Global temperature change

Global warming is the warming near the earth's surface that results when the earth's atmosphere traps the sun's heat. The earth is getting warmer. The changes are small, so far, but they are expected to grow and speed up. Within the next fifty to one hundred years, the earth may be hotter than it has been in the past million years. As oceans warm and glaciers melt, land and cities along coasts may be flooded. Heat and drought may cause forests to die and food crops to fail. Global warming will affect weather everywhere, plants and animals everywhere, people everywhere; humans are warming the earth's atmosphere by burning fuels, cutting down forest, and by taking part in other activities that release certain heat trapping gases into the air.

This chart shows the annual increase during the last century.

One major cause of global warming is the use of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas that were formed from the remains of plant material deposited during the earth's carboniferous period. We have known for only a few thousand years that coal, oil, and natural gas can be burned to provide energy. It was not until the mid-1800s, however, that we began to burn very large quantities of these fossil fuels. The worldwide consumption of fossil fuel has increased dramatically.

The world now burns at least five billion tons of fossil fuel each year. As this carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels enters the atmosphere, some of it is taken up by photosynthesizing plants, and the oceans absorb some. But because we are burning so much fossil fuel at such a rapid rate, we are putting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere much faster than these natural processes are taking it out. There is no longer a balance between the amount of carbon dioxide being added to the air and the amount of carbon dioxide being removed. As a result, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the air is steadily increasing.

Putin stockpiles gold as Russia prepares for economic war

Putin stockpiles gold as Russia prepares for economic war

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/commodities/11226240/Putin-stockpiles-gold-as-Russia-prepares-for-economic-war.html

Russia's central bank added to its reserves of bullion in the third quarter, according to the latest report from the World Gold Council

Russia has taken advantage of lower gold prices to pack the vaults of its central bank with bullion as it prepares for the possibility of a long, drawn-out economic war with the West. The latest research from the World Gold Council reveals that the Kremlin snapped up 55 tonnes of the precious metal - far more than any other nation - in the three months to the end of September as prices began to weaken.

Vladimir Putin's government is understood to be hoarding vast quantities of gold, having tripled stocks to around 1,150 tonnes in the last decade. These reserves could provide the Kremlin with vital firepower to try and offset the sharp declines in the rouble.Russia's currency has come under intense pressure since US and European sanctions and falling oil prices started to hurt the economy. Revenues from the sale of oil and gas account for about 45pc of the Russian government's budget receipts.

The biggest buyers of gold after Russia are other countries from the Commonwealth of Independent States, led by Kazakhstan and in total, central banks around the world bought 93 tonnes of the precious metal in the third quarter, marking it the 15th consecutive quarter of net purchases. In its report, the World Gold Council said this was down to a combination of geopolitical tensions and attempts by countries to diversify their reserves away from the US dollar.

By the end of the year, central banks will have acquired up to 500 tonnes of gold during the latest buying spell, according to Alistair Hewitt, head of market intelligence at the World Gold Council.
"Central banks have been consistently adding to their gold holdings since 2009," Mr Hewitt told the Telegraph. In the case of Russia, Mr Hewitt said that the recent increases in its gold holdings could be a sign of greater geopolitical risk that has arisen since it seized Crimea sparking a dispute with Ukraine and the West

Why Manchester United are going backwards under Louis van Gaal

Data: Stats show that Louis van Gaal's team are one of the most negative sides in the Premier League when it comes to passing and penetration in the final third.

This is a demo of Highcharts Cloud, contents copied from The Telegraph.