tabbed Cells Into Strings

Now it's time to join your tabbed cells into strings.

If the arrangement of your panel is 4 cells across and 9 cells down, then you will want
to build strings of 9 cells each (as opposed to a panel of 3 cells across and 12 cells
down).

You will need to solder loose tabs coming from the front of cell 1 to the back of cell 2,
then solder tabs from the front of cell 2 to the back of cell 3, and so on.

This is the back of a solar cell:

Diagram 3:
Solar Cell Back

The white points above are the solder points to which you'll need to attach tabs from
another cell.

This is what your finished string should look like (there are only 5 cells in the graphic
below, just to demonstrate the point):

Diagram 4:
Front of Solar Cell String

Action:

The diagrams below accompany the explanation.

• Take two solar cells and put them upside down (with their backs up), aligned with
each other

• Use a flux pen "to wet" the six white points on the back of cell 2

• Apply some solder to each white point of cell 2 with a solder iron

• Place one wire from cell 1 over the corresponding three white points of cell 2

• Solder the wire of cell 1 gently to each white point of cell 2 with a solder iron

• Do the same for the second wire of cell 1

• Do the same for connecting the remaining 7 cells; you have now built one string of
9 cells

• Do the same for other 3 strings

Diagram 5:
Back of Two Cells Wired Together

Diagram 6:
Back of String of 9 Cells

Solar String Back

Photo: Brian Dorey

Build Your Own Solar Panel

 Stage 5 - Attach Strings to Substrate & Connect Them
Together

The next step is to attach the strings to the substrate, and then connect them together
with wire.

You can start by gluing the strings to the substrate with silicone caulk.

Before doing it though, you'll need to know how to actually arrange the strings on the
substrate.

We assume that your arrangement is 4 cells across and 9 cells down in series (36 cells
in total).

Have a look at the illustration below.

The negative wires coming from the front of string 1 will be connected to the positive
wires coming from the bottom of string 2, with thicker wire called the bus.

Diagram 7:
Two Strings Connected Together

Here is a schematic presentation of the strings' arrangement in your finished solar

panel (4 cells across and 9 cells down):

Diagram 8:
Connection of Strings in Solar Panel
So, this is exactly how we should position the strings on the substrate in order to
connect them correctly with wire afterwards.

Action:

Attaching Strings to Substrate

• Place your strings on the substrate, in the correct position as demonstrated in

Diagram 8 above

• Flip one string over, with its back facing up and front facing down

• Drop a small blob of silicone caulk in the middle of each cell

• Flip the string over again, with the front facing up now as it should be in the
finished panel

• Secure each cell to the substrate by gently pressing with your finger in their center

• Do the same for other strings

Connecting Strings Together

• Cut the bus wire into strips to connect the strings at each "turn" point

• Place one strip of wire along the two cells leading off from two strings you are
trying to connect

• Wrap the tabs from each cell around the wire

• Solder the tabs to the wire for better connection

• Do the same for other "turn" points; in total you should have 3 connections like
that - 2 at the top and 1 at the bottom of the panel - as demonstrated in Diagram 8
 Two Strings Wired at "Turn" Point
Photo: Brian Dorey

Build Your Own Solar Panel

Stage 6 - Secure Substrate to Panel & Attach Cover

You are now ready to secure the substrate to the backing, and attach a cover to the
panel.

Action:

• Fit the substrate inside the panel backing

• Screw the substrate carefully to the backing

• Connect the two tabs coming off from each of the two cells - one located in the
bottom left-hand corner ("negative") and the other in the bottom right-hand corner
("positive") of Diagram 8 above - with copper braid (as opposed to bus wire)

• Make sure the two wires that you will use for this purpose are long enough to go
out into the back of the panel for external delivery of energy

• Install a blocking diode into the positive wire to prevent your batteries (which store
energy) from discharging at nights, unless you use a charge controller

• Drill a hole in the bottom center of the substrate and the backing (between the
negative & positive leads - as shown in Diagram 8) and let the two wires slip through
this hole into the back of the panel

• Test the panel to make sure it works fine before sealing it (see Stage 7)

• Secure the wires to the substrate with silicone caulk to prevent them from moving
around the panel

• Fill the hole with silicone caulk as well to keep it properly sealed

• Allow the silicone to cure completely for a day or so before sealing the panel

• Cover the panel with plexiglass & screw it with stainless steel screws
 • Seal all the spaces between the backing, its borders and the cover with silicone
caulk for complete protection

Solar Panel Covered With Glass

Photo: Brian Dorey

Build Your Own Solar Panel

Stage 7 - Test Finished Panel

Test the panel to check if it works as expected.

Action:

• Place your panel in full sun

• Attach your multi-meter's negative lead to the negative lead of your panel and the
multi-meter's positive lead - to the positive lead of your panel, correspondingly

• Test your voltage output first: your panel of 36 cells (0.5 V each) should produce
around 18 volts

• Test your current output second: your panel should produce around 3.5 amps
Example of Finished DIY Solar Panel
Photo: Brian Dorey