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Effects of global warming on the planet
Effects of global warming on the planet
The effects of global warming
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Global Warming and Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Overall, emissions of CO2 increased by 0.3% to 6.8 tons per person in the United States. Emissions of greenhouse gases other than carbon dioxide, which account for 17% of total greenhouse gas emissions, declined by 0.6%.
Emissions from the industrial sector declined 1.3% even though the U.S. economy grew 3.9% in 1998. However, CO2 emissions from transportation grew by 2.4% while CO2 emissions of regulated utilities expanded by 3.2% as a result of a hotter than normal summer.
Overall, 1999 U.S. greenhouse gas emissions were about 10.7 percent higher than 1990 emissions, which are estimated at 1,655 million metric tons carbon equivalent. The 1.1-percent average annual growth in U.S. greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 to 1999 compares with average growth rates of 1.0 percent for the U.S. population, 1.5 percent for energy consumption, 2.2 percent for electric power generation, and 3.1 percent for real GDP
Table ES2. U.S. Emissions of Greenhouse Gases, Based on Global Warming Potential, 1990-1999
(Million Metric Tons Carbon Equivalent)
Gas 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 P1999
Carbon Dioxide 1,351 1,338 1,365 1,397 1,422 1,435 1,484 1,505 1,507 1,527
Methane 182 183 183 178 179 179 173 172 168 165
Nitrous Oxide 99 101 103 103 111 106 105 104 103 103
HFCs, PFCs, and SF6 24 22 24 24 25 29 33 35 40 38
Total 1,655 1,644 1,675 1,702 1,737 1,748 1,796 1,816 1,818 1,833
P = preliminary data.Note: Data in this table are revised from the data contained in the previous EIA report, Emissions of Greenhouse Gases in the United States 1998, DOE/EIA-0573(98) (Washington, DC, October 1999).Sources: Emissions: Estimates presented in this report. Global Warming Potentials: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Climate Change 1995: The Science of Climate Change (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1996).
Energy End-Use Sector Sources of U.S. Carbon Dioxide Emissions, 1990-1999
Sector Million Metric Tons Carbon Equivalent PercentChange
1990 1999 1990-1999 1998-1999
Transportation 431.8 496.1 14.9% 2.9%
Industrial 454.8 481.2 5.8% 0.2%
Commercial 207.7 243.5 17.2% -0.4%
Residential 254.2 290.1 14.1% 0.4%
Note: Electric utility emissions are distributed across sectors.
Total carbon dioxide emissions from the residential sector increased by 0.4 percent in 1999 (Table 6). Year-to-year, residential sector emissions are heavily influenced by weather. For example, in 1996, a relatively cold year, carbon dioxide emissions from the residential sector grew by 5.9 percent over 1995. In 1997, they declined by 0.
In the article “Counterpoint: Cooling Off” by Dr. Amy Witherbee, a Professor at University of Arkansas, she shares the concerning statistic “Carbon dioxide has increased 30%, methane has increased more than 100%, and nitrous oxide has increased about 15%” (Witherbee). This is concerning because these dangerous gases called greenhouse gases cause many problems and are a hazard to our planet. One of the biggest issues facing the world today is climate change; to address this issue, we must lower greenhouse gas levels and use cleaner energy sources.
For example, from 1970 to 2011 the U.S. gross domestic product has increased by 212 percent and jobs in the private sector have increased by 88 percent, meanwhile, the overall air pollutants have dropped 68 percent (EPA). Additionally, Economic researchers and scholars report that the funds companies spend to reduce air pollution is reinvested back into the industry to design, build, install, maintain, and operate the processes and equipment to reduce air pollution. It is an industry where jobs may be cut in some sectors and added in others, but the job shift related to air pollution reduction is insignificant when compared to other job shift factors, such as economic growth, technology, and business cycles (EPA).
Half of the estimated emissions were produced in the last 25 years alone. Well past the date when governments and corporations became aware that rising greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of coal and oil which is causing dangerous climate change. Many of the same companies are also sitting on substantial reserves of fossil fuel which if they are burned puts the world at even greater risk of dangerous climate change. Climate change experts said the data set was the most ambitious effort so far to hold individual carbon producers, rather than governments, to account for. 90 companies on the list of top emitters produced 63% of the cumulative global emissions of industrial carbon dioxide and methane between 1751 to 2010, amounting to about 914 gigatonne CO2 emissions, according to the research. All but seven of the 90 were energy companies producing oil, gas and coal. The remaining seven were cement manufacturers.
Most, if not all, affects their day to day lives (EPA). In addressing this problem, the plans and programs of the government will play a very important role. Considering that the United States is one of the most powerful countries in the world, the US President should address and work on solutions regarding these environmental issues. In an interview with Barack Obama in 2008, he mentioned that, “The U.S. is the world’s largest economy and the largest single source of the world’s greenhouse-gas emissions, so it is our responsibility to take the first step”
We cannot dispute that automobiles, factories, and power plants, displace an unprecedented twenty tons of carbon monoxide - per person - per year. There needs to be a reduction in emissions, yet we cannot focus on this aspect of global warming alone. There are many indicators that climatic change is influencing the frequency and intensity of natural catastrophes. If scientific global climate models are accurate, the present problems will be magnified in the near future.
The present climate change is mostly human induced; the increase in CO2 is mainly because of human activities. Activities like changes in land use pattern, deforestation, land clearing, agriculture, and other activities that have all led to a rise in the emission of carbon dioxide.
Climate change and Global Warming are out of control. This means that, no matter what policies, processes or actions are implemented, the Earth as we know it will never be the same again. There is significant evidence to support this hypothesis. The dilemma becomes whether we can limit the damage and adapt to a new status quo or not. Rising sea levels and the damage caused by this phenomenon has irreversible impacts on coastlines worldwide. Damage to sensitive reef systems cannot be fixed. This also has permanent impacts of the ecology not just of those immediate areas but also the ocean as a whole.
The emission of carbon dioxide has contributed to 80% to the heating of the earth atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is produced due the burning of fossil fuels such as natural gas, coal and oil. The burning of fossil fuel is very important in our society today, because it is used for cooking, used to produce electricity, for heating, for cooling and also for transportation. The industrialization has led to the use of fossil fuel for running machines and driving cars. The building of fossil fuel contributes towards 80-90% of the carbon dioxide we find in our atmosphere today. When the ecosystems are altered and vegetation is either burned or took out, the carbon stored in them is relinquished to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide (What causes global climate change, 2005). Methane is another gas being produced in the process which all have served to increase the greenhouse effect in our atmosphere. Methane is produced from the cultivation of rice, from the burning of coal and from cattle, it has increased by 145% due to human
The commonly debated “greenhouse effect” refers to “the global average temperature increase that has been observed over the last one hundred years or more” (Spencer). President Barack Obama addressed the issue in an effort to highlight its severity, "We have to all shoulder the responsibility for keeping the planet habitable, or we’re going to suffer the consequences – together” (Leader). The earth’s increasing atmospheric and oceanic temperatures result in climate changes due to cumulative amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. As an outcome, researchers around the globe have established that the by-product of burning fossil fuels is the main culprit of the increasing temperatures. Global carbon emissions from fossil fuels have significantly increased since 1900, as shown above from a study carried out by the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center.
The most destructive human contribution to climate change is fossil fuels combustion, which results in the release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Increased carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and halocarbons levels in the atmosphere cause an imbalance in the earth’s energy. This is because the gases alter solar radiation and thermal radiation which regulate the earth’s energy. Research indicates that anthropogenic climate change is the cause of the increased global warming over the last fifty years. 57 % of the carbon dioxide emitted is absorbed into the atmosphere while the rest is absorbed into the oceans. Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is the most central greenhouse gas that is associated with global warming (Eby, Zickfield, Montenegro, Archer, Meissner, & Weaver,
Us humans release a lot of carbon dioxide. When fossil fuels are burned, they release large 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.
Humans and animals breathe out Carbon Dioxide, often referred to as the greenhouse gas, as a waste product. Plants take in this CO2 and use it to make food. This is called photosynthesis. During this process oxygen is released which is then breathed in by humans and animals. This procedure is repeated over and over and a natural balance is obtained. However this natural balance is disrupted by human activity. People of the world are putting more than 5.5 billion tons of CO2 into the atmosphere every year. 75% of this is caused from the burning of fossil fuels. These fuels are burnt all the time to run factories, power plants and vehicles. The main sources of CO2 emissions are electric utilities, residential buildings, industry and transportation. The other 25% is induced by the destruction of the world's forests. The reason for this is that there are less trees and plants to take in the CO2 but there is just as many, if not more, humans and animals to breathe it out.
As matter of fact, the increasing of greenhouse gases (GHGs) including water vapor (H2O), carbon dioxide (C...
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.
Human activities add to the levels of these gasses, causing more problems. “Automobiles, heat from homes and businesses, and factories are responsible for about 80% of today's carbon dioxide emissions, 25% of methane emissions, and 20% of the nitrous oxide emissions.” (3) The increase in agriculture, deforestation, landfills, industrial production, and mining contribute a significant share of emissions also. These gases that are released into the atmosphere are tracked by emission inventories. An emission inventory counts the amount of air pollutants discharged into the atmosphere. These inventories are important in studying the affects of global warming on the Earth.