Global Warming Essay, Research Paper

As

the world’s expanding population burns large quantities of fossil fuels and

simultaneously cuts down large expanses of forests worldwide, the

concentrations of CO2 and other greenhouse gases are building up in the

atmosphere. "The green house effect is the (imperfect) analogy used to

explain the atmospheric phenomenon that keeps our planet warm enough to sustain

life." There is mounting evidence that this shift in Earth’s atmosphere

will lead to global changes and potentially major climatic disruptions . The

major concern is not that the greenhouse effect is real;"we wouldn?t be

here if it wasn?t."? It?s that it

"may be exacerbated by anthropogenic increases in? the effective gasses, threatening a

disruption to the equilibrium between incoming and outgoing energy, and a

resulting average global warming."?

From 1880 to today, by many measurements, the global average temperature

has increased by 0.5 Degrees Celsius.?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ????????????????????????????????????????Human

and ecological systems are already vulnerable to a range of environmental

pressures, including climate extremes and variability. Global warming is likely

to amplify the effects of other pressures and to disrupt our lives in numerous

ways. "Melting icebergs and expanding oceans may cause floods." The

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts that there will

be? an increase in sea level by the year

2100 of 1.5 feet . "Twenty Five percent of the world?s population lives

less than 1.1 meters above see level." The IPCC also predicts? that there will be " droughts, heat

waves, expanding deserts, ecosystem disruption and increasingly severe

weather", as well as? the

productivity of agriculture, which are among the probable consequences of

climate change. ? There is a huge conflict over the costs of

addressing the greenhouse gas problem. "There appears to be a general

agreement that energy efficiency is the wave of the future." Many in the

environmental community see the benefits as high and the costs of mitigation as

low. Others, including some in the business community, see the benefits as low

and the costs as high . "One argument states that? the?

efficiency could? reduce carbon

dioxide emissions by sixty percent over the next 20 years and save money; but

another claims that a reduction of twenty percent below 1990 levels would cause

a drop in the U.S. Gross Domestic Product by 1 to 2 percent". ? "As great as the challenge of reducing

carbon dioxide emissions in the industrialized world is, the challenge of

reductions in the rapidly industrializing developing countries is huge."

By the year 2030, China is expected to be the largest emitter of carbon dioxide

in the world . We cannot address climate change without an international

framework.. If a? ton of carbon were

emitted in the United States and a ton of carbon were emitted in China, both

would have the same effect on the climate in Washington, DC. Only through the

concerted actions of all the countries of the world, developed as well as less

developed, will the problem of global climate change be meaningfully addressed.

?? The solutions to the problems lie in

developing an understanding of and a respect for that ecosystem as well as

providing people with? mechanisms to

express that understanding in their daily choices. Each individual’s perception

of what, if anything, to do is strongly influenced by personal values,

experience, education , training, and outlook in how to cope with uncertainty.

These personal variations affect one’s definition of the issue, and the weight

one gives possible approaches to it. This is not just stating the obvious that

economists, lawyers, biologists, atmospheric scientists, and others bring

different expertise to the issue, or that optimists and pessimists can see the

same glass as half full and half empty; this is highlighting the fact that the

magnitude of uncertainty emphasizes those differences that would apply even if

the facts concerning global climate change were undeniable. ? Even if the human-caused emissions of

greenhouse gases were to stop right now, it would take hundreds of years for

the atmosphere to return to its pre-industrial form. In the meantime, global

climate change would likely continue. ?We can slow down the rate of atmospheric

change by cutting back on the amount of greenhouse gases we pour into the air.

This will require a considerable change in our fuel consumption, industrial

practices and lifestyles . But it’s definitely worth the effort because a slow

alteration in global climate would be much easier to adapt to than a fast one. ?Uncertainties about global warming are so

great that it is not possible now to say whether the net result has been, or

will be, beneficial or harmful to forest growth and composition or to the

subsequent management and use of forest resources. The only certainties are

that: greenhouse gases are accumulating; that the greenhouse effect is real;

and that some future global warming is possible as a result.