Global Warming And Its Effects On The Environment

The U.S obtains more than 84% of its energy from fossil fuels including oil, coal and natural gas. This is because people rely on it to heat their homes, power industries, run vehicles, manufacturing, and provision of electricity. It is apparent that the country’s transportation industry highly depends on conventional petroleum oil, which is responsible for global warming, thus threatening economic opulence and national security. Apart from that, increasing consumption of fossil fuels have elevated health problems in the state, destroyed wild places, and polluted the environment. After conducting Environmental Impact Assessment, projections showed that the world energy consumption would increase by more than 56% between 2010 and 2040. However, fossil fuels will cater for more than 80% of the total energy used in 2040. Sadly, it will be a trajectory to alter the world’s climate, as well as, weaken the global security environment. Importantly, the rate at which the US relies on fossil fuels needs to reduce since it has adverse effects on the planet’s supplies. The society needs to realize that fossil fuels are nonrenewable, thus taking millions of years to form (Huebner, 2003). Notably, the country can reduce dependency on fossil fuels by practicing energy conservation and efficiency,

The United States of America is at the top of the list when it comes to the countries that use the most resources. In The Waste Generation by Bill Bryson, he talks about the amount of natural resources wasted by Americans. Bryson gets much of the information he uses in his essay from his personal experience. He lived in England for 20 years as a journalist and during his stay, he noticed many differences between the lifestyle of people living in England and the people in America. Most of the people that live in the U.S. are very wasteful compared to people living in other countries and even though some of the people realize that they are being wasteful themselves, they don’t change their habits. This is a very big problem in the U.S. because many resources are wasted such as electricity, water, gas, oil, and more. Compared to other countries, each person in the U.S. uses resources several times more than people in other countries depending on which country but some people may argue that the U.S. is covering up for wasting resources by making more resources, which is fine except for the fact that resources are still being wasted.

Carbon emissions are changing the planet for the worse. Energy production (mostly coal) is producing a one third of the US 's global warming emissions. Renewable sources produce little to zero percent. The balance of coal and renewable energy in the U.S. needs to be evened out with renewable techniques. Statistics from the Union of Concerned Scientist’s “Benefits of Renewable Energy Use” show that most renewable resources emit less than one pound of CO2E/kWh. These have significantly less of a carbon footprint than coal, which emits 1.4 to 3.6 lbs. CO2E/kWh or natural gas, which emits .6 to 2 lbs. CO2E/kWh. This impressive difference of carbon emissions between renewable and fossil fuel is the key to caring for our environment. A 2009 USC study found that if 25 percent of the US 's

The second largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States is related to transportation, the burning of oil to produce energy in a combustion motor. The combustion process inside of engines is what produces the carbon matter that is emitted into the air through the exhaust system on gas-powered vehicles. Gas-powered transportation is accountable for 24 percent of the global carbon emissions; this should not come as much of a surprise given the amount of urban sprawl that is being seen in the United States and across the globe. In the past decade, the Environmental Protection Agency, the United States government, and major car manufacturers have been working in conjunction to find ways to provide a “greener” form of transportation (EPA, 2011). This has included testing the use of hydropower, ethanol, natural gas, biodiesel, and electricity as a means of powering vehicles, which has led to the introduction of hybrid vehicles. Hybrid vehicles run on electricity and gasoline, the byproduct of oil that is generally used in the engine combustion process of vehicles (U.S. Department of

Coal-burning power plants are the largest U.S. source of carbon dioxide pollution producing 2.5 billion tons of CO2 emissions every year (Natural Resources Defense Council 2005). Cars are the second largest source, creating nearly 1.5 billion tons of CO2 annually (Natural Resources Defense Council 2005). Approximately 50% of the greenhouse gasses causing global warming are coming from burning fossil fuels to power or create electricity and another 25% was coming out of our tail pipes from burning gasoline or diesel (Brunsaw 2015).

Industrial emissions from the United States also contribute to smog and acid rain in some parts of

Between 1990-91 and 1995-96, total fossil fuel subsidies in 14 developing countries that account for 25 percent of global carbon emissions from industrial sources declined 45 percent, from $60 billion to about $33 billion)…Within the past six years, India, Mexico, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, and Brazil also cut fossil fuel subsidies significantly…Many developing countries are also actively promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy.

As the global population increases and developing nations seek to emulate the consumer consumption of their Western counterparts, demand for fossil fuels and alternative energy sources continues to increase apace (Tracey et al, 2011). OPEC

Some of the major sources of energy in the United States are natural gas, coal, petroleum, renewable energy and nuclear electric power. These energy sources produce greenhouse gasses. The primary sources of greenhouse gas emissions come from six areas including electricity, transportation, industry, commercial/residential, and agriculture. Whereas, land use /forestry actually offset about 11 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. Land areas (plants, vegetation, harvested wood, and soil) can absorb as well as store CO2 from the atmosphere. Electricity is produced from burning fossil fuels, mostly coal and natural gas, therefore, generating approximately 30 percent greenhouse gas emissions in 2014. Transportation emitted 26 percent greenhouse gas in 2014 making it the

Producing electricity: Burning fossil fuels, like coal and natural gases, for electricity is responsible for most of the emissions at 31 percent.

Today carbon dioxide is the primary greenhouse gas emitted through human actives in the world. Carbon dioxide accounts for nearly three quarter of the greenhouse gas emission. The main source of carbon dioxide emission in the United States are electricity, transportation, and industry. Electricity has a significant amount of emission due to the fossil fuels needed to generate electricity, to power homes, businesses, and industries. The second largest cause of carbon dioxide emission is transportation. Transportation accounts for 31% total of carbon dioxide emission in the United States. Lastly industry is another large part in the emission rising. Many industry process carbon dioxide and the emission through chemical reaction that do not involve combustion. These are the leading carbon dioxide emission today in the world.

A survey conducted by Stanford University and Resources for the Future found that 61 percent of the US respondents supported taxing corporations for releasing Green House Gas Emissions. Additionally, 67 percent of the respondents agreed with a Carbon Taxation policy (Lehmann). Climate change concerns have been growing on a global level due to the substantial increase in green house gas emissions mainly due to human activities. According to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) CO2 emissions are the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions in the US. Approximately 80.9 percent of human caused GHG emissions are by Carbon Dioxide emissions. Within, Carbon Dioxide emissions, electricity, transportation and

What has changed in the last few hundred years is the additional release of carbon dioxide by human activities. Fossil fuels burned to run cars and trucks, heat homes and businesses, and power factories are responsible for about 98% of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions, 24% of methane emissions, and 18% of nitrous oxide emissions. Increased agriculture, deforestation, landfills, industrial production, and mining also contribute a significant share of emissions. In 1997, the United States emitted about one-fifth of total global greenhouse gases.

North America and the European Union command transport sector GHG emissions with 34% and 20% approximately by data from 2005. The road sector leads in all parts

Based on the trends in the graphs. which country would produce more carbon dinde in 2010?