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Environmental effects caused by the usage of fossil fuels
Environmental effects caused by the usage of fossil fuels
Contribution of man to climate change
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To many people around the world, earth is considered to be a place for human beings to live together as one big family. It provides us shelters, foods, water, and the most beautiful sceneries. Without doubt, we are bound to nature. However because the existence of climate change, which according to scientists is defined as the long term changes over climate including temperature and rainfall, the world would probably end up with devastated ecosystem, extinct wildlife, and most importantly despondent humans. The impact that it has on us is incredibly strong that it affects the system of human lives and wildlife. Global warming, precipitating weather, glaciers, and rising of sea level are no more phenomena. Climate change has been a controversial topic for us to consider. This essay will discuss about what humans have contributed toward climate change.
The first cause to come into our mind is most likely to be emission discharged by humans. It is often linked to carbon dioxide (CO2), which is a harmful form of gas produced when burning different chemical compounds and is believed to be the biggest cause of climate change (Carbon Dioxide, 2010, Internet). Once a large amount of carbon dioxide is released into the earth’s atmosphere, the gas is trapped and it disturbs the process of radiation absorption, hence the so-called green house effect occurs. So where does carbon dioxide come from?
Whatever we use in our daily lives is somehow tied to carbon dioxide. The uses of fertilizer and sprayers are good examples of this because during the process of using it, chemicals are released. Energy consumptions and transportations are also great causes of the green house effect. Fossil fuel such as oil, gas, and coal is burnt to generate ener...
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Works Cited
Author unknown, (2010). Carbon Dioxide [online] US EPA. Available from: http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/co2.html [Accessed 21 February 2011]
Author unknown, (2007). Math! How much CO2 is released by Aeroplane? [online] SMALL-M. Available from: http://micpohling.wordpress.com/2007/05/08/math-how-much-co2-released-by-aeroplane/ [Accessed 21 February 2011]
Author unknown, [2009]. Q&A: The Copenhagen climate summit [online] United Kingdom, BBC. Available from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8278973.stm [Accessed 21 February 2011]
Author unknown, [2011]. The IPCC Explains_ Human Responsibility for Increase in CO2 and GHG Concentration [online] CO2now.org. Available from: http://co2now.org/Know-the-Changing-Climate/Climate-Changes/ipcc-faq-human-responsibility-co2-ghg-concentration-increases.html [Accessed 21 February 2011]
Since measurements began in 1958 -- and it can be assumed to have been the case since the industrial revolution -- emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere has risen steadily as a result of the burning of fossil fuels (Quay, pp 2344). Although there is much argument over the implications of increasing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, there are several points that almost all scientists would agree on: firstly, carbon dioxide acts to absorb radiated heat; if present in our atmosphere will do just that to some extent. Second, the concentration of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere is rising. Third, the temperature of the planet is rising - although the amount of this increase and the causes of this rise are subject to disagreement (Philander, pp 193).
First, during the last few decades the Earth is experiencing greater rate of rising temperatures due to greenhouse gases that are being produced by human activities rather than because of environmental reasons, such as solar or volcanic activities. In 2006 the President of the National Academy of Sciences stated: “There is no doubt that the Earth is warming,” also he added that people are at least partly responsible for these changes in addition to regular factors (Cicerone, par.4). Natural factors have produced climate fluctuations on Earth for several million years. People have effected an atmosphere of the Earth just for nearly one hundred years, since Industrial Revolution has begun (Revkin 340). Of course, it is unfair to say that global warming is caused entirely by humans. For example, people can not have an impact on the position of Earth in relation to the sun, or on the galactic density, or such nature events as air emissions of volcanic gases. As a result of these environmental factors, Earth usually had higher rates of temperature fluctuations during the previous million years than it has in later centuries. On the other hand, people are responsible for the highest concentration of greenhouse gases during the last 650,000 years in the atmosphere due to industrial manufacturing, driven by the increase in consumer consumption (Lindsey, par.
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
One of the most compelling and difficult environmental problems society faces today is climate change. People do not realize how much the environment has changed for the worse in the last ten years, until they are told that the last two decades of the 20th century have been the hottest in the last 400 years, according to climate studies (Conserve Energy Future). Today, the carbon dioxide levels have reached 396.81 parts per million (ppm). “Carbon dioxide (CO2) has also increased over the last 100 years-- from about 300 ppm to 370 ppm. Interestingly, the majority of these additions have occurred in the last 50 years, when temperature increases have been the slowest” (geocraft).
Thesis statement: The global warming and the resultant climatic change is due to uncontrolled human exploitation of earth and its resources thereby emitting large volumes of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
The first part of this essay discusses what the human species has done to deal with the problem of climate change. While some improvements have been made, the problem has not been addressed aggressively enough to stop the damage. What is amazing about this is the denial of so many people that problems exist. If they do realize the risks, they are simply not taking actions to contain the damage.
The Web. 27 Nov. 2011. http://www.feem.it/Feem/Pub/Publications/WPapers/default.htm>. Nordhaus, William D. "Economic Aspects of Global Warming in a Post-Copenhagen Environment. "
The evidence clearly provided in this essay strongly supports the argument that greenhouse gases caused by air pollution are the main cause of anthropogenic climate change. The tables and graphs demonstrate just how greenhouse gases contribute to climate change. As is evident, climate change is an ever growing problem globally. Due to the increase in anthropogenic air pollution, greenhouse gases have amplified also, as shown by table 2. Figure one shows how carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased exponentially, mirrored by anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide. The various examples described clearly support the argument that greenhouse gases caused by air pollution are the major anthropogenic causes of climate change.
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.
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.
There is widespread agreement in the scientific community that the climate is changing and it has likely received contributions from humans in the form of increased carbon emissions. The Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has stated that there is ninety percent certainty that human activity has been the primary cause of temperature rises seen since 1950; if the climate rises by more than two degrees Celsius, scientists predict dire consequences to be faced by humans and the world (McMichael and Lindgren, 2011, p. 402). Changes in climate, no matter how small, bring with it changes in other seemingly unrelated aspects of life. As current research suggests, climate change will have negative effects on human health and nutrition, increasing disease states while having a negative effect on the world food supply. Both of these effects will have negative implications on the quality of life for people living around the globe. Climate change is a global matter, so policy on climate change should consider the health impacts it brings since climate change will ultimately affect the wellbeing of everyone living on this planet. It is therefore the responsibility of every individual to take measures that will help slow down the rate of global warming that is currently going on.
Climate change has been an extremely controversial topic in recent history and continues to create much debate today. Many questions concerning climate change’s origins and its potential affect on the globe are not fully understood and remain unanswered. What is climate change? Is climate change happening? Is it a natural cycle of the world or are there other catalysts involved such as human activity? What proof is there? What data correlations show climate change is accelerated by humans? How serious is climate change and how will it affect the future of our globe? What are we doing to address climate change? Should we really be concerned about climate change? Questions such as these have made climate change a very serious issue in today’s world and created the ideology of climatism. The issue of climate change has affected many different aspects of our lives and the world we live in. Policymaking, human activism, technologies, emission control, global warming, alternative energy sources and many other things have been greatly affected by the mania of climate change. This research report will present climate change in a light of common sense and rationality that will take a grounded discussion of the science behind climate change, global warming, human activity, and how the ideology of climatism has corrupted and driven the actions to combat climate change.
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,
The earth is a complex system, which continues to evolve and change. Climate change and global warming are currently popular in the political agenda. But what does “climate” really mean? The difference between weather and climate can be conveyed in a single sentence: “Climate is what you expect; weather is what you get.” Based on research of the geologic record, we know that climate change has happened throughout Earth's history and at present, ever-increasing evidence points to the roles that humans play in altering Earth systems. The Earth and its atmosphere receive heat energy from the sun; the atmospheric heat budget of the Earth depends on the balance between incoming solar radiation and outgoing radiation from the planet; which has been constant over the last few thousand years. However present evidence seems to suggest that the recent increase in temperature has been brought about by pollution of the atmosphere, in particular the release of huge amounts of carbon dioxide, mostly through Anthropogenic Forcing (human activity) and other various internal and external factors. I...
Everyone should be knowledgeable about global warming and the dangers that it brings to our planet. This essay will examine 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.