Global Warming Essay

Global warming pertains to the increase in temperature of the atmosphere based on the entrapment of gases that are emitted from activities on the surface of the earth. The increase in temperature is a direct result of the greenhouse effect, which involves heat that originated from the sun, which is entrapped within the atmosphere due to several factors. Scientists have determined that the atmosphere’s temperature has increased since the industrial revolution, which has maximized the use of chemicals in manufacturing various kinds of materials in industry. There are four principal gases that have been identified to be primarily responsible for the onset of global warming. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is accountable for approximately half of the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (Pearson and Palmer, 2000). This gas is a by-product of fossil fuel combustion, which involves burning of coal, natural gas and oil. It is also generated from deforestation activities, which have increased for expansion of industrialization areas. Trees utilize carbon dioxide in their photosynthetic reactions, but it there are fewer trees in the environment, less CO2 is removed from the atmosphere, leaving the environment with excess amounts of CO2. Another gas that has been determined to be responsible for global warming is chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which are the primary constituent of plastics and aerosols, as well as refrigerants in air conditioners. Chlorofluorocarbons make up approximately 25% of the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Thirdly, methane gas (CH4), which comprises approximately 12% of the greenhouse gases, is also accountable for global warming. Methane gas is released during the decay of organic matter, as well as in the stomachs of cattle, sheep and termites, yet, most of the gas is currently generated by industrial companies. Lastly, nitrous oxide (N2O) is responsible for approximately 6% of the greenhouse gases. It is a by-product of industries, as well as nitrogen fertilizers, volcanic eruptions and livestock manure. Global warming may result in regional changes in the weather, which will be more obvious if the weather were compared from one decade to another, and not on a daily basis. However, scientists have hypothesized that when the temperature of the surface of the earth has reached a highly critical level, such high temperature will cause severe and drastic changes to the atmosphere, affecting the oceans and will severely alter the weather patterns in a matter of years. Changes in the weather may include increasingly hot days and less cool days. The water levels will go down, exposing more land surface during the summer. Even higher latitude regions will be warmer by 40%. In addition, the amount the precipitation, be it rain or snow, will also increase, in the form of stronger storms and very intense typhoons and hurricanes. The El Nino events may also be more increase due to global warming. Global warming not only affects the weather, but it will also affect natural habitats. Higher levels of CO2 may facilitate the growth of forests, facilitating them to flourish and bloom. The warmer ocean waters will be helpful to fish and algae in the high seas. However, those organisms in higher elevations will find difficulty in surviving in warmer environments. Higher temperatures in oceans may kill corals, which are the nurseries for fishes and other aquatic organisms. For the human population, global warming may cause more incidents of infectious diseases such malaria, as well as systemic health problems such as heat stroke and respiratory diseases. Currently, the world is confused as society is ignorant of the detailed effects of global warming. Society is aware the summers are now longer and more intense and winters are envious of summer’s wrath, unleashing a fury that rivals the intensity of the heat. This is actually what global warming does. It confuses the world and now currently has also succeeded in confounding scientists. From a scientific point of view, global warming can be understood as a global environmental phenomenon which is characterized by an increase in the average temperature of the Earth’s near-surface air and oceans (Smith and Reynolds, 2005). There is certainly no doubt that global warming has a very detrimental effect on the environment as it causes rising sea levels and alters the amount and pattern of precipitation that areas all over the world get. These environmental changes are also the projected causes of other ecological changes such as increases in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events which in turn creates changes in agricultural yields, glacier retreat, reduced summer stream flows, species extinctions and increases in the ranges of disease vectors. Based on the current scientific projections, the temperature of the world is expected to increase by 1. 1 to 6. 4  °C (2. 0 to 11. 5  °F) between the years 1990 and 2100. While most of the studies and projection models that have been utilized for these estimates cover the period up to the year 2100, global temperature warming and sea level rise are expected to continue for more than a millennium even if no further greenhouse gases are released after this date (Haigh, 2003). This is due to the melting of the polar ice caps which is estimated to continue due to the changes that have already occurred in the world’s temperature. One proposal to answer to the problem of global warming is a lot simpler in theory than it is in practice. Given the rate of economic growth of many of the developing countries and the shift of production to the lesser developed countries, the implementation of any global protocols is easier to imagine than to implement (Torn and Harte, 2006). Greenhouse gases, which are cited as one of the main causes of global warming, are most commonly emitted from the highly industrialized countries and the less developed countries which rely heavily on industrial machinery for production. The problem in this scenario is that by cutting back on the emission of greenhouse gases, a majority of the world’s production of most major goods will be affected. The economic costs not to mention the technological impediments that preventing the shift to more environmentally friendly methods make the reduction of these greenhouse gases extremely difficult (Rudiman, 2005). There have been steps that have been taken to reduce the levels of greenhouse gases. In order to address the situation of global warming, many countries have participated in the world’s primary international agreement on combating global warming which is the Kyoto Protocol. An amendment to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Kyoto Protocol binds signatory countries to reduce their emissions of CO2 and five other greenhouse gases. In the alternative, it allows these countries to engage in emissions trading if they are able to maintain or increase emissions of these gases. The problem with this protocol, however, is that it exempts developing countries from meeting emission standards in Kyoto. Some of the countries that have been excluded from this list are China and India, who are ranked as the second and third largest emitters of CO2, behind the United States. It is clear therefore that even despite these actions much more work is needed in order to address the problem. The implementation of international protocols and requiring countries to meet certain environmental standards is certainly a big step towards addressing this issue. More intergovernmental cooperation is also another prospective answer to this problem. The more developed countries should also take the lead in encouraging the shift away from more traditional methods of production towards more environmentally friendly methods through the award of grants and exchange of technology (Torn and Harte, 2006). The creation of a body that is designed to not only specifically develop policies regarding this issue but also be given the power to enforce these policies will allow for the more efficient reduction of these greenhouse gases. It is unclear just how effective these policies may be but the fact that is clear is that in order to address this issue, each and every person in the world must take part in reducing the emission of these greenhouse gases which is the main cause of this problem (Gore, 2006). Simple steps such as taking the public transport or walking instead of taking carbon monoxide emitting vehicles will go a long way. There are many things that people can do in order to contribute to the improvement of the current environmental condition. It does not take a lot and it all starts with the awareness of the gravity of the situation. While the general scientific consensus is that global warming is real and its overall effects are detrimental, there are still some prominent scientists who feel that the severe effects of global warming have been sensationalized. Certain members of society take the idea of global warming with the normal temperature and that the temperature of the surface of the Earth has not severely increased over the last one hundred years. They claim that the temperature data collected in the 1970’s were taken in urbanized areas using different kinds of thermometers, hence the temperature readings were influenced by human error and do not precisely show drastic temperature changes in the surface of the Earth as well as in the oceans. It is therefore important the satellite data be acquired for the coming next decades in order to generate robust and reliable temperature readings that society and the scientific world will acceptable without any doubts on its credibility and efficiency. It is also of prime importance that scientific and legislative bodies prove that global warming does actually occur as a result of carbon dioxide accumulation in the atmosphere. Geological scientists have gather substantial fossil evidence that prove that carbon dioxide concentrations have increased on the surface of the Earth, which thus results in a warmer surface, but the direct connection between the increase in carbon dioxide and the temperature increase at the actual in situ settings should still be observed. Most of the information and generalizations that scientists have collected were based on laboratory conditions where most of the components of the setup were easily regulated and controlled, such as humidity and temperature. There are currently a number of models that may be used in forecasting average surface temperatures on the Earth, but there is still a need to also design a model that could predict the amount of human-made emissions that could trigger the same features that cause global warming. There is quite a huge number of people in society that still do not understand the climate changes and what triggers such disturbances in our current weather. Every country is now aware of the causes and effects of global warming on the ecosystem. There has been great speculation that global warming is both a natural and a man-made phenomenon. Whatever the cause is, it is imperative that every citizen understands what global warming is and what measures can be taken in order to minimize, avoid or prevent the increase in accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. References Gore A (2006): An inconvenient truth: The planetary emergency of global warming and what we can do about it. Rodale Books. Haigh JD (2003): The effects of solar variability on the Earth’s climate. Philos. Trans. Roy. Soc. A: Math. Phys. Eng. Sci. 361(1802):91-111. Lean JL, Wang YM and Sheeley NR (2002): The effect of increasing solar activity on the Sun’s total and open magnetic flux during multiple cycles: Implications for solar forcing of climate. Geophys. Res. Lett. 29(24):2224. Rudiman W (2005): How Did Humans First Alter Global Climate? Sci. Am. , March 2005 issue. Smith TM and Reynolds RW (2005): A global merged land–air–sea surface temperature reconstruction based on historical observations (1880–1997). J. Clim. 18(12): 2021-2036. Torn M and Harte J (2006): Missing feedbacks, asymmetric uncertainties, and the underestimation of future warming. Geophys. Res. Lett. 33(10):L10703. Global Warming Essay Climate scientists tell us that global warming is a very serious matter and the world has to make firm decisions to try to slow the warming and eventually to reverse it. Some politicians agree, but many lack the political will to press for urgent changes. Many scientists believe it is already too late to stop a 2 degree Celsius rise in temperature. Already there have been changes. Extreme weather events are becoming more common. Heat waves have been happening. Famine is worsening in Africa. Sea levels are rising and the Pacific Island countries are desperate for a solution. Glaciers are melting and the rivers in Asia and South America that rely on the glaciers for a steady supply of water for the millions of people downstream are in danger of drying to a trickle. A: It could (someday) destroy the earth and we would all die and there would be nothing living on the earth! A: Global warming causes an increase and decrease in temperatures in the world. Some cities will experience a hotter climate, some would experience a colder climate. This generally affects the habitat, ecosystem, ocean water levels, etc. In other words, a little increase in temperature would have a disastrous effect for residents living near/on coastal regions. This would mean flooding and also playing an influential factor as to the organisms that survive within a temperature/pH (power of Hydrogen) range, resulting in possible extinction. because polar bears enjoy life not death in the cold ocean†¦.Climate scientists tell us that global warming is a very serious matter and the world has to make firm decisions to try to slow the warming and eventually to reverse it. Some politicians agree, but many lack the political will to press for urgent changes. Many scientists believe it is already too late to stop a 2 degree Celsius rise in temperature. Already there have been changes. Extreme weather events are becoming more common. Heat waves have been happening. Famine is worsening in Africa. Sea levels are rising and the Pacific Island countries are desperate for a  solution. Glaciers are melting and the rivers in Asia and South America that rely on the glaciers for a steady supply of water for the millions of people downstream are in danger of drying to a trickle. A: It could (someday) destroy the earth and we would all die and there would be nothing living on the earth! A: Global warming causes an increase and decrease in temperatures in the world. Some cities will experience a hotter climate, some would experience a colder climate. This generally affects the habitat, ecosystem, ocean water levels, etc. In other words, a little increase in temperature would have a disastrous effect for residents living near/on coastal regions. This would mean flooding and also playing an influential factor as to the organisms that survive within a temperature/pH (power of Hydrogen) range, resulting in possible extinction. because polar bears enjoy life not death in the cold ocean†¦.Climate scientists tell us that global warming is a very serious matter and the world has to make firm decisions to try to slow the warming and eventually to reverse it. Some politicians agree, but many lack the political will to press for urgent changes. Many scientists believe it is already too late to stop a 2 degree Celsius rise in temperature. Already there have been changes. Extreme weather events are becoming more common. Heat waves have been happening. Famine is worsening in Africa. Sea levels are rising and the Pacific Island countries are desperate for a solution. Glaciers are melting and the rivers in Asia and South America that rely on the glaciers for a steady supply of water for the millions of people downstream are in danger of drying to a trickle. A: It could (someday) destroy the earth and we would all die and there would be nothing living on the earth! A: Global warming causes an increase and decrease in temperatures in the world. Some cities will experience a hotter climate, some would experience a colder climate. This generally affects the habitat, ecosystem, ocean water levels, etc. In other words, a little increase in temperature would have a disastrous effect for residents living near/on coastal regions. This would mean flooding and also playing an influential factor as to the organisms that survive within a temperature/pH (power of  Hydrogen) range, resulting in possible extinction. because polar bears enjoy life not death in the cold ocean†¦.Climate scientists tell us that global warming is a very serious matter and the world has to make firm decisions to try to slow the warming and eventually to reverse it. Some politicians agree, but many lack the political will to press for urgent changes. Many scientists believe it is already too late to stop a 2 degree Celsius rise in temperature. Already there have been changes. Extreme weather events are becoming more common. Heat waves have been happening. Famine is worsening in Africa. Sea levels are rising and the Pacific Island countries are desperate for a solution. Glaciers are melting and the rivers in Asia and South America that rely on the glaciers for a steady supply of water for the millions of people downstream are in danger of drying to a trickle. A: It could (someday) destroy the earth and we would all die and there would be nothing living on the earth! A: Global warming causes an increase and decrease in temperatures in the world. Some cities will experience a hotter climate, some would experience a colder climate. This generally affects the habitat, ecosystem, ocean water levels, etc. In other words, a little increase in temperature would have a disastrous effect for residents living near/on coastal regions. This would mean flooding and also playing an influential factor as to the organisms that survive within a temperature/pH (power of Hydrogen) range, resulting in possible extinction. because polar bears enjoy life not death in the cold ocean†¦ .