Essay on Global Warming
Global Warming, aside from pollution is one of scientists biggest
concerns. Global Warming is caused by the Greenhouse effect. There are 4
steps in the Greenhouse effect. 1-Sunlight radiates from the sun,
through space, to Earth’s atmosphere. 2- The sunlight enters the
atmosphere and hits Earth. Some of it turns into heat energy in the form
of infrared light. The heat gets absorbed by surrounding air and land,
which in turn makes it warm. 3- Infrared rays, that are remitted into
the atmosphere are trapped by greenhouse gases. 4- The gas then absorbs
the light and is remitted back to the Earth’s surface and warms it even
more. Some of the naturally occurring greenhouse gases are Methane and
carbon dioxide. This is the way the Earth keeps itself warm enough for
humans to live on it.
The only problem with this is that humans enhance the process even more.
Over the past 200 years the emissions of greenhouse gases have been
increasing due to the increase in technology that humans have developed
(example, factories). These human-induced gases include carbon dioxide,
methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone depleting substances such as CFCs,
also known as Chlorofluorocarbons, hydrofluorocarbons, and
perfluorocarbons. These gases are generated a number of human activities
such as fossil fuel combustion, waste disposal in landfills, the use of
a refrigerator, numerous agricultural and industrial activities, and the
cutting down of numerous forests.
These human practices have already changed the chemical make up of the
atmosphere. Between the pre-industrial times and today, we have seen the
concentration of carbon dioxide rise 30% in some regions, in particular
the northern hemisphere, human practices have increased concentrations
of aerosols in atmosphere, which is a traditional form of air
pollution), which tends to cool the atmosphere.
With all these gases in the air, it is starting to change the Earth’s
climate. The temperature of the Earth’s surface is as warm, if not
warmer than it has been in any other century since at least 1400 AD. The
temperature over the past century has risen one degree Fahrenheit over
the last century. These last few decades have been the warmest this
century. The sea level has risen 4 to 10 inches, and mountain glaciers
world-wide have begun to retreat.
It is important to recognize that with the recent warming and the other
climatic changes that have been going on have not been related to one
another. For example, warming has been greatest over the mid-latitude
continents in the winter and spring, with some area of cooling, such as
over the North Atlantic Ocean. Local and regional climate variation are
not inconsistent with the existence of global warming.
One recent study by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change)
said that unless governments do something to restrict the emissions of
greenhouse gases to a lower level, global temperatures could rise 1.6 to
6.3 degrees Fahrenheit by the year 2100. This would represent the
fastest rate of global warming since the end of the last ice age more
than 10,000 years ago. With the increased warming of the Earth it could
lead to catastrophic events that could endanger living things on our
planet.
One event is major drought all around the world. With the warming of the
planet, the water on the ground would quickly evaporate causing the
rivers and lakes to quickly dry up. This would lead to crops dying from
lack of rain, which would lead to food prices to skyrocket, which would
lead to people dying from hunger if they do not have enough money to pay
the price for food. Another event that would occur from global warming
is the drastic rise in sea level. As the Earth warms up, the polar ice
caps will start to melt. This would put immense amounts of water into
Earth’s oceans. All cities along the coast would be flooded from the
rise in sea level. This would cause people to move inland, and with more
people inland, it would cause a shortage of space in some areas. With
the coastal cities under water, this would cause a great economic strain
on the rest of the cities throughout the world. Global Warming would
also cause extreme weather. Thunderstorms would be more powerful than
they have ever been. Tornadoes would be stronger than they normally
would. With the warming of the surface it would also warm the ocean over
time. This would cause hurricanes to be numerous and stronger than they
have ever been.
There is only one way to stop global warming before it becomes a real
threat. That way is to stop emitting the greenhouse gases that cause
global warming. Only then will the problem of global warming be solved.
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Essay Data Section |
| Word Count: 779 |
Title: Global Warming |
Type: Student Submitted
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