Global Warming Essay

The human race all around the world wonders if the climate is changing due to human activity or if it is just a natural occurrence. At certain parts of the Earth's surface, the climate can be observed much differently than other locations. As the years go by the average temperature of the Earth increases by little intervals. There are several different reasons why people believe the climate is changing every year. However, the increase of worldwide population and production of heat to the atmosphere is due to the increase of human activities that take place on a daily basis. Human activity is the main cause of the global climate change. The human impact on climate exceeds any known changes due to natural processes. The impact of this human activity is often misunderstood when looking at climate change.

NGS integrates greenhouse into other major policy initiatives, such as the Natural Heritage Trust, and launches new measures to increase greenhouse emission reduction activities across the Australian community. It provides the strategic framework for an effective greenhouse response and for meeting current and future international commitments. It will provide a fresh impetus for action by governments, stakeholder groups and the broader community and set directions for that action into the next century.

Global Warming is an increase in the average temperature around the world. Scientists have been able to trace the global climate and concluded that over the last ten thousand years, the climate of the earth has been relatively constant. In the twentieth century, the global temperature increased 0.740°C. The change in the warming, and cooling, of average global temperatures cause climate change, a change related to climate patterns such as temperatures, rainfall, wind and humidity. This flux in temperature is affected by multiple factors making it hard to determine the true source of problem. Evidence supports that the earth's warming is natural; however, some data indicates that the warming trend has increased due to human activity.

Climate change has been in the news for years. Earth's average temperature has risen by 1.4°F (0.8 degree Celsius) over the past century, and is projected to rise another 2 to 11.5°F (1.1-6.6 degree Celsius) over the next hundred years. The main cause of climate change is due to the increase of greenhouse gases. Since the beginning of industrial revolution in 1750s, human have released large amount of greenhouse gases mainly carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Carbon dioxide is a molecule comprised of one carbon and two oxygens, and is an essential component of photosynthesis. However, currently, it is the most commonly emitted greenhouse gas. In the year 2013, carbon dioxide made up the vast majority of all greenhouse gasses emitted by the United States in total. In the last century, human activity has altered the carbon cycle in such a way that there’s now a greater amount of carbon dioxide than naturally should be present in Earth’s atmosphere. This leads to an increase in global temperature, ocean acidification, and a decrease in the productivity of photosynthesis.

Recently, climate change has been a major topic of discussion. As the world decides what actions should be taken to help with the changing climate, severe weather has increased over the past few years. Several factors has created a change in climate but there have been countless effects to Earth because of climate change and severe weather is one of those effects. “In fact, the first decade of this century (2001–2010) was the hottest decade recorded since reliable records began in the late 1800s” (Union of Concerned Scientist, n.d.). The Earth is not only stronger storms such as Hurricane Ivan, Super Typhoon Haiyan, Joplin, MO tornado and tornado super outbreaks, but there also have been severe droughts as well. Climate change is effecting extreme weather because the climate has been changing over the years causing the waters and Earth to become warmer, which is causing extreme weather to become stronger and more severe.

According to the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) there is a scientific consensus that the earths climate id being affected by human activities. The IPCC 's conclusion is that most of the observed warming of the last 50 years is likely to have been due to the increase in greenhouse gas concentrations. (McCarthy 2001, p.21) . “Greenhouse gases are accumulating in Earth 's atmosphere as a result of human activities, causing surface air temperatures and subsurface ocean temperatures to rise” (National Academy Press 2001, p. 1).

In the last 150 years, the industrial activities that our modern civilization depends upon have doubled the amount of carbon dioxide levels we put into the atmosphere (“Climate Change). The result of the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere is a warmer earth. These warmer conditions will lead to more or less precipitation, depending on the region. The increased rainfall can result in flooding. In other regions, the increase in precipitation can also lead to longer, drier droughts. Droughts in the Southwest of the U.S. are becoming more intense,

     Two issues that worry many scientists are global warming and the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is a natural process that keeps the earth at temperatures that are livable. What does the greenhouse effect have to do with global warming? When humans release gases into the air, the greenhouse effect will alter the temperature of the earth. More gases in the atmosphere means the earth will start to get warmer, and the result is global warming. On the other hand, if there was no greenhouse effect, the earth would be too cold for humans to comfortably exist.

The main reason why I chose to research this topic and why it fascinates me, is mainly based on the fact that our society has convinced us that animal agriculture, which fuels meat consumption, is not responsible for most of our greenhouse gases. When in fact, numerous studies has proven that livestock, and the byproducts that come along with it are responsible for approximately 51% of all worldwide GHG emissions3. Along with that, I find it interesting that livestock is blameworthy “for 65% of all human-related emissions of nitrous oxide– a greenhouse gas with 296 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide.”3 I found all of the information very interesting, but I had to see the application and actual data.

Global warming extremists want us to believe that as global temperatures rise, so do chances of complete extinction of entire species. Natural disasters will become more common, whole continents could one day be under water, and death rates could be at an all time high. This may seem like a bad science fiction novel, but in some ways they might actually be right. At the very least global warming can and will effect humans living in nearly every region. From those living on the coast, to those living in the Artic plains no area of our planet is safe from global warming. Understanding that global warming is a reality, how it occurs, and what we can do to stop it is vital to the survival of every living creature on this planet.

Corbera, Esteve, Manuel, Estrada and Katrina, Brown. “Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries: Revisiting the Assumptions." Climatic Change, vol. 100, no. 3-4, 2012, pp. 355-388. Springer Nature, doi: 10.1007/s10584-009-9773-1. Accessed 25 June 2017.

In a survey that was performed by Greg Holland and Peter Webster in the National Center for Atmospheric Research that found that an increase in the number of observed hurricanes, stating that “increasing cyclone numbers has lead to a distinct trend in the number of major hurricanes and one that is clearly associated with greenhouse warming” (Holland 1). Another source concluded that global warming has absolutely no correlation with hurricane frequencies, rather the fact that access to improved monitoring is the reason for frequent hurricanes. “Increasing temperature leads to an increase in vertical wind shear which may inhibit the formation of hurricanes” (Vecchi). This is the reason why the impact of global warming on hurricane frequency

“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.

The sky is falling, the sky is falling! Growing up I heard this phrase in folktales as a “wolf cry”-- a cry that is so ridiculous that nobody would believe it. Now that global warming is a major environmental issue, the saying doesn’t sound so out of place. Most people might say: what is global warming? That’s the question that was running through my mind when I first heard we were watching a documentary on it in my class. The film is Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth and it is about the causes of global warming and what it is doing to our planet. Being an environmentally involved citizen and growing up with conservative Republicans as parents, I was torn between not really liking Gore and this extreme reality that I felt was an