Global Warming Essay

Climate change is difficult to communicate by its very nature. Greenhouse gases are invisible, and their accumulating effects (e.g., global warming, precipitation changes, and extreme weather events) can take years before they are felt. Worldwide warming trends are hard for the average person to detect amidst the variability of everyday weather and the causes are far removed, in both time and space, from the impacts. Climate change is thus an example of “hidden hazards”—risks that, despite potentially serious consequences for society, generally pass unnoticed or unheeded until they reach disaster proportions (Kasperson and Kasperson, 1991).

In the wise words of Chicken little “The sky is falling, the sky is falling” but what he actually meant to say was “The climate is changing, the climate is changing! Global temperatures are rising, Oceans are warming, Ice sheets are shrinking, Sea levels are rising, and arctic sea ice is declining. The evidence for rapid climate change is gripping, and it’s happening all around. Climate change can be a confusing topic which people are often misinformed about it, or are lead to believe that it’s nothing to be concerned about. In actuality rapid climate change is a real concern, it’s something everyone should be informed as to what climate change is, what causes it, and what humans can do about it.

Major cities in North and South America, Asia and Australia are nearly out of water due to massive droughts and melting glaciers. Desperate farmers are losing their livelihoods. Peoples in the frozen Arctic and on low-lying Pacific islands are planning evacuations of places they have long called home. Unprecedented wildfires have forced a half million people from their homes in one country and caused a national emergency that almost brought down the government in another. Climate refugees have migrated into areas already inhabited by people with different cultures, religions, and traditions, increasing the potential for conflict. Stronger storms in the Pacific and Atlantic have threatened whole cities. Millions have been displaced by massive flooding in South Asia, Mexico, and 18 countries in Africa. As temperature extremes have increased, tens of thousands have lost their lives. We are recklessly burning and clearing our forests and driving more and more species into extinction. The very web of life on which we depend is being ripped and frayed.

Sea levels are rising, glaciers are melting and precipitation patterns are changing. Extreme weather events are becoming more intense and frequent. (WHO)

Evidence such as the rising of sea level by 17cm in the last century or the 150-250km3 loss of Greenland ice per year between 2002-2006 (NASA, 2014) proves that climate change is happening to us currently and the effects are immediate.

We as a population must come together to face the biggest problem in the world or face imminent destruction. Since the industrial age, the Earth’s temperature has risen 2 degrees celsius.(Sutter, 2) Humankind has shaped the Earth to what it is today by destroying land, building factories, real estate, burning fossils fuels, and even by just driving a motor vehicle around. This all led to the epidemic we call today as global warming. Taking a stance to make a change against global warming is very important but it also might be too late. Global warming is real and it is one of the biggest problems civilization faces.

The United States releases twenty tons of carbon monoxide per person per year. Carbon Monoxide release is a result of burning fossil fuels with an insufficient amount of oxygen that causes the formation of carbon monoxide that pollutes our environment. Every day fuel is burnt by cars, airplanes, large factories and manufacturing plants. This is causing a very large and deadly problem for our environment. When gases used on earth are released into the atmosphere they act as a blanket and trap radiation that is then redirected to earth. This concept is called the Greenhouse Effect. In this essay I will discuss the greenhouse gasses and their role in global warming.

Global warming, often confused with the term “climate change,” is a problem of worldly proportions that knows no limits, caused in large part by human actions. If it continues unchecked, its effects will be felt around the planet, from human society, to the environment, to the world economy. The purpose of this research paper is to understand the topic of global warming, its causes and effects, in order to help understand better what can be done to stop it. Global warming, as it stands, poses a monumental threat to the planet and all of its occupants; while mega polluters do not have an incentive to stop greenhouse gas production, we can, as individuals work towards the solution, greenhouse gas reduction, by improving our awareness and implementing the day to day measures necessary in achieving this goal.

Global temperatures on the Earth’s surface have increased by 1.1 degrees Fahrenheit during the last century, faster than any time in the last 1000 years (Rauber 41). Consequently, the 1990s was the warmest decade in the last 1000 years (“Global Warming”). As humans emit fossil fuels, greenhouse gasses slowly warm the Earth’s atmosphere (“EPA Global”). This gradual process is known as global warming. As glaciers begin to melt, sea levels rise and coastal areas in Florida may suffer immense losses (“Beach Erosion”). Florida’s tourist economy may also suffer a tremendous loss, as well as agriculture (“Florida Scientists”). With a warmer atmosphere, disease will spread quicker and human health will be threatened throughout the state (“Global

“Two thousand scientists, in a hundred countries, engaged in the most elaborate, well organized scientific collaboration in the history of humankind, have produced long-since a consensus that we will face a string of terrible catastrophes unless we act to prepare ourselves and deal with the underlying causes of global warming.” (Al Gore). So, what exactly is global warming? Has it happened before? If so, what were the effects? Specifically, how will it affect the human population? Are humans causing it? These are but a few of the questions we need to answer when we study global warming.

In stark contrast global warming also contributes to increased rainfall totals in some areas. A study by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change observed that over the last 50 years an increase in heavy rains has been a result of global climate change due to human

Edmunds, Donna R. "Man-made Climate Change Is a Myth." Weather.com. The Weather Channel, 24 Oct. 2014

The most complicated issue facing world leaders today very well may be global warming. Over time, more and more warnings from the scientific community have come about. Some of them being the non-stop build up of human related greenhouse gases that are mainly produced by the burning of fossil fuels, economic, technological, and political issues. In late 2010, world-wide talks began and many agreements were made between many of the leaders of foreign countries, and an international process for dealing with this particular problem received many votes of confidence.

One of the hottest topics being discussed now a days is the effects of global warming on the environment and the efforts being made in order to combat the potential effects. Simply put, global warming refers to the environmental effects caused by the constant emission of carbon dioxide from carbon based fuels. These effects are supposedly widespread; the temperature of the earth will rise, the land becomes less conducive to, vegetation, and various ecosystems become extinct. There is no common consensus on how to control the problem and through out the paper it discusses the issues of global warming.

There are an infinity of divided opinions on the subject of global warming. Many people wonder what is the main cause of it. Is there will be something we can do to stop it? Global warming is something that must be treated with great caution, since we are talking about a subject that can damage our planet in different aspects. Could our poles melt? Could most of the animal species be extinguished? These are just some of the questions our scientists ask each day. The truth is only one, which seriously saddens the harsh reality. The unwise human activity is causing drastic changes in global warming, which is affecting our planet.