Global warming, also known as the greenhouse effect, has been a trending topic in the recent years, but global warming has been around for a long time. Earth has warmed at a high rate over the last hundred years and particularly over the last two decades. Burning large amounts of fossil fuels; coal, oil, natural gas is a root cause of global warming. The greenhouse effect are gases in our atmosphere that hold in heat, such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. “They maintain an average temperature on Earth of 59°F,” according to the book “an inconvenient truth, the crisis of global warming” by Al Gore. Burning releases heat-trapping gases to the atmosphere. The gases, especially CO2 (Carbon Dioxide), act like a blanket that retains heat and restricts the rate at which Earth’s surface can radiate heat to space. Another factor is deforestation; when forests are cut down or burned, they can no longer store carbon, and the carbon is released to the atmosphere. The result is global warming. Today, current levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are higher than at any time during the last 100,000 years.
Why does this topic interests me? Because humans play a big role on global warming. Everyone we know has helped cause global warming and has been affected by it. Think about it for a minute. You wake up, brush your teeth, flush the toilet, consumed a breakfast meal, drive to work or school, drive back home, flush the toilet, wash your hands, consume dinner, take a shower, and then sleep. It seems like a lot of steps to your day but you for you its just a normal day. Lets say brushing your teeth is 1 gallon per minute and you take 2 minutes so total 5 minutes seems fair. Lets say when you take a shower you waste 2 gallons ...
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...n dry out and causes a wildfire. One of the most devastating natural disasters we ever witnessed was Hurricane Katrina which affected New Orleans, the hurricane reached up to category 5, and it was a destruction down in New Orleans. “There are no words to describe it” (68). Gore said.
Up to this day there is really no slowing down the levels of carbon dioxide. Not with 7 billion people, it is really tough to keep everyone from wasting resources and polluting the planet. We can only hope for technology to advance more to do something about it. Once CO₂ is released in the atmosphere it takes time to get rid of it. It’s like a cycle. It is believed that planet Earth has been through this phase before where the planet warms up and then cools down to another ice age.
Works Cited
Gore, Al. An Inconvenient Truth: The Crisis of Global Warming. New York: Viking, 2007.
The Greenhouse Effect occurs when all of the heat is being trapped which involves elements like CH4, N2O, O3. But , the one thing that causes global warming is CO2 ( Schlosser). The society has to remember that not only the elements cause this change , critics are causing the climate change also. For example , fire is natural and beneficial but it can also cause the weather to change because it releases carbon monoxide , and all of that goes up into the atmosphere which can cause global change. Not only does it cause warm temperatures but it also disrupts ecosystems pushing those to extinction for those who can’t adapt. There is also the Greenhouse effect temperatures. They have been rising to about 0.8 degrees celsius. According to Dr. Schlosser , in the atmosphere, it returns about 30% of the energy in approaching sunlight and takes in about 30% at the same time.
Global warming is commonly caused by the excessive amount of greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases are the gases which work the same way as greenhouse, absorbing the heat radiation from the Sun and emitting it back to the Earth’s surface. This process is called greenhouse effect. In addition, greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, water vapor, methane and Chlorofluorocarbon or commonly called CFCs.
The greenhouse effect is known as the rising in earth's temperature above from its normal temperature. In the atmosphere, there are certain gases, such as methane, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxides, water vapor, and ozone, which aid in this activity by reflecting the heat back to earth. Because of this process earth can maintain a suitable temperature. Around 57 degrees Fahrenheit, which are considered to be a normal temperature. The average temperature on earth would be zero degrees Fahrenheit, 18 degrees Celsius), if this radiation is not trapped, and as a result of life would not be as we are seeing now. In this way, these greenhouse gases are primary and very important for the survival of the living organisms on earth. What makes the earth,
What is global warming? According to the Natural Resource Defense Council, “Carbon dioxide and other air pollution that is collecting in the atmosphere like a thickening blanket, trapping the sun’s heat and causing the planet to warm up” (“Natural Resources Defense Council”). This shows that global warming is caused due to the fact that harmful gases such as Carbon Dioxide escape into the atmosphere and capture all of the sun’s heat; keeping it secure. This causes the planet to get warm. Coal burning power plants are the main cause of global warming (Natural Resources Defense Council). Power plants and factories give off gases that pollute the air and cause disruptions in the atmosphere. These gases taint the atmosphere, making it thicker and causing it to contain more heat, also warming the earth. These intense heating conditions lead to w...
To truly understand the global warming, and how it effects the earth, knowing what is the greenhouse effect, and what it does needs to be discussed first. The greenhouse effect is one of the main reasons that the earth is the perfect place to live on. Basically, the reason that animals live on earth is not just because the earth is in perfect distance from the earth, but “Our moderate temperatures are also the result of having just the right kind of atmosphere” (“The Greenhouse Effect”). As a matter of fact, the earth’s atmosphere is like a perfect blanket that keeps the temperature perfect on the surface of the earth (“The Greenhouse Effect”). This perfect blanket that keep the temperature cool on the earth are
The greenhouse effect is a natural process that keeps the earth at temperatures that are livable. Energy from the sun warms the earth when its heat rays are absorbed by greenhouse gasses and become trapped in the atmosphere. Some of the most common greenhouse gasses are water vapor, carbon dioxide, and methane. If there were no greenhouse gasses, very few rays would be absorbed and the earth would be extremely cold. When too many rays are absorbed the earth’s atmosphere heats up and it causes what we know as global warming. Al Gore (2006) described the greenhouse effect as the potentially most dangerous environmental problem facing mankind, with consequences second only to nuclear war (p.299). As the name suggests, global warming isn’t merely affecting parts of the world, it is threatening the world globally.
The Earth’s current CO2 level is at 393.84ppm (CO2now, 2013). This is the highest of the high levels in the past 450,000 years. Extra carbon dioxide in the air is believed to keep temperatures steady and contributing to the greenhouse effect which causes the planet to warm. Scientists believe that humans add CO2 through the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, and livestock farming to name a few. Natural processes also contribute to the CO2 emitted into the atmosphere including forest fires. Two sources on Earth remove CO2 from the atmosphere: Trees and the ocean. Deforestation can contribute to global warming because trees absorb carbon dioxide and when trees are removed the Earth loses its natural carbon storehouses. Phytoplankton consume CO2 through the photosynthesis process and transport it from the ocean’ surface to the deep. These sources eliminate 30-50% of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Burning fossil fuels like coal and oil, are not the only way people raise the climate. Ever since the industrial age, global climate change has been on the rise. Industrial factories are constantly burning fossil fuels and increasing the carbon in the atmosphere. The amount of greenhouse gases that are built up in the atmosphere has sped up the natural greenhouse effect the Earth has. The greenhouse effect is, “trapping of the sun 's warmth in a planet 's lower atmosphere due to the greater transparency of the atmosphere to visible radiation from the sun than to infrared radiation emitted from the planet 's surface”. Because of the constant pollution that humans keep making, the greenhouse effect is happening faster than usual.
Global warming has been a continuous controversy regarding whether humans are the primary cause for the destruction of our planet. By simply living, humans are contributing to the unceasing rise in temperature of the earth’s atmosphere predominantly created by the greenhouse effect. Greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, trap heat in the atmosphere. A mass amount of greenhouse gases develop from the burning of fossil fuels. However, deforestation, industrial processes and a few agricultural practices still transmit gases into the air. Climate scientists can agree that human activities add significantly to the levels of greenhouse gases, which is indeed the leading cause of global warming.
This Earth is getting older and older. Can you imagine what life will be like if the temperature in the Earth keeps on rising due to the excessive amount of heat trapped in the atmosphere? No one would want that to happen. The atmosphere plays an important role in our daily life. It keeps the Earth warm, which is also known as the greenhouse effect. Due to ozone depletion and global warming, the atmosphere is not able to function normally like how it used to. Human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels and clearing of forests contributed and intensified the greenhouse effect. These activities also lead changes to the Earth’s climate. We live on this Earth and it is important for us to prevent the Earth from further damage caused by the greenhouse effect. It is our job to protect our beloved Earth. To save this Earth, we should learn what greenhouse effect is, what cause it, what the impact is, and the steps or ways to prevent it.
The world is getting hotter, and it is our fault! Global warming is the term given to the slow rise in the earth’s temperature over a long period of time, which happens when air polluting gasses like carbon dioxide and methane gases get trapped in the atmosphere making the atmosphere thick. The thick atmosphere prevents heat from escaping, which changes the earth’s temperature to a warmer climate. This warming has a negative impact on the earth and all that inhabit which makes it an environmental issue of global concern. While some may argue that global warming is not real, the earth is proving otherwise. Warmer temperatures are causing ice glaciers to melt, resulting in a rise in sea levels. Global warming is also causing a change in weather patterns, imposing devastating and unpredictable weather conditions on plants, animals, and humans. While global warming is caused partly by natural environmental occurrences out of our control, human activities are responsible the majority of global warming. The combustion of fossil fuels, chemical fertilizer use, methane emissions from factory farm animals, and deforestation are the main human activities that contribute to global warming.
In talking about global warming, we need to learn what causes the greenhouse effect. Rays from the sun are taken up and absorbed by water vapor that is natural in the atmosphere. The United States emits the largest man made greenhouse gases in the world. As Americans we must realize the responsibility to reduce the emissions. (Gore, Albert) Water Vapor is eighty percent of greenhouse warming. The last twenty percent results from other gases that are in very little amounts. A huge absorber of the sun’s heat rays is carbon dioxide. Us as humans release a lot of carbon dioxide. When fossil fuels are burned, they release big amounts of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is on the increase in our atmosphere due to car emissions. Approximately eighty percent of CO2 increases because of man’s use of fossil fuels. When there is more carbon dioxide in our atmosphere the more sun rays are absorbed. In result to this happening this will cause the earth and the earths atmosphere to warm. When the earth is warming, water temperatures will start to get warmer. Oceans and lakes will get warmer in result f...
Global Warming is a condition caused by greenhouse gases and human activities. The increased concentration of greenhouse gases due to activities such as deforestation and fossil fuel burning is causing the Earth’s atmosphere and oceans to warm up. As a result of this, global warming has some serious effects in the shape of extreme weather, species extinctions, and rising sea levels. These effects can contribute to the changes that are taking place all over the world, most of which are dangerous enough to pose a threat to the survival of life on Earth in the future.
Global warming is the gradual rise in temperature and oceans due to recent human activity. This is created by the production of too much carbon dioxide that is released into the earth’s atmosphere. The carbon dioxide, also known as a greenhouse gas, remains in the air trapping heat and gradually warming the planet. Other greenhouse gases such as: methane, nitrous oxide, and water vapor also contribute to this slow warming. According to Live Science, The state of these gases being trapped is called the greenhouse effect, which is one of the leading causes of global warming (Lallanillia). All the gases are created differently and have different effects on the earth. As for some greenhouse gases can be in the atmosphere for a short amount of time, other gases can remain in the atmosphere for thousands of
The common definition of global warming is a gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earth’s atmosphere generally attributed to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide and other pollutants (Global warming, Wikipedia). Moreover, the effects of global warming will bring ecological and social changes. Because there is no exact way to predict the effects of global warming, it is almost impossible to say how strong global warming will affect life in the future. Scientists blame the greenhouse gas effect in combination with societies greenhouse gas emissions for the rising temperature. The greenhouse effect is a process by which thermal radiation from a planetary surface is absorbed by atmospheric greenhouse gases, and is re-radiated in all directions. Since part of this re-radiation is emitted back towards the earth’s surface and the lower atmosphere, it results in an elevation of the average surface temperature above what it would be in the absence of the gases (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). Simply, global...