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Has global warming impacted ecosystems and biodiversity
Greenhouse gases causes and effects essay
Greenhouse gases causes and effects essay
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For many people, global warming just means that the Earth is getting warmer. What they don’t realize is that global warming is so much more than that. No matter how you call it, “global warming” or “climate disruption”, its effects are all the same. Rising sea levels, wildfires, droughts, and storms are all results of these rising temperatures. And if humans keep pumping large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, these natural disasters will be just the first of many.
To better understand global warming, it is essential to know its history. Global warming did not begin in the 1900’s. It was first theorized in the early 1820’s by a French physicist named Joseph Fourier, who discovered that the Earth was warmer than expected. He named several causes to this dilemma, one of which was human influence. In 1896, a Swedish scientist by the name of Svante Arrhenius became the first to propose that the rising amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was causing the Earth’s temperature to rise. Of course, at the time, these were just theories and hypotheses being presented. The technology of the time was not advanced enough for these men to be proven correct. It would not be until 1938 that a British engineer named Guy Callendar would have actual proof that CO2 emissions and rising global temperatures were linked. However, even with the evidence he had obtained from over 147 weather stations around the world, his “Callendar Effect” was dismissed by meteorologists and scientists alike. As the World Wars started, people forgot about global warming. It was not until the ‘50’s that global warming was brought up as a public concern again. By that time, many scientists agreed that humans had been emitting large amounts of carbon diox...
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...more time to control it. But it can be done. If people just continue to try and ignore the problem the world is facing, how can a solution be found? There are many that think that the true effects of global warming will not be felt for hundreds of years to come. But if the effects that are being felt today are causing so many problems, imagining what will happen when they worsen is unthinkable. During times of need is when people’s determination is seen, and this situation that the world finds itself in is no different. People will have to work together and countries will have to cooperate with one another for the sake of the world. It will be difficult at first, but in time people will be able to come up with solutions to the global threat that affects every country, rich or poor. People will have to find solutions because this planet is the only one humanity has.
Global warming is a scientific, political, and controversial topic. Some believe it is catastrophic, a slow moving killer hiding in the shadows. Others do not even think twice about it as they race by in a Hummer. Global warming is the gradual increase of temperature throughout different climates. It is caused by the greenhouse gas effect in which greenhouse gases, like methane and carbon dioxide, reflect sunlight back and forth. This reflected ultraviolet light bounces between the earth and the ozone layer and becomes trapped, resulting in a gradual rise of temperature. Over time, the slow rise of temperature causes new climates throughout the globe. The article “What Megablazes Tell Us About the Fiery Future of Climate Change” by Tim Dickinson
According to Erik Conway of NASA, “Global warming refers to surface temperature increases, while climate change includes global warming and everything else that increasing greenhouse gas amounts will affect” (Conway). Recently the United States has experienced a drop in temperature. This past weekend I was walking with a friend. With nothing to talk about, the awkward silence was finally filled with a comment on the weather. He said, “It’s so incredibly cold! So much for global warming!!” What my friend, nor I at the beginning of the semester, did not understand was that “temperature change itself isn’t the most severe effect of changing climate. Changes to precipitation patterns and sea level are likely to have much greater human impact than the higher temperatures alone” (Conway). Thankfully the national media has begun to increasingly reference the more scientifically significant term: climate change.
Firstly, global warming is said to be caused by the high levels of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by humans. Smoke produced by factories, vehicular exhaust, and the burning of fossil fuels such as coal in power plants are the primary sources of carbon dioxide. The theory is that carbon dioxide being released into the Earth's atmosphere is steadily building up because it cannot escape into space. The theory as to why the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere actually causes the Earth's average temperature to rise is outlined as follows:
Throughout history climates have drastically changed. There have been shifts from warm climates to the Ice Ages (Cunningham & Cunningham, 2009, p.204). Evidence suggests there have been at least a dozen abrupt climate changes throughout the history of the earth. There are a few suspected reasons for these past climate changes. One reason may be that asteroids hitting the earth and volcanic eruptions caused some of them. A further assumption is that 22-year solar magnetic cycles and 11-year sunspot cycles played a part in the changes. A further possibility is that a regular shifting in the angle of the moon orbiting earth causing changing tides and atmospheric circulation affects the global climate (Cunningham & Cunningham, 2009, p.205). Scientific studies suggest that all these played a role in past global warming and cooling periods. Today, however, there is a lot of conflict on whether humans are causing a global warming that could be disastrous to humans and all species of plants and animals on this earth. This paper will first explain the greenhouse effect, then take a look at both sides argument, and, finally, analyze the effect of global warming on world-wide sustainability
Global warming and global climate change is the study of future increases of temperature across the globe. Studying climate change refers to how the over- all climate will change such as the dry places getting dryer and the wet places getting wetter. Global climate is dependent on “the greenhouse effect a natural process that helps regulate temperature” (Easterling and Karl). In the past few centuries humans have had a monumental effect on increasing of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Climate change is result of the increase amount of the greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere such as methane, carbon dioxide, water vapor, nitrous oxide, and ozone. “Global temperature has rose approximately 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit over
Global warming is an event that will affect many people and animals all over the world. Humans will be affected the most due to global warming because of things like temperature increase. Many people believe that global warming began since the industrial revolution during the 18th century. During this time heat-trapping gases began to load in the atmosphere, gases such as carbon dioxide and methane. Global warming will have many negative consequences to humans, animals, and even plants. The effects of global warming will throw human lifestyles into jeopardy. Agriculture would be thrown into turmoil. Public heath could suffer. Rising seas could contaminate water supplies with salt. Stronger sunlight and warmer temperature could cause respiratory illness. Hot spells would be come more frequent, leading to heat related deaths. Warmer temperatures would widen the range of disease carried by rodents and mosquitoes. This increase of temperature is happening at a pace that outstrips anything the earth has seen in the past 100 million years. Humans will have a hard time adjusting to the increase.
Global warming is one of the biggest threats to human kind. It is caused by the raising of earths temperature in the lower atmosphere. Since the industrial revolution the temperature has gone up by 1 degree Fahrenheit of what it has averaged to be for centuries. Doesn't sound like much and your right, but for every degree it goes up already 500 feet of snow won't fall. As in our earth is heating.
In 2006, former senator Al Gore created an academy award winning documentary on global warming entitled “An Inconvenient Truth” . The movie earned several awards including an academy award for best documentary and gore later received a noble peace prize. The movie discussed several different topics of great concern to global warming; such as permafrost, climbs in temperature, extinction of species, drought, and fatigue to name a few. Four writers in five different articles discussed the three topics of greenhouse gases, climate change, and causes of global warming. These writers are writer and scholar Bill McKibben in “Think Again: Climate Change” and “How Close to catastrophe”; William J. Broad, writer for the New York Times in “From a Rapt audience, a call to cool the hype”; writer for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Kevin O’Brien, in “Global Warming? I won’t be losing any sleep over it”; and Alan Zarembo, staff writer for the the Los Angeles Times, in “Game over on global warming?” All though the articles explain some different topics from one another, only one of them disagree with gore on the causes for global warming being humans, they all agree that there will be impacts to the environment, and all of them believe that greenhouse gases are one of the primary causes for global warming.
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
Global warming is a huge global issue concerning millions of people across the globe. Global warming is primarily caused by the emission of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. These gasses are causing the Earth’s atmosphere to become thinner which, in return, causes an increase in temperature throughout the world. Although, most people believe that climate change is a natural phenomenon, others believe that humans are playing a huge roll in the increase of global warming.
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.
Our planet has managed to survive and thrive for about 4.54 billion years. In the last 2 million years we have caused enough damage and destruction to make our world “broken” beyond repair. We will not be able to get back the world we once had. The reason behind this is global warming, specifically, the increase of the global temperature due to the burning of fossil fuels and the release of greenhouse gas emissions into our atmosphere. If we do not make the issue of global warming a priority in today`s society, our entire way of life will be at risk. There are many reasons why so many people believe global warming should be a concern. Thoroughly examined points include: scientific predictions, rising temperatures, human causes, drastic climate changes and animal adaptations. Though there are several points arguing how global warming should not be a concern, the reality of the matter is that it needs to be taken into consideration on a global scale before it is too late, as to do nothing would have devastating implications on humankind.
As Robert Frost once said, “ Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice. From what I’ve tasted of desire I hold with those who favor fire.” This excerpt can relate to the idea of global warming. Global warming can be defined as an increase in the earth's average atmospheric temperature that causes corresponding changes in climate and that may result from the greenhouse effect. During the past 10,000 years the earth has been in an ever-growing cycle that has significantly changed the climate. These changes are becoming more prevalent in our world today in the past 150 years. Scientists have been analyzing the causes and effects of the greenhouse effect and many other issues that global warming has presented. As John Houghton states in his book, Global Warming the Complete Briefing, on page 2 “ The 1980s and 1990s were unusually warm. Globally speaking, the decades have been the warmest since accurate records began somewhat over a hundred years ago and these unusually warm years are continuing into the twenty-first century.” There are countless records that show that our world as a whole is getting warmer, and the facts cannot be disputed. Everyone in the world today is experiencing the effects of global warming. These effects might be small now, but if we don’t protect our planet now then the consequences will greatly be increased.
In June of 1988, James Hansen, director of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), informed a Senate committee that, "the greenhouse effect has been detected and is changing our climate now." With this statement, he launched the ongoing international debate on the magnitude of global warming and its "potential to adversely affect the Earth's environment."1 Unfortunately, since this announcement, the world has not yet become fully mobilized to act on this problem. The majority of solutions proposed by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) have not been implemented as countries like the US, though symbolically ratifying the Kyoto Protocol, hesitate to actually implement its policies. The slow progress of policy to abate global warming can be attributed to limited scientific backgrounds of politicians, lobbying from polluting industries, international disagreement and confusion over the sheer number of policy options now being considered.
Global warming is the term used to describe a gradual increase in the average temperature of the Earth's atmosphere and its oceans, a change that is believed to be permanently changing the Earth's climate. While it changes the Earth’s climate it takes away different species that we depend on and some which other species depend on and also effect (in a bad way) the environment in which we live and can cause permanent damages to humans, animals, plant which will change the whole chain of ecosystem.