Marietta Johnson
Environmental Science, 201
Spring Term 2
Professor Barry Vroeginday
Climate Change / Global Warming, How Mankind Contributes There are so many issues going on in the world today that experts state it is due to climate change. Climate change is a global issue that effects the entire world and everyone should be interested in knowing more about it. Some common issues attributed to climate change are temperature records being broken, storms being stronger, more frequent or happening in places where it never happened before, flooding, and droughts etc.…. The largest contribution to climate change is from human beings performing activities that make life easier or more comfortable in the world we live in. Past and
…show more content…
Approximately 70% of Connecticut’s energy is derived from fossil fuels. The combustion of fossil fuels releases air pollutants and greenhouse gases, which both endanger public health and the environment as well as contribute to global climate change (CT Department of Energy & Environmental Protection, 2015).
Below is a graph of energy consumption distributed by fuel in Connecticut (CT Department of Energy & Environmental Protection, 2015).
One recent example of global warming on the East coast is the record breaking amount of snow recorded this last winter. Also the unusual or rapid change in temperature when changing from one season to another. There doesn’t seem to be a gradual increase or decrease anymore, well not like it was about 7-10 years ago. Yulsman (2015) points out that this is called El Nino-Southern Oscillation which is also called ENSO (Yulsman, 2015, para. 4)
During an El Nino, heat stored in the tropical Pacific Ocean is released into the atmosphere, which tends to give a boost to global average temperatures. NOAA’s latest forecast is for a 70 percent chance of El Nino continuing through summer and a 60 percent chance that it will persist through fall. Below is a graph that shows this effect for the entire world. Anyone that takes notice should be aware of the change in air quality as a result of pollution. Currently there are so many people
However, according to (Green Energy, 2015), coal is the most polluting of all fuels and one of the largest single source of global warming pollution in the world. To end global warming pollution and to minimize the risk of catastrophic global warming, we all must reduce our use of coal in the United States. Unfortunately, due to the significant income the government receives from coal exports, they are allowing and in some cases helping to fund, the construction of new coal powered plants. Because of this, the climate region is changing significantly.
Energy consumption is a major environmental issue in both the United States and globally. Society is consuming more energy than can be produced, and the energy that is being consumed is harming the environment. The most common and widely used energy sources are nonrenewable fossil fuels. Fossil fuels consist of coal, oil, and natural gas; they are nonrenewable, in this life time, they do have a chance to renew, however, it takes millions of years for fossil fuels to form beneath the Earth's surface
Research by Everett (2012) supports that coal is the primary form of energy used in the United States each day, accounting for one-third of the nation’s total energy production (Everett, 2012). It is the source of 50% of the electricity generated nationwide. It comprises 90% most abundant fossil fuel energy resource in America.
Climate change and Global warming are both very similar topics, that are spoken about everywhere around the world, they’re both still very important, that they have been receiving more and more attention as the years go by. It hasn 't become a problem back then till now; over the years it has been changing and evolving. However, its rate of change is what 's been rising, this is happening because the human population, is getting more and more bigger. This increase in our population has only led to the use of more and more fuel, land, manufacturing and producing, all of this discharge has been going out into our atmosphere, only making climate change worse, and intensifying its rate.
The Earth’s geography is always shift and changing its malleable form through various processes. Whether it is through Earths natural erosion process or a natural disaster such as an earthquake or a tsunami. Everyone knows about these type of disasters when they happen, but do they know why they happen or what causes them to happen? This can be better explained by what is called Climate Change. There are people today that actually do not believe in climate change. However, one can argue that something is truly happening to our planet as a whole.
Earth is one of the most intriguing planets in our galaxy and especially in our universe. This planet is able to bear and sustain life on its surface and also has one of the most important compounds in the universe H2O. Earth has an abundant amount of water on its surface; making it the primary reason why life can survive. However, we humans that live on this planet are destroying it bit by bit. As human population continue to rise, the demand for fossil fuels also increases. The continuous use of fossil fuels has resulted in global warming and also pollution. Hydrocarbons when burned release CO2 into the atmosphere; in turn too much CO2 in the atmosphere heats up the planet. Global warming is slowly changing the earth’s climate at an alarming rate. Earth’s global temperature has risen 0.6 degrees Celsius since the 1900’s (Ahrens, 388). This steady increase in temperature has drastic effects on the hydrological, ecological, political, and economical systems all around the world. The issue of climate change and global warming isn’t centered on one nation or group; it is centered on all the nations around the world. So it is important to every citizen living on this planet. The purpose of this paper is to examine the potential effects of climate change will have on the ocean, agriculture, eco-systems, increasing global population, and geopolitical systems.
The topic of global climate change has been a much debated topic over the years. There is no real scientific consensus on global warming. However, much destruction has happened to the earth that questions the scientific or empirical link between extreme weather and global climate change. There are a lot of events that happens around the globe such as floods, increased precipitation, sea-level rise, and hurricanes that questions the theory of global climate change. Without any clear cut evidence, it would be hard to determine whether greenhouse gases (GHG) and deforestation are the cause of global climate change. There are many researchers around the who use scientific findings to prove that there is a link between extreme weather and global climate change.
The greater Himalayas hold the largest mass of ice outside Polar Regions and are the source of the ten largest rivers in Asia. Rapid reduction in the volume of Himalayan glaciers due to climate change is occurring, (Wilkes & Eriksson, 2009). With a highly heterogeneous geography, the region has a great climatic variability and forms a barrier to atmospheric circulation for the summer monsoon and winter westerlies. The regions climatic zones contain a rich diversity of species and ecosystems that exist along a pronounced humidity gradient, (Wilkes & Eriksson, 2009). Vegetation changes from subtropical semi desert and thorn steppe formation in the northwest to tropical evergreen rainforests in the southeastern Himalayas, (Wilkes & Eriksson, 2009). Climate change impacts are already occurring in the Greater Himalayas, the most widely reported effect is the rapid reduction of glaciers, which has implications of future downstream water supplies, (Wilkes & Eriksson, 2009). The Himalayas as a whole are very sensitive to global climate change. Progressive increases in warming at high elevations are occurring at approximately three times the global average, (Wilkes & Eriksson, 2009). The intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has projected that average annual mean warming will be about three degrees warmer by 2050 and about five degrees warmer in 2080 over the Asian land mass, (Wilkes & Eriksson, 2009). Given that current discussions about dangerous climate change are
Global warming/climate change has been a big issue of discussion in my generation. Global warming is talked about on the news, in the newspapers, in magazines, and every other kind of social media. Today’s generation heard about global warming right out of the womb all the way to present day. I personally do believe in global warming. Is that because of the fact I was brought up in the time of the world where you hear about it basically everyday, I don’t know; it’s a good possibility. During the 19 years that I have been on Earth I have experience all time record heat waves to all time record cold temperatures. I have seen some of the world’s worst earthquakes, hurricanes, tornados, tropical storms, and tsunami. When watching the news I see towns/cities underwater from storms and houses demolished by storms. I grew up on the coast down the street from Plum Island, which is located in Massachusetts and every year the oceans take at least one house. The little island is slowly disappearing and sometime in the near future is most likely wont be there anymore. Global warming/ climate change must be the cause for this extreme weather that has been hitting the world for the 19 years that I have been alive.
For the past decades Climate change/ global warming has gained the attention of scientist because of the studies and experiments show how climate change can have catastrophically impacts in our planet and that we are starting to see today. Global climate change is a phenomenon caused by greenhouse gases trapped in the atmosphere which produce enormous effects on the earth’s organisms, nature and all habitats. By burning fossil fuels and by cutting forests known as deforestation humans contribute to global warming. Burning fossil fuels causes more greenhouse gases to build up in the atmosphere. Fossil fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas are high in carbon and, when burned, produce major amounts of carbon dioxide. A single gallon of
-The rate of increase of the global sea level has doubled the rate of the last century in the last 10 years.
One result of global warming is that the earth undergoes extreme weather events. By definition, climate is the long-term average of weather over many years. When weather conditions become reoccurring, it would be considered as a climate change (Bradford). As climate changes, temperatures fluctuate around the world, spawning hotter summers and colder than normal winters, therefore, causing extreme events in the weather. The Winter Storm Juno that reached the eastern seaboard in January of 2015 would show one example of an extreme weather event. With huge hurricane force winds, Juno violently altered shorelines from New Haven, Connecticut, to Portland, Maine, leaving Boston buried in snow. Winter is a natural occurrence, but due to global warming, the oceans are warmer and the air above them is moister creating more snow. Oceans act as batteries, charging up with extra warmth as carbons in the atmosphere continues to warm the planet. As energy generates it expels itself feeding bigger and more dangerous storms, and right now, over ninety percent the energy in the ocean is from climate change (Stockton). Therefore, as the
David Attenborough (an English broadcaster and naturalist) once said, “[t]here is no question that climate change is happening; the only arguable point is what part humans are playing in it.” Climate change is a pending issue waiting to be addressed and resolved by society as a whole before it is too late. Statistics show that the United States contains only 5 percent of the world 's population, but contributes 22 percent of the world 's carbon emissions. During the 21st century, global warming is expected to continue and climate changes are likely to increase, including: changes in temperature, precipitation, snow and ice, ocean level, and ocean acidity. The Kyoto Protocol, protocol aiming to reduce the collective greenhouse gas
Environmentalists and Scientists have been squawking about global warming and climate change for decades now. Governments around the world have acknowledged climate change and have made efforts to stop it, but many researchers say that our efforts are too little, too late. And despite the amount of conclusive research and evidence of climate change, there are still people in politics who do not believe the climate is changing. If people were better educated and knew more about climate change, then more people would be behind environmental movements.
Kyoto was created in 1997 during the Third Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC with the objective to globally reduce GHG emissions and ultimately address climate change (United Nations, 1997). This international agreement is based on the premise that global warming is mostly due to GHG emissions and those emissions are undeniably anthropogenic (United Nations, 1997).