Is man a major cause of climate change?
Throughout history, humans have accomplished many great feats. We have left Earth and landed on another world, we have explored the deepest parts of the oceans, we have sent probes into interstellar space, and we have acquired knowledge over the course of thousands of years to make such feats possible. Today, many aspects of our society are unprecedented as we venture into another chapter of history, but evidence produced within the last few decades suggests that our modern world may be taking a toll on Earth itself.
Regardless if we are taking a toll on Earth or not, the issue I am referring to goes by many names: Climate change, global warming, and global climate change. Climate change refers to
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It is now widely accepted that we are to blame for at least some of this. Our modern world runs on fossil fuels for both transportation as well as energy, which produces carbon dioxide. This encompasses almost all modes of transportation: Aircraft, ships, cars, buses trucks. Factories produce massive amounts of gases every year, especially in countries where there is little to no regulation on such gas production (EPA). A real life example of a planet with an atmosphere full of greenhouses gases is not too far away, sometimes called our sister planet, Venus has a mostly carbon dioxide atmosphere and thus traps most heat it receives while releasing very little of it. The average surface temperature is around 850 degrees Fahrenheit, and sulfuric acid rain is a common occurrence. Collectively we produce a significant amount of carbon dioxide (see Figure 1). We produce billions of tons of it every year, and our thirst for fossil fuels is only increasing. The figure provided does not include gas emitted from other means, such as reactions and methods used in factories (EPA). In 2000, we produced around 24 billion tons of carbon dioxide, which translates into 48,000,000,000,000 (48 trillion) pounds. We must also consider that, as a gas, it would expand enough to fill 6000 cubic miles of space. That’s also
Do humans play a part in climate change or is it just mother nature? I believe that humans are play the main role in climate change. Since the Industrial age humans have played the main role in climate change because of greenhouse gases which cause the greenhouse effect. The main greenhouse gas that we emit is carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels, the other greenhouse gases that we emit are methane, Nitrous Oxide, and Fluorinated gases. These greenhouse gases will absorb and re-emit some of the infrared radiation that would normally be radiated out into space. Another cause of climate change is deforestation, ever since humans started cutting the forest down the climate has changed globally.
Since the mining of Natural gases and energy, Emissions of greenhouse gasses have been slowly releasing into the atmosphere. This happens by burning the natural gases to create energy for our vehicles or even lawnmowers. On Earth we utilize a lot of energy to maintain a lifestyle we know and love today. But most forms of energy, cars and Farming produce large amounts of green-house gases that can heat and change the earth's atmosphere permanently and cause the ice caps to slowly melt because of constant heating.
In order to understand the issue of global warming (also referred to as climate change), you must first understand what it means and how it happens. Global warming is a result of a process known as the greenhouse effect, in which the light and heat from the sun are trapped in the Earth’s atmosphere by greenhouse gases; which subsequently raises the average temperature on Earth. The greenhouse gases responsible for this process are carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, chlorofluorocarbons, and tropospheric ozone, all of which are released into the atmosphere through naturally occurring processes (Warrick, R. & Farmer, G., 1990).
Did you know that with all this talk about global warming, and the disappearing of the ozone layer, the root of the problem is us? Yes, we’re the cause of all those problems. We keep putting something called greenhouse gases into the air. A few greenhouse gases are water vapor, carbon dioxide, and methane. While some climate change is natural, humans need to be careful about greenhouse gases because ecosystems are changing, sea levels are rising, and global average temperature increased by more than 1.3 degrees Fahrenheit over the last century.
Have you ever imagined a world almost completely engulfed in water? Well, if we keep up our way of living all the ice will melt, getting rid of major places on Earth. This ice will melt due to something called climate change. Humans cause climate change because an overwhelming scientific consensus thinks this way, the specific form of carbon dioxide is increasing due to human activity, more greenhouse gases are being released, and the average temperature of Earth is increasing.
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).
Earth, a vibrant blue sphere in the solar system, is the only planet in the solar system that is currently known to host a multitude of life. Everything needed to survive and thrive is provided under a thin veil of atmosphere that separates all terrestrial organisms from the vast, frigid void of space. Earth is made up of intricate, collaborating systems that are often unpredictable. Land, water, air, and life-bearing organisms, including humans, collaborate to create a constantly fluctuating biosphere that is still being investigated to have a deeper understanding of its processes. In today’s technological age, the collection and interpretation of data has become paramount to help devise strategies to combat future threats. Data collection comes in many forms, but the collection and interpretation of climate data will be the topic under scrutiny. Recent data collected and analyzed by scientists suggests that the global climate is increasing in temperature and that information may be a cause for alarm. Why would this be a cause for alarm? The alarm should come from an understanding of how each living organism depends on one another to survive. If the delicate biological cycle is damaged or broken, the results could be catastrophic; forever changing the planet. This change in temperature may potentially affect all organisms that are currently known and those that have yet to be discovered and documented. This scenario is far too
These gasses trap warmth and reason the planet to warm through a procedure called the greenhouse effect. Since 1751 around 337 billion metric huge amounts of CO2 have been discharged into the climate from the using of fossil fills and concrete generation, expanding air CO2 from the pre-mechanical level of around 280 ppm (parts per million), to a high of 400 ppm in 2013. Methane, which is expanding in the climate because of farming and fossil fuel use, traps 84 times as much warmth as CO2 for the initial 20 years it is in the environment, and is in charge of around one-fifth of a dangerous atmospheric climate change since 1750. Nitrous oxide, fundamentally discharged through farming practices, traps 300 times as much warmth as CO2. Over the twentieth century, as the convergences of CO2, CH4, and NO2 expanded in the air, the earth warmed by pretty nearly 1.4°.
The earth has an undeniable history of climate change whether it be warming or cooling. The evidence of the Little Ice Age proves the earth can cool by its own with no aid of human influence. However, in recent years it has been suggested humans have been instrumental in the warming of our planet and the melting of polar ice as a result of the industrial era. The industrial era has brought upon the increase of greenhouse gas emitted. According to City Metric, “One idea is that small increases in greenhouse gases due to the expansion of agriculture that started 8,000 years ago have in fact delayed the next ice age.” (Mark Maslin, 2017) The cause of ice ages is not completely understood, but seems to be a natural occurrence. However, the idea that ice ages were caused by the earth’s orbit still is not irrelevant.
Earth is an impressive planet. It existed long before the humans came to dominate its lands, and continue to exist—although for how much longer is up for debate—and function despite the unending damage and turmoil caused by those living on it; the human race subjugated the lands and waters, built homes and spread wastes, and created chaos and mayhem to what was once serene and beautiful.
Simple things like burning coal can release carbon dioxide into the air. Carbon dioxide as well as other gases get stuck in the atmosphere. People are the cause of these gases. These are all known as greenhouse gases and trap heat into the atmosphere. There are natural levels of carbon dioxide, but over the years it has gone up. It went from being between 180 and 300 ppm to 400 ppm, which is the recent levels. It grew to 40 percent more than the natural levels from the last 800,000 years.(https://www.edf.org/climate/human-activity-is-causing-global-warming)
The case for attributing the recent global warming to human activities rests on the following undisputed scientific facts:
Some people believe that climate change is nit caused by humans, but by natural causes. While others believe that humans are the cause of climate change. People that believe that climate change is due to humans believe that humans have caused climate change by the things we do everyday. Climate change is a very popular topic of discussion among people and what they can do to change it. Humans are mostly responsible for climate change because of burning fossil fuels, the industrial revolution, and deforestation.
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.
Two main causes are burning fossil fuels and driving our cars. According to a NASA earth observatory web page, “fossil fuel burning (coal, oil and gas) releases about 6 billion metric tons per year.” On the EPA web site, it is stated that most of the emissions of greenhouse gases, “about 82%, are from burning fossil fuels to generate electricity and power our cars.” As I said before, driving our cars also is a large cause. For example, Ecobridge states that “Twenty percent of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions comes from the burning of gasoline in internal-combustion engines of cars and light trucks.” So a fair amount of the emissions is from driving your car.