Global Warming Reality: A Naturalist Action Plan

by Thomas Edward Loxley

Many important aspects of global warming need to be better appreciated if this looming crisis is to ever be averted. Global Warming A Naturalist Action Plan is aimed at high school and college students. It seeks to promote widespread debate and discussion in regard to developing practical solutions to this major problem. It encourages massive reforestation as well as increasing the solar reflectivity, or albedo, of the Earth's surface. Simple Insulated Soil-Pad Exhibits are introduced to illustrate the upward soil heat transfer potential of any underlying capillary moisture transport that is induced. A phenomenon known as rising damp. The test exhibit consists of a 16 by 16 foot square pad with a 6-mil polyethylene ground cover, a 4-inch thick layer of extruded polystyrene foam insulation, and a polypropylene tarpaulin cover that is staked to level ground. The winter reading of a temperature sensor, under the center of the pad, offers to display the possible base temperature in local above grade buildings employing the inverted cave phenomenon. This literally turns the massive storage of solar energy in the Earth's subsoil into a practical new heat source that is widely available. As an educator, the author believes most people are fascinated by displays that can help them to see an old problem in a valuable new light. The book conveys a well illustrated appreciation of the minimum ground contact area, edge effects, geometry, equipment integration, geological and climatic concerns involved in maximizing the building performance.

96 pages, Paperback

Published December 13, 2022