Is Climate Change Not A Top Priority? Essay

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 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.

“The idea is that even if we are skeptical about what science tells us about global climate change, we are responsible for taking care of the planet for future generations; so the responsible thing to do is to take measures now that – if the scientists are right – will slow and ultimately stop global climate change”(Environmentalism Handout, 1). This means that it’s time to get involved in possibly changing global warming whether an individual believes it or not. The state should create new laws such a tax on the use of carbon to decrease greenhouse gases or create a large incentive for the installation of renewable energy methods. If the government got involves the issue of climate change could change. The state hasn’t been involved as the environment is changing. “Even at current temperatures, billions of tons of land ice are melting or sliding into the ocean. The sea is also absorbing most of the heat trapped by human emissions. Those factors are causing the ocean to rise at what appears to be an accelerating pace, and coastal communities in the United States are beginning to spend billions to fight increased tidal flooding. Their pleas for help from Congress have largely been ignored” ”(Gillis, 2). In addition to these new laws that could be used to diminish the effects of global warming, it’s important to take into

Recently, the United States experienced one of the most controversial elections in the nations’ history. The election in question was Donald Trump vs. Hillary Clinton, two extremely different candidates who opposed each other on almost every important issue. One of the issues that they greatly opposed each other on, but has received very little press, was their view on climate change. Hillary Clinton was a strong believer in climate change and wanted to help aid in the transition from coal to renewable forms of fuel. On the contrary, Donald Trump’s view on climate change could not be more opposite; Donald Trump proclaimed in a tweet “The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.” (realDonaldTrump). Trump has also hinted at completely withdrawing from the Paris Agreement. The Paris Agreement is an agreement made by many of the world’s most powerful nations to reduce carbon emissions. Many

The burning of fossil fuels such as coal and oil, and deforestation over the last 200 years has caused the concentrations of heat-trapping "greenhouse gases" to increase significantly in our atmosphere. These gases prevent heat from escaping to space. Greenhouse gases are necessary in our lives as they help in keeping the planet 's surface warmer than it would otherwise be. But, as the concentrations of these gases continue to increase in the atmosphere, the Earth 's temperature is climbing above past levels (USEPA, 2014).

U.S. policies towards climate change has continued to develop throughout the administrations of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and currently Barack Obama. In this paper I will focus specifically on Clinton. One of the Clinton administration’s main goals was to make the United States the global leader in protecting the environment.  Throughout Clinton’s administration from 1993 to 2001, the ambitious goals of environmental protection had many highs and lows. The United States had to make decisions about how it would go about tackling climate change and what roles of other countries would play. There was opposition in congress about how the U.S. economy would fare with many of the ideas the Clinton administration was coming

The Earth's climate has changed throughout history. According to the findings of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the change of the earth’s climate has evolved through time. The global sea level rose about eight inches in the last century; the planet's average surface temperature has risen about 2.0 degrees Fahrenheit since the last 19th century; the oceans have absorbed much of this increased heat of 0.302 degrees Fahrenheit since 1969; the increasing number of record high temperature and intense rainfall events since 1950; and the overall increase of ocean acidification by about 30 percent. Most of these climate changes are attributed to very small variations in Earth’s orbit that change the amount of solar energy our planet receives. The heat-trapping nature of carbon dioxide and other gases was demonstrated in the mid-19th century. There is no question that increased levels of greenhouse gases cause the Earth to warm in response.

But many climate scientists will tell you that this change in climate is due to humans and their activities. It is said that humans release greenhouse gases and “if emissions continue unchecked, they say the global warming could ultimately exceed 8 degrees Fahrenheit, which would transform the planet and undermine its capacity to support a large human population” (Gillis, 2015). To make it easier to understand, as sunlight reaches the Earth’s surface there are two things that can be done, one; it can either be reflected back into space or two, it can be absorbed by the Earth. Once the Earth absorbs the sunlight, it then releases some energy back into the atmosphere as infrared radiation, also known as heat. Then these greenhouse gases tend to act like a “blanket,” therefore making the Earth warmer than it would be otherwise. This process is what we call the “greenhouse effect.” The reason scientists say that climate change is caused by humans is that it’s simple, humans drive, cook food, and even heat or cool their homes, which release gases such as, carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4 ), and water vapor (H2O).

Climate change is influenced by the greenhouse effect which is the increase of Carbon dioxide, Methane, Ozone and Nitrogen Oxide. On one hand, the presence of these gases in the atmosphere make the earth habitable with respect to regulating the earth’s temperature. However, an increase in the concentration of these gases results in trapping energy in the atmosphere and this in turn increases earth’s temperature. “Global greenhouse gas emissions have grown since pre-industrial times, with an increase of 70% between

Most climate scientists agree with the idea that the main cause of the current global warming trend is human expansion of the "greenhouse effect", warming that results when the atmosphere traps heat radiating from Earth toward space. Over the last century, the burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil has increased the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). This happens because the coal or oil burning process combines carbon with oxygen in the air to make CO2. To a lesser extent, the clearing of land for agriculture, industry, and other human activities has increased concentrations of greenhouse

Over the past 150 years there has been undeniable evidence that suggest the Earth is warming at a significant rate. Scientist who have done extensive research on Global warming as it as known have concluded that the major cause is the ‘Greenhouse Effect’. The Sun emits light waves and energy that pass through our atmosphere, this is absorbed by the surface and turned into heat energy, which then radiates off and is emitted back into the direction of space. Not all of the particles are able to make it out of the atmosphere due to gas molecules clogging up the air. This is warms the Earth very similar to the way a greenhouse would; the atmosphere being the glass of the house and the Earth being the vegetation inside the house.

The primary cause of climate change is the human expansion of the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is a natural occurrence, which NASA defines as “the warming that results when the atmosphere traps heat radiating from space” (NASA). During the greenhouse effect, heat from the sun passes through the atmosphere, which is made up of various gases. When the heat from the sun reaches the surface, some of it radiates away from Earth, back into space. However, some of the gases in the atmosphere, known as greenhouse gases, absorb this heat, preventing it from escaping (World Meteorological Organization). The greenhouse effect keeps the Earth at a habitable temperature. The World Meteorological Organization, or WMO, states that the greenhouse effect and

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.

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.

Since late 1800 scientists have studied the phenomenon of Global Warming and majority of them had concluded that human activities are responsible for most of the warming. Human activities contribute to global warming by enhancing earth’s natural greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect warms the earth surface through the complex process involving sunlight, gases and particles in the atmosphere. Gases that trap heat in the atmosphere are known as greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases. There are few scientists who argue that the increase in the greenhouse gases had not made a measurable difference in the climate. Therefore the claim that human activities are causing the global climatic to warm