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Effects of global warming on animals and plants
What are the effects of global warming on our planet
Effects of global warming on animals and plants
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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, …show more content…
Due to large and excessive amount of these gases being discharged into the atmosphere by human innovations, the greenhouse effect is extending and this is causing the rise in earth's temperature that we have been encountering in the last two centuries. Since 1750, the use of carbon dioxide alone has risen about 36%, and since 1880, the earth's temperature has raised 1 degrees Fahrenheit. Although this may not be a huge increase, but the consequences it leaves on our environment and the organisms that live in are harmful and life-threatening. Adoption of this kind of quick change in temperature is challenging to plants and …show more content…
We can observe these effects every day. In both polar ice caps and mountain glaciers, the ice is melting. Lakes and rivers around the world are warming up rapidly. Animals are migrating and plants are changing their dates of activity. Global warming may also result to an extreme weather apart from cold or heat extremes. For example, hurricane formation. Increase in sea level causes many floods in many places. Another feature of climate change is lightning. According to a study in 2014, a 50 percent increase in the number of lightning strikes in the United States is anticipated in 2100 if worldwide temperatures continue to rise.
The effects of global warming on earth's ecosystems are expected to deepen. The rise in temperature had made the life very difficult for many animal and plant species. Some common warning signs can be seen today. A recent study shows that changes due to global warming compel many animal species to migrate at a higher altitude. Some polar bears in arctic side are drowning because they have to swim longer distances to reach ice floes. In California, shoreline, sea life is moving towards north, as a result of warm water and change in
Think about a time when your car was parked on the side of the street all day long. Then you decide to run to the store and get some things for dinner. The minute you opened the car door, you feel the currents of hot air blowing past you, and when you sit down, you feel as if your car is radiating heat! This is a tiny, yet real example of the process called the greenhouse effect. This effect includes a form of matter, absorbing heat or radiation from the sun. What happened in the car was the glass assists the absorption of the heat and trapped the heat inside, containing it. Equally, the earth's atmosphere contains gases called greenhouse gases such as Carbon Dioxide, Methane, and water vapor, which absorbs the rays we receive from the sun, and trap the heat inside. Our atmosphere, which contains the greenhouse gases acts like a blanket; absorbing the heat from the sun, and preventing it from going away from the earth's surface. The more the heat gets trapped because of the increase in greenhouse gases, the more the temperature rises, causing global warming. Global warming is “an increase in the earth's atmospheric and oceanic temperatures widely predicted to occur due to an increase in the greenhouse effect resulting especially from pollution,” (Merriam Webster Dictionary). The two main causes of global warming are the greenhouse effect and solar variations. The Greenhouse Effect “refers to the process by which absorption and emission of infrared radiation atmosphere gases (mainly Greenhouse gases such as CO, NO, and Carbon Monoxide) warms the Earth’s atmosphere and surface,” (Merriam Webster Dictionary).Solar Variations are “changes in the amount of radiant energy emitted by the Sun,” (Wikipedia).
The warming of the air brings with it a change in weather patterns across the globe. This change in weather patterns will include an increase in weather extremes such as, storms and drought. The type of extreme depends on a specific region with drought expected to increase in the dry tropics and with the frequency of tropical storms and rainfall expected to increase in the wet tropics.
An analogy of a greenhouse effect is the effect that you get when you go to the beach in a hot summer day and you leave your car with the windows closed. After you come back and open the car door you get a furnacelike blast of heat in your face. Inside the car everything is too hot to touch. This is similar to what the earth experiences when heat enters the atmosphere and is not reflected back.
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 Arctic region is home to a variety of valuable animals and plants, including polar bear, seal, and so on. The ecosystem of the Arctic region is fragile because these animals are evolved to live in extreme conditions. With the climate change, many animals are endangered. Ice is the habitat of polar animals because they have to rely on sea ices for resting, food, and reproduction. With the climate change and the decrease of sea ice, the number of polar animals is decreasing and their health is threatened. For example, the average weight of female polar bears in 1980 was about 650 pounds, but the number reduced to about 500 pounds in 2004 (Djoghlaf 15). The earlier breakup and later condensation of sea ice shortens the hunting season of polar bears. Polar bears mainly feed on seals that indwell icy land. The melting ice reduces the number of seals and food intake of polar bears. In addition, polar bears are used to living in ice caves. The rising temperature causes the collapse of ice caves, which can kill baby bears. The climate change is negatively affecting the biodiversity in the region and will definitely harm the ecosystem
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.
Global warming and the greenhouse effect are issues discussed by scientists all the time. A natural process that keeps earths temperature at a livable rate is called the greenhouse effect. The energy from the sun warms up the earth when the rays from the sun are absorbed by greenhouse gases. The gasses then become trapped in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane and nitrous oxide are the most common greenhouse gases.
Global warming is the the increased temperature in the earth’s atmosphere. That the world is getting hotter and hotter. It is caused by all the greenhouse gases (water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone). When all these gases are spread up to the atmosphere, they cause global warming. The one that has a big effect is carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is something naturally occurring all around our earth. It absorbs heat from the sun’s energy. Some of that heat will be released into the atmosphere. When it goes up it tends to stay the longest out of all the other gases. It doesn't have a reacting factor, it has a controlling factor, it doesn't just go away like water vapor so that makes it stay longer. Global warming has many proof to it. Droughts, naturals fires,water rising levels have increased over the years. That is because of excess heat from global warming.
Climate change can cause typical weather and climatic events to be more extreme in general. Longer droughts, greater floods, and deadly heat waves. More heat means more evaporation, more evaporation means there is more moisture content in the atmosphere,
Greenhouse Gas (GHG) is a gas in atmosphere which absorbs and emits radiation within the electromagnetic thermal infrared range. It’s the main reason of the Greenhouse Effect. The chief greenhouse gases in Earth's environment are water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone.
As we approach the future we are faced with many global problems. Most of these problems arise because we have caused them ourselves. We need to face these problems and find a solution. Global warming, although most often overlooked in importance, is a crucial problem of the future directly related to human activities. Global warming is caused by gases humans release into the atmosphere called anthropogenic gases and by deforestation. Anthropogenic gases include carbon dioxide, methane, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrofl...
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.
Of all the effects of global warming, the extreme weather that is taking place all over the world is the most obvious one. Global warming will bring more heat waves, drought, fiercer wildfires and stronger hurricanes. “This intensification of weather and climate extremes will be the most visible impact of global warming in our everyday lives” (75 yrs NWF). Due to rising temperatures, places everywhere will be affected as we get more extremely hot summer days and lesser winters. In addition, as these rising temperatures shifts the cycle of rain and increases evaporation, there will be longer and drier droughts which in turn can lower the water supply for life everywhere. Wildfires can turn out to be even more catastrophic due to warmer temperatures and drier areas combined with accumulated levels of fuel loads in the forest which has built up as a result of decades of fire suppression activities. Moreover, stronger hurricanes are also an effect of global warming as sea levels are rising and heavier rains are falling near the coasts. Overall, global warming is bringing climates that are changing real fast.
Global warming is a serious problem with two major effects: increasing sea level and degradation of wildlife. Increase in sea level affects the entire landmass of the earth. According to NASA, the polar ice cap is melting at the alarming rate of nine percent per decade. Arctic ice thickness has decreased 40 percent since the 1960s (Oskin). The amount of water is more than the land on our planet.
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