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Greenhouse gases effect on climate essay
Greenhouse gases effect on climate essay
Controversy of global warming
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Is Global Warming Man Made
There has been an ongoing debate about whether global warming is man-made, natural or if it even exists at all. The answer to that debate is that global warming is man-made and a direct result of pollution.
Carbon Dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide make up the biggest part of the cause of global warming, which form greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases are trapped in the earth’s atmosphere and cause the earth to warm up. This temperature change has an effect on the earth’s ice, glaciers, oceans and ecosystems.
Carbon dioxide is a natural element in the earth’s atmosphere. At normal concentrations it along with other greenhouse gases helps maintain global temperatures at a level that is comfortable for humans and animals.
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Burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas releases carbon dioxide that has been stored underground for millions of years. Carbon dioxide is the gas responsible for the most warming in the atmosphere.
Methane gas is the second most important that make up the greenhouse gases. Methane is produced from the extraction, processing and distribution of oil, landfills and is released from the digestive systems of livestock. With humans increased red meat intake there is more demand for livestock which creates an increased output of methane.
Nitrous oxide is another part of the greenhouse gases that occurs naturally in the atmosphere. However, large amounts of released nitrous oxide contribute significantly to global warming. The sources of this gas are from fertilizers, gases used for refrigeration, industrial processes and motor vehicles which release nitrous oxide when operating with gasoline or diesel fuel.
Global warming started to become a factor in the 19th century with the industrial revolution. Since that time there has been a 20% increase in greenhouse gases in the last twenty years. However, nine of the warmest years on record have occurred in the last ten
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Despite all the documented evidence of global warming, there are still those that believe that global warming does not exist. These skeptics are convinced that global warming was just a political platform used by Al Gore during his presidential campaign in 2000. One of the reasons Gore was criticized for his theory was because he made predictions associated with global warming that did not happen. For example he predicted that the Artic would be ice-free by 2013. He claimed the Pacific Islands were drowning and polar bears were dying.
Along with the Al Gore skeptics there are others that believe there is no significant increase in the earth’s temperature and that it’s just the liberals bulldozing anyone who tells you global warming is a
It was not until Al Gore presented this issue to the general public through his documentary by David Guggenheim that sparked the interest of many. According to The Hollywood Report the film won Best Feature Documentary at the 79th academy awards. It was announced “One of the most successful documentaries made in history.” Needless to say, Al Gore does an amazing job in presenting to his audience a topic that tends to be overlooked. He grabs the attention of the youth, which can be difficult, by incorporating the short clip from the show “Futurama”.He presents to us charts and data on his findings like the level of increasing carbon dioxide, which is alarming, and its affect over the next years. Although Al Gore can be misinterpreted as making global warming a political issue as a result of his position in politics, he know how to humble himself in front of his audience and present data research that many scientists at a higher position are unable to without boring the audience. Global warming cannot be taken lightly and watching the award winning film should be a wakeup call to realize the reality of the dangers our planet earth is
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:
When people burn fossil fuels to accumulate and produce energy a substance called carbon is produced. Carbon is released into the air in a form known as carbon dioxide. Carbon moves throughout the biosphere on the planet as it is recycled and reused. Carbon exists in the earth’s atmosphere in two common forms which are methane and carbon monoxide. These gases absorb and retain heat in a process known as the greenhouse effect. The Planets natural greenhouse effect makes life possible by regulating our temperature. It turns out that adding too much to the greenhouse effect can have horrible consequences on the environment. Each year, five and a half billion tons of carbon is released by burning fossil fuels and of that three billion tons enters the atmosphere. The remaining carbon usually gets absorbed by the oceans.
Most climate scientists agree that the main cause of global climate change is the human expansion of the greenhouse effect. This is the global warming that results when the atmosphere traps heat radiating from Earth toward space (climate.nasa.gov). The main gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect include water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and chlorofluorocarbons (climate.nasa.gov). Human activities are changing the natural greenhouse effect. The burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil has increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (climate.nasa.gov). Carbon dioxide levels have increased from 280 parts per million to 379 parts per million in the last 150 years due to human act...
As nurses, it is important that we “be both empowered and competent enablers of patient empowerment.” (Burkhardt & Nathaniel, 2014, p. 493) We took an oath to follow an ethical code which requires us to act as our patient’s advocate while providing safe nursing care. Nevertheless, we cannot make every medical choice or decision on their behalf. We also cannot empower them, “because to do so removes the element of choice.” (Burkhardt & Nathaniel, 2014, p. 501) We can, however, “facilitate empowerment by working directly with patients and through addressing social, political, and environmental factors affecting empowerment of individuals and communities.” (Burkhardt & Nathaniel, 2014, p. 493) In this paper, I will discuss how nurses can provide empowerment, some of the issues and constraints affecting empowerment, and how I feel regarding empowerment in my workplace.
Carbon dioxide or CO2 is known to be one of a number of gases that are astonishingly transparent to the visible light that falls on the Earth from the Sun, but it absorb the infra-red radiation that emitted by the warm surface of our Earth, to prevents its loss into space. Moreover, CO2 has varied considerably and this affected the Earth’s temperature. Most common source of this CO2 is known as the fossil fuel. Fossil fuels are primarily coal, hydrocarbons, natural gas, or fuel oil that formed from the remains of the dead plants and also animals. The burning fossil fuel that has been created by humans is the largest source of emissions of the carbon dioxide.
The emission of green house gasses due to human activity contributes the most in increasing global warming. Today, fossil fuels are used as a source of energy for transportation, electricity, industrial process and to increase human comfort in this era. Over the last decade humans have created mass amount of industries. These industries have been burning fossil fuels such as coal, which release carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide; carbon dioxide absorbs heat that raises the temperature of the earth. More than 80% of carbon dioxide comes from tr...
Air pollution and greenhouse gases are the reason for the planet as it is today; the reason why we see campaigns flooding the media informing us to ‘switch off’, ‘save the planet’ and ‘turn down the heat’ and the reason why the government is trying to develop a successful scheme, such as the carbon tax scheme, to reduce air pollution caused by major industries. Air pollution and greenhouse gases are the two immediate causes of global warming and climate change. Air pollution occurs when chemicals or particulate matter enter the atmosphere. They can cause damage to living organisms on the planet, as well as destruction to the natural and synthetic environment (Energy Environment.net 2008). Greenhouse gases are gases in the atmosphere that absorb infrared radiation emitted from the earth. They trap infrared radiation in the form of heat, and hence contribute to global warming. Anthropogenic greenhouse gases are a direct result of air pollution. They are the physical gases emitted that cause air pollution. Naturally occurring greenhouse gases also have an influence on the earth’s atmosphere, though it is not as conspicuous as anthropogenic causes. Together, air pollution and greenhouse gases are intensifying climate change and global warming on a world-wide basis.
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
Al Gore also notices that the ten hottest years on record have occurred in the last 14 years. He gives many examples such as the massive heat wave in Europe, the dramatic high temperature in India and a lot of cities in America. The temperature increases are occupied in the whole world, not only the land but also the oceans. When the oceans get warmer, that causes stronger storms. In the last couple years, there are a lot of big hurricanes. These catastrophic disasters did a lot of damages. They lead to more flooding, heavy rain. However, they also lead to more drought. The spring comes earlier and the fall comes later, the temperature keeps on going up. Many explorers found that the ice is less thick than before. Mr. Al Gore uses a lot of scientific and geographic knowledge to explain the cause and the consequence about the global warming. Ecological environment has been influenced and many rare animals are endangered. Many mosquitos change their habitats and expand their range owning to the change of temperature. Also, it causes a lot of vectors for infectious diseases. It is often said that human should save water and water is a necessary. However, most people never notice that many droughts were caused by global warming. The explanation in the movie is very convince and persuasive. When I was a senior high school student, our geography teacher told us global warming not only makes the temperature high, but also makes many potential dangers. As I was a child, there is a catastrophic disease named SARS, my mother told me that the disease was very serious and led a lot of people to die. If we have to go out, we should be well-armed. We need to use masks to keep us from the virus. From this case, SARS is a disaster and from this movie, global warming is also a
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.
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.
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.
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.