Global warming, also known as the greenhouse effect, has been a trending topic in the recent years, but global warming has been around for a long time. Earth has warmed at a high rate over the last hundred years and particularly over the last two decades. Burning large amounts of fossil fuels; coal, oil, natural gas is a root cause of global warming. The greenhouse effect are gases in our atmosphere that hold in heat, such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. “They maintain an average temperature on Earth of 59°F,” according to the book “an inconvenient truth, the crisis of global warming” by Al Gore. Burning releases heat-trapping gases to the atmosphere. The gases, especially CO2 (Carbon Dioxide), act like a blanket that retains heat and restricts the rate at which Earth’s surface can radiate heat to space. Another factor is deforestation; when forests are cut down or burned, they can no longer store carbon, and the carbon is released to the atmosphere. The result is global warming. Today, current levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are higher than at any time during the last 100,000 years.
Why does this topic interests me? Because humans play a big role on global warming. Everyone we know has helped cause global warming and has been affected by it. Think about it for a minute. You wake up, brush your teeth, flush the toilet, consumed a breakfast meal, drive to work or school, drive back home, flush the toilet, wash your hands, consume dinner, take a shower, and then sleep. It seems like a lot of steps to your day but you for you its just a normal day. Lets say brushing your teeth is 1 gallon per minute and you take 2 minutes so total 5 minutes seems fair. Lets say when you take a shower you waste 2 gallons ...
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...n dry out and causes a wildfire. One of the most devastating natural disasters we ever witnessed was Hurricane Katrina which affected New Orleans, the hurricane reached up to category 5, and it was a destruction down in New Orleans. “There are no words to describe it” (68). Gore said.
Up to this day there is really no slowing down the levels of carbon dioxide. Not with 7 billion people, it is really tough to keep everyone from wasting resources and polluting the planet. We can only hope for technology to advance more to do something about it. Once CO₂ is released in the atmosphere it takes time to get rid of it. It’s like a cycle. It is believed that planet Earth has been through this phase before where the planet warms up and then cools down to another ice age.
Works Cited
Gore, Al. An Inconvenient Truth: The Crisis of Global Warming. New York: Viking, 2007.
According to Professor Mastrandrea the term global warming has been around for a long period of time. Back in the mid-1900s , humans were causing a lot of problems for climate change and none of that has changed since then , for example , starting fires or building gasoline engines. There are blueprints to global warming like, urgent deep reductions in carbon emissions, global reforestation efforts in semi-arid and drought affected regions and some of these have helped a diversity of nations but that doesn’t change the fact that global warming still occurs. All the unnecessary processes you can think of , have caused global warming , but people are still trying to prevent it (Mastrandrea).
The media-crazed threat of global warming has made this topic a very popular and, according to the media, a very serious global issue too. I’m not going to deny Global Warming, but I feel that as humans, we have only contributed very little to the emission of greenhouse gases, etc. Global Warming is a natural phenomenon, and should be dealt with accordingly: A coat when it’s cold, a t-shirt when it’s warm.
The subject of Global Warming is not going away regardless where you stand on the issue. Despite the almost endless warnings of the dangers of smoking, people are still starting to and continue to smoking even though the literature is abundant of the likely consequences to their health. Likewise, there are those that believe Global Warming is true yet they still continue to consume at the same rate even though they believe the increased temperature will cause harm to the planet. The alarm has been set and now is the time to thoroughly review all the scholarly literature to decide where you stand on this powerful issue.
Global Warming is a phenomenon in which the temperature on the Earth increases. Over history we see natural stages in our Earth’s climate between warm and cold periods because of increased Carbon Dioxide. These stages are usually cyclic but temperatures are rising faster than ever before (Pipkin). Ancient ice cores dating back 800,000 years show a steady level of greenhouse gasses (Scambos). Proving this point Ted Scambos states: “The dramatic rise in the gasses seen in the past few decades- from 315 parts per billion in 1958 to 388 parts per million for carbon dioxide. . . "(37). Greenhouse gasses are emitted from the burning of fossil fuels (Carbon Dioxide, Methane, and Nitrogen Oxides). These gasses create a barrier that traps the incoming solar radiation (Insolation) and reheats the earth. Carbon Dioxide is the most abundant of the gasses but not nearly as powerful as Methane. For instance, "Methane in the atmosphere warms the Earth over 20 times more per molecule than carbon dioxide does than after a decade or two, it oxidizes into Carbon Dioxide and keep...
Global warming has become on of the most controversial issues in the media today. While most of the Western world countries have generally accepted the premise that man's chemical emissions in the atmosphere can and are affected by the world’s climate patterns, in the United States, the issue has become so politicized with many republicans challenging the science behind the theory. Global warming is a greenhouse effect whereby gases are trapped on the earth’s surface causing it to heat up (Maslin 14). It is based on the worldwide temperature records that have been maintained by human beings through their activities since the 1880,s. In addition, global warming is not only caused by human activities only but also through climate changes in solar radiance. The problem is that, humans continue to contribute to the global warming phenomenon. All citizens should work in reducing human activities that cause global warming and also support the development of nuclear power. Scientists deem that, global warming is mainly caused by human activities which accelerate the natural process by creating greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Human activities have become a great contribution to the greenhouse effect and this means that climate changes are inevitable. They further argue that, if these activities continue and are not reduced, it will lead to more trapping of energy radiated from the earth and this will likely lead to extreme weather and global warming. Global warming should be at reduced levels or else, it will be catastrophic.
Well it hasn't for the last 800,000 years. Ice core data shows that the fastest rate of CO2 increase over the last 800,000 years was 30 ppm in 1000 years.
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 subject of global warming is as popular as the president. These both topics have always been hot subjects in everyday life. Global warming is the biggest storm headed in our way. It is also the most important issue of our times. Those ads or public service announcement on TV about global warming might not be the most attractive but the cause behind it is very important. Global warming is one of the major threats our planet is facing. Most scientists prove the fact that global warming is mainly caused by human activities rather than natural cycles. To simplify it, most mechanisms that we use are affecting earth. These mechanisms are created by humans. Therefore, humans are affecting earth.
In talking about global warming, we need to learn what causes the greenhouse effect. Rays from the sun are taken up and absorbed by water vapor that is natural in the atmosphere. The United States emits the largest man made greenhouse gases in the world. As Americans we must realize the responsibility to reduce the emissions. (Gore, Albert) Water Vapor is eighty percent of greenhouse warming. The last twenty percent results from other gases that are in very little amounts. A huge absorber of the sun’s heat rays is carbon dioxide. Us as humans release a lot of carbon dioxide. When fossil fuels are burned, they release big 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. In result to this happening this will cause the earth and the earths atmosphere to warm. When the earth is warming, water temperatures will start to get warmer. Oceans and lakes will get warmer in result f...
Hello everyone! Today I will be speaking about global warming but before I begin, how many of you believe that global warming exists and that the human population is the primary cause of global warming? I ask this because there are people who believe that global warming does not exist or that it’s “a hoax created by China”. But that’s not true and global warming is in fact one of the biggest problems facing the world today. There is a significant amount of negative effects for the environment and for all living beings due to global warming. And maybe some of you are not be interested in global warming, but the truth is, global warming is a big part of our world and it affects each and every one of us.
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.
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
Scientists, economists, and policy makers all agree the world is facing a threat from climate warming. Climate warming is caused by excess greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, which are heat trapping gases. Human use of fossil fuels is a significant source of these gases. When we drive our cars, heat our homes with oil or natural gas, or use electricity from coal-fired power plants, we contribute to global warming. Including any loss of trees or forests also contributes, considering trees convert carbon dioxide to oxygen.
In conclusion, global warming is a slow and gradual process that is affecting our lives day by day. Some think of it as a myth, but now everybody can see and feel the climate change every year. Human beings are the prime cause of the global warming, so it is our responsibility to minimize it. Many environmentalists and nature protecting organizations such as the NRDC (Natural Resource Defense Council) have done various research on global warming and have come up with many ideas to prevent it. There are several creative ideas to stop global warming, and some of them have promises, for example, saving money while saving the environment.
The common definition of global warming is a gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earth’s atmosphere generally attributed to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide and other pollutants (Global warming, Wikipedia). Moreover, the effects of global warming will bring ecological and social changes. Because there is no exact way to predict the effects of global warming, it is almost impossible to say how strong global warming will affect life in the future. Scientists blame the greenhouse gas effect in combination with societies greenhouse gas emissions for the rising temperature. The greenhouse effect is a process by which thermal radiation from a planetary surface is absorbed by atmospheric greenhouse gases, and is re-radiated in all directions. Since part of this re-radiation is emitted back towards the earth’s surface and the lower atmosphere, it results in an elevation of the average surface temperature above what it would be in the absence of the gases (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). Simply, global...