Global Warming Essay, Research Paper

Global Warming, aside from pollution is one of scientists biggest concerns.

Global Warming is caused by the Greenhouse effect. There are 4 steps in the

Greenhouse effect. 1-Sunlight radiates from the sun, through space, to Earth?s

atmosphere. 2- The sunlight enters the atmosphere and hits Earth. Some of it

turns into heat energy in the form of infrared light. The heat gets absorbed by

surrounding air and land, which in turn makes it warm. 3- Infrared rays, that

are remitted into the atmosphere are trapped by greenhouse gases. 4- The gas

then absorbs the light and is remitted back to the Earth?s surface and warms it

even more. Some of the naturally occurring greenhouse gases are Methane and

carbon dioxide. This is the way the Earth keeps itself warm enough for humans to

live on it. The only problem with this is that humans enhance the process even

more. Over the past 200 years the emissions of greenhouse gases have been

increasing due to the increase in technology that humans have developed

(example, factories). These human-induced gases include carbon dioxide, methane,

nitrous oxide, and ozone depleting substances such as CFCs, also known as

Chlorofluorocarbons, hydrofluorocarbons, and perfluorocarbons. These gases are

generated a number of human activities such as fossil fuel combustion, waste

disposal in landfills, the use of a refrigerator, numerous agricultural and

industrial activities, and the cutting down of numerous forests. These human

practices have already changed the chemical make up of the atmosphere. Between

the pre-industrial times and today, we have seen the concentration of carbon

dioxide rise 30% in some regions, in particular the northern hemisphere, human

practices have increased concentrations of aerosols in atmosphere, which is a

traditional form of air pollution), which tends to cool the atmosphere. With all

these gases in the air, it is starting to change the Earth?s climate. The

temperature of the Earth?s surface is as warm, if not warmer than it has been

in any other century since at least 1400 AD. The temperature over the past

century has risen one degree Fahrenheit over the last century. These last few

decades have been the warmest this century. The sea level has risen 4 to 10

inches, and mountain glaciers world-wide have begun to retreat. It is important

to recognize that with the recent warming and the other climatic changes that

have been going on have not been related to one another. For example, warming

has been greatest over the mid-latitude continents in the winter and spring,

with some area of cooling, such as over the North Atlantic Ocean. Local and

regional climate variation are not inconsistent with the existence of global

warming. One recent study by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate

Change) said that unless governments do something to restrict the emissions of

greenhouse gases to a lower level, global temperatures could rise 1.6 to 6.3

degrees Fahrenheit by the year 2100. This would represent the fastest rate of

global warming since the end of the last ice age more than 10,000 years ago.

With the increased warming of the Earth it could lead to catastrophic events

that could endanger living things on our planet. One event is major drought all

around the world. With the warming of the planet, the water on the ground would

quickly evaporate causing the rivers and lakes to quickly dry up. This would

lead to crops dying from lack of rain, which would lead to food prices to

skyrocket, which would lead to people dying from hunger if they do not have

enough money to pay the price for food. Another event that would occur from

global warming is the drastic rise in sea level. As the Earth warms up, the

polar ice caps will start to melt. This would put immense amounts of water into

Earth?s oceans. All cities along the coast would be flooded from the rise in

sea level. This would cause people to move inland, and with more people inland,

it would cause a shortage of space in some areas. With the coastal cities under

water, this would cause a great economic strain on the rest of the cities

throughout the world. Global Warming would also cause extreme weather.

Thunderstorms would be more powerful than they have ever been. Tornadoes would

be stronger than they normally would. With the warming of the surface it would

also warm the ocean over time. This would cause hurricanes to be numerous and

stronger than they have ever been. There is only one way to stop global warming

before it becomes a real threat. That way is to stop emitting the greenhouse

gases that cause global warming. Only then will the problem of global warming be

solved.