Many people don’t know how much they contribute to the emissions of green house gasses. The truth is we as people support the burning of fossil fuels almost unknowingly. We use them for everything from daily household supplies to the gases we use to heat our homes and run our cars. The steady rise in the use of these fossil fuels is having an alarming affect on our climate. Global warming will change the Earth in unimaginable ways. With the ever increasing amount of Greenhouse gasses in our atmosphere, glaciers are now melting rapidly causing sea level to rise. The coastal changes will be sure to change our living environment over the next few hundred years.
Global Warming is a phenomenon in which the temperature on the Earth
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The temperature change caused by these gasses affect not only our warmth but the climate as well. (Pipkin 368-389)
There are both natural and anthropogenic causes for the build-up of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere. Natural sources for these emissions are “. . . Stratospheric volcanic sulfate aerosols, climate variability and solar radiation. . .” (Pipkin 368). This is volcanic matter being deposited on top of the already slowly melting glaciers covers them and reduces their albedo (ability to reflect light), thus making them absorb the heat at an even faster rate(O’Connor 287). This reduction in reflectivity paired with the circulation of wind and water is what Scambos refers to as the main reason for ice melting! With the increase in temperature the wind patterns are changing along with oceanic flow patterns. The pressure from the warmer water is too much for the ice to handle thus, leaving a thinner ice sheet more prone to breaking off .Just as there are natural causes for these gasses there are also human-causes. Many of these stem from the use of natural gasses: Coal, Gasoline, and natural gas. Intrinsic to our current means of transportation; without these travel by any engine powered means and the exportation and importation of goods would surely be affected. Natural gasses are also used to heat our homes; these gasses are burned and added to the carbon footprint of the family. Although getting
What is global warming? It is a problem when too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, acts as a blanket and traps in heat which then, ultimately warms the planet. During our
Global warming is a gradual increase in the average temperature of the earth's and its oceans and a change that is believed to permanently changing the earth’s climate.
According to scientists the burning of fossil fuels is the main source for the large amounts of pollutants humans are creating. Fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas produce large amounts of carbon when burned to create energy that we all use. Many people think that the burning of these fossil fuels is not that big of a deal and there are other major contributors in the climate change controversy. The burning of these resources produce thousands of tons of carbon that are released into the atmosphere everyday Most everyone in the United States uses some source of energy produced from fossil fuels. Without the fossil fuels the major cities would not have enough energy to keep everything going. While they are working on increasing the amount of renewable energy sources, they are still dependent on the fossil fuels. Scientists are trying to link human pollution to the extreme weather changes that have been going on in recent years. An article found on www.edf.com Climate Changes Effect Plunder the Planet brings up some of the ideas that are caused by climate change. With the large amounts of carbon and other greenhouse gasses that are released they are effecting our ozone layer by trapping heat from leaving the planet, causing an increase in the global temperature around the world. www.study.com Fossil Fuels, Greenhouse Gases, and Global Warming states that over the last 800
Climate change, specifically in reference to C02 Emissions released by human use of fossil fuels and their consequential effects on the environment, is perhaps one of the most pressing issues we, not just as Americans, but as human beings face in our lifetimes. Though it may sound like a sensationalist statement the facts are hard to deny. In May of 2013, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Greenhouse gases keep heat close to the earth’s surface making it liveable for humans and animals. However, global warming is happening largely due to an over-emittance of these gases and fossil fuels (natural oil, gasoline, coal)
Green house gases are gases that cause Earth’s atmosphere to increasingly get warmer as human activity continues to increase due to our reliance on living an industrial lifestyle (National Academy of Sciences and the Royal Society n.d). With human contribution, such as the constant burning of fossil fuels our society needs to survive, forces our atmosphere to absorb additional gases and heat creating a warmer climate (National Academy of
Global warming has been a controversial topic for years and some have even denied its existence; however, as more studies are being published every day in regards to our changing climate, it is hard to ignore this growing issue and how humans contribute to it. The term greenhouse gases refers to the group of gases that are primarily responsible for global warming and chief among these gases is carbon dioxide. Rising carbon dioxide levels can be attributed to a combination of burning fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas, and petroleum as well as deforestation in general ( Source A). To slow the effects of global warming, it is important for leaders in our society to consider their greenhouse gas emissions, especially carbon dioxide, and make
Global warming is the name given to the increase in the earth’s surface temperature. It is caused by the collection of greenhouse gases, carbon
Glaciers are one of the most fundamental phenomenon on the planet, and much of their purpose and impact on earth has been well documented and published. Ice sheets, Ice Caps and Glaciers trap nearly 90% of the world's fresh water, and are replenished by snowfall each year. Their existence on this planet dates back 650,000,000 years and yet they are always moving, always shifting and always melting. Before, human existence and even during the brief era of humans, ice dominated all of the earth's landmass and have regulated, created and altered many of the landscapes around the world.
Evidence indicates, Earth’s natural climate has a history of dramatic changes from warmer and cooler periods that can last for a few centuries. Mankind geologically speaking lives in a time period of intense climate change, and over the past million years we have experienced a dozen or so major glaciations, with the greatest occurring around 650,000 years ago, long before the Industrial Revolution, The Ice Age. This cooling period in Earth’s climate lasted for somewhere around 50,000 years and included the extreme buildup of ice that covered major regions, such as the Midwest, Canada, Germany, and several smaller regions. During this time the sea level had dropped by approximately 400 feet and the overall global temperature dropped nearly 9
Global warming is concerned with an average increase in the temperature of the atmosphere and the increase in the Earth 's surface temperature primarily due to the emission of greenhouse gases from the burning of fossil fuels. As for the processes of global warming, they can occur from a variety of causes. The causes include the things that are concerned with natural and human factors.
The impact humans are having on mother Earth is increasing its effects with the rising of sea levels. Global warming is causing polar ice sheets to melt, which is a major cause of adding volume to our oceans. Furthermore, the troposphere thickens, due to greenhouse gases, increasing the amount of radioactive waves that causes the seawater to warm up, resulting in ocean expansion. Most climatologists are expecting a rise in oceans around the world to be between 1.5 and 5 ft by the end of this century.(Harkinson) Some members of our society feel that because climate change is not certain, they are not willing to make a difference to help. Many people are unaware of how rapidly we have impacted mother Earth. The melting of the polar ice
It is reported that nearly three quarters of green house gases are a result of humans burning fossil fuels from nonrenewable energy, cars, and electricity (LaMeaux, 2014). The effects of carbon emission on climate change are having devastating and many irreversible
The concept of global warming has become one of the most widely debated and controversial topics of our time. Scientists learned long ago that the earth’s climate has powerfully shaped the history of humanity. However, it is only in the past few decades that research has revealed that humans have a significant influence on the climate as well. A growing body of scientific evidence indicates that since 1950, the world’s climate has been warming, primarily as a result of emissions from the burning of fossil fuels and the destruction of tropical forests. More importantly, an article titled "Global Warming" published in the New York Times shows that methane, a gas that is emitted from landfills, livestock and oil gas facilities,
Greenhouse gases come from such mainstays of modern life as electrical power plants, automobiles, and heavy industry. Growing consumption of fuel by less efficient cars and light trucks suggests that motor vehicles may soon overtake industry as the largest source of gases suspected of causing global warming by effectively creating a greenhouse around the Earth. Many people do not want to decrease their standard of living by reducing their consumption of fossil fuels. These people do not realize that if they reduce their consumption, there will be a reduction in the amount of greenhouse gases. If this does not happen and global warming continues, the long-term effects may be catastrophic.