Global warming refers to the persistent rise of air and sea temperatures. Global temperatures in the 20th century have increased by 0.8 °C (Weart, 2003). There has been a substantial rise of temperatures in the last few decades raising major concerns globally. If the current trends persist, it may be difficult for the earth to sustain life in the next 200 years. Global warming emanates from both human and natural causes. The current state of global warming is mostly related to human causes, as natural causes are rare. Natural causes include volcanic eruptions, changes in solar output, and variation of the earth’s position altering its distance from the sun (Singer & Avery, 2007). Volcanic eruptions do not always cause global warming. In most cases, eruptions cause a cooling effect in the surrounding areas. A volcanic eruption produces and injects sulfate aerosols, as well as, SO2 into the atmosphere. The reaction of these sulphur compounds leads to the formation of gaseous sulfuric acid layer covering the earth’s surface. This acid layers hinders penetration of solar energy. Major concerns should be on human activities that cause global warming since they can be controlled. According to various researches on global warming, production of greenhouse gasses is the major cause of global warming. Greenhouse gasses include water vapor, methane (CH4) carbon dioxide (CO2), chlorofluorocarbons and nitrous oxide (N2O). These gasses absorb heat; thus, causing global warming. Methane
In the last 100 years, the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has increased, causing the Earth to warm by an average of 0.6 degrees celsius, largely a result of burning fossil fuels for energy, transportation, and land use changes increased for food production. The basic science is straightforward and climate researchers have shown that gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and others can trap heat in the Earth’s atmosphere, causing a phenomenon known as the greenhouse effect. Human activities such as industry, transport, energy generation and deforestation all produce these greenhouse gases. In the last 20 years, concern has grown that global warming is inevitable and now considered most probably caused by man-made increases in
The Earth has been experiencing a considerable amount of climate change for the last several decades. Natural factors that contribute to the climate system consist of: solar output, volcanic activity and earth’s orbit around the sun. The two factors relevant on timescales of contemporary climate exist in volcanic activity and changes in solar radiation. The earth’s energy balance primarily influences the amount of incoming energy from volcanic eruptions, which have a relatively short-term effect on climate. Changes in solar output have contributed greatly to climate trends over the past century. The effect of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has been at least ten times that of changes in the Sun’s output and the ocean covers more than 70 percent of the earth’s surface, receiving twice the amount of earth’s radiation. Although the sun is the engine that drives all the weather, oceans and atmosphere control the sun 's energy along certain
In the movie by PBS, “Global Warming: The Signs and the Science” it discusses how our planet is affected by global warming and some potential consequences we will encounter because of the effects of Global Warming. It also describes different strategies that could help reduce greenhouse emissions.
Climate change is evident throughout the world and is a major issue. It is no secret that our planet is getting warmer. Global warming is now recognized in the scientific community as a real problem. There are multiple aspects that are causing this issue. Majority of the warming is caused by greenhouse gases. Volcanic eruptions and changes in the intensity of solar radiation have offset the warming partially. It is estimated that average annual temperatures will increase 3.5°F-9.5°F by the century’s end.
Every year, almost 7 billion tons of carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere by human activity. That is the equivalent of 107,700,000 jet airplanes being in the air at once! This harrowing figure is the main cause of global warming, and has been increasing for the last 50 years. Global warming is caused by the increase of greenhouse gasses, carbon dioxide and methane primarily, in the earth's upper atmosphere directly caused by human burning of fossil fuels, industrial, farming, and deforestation activities. Global warming is defined as an increase in the average temperature of the earth's atmosphere (especially a sustained increase that causes climatic
Our world’s climate is rapidly changing, and those changes will have an enormous impact on our planet’s people, ecosystems, cities, and energy use. Average global air temperatures are already roughly 1.5 degrees higher than they were at the start of the 20th century, and “have risen about 1 degree over just the last 30 years,” According to the New England aquarium. Climate change can best be described as the long-term change in average weather conditions, including temperature, precipitation and wind. According to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC), which is comprised of the world’s largest leading scientific experts in the field of climate change, “our climate is undergoing dramatic changes as the direct result of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that act like a glass roof around the earth, trapping in the heat that would otherwise escape to space – this commonly referred to as the ‘greenhouse effect’.” Ascending worldwide temperatures have been accompanied by adjustments in weather and climate. Countless places have seen changes in rainfall, leading to more droughts, floods, and extreme rain; in addition to more critical and recurrent heat waves. Earth’s glaciers and oceans have mastered numerous changes- our seas are becoming acidic and warming, ice caps are dissolving, and sea levels are increasing. As these alterations become more prominent in the succeeding future, they will likely present challenges to our society as well as our
In the last 100 years, Earth’s average temperature has risen by 1.4°F. The rising global temperatures have caused changes in weather and climate. Global warming refers to the ongoing rise in the average temperature near Earth’s surface. This is causing a climate change, which refers to any significant change (major change in temperature, precipitation, or wind patterns) in the measures of climate lasting for an extended period of time (several decades or longer). Due to this, it is projected that the temperature will rise from 2 to 11.5°F in the next hundred years (US EPA, 2014). The “drivers,” which are the principal causes making this occur, are very controversial. It is debated whether a change in temperature is due to the work of
One of the main reasons that earth’s temperatures are rising are due to greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases are created when humans burn fossil fuels such as coals, natural gases, and oils to produce heat or electricity. These gases are then capable of trapping infrared radiation sent by the sun. Once these
Carbon dioxide is the greenhouse gas naturally found in the atmosphere. Since the advent of the Industrial Revolution in the 1700s, humans have devised many inventions that burn fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gases, which, along with other human activities such as clearing land for agriculture or urban settlements, help some of these greenhouse gases accumulate in the atmosphere that in turn trap more heat radiation in the atmosphere causing the Earth’s climate to become warmer than it would naturally (Mastrandrea). This unnatural phenomenon is termed global warming by scientists and they blame it for an increase in the Earth’s surface temperature of about 0.6°C (about 1°F) over the last 100 years (Mastrandrea).
The earth’s climate is predicted to change because human activities are altering the chemical composition of the atmosphere through the buildup of greenhouse gases –– primarily carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. The heat-trapping property of these gases is undisputed. Although uncertainty exists about exactly how earth’’s climate responds to these gases, global temperatures are rising. Go to the Emissions section for much more on greenhouse gases.
Human activities as a direct result of global climate change, and population increases, according to factors is a part of the leading causes of global climate change. Also there is a serious threat to the balance of natural ecology and the environment. Because the world 's growing population has resulted in such as the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation, agriculture expansion activities such as intensifying, gathered in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has increased substantially. Natural events and human activities are considered to lead to an increase in global mean temperature. This is mainly composed of a gas such as carbon dioxide (CO2) is increased "greenhouse" caused. This is because the
Global warming is a huge concern in society that is only growing bigger because people either are not well informed about it, or they are not concerned about it. Some think that it will just go away and others still believe that it doesn’t exist, even though there is hundreds if not thousands of pieces of evidence that supports otherwise. One of the biggest pieces of evidence that proves global warming is real is the effect that photosynthesis has on global warming.
The issue of global warming should be on the list of our top priorities. Studies show that the average of global temperatures have risen since the Industrial Revolution began. Since the Industrial Revolution, human emissions has quadrupled the frequency of certain heat extremes and many scientists have warned that a failure to bring greenhouse gases under control could eventually lead to a 62-fold increase in extreme heat blasts (Gillis Justin A17). Most of the increase is due to human activities, especially the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation. These activities contribute to a build-up in carbon dioxide and other gases in Earth’s atmosphere. The Earth’s atmosphere is made of gases like nitrogen, carbon dioxide and oxygen. These gases act as a blanket that covers and gives us warmth, but once these gases such as carbon dioxide absorbs heat, but does not release it back into space in which causes the increase in global temperature. This is called the greenhouse effect because it only traps heat but does not release it.
The impacts of increased greenhouse gas admission are evident through the rising global temperatures, causing extreme natural disasters and expanding sea levels. Anthropogenic climate change refers to the production of greenhouse gases emitted into the earth’s atmosphere as a result of human expansion and activity. According to research conducted by The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Goddard Institute for Space Studies (NASA, 2016) the average global temperature of the Earth has risen 0.87 degrees Celsius from 1880 to 2016, the highest temperature rise recorded to date, as a result of heightened greenhouse gas admissions. It is essential to identify the causes of anthropogenic climate change and recognize the significant negative impact it is having on the global environment and the population.
Greenhouse gases are compounds in the atmosphere that can trap and hold extra heat, which increases the temperature in the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases is the cause of the greenhouse effect that leads up to global warming. The greenhouse effect is the trapping of the sun’s warmth in the lower atmosphere that is due to the visible radiation from the sun. The solar radiation reaches the Earth’s atmosphere, then the rest of the sun's energy is absorbed by the oceans and lands which result in the heating of the Earth. After that the heat from the Earth goes towards space, some of the heat is trapped in the atmosphere by greenhouses gases which make the Earth warm enough to tolerate living life. The burning of fossil fuels and land clearing start to increase the number of greenhouse gases which travels into the atmosphere. The result of trapping extra heat cause the Earth’s temperature to rise. Scientist's has proven that the constant increase of heat in the atmosphere is caused by humans. The reason humans are proven guilty for the increase of global warming is because of the amount of carbon that is put into the atmosphere. Carbon is released from burning coal, oil, and gas or cutting down and burning forests. Carbon (CO2) is known as the main source of heat-trapping gas which is mainly responsible for the increase of warming over the years. The removal of trees is another cause of global