The book by David Archer (2009) includes details that will make the readers understand the future of climate change as well as past events that have changed the present climate, as we know it. David Archer is a professor of geophysical sciences at the University of Chicago and has done many public presentations on the earth’s climate change before releasing his book, the long Thaw.
The book is focused on the future of the climate of planet earth, but it also talks about the past in order to make theories about the future of the planet. The reading itself is a little complicated if you are not familiar the global warming process, but after reading the book for a second time, everything starts to make more sense. The first time I read the book
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The book begins with the explanation of what makes the earth warmer. David explains that people first have to understand what has made earth increase its temperature for the past two centuries. The first part of the book explains how the sun radiates energy that hits the surface of the earth and warms it up enough for people to survive and not freeze. Next, the energy on earth is reflected back into space. Unfortunately, some of the radiated energy cannot leave earth because the green gases produced on earth trap it. These green gases are produced every second on earth. For instance, every time people use their TV, plug their cell phone to charge, or turn the lights on somewhere on the planet there is a power plant burning coal. This plant then produces green gases, by burning the coal, that are then absorbed by plants and trees on earth. The green gases that are not absorbed by plants and trees trap some of the sunlight and reflect it back to earth warming it up, this process is known as the greenhouse effect. Unfortunately, after the industrial revolution people on planet earth produce more green gases than nature can take and this leads to earth getting warmer. Nature is trying to fight a losing …show more content…
For instance the authors mentions how burning coal accounts for about 20% of the green gases on the planet, transportation for about 27% and power plants for about 31%. Humans created all of these processes of green gases, and again they all contribute to the warming of the earth.
Everything that the book talks in the first chapters are only a few of the reasons why the planet keeps getting warmer. People have heard in the news and read books about global warming, but most never paid much attention to any of it. The author David Archer emphasizes that all humans are adding climate change problems across the globe by just the simple fact of charging a cell phone. Most of the things we do to contribute to climate change are necessary in daily life, but people could definitely learn to save power or we could use the car less and help save us from weather
In his piece on climate change, Richard Lindzen addresses his stance on the heated debate of global warming. He claims that there is, in fact, no ongoing catastrophic temperature increase. Lindzen, a Professor of Meteorology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a recipient of the Jule Charney award from the American Meteorological Society (Richard Lindzen), believes that the earth goes through natural phases of warming and cooling. In this piece, he examines why he believes people have a false conception of Earth’s climate shifts.
The emission of carbon dioxide has contributed to 80% to the heating of the earth atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is produced due the burning of fossil fuels such as natural gas, coal and oil. The burning of fossil fuel is very important in our society today, because it is used for cooking, used to produce electricity, for heating, for cooling and also for transportation. The industrialization has led to the use of fossil fuel for running machines and driving cars. The building of fossil fuel contributes towards 80-90% of the carbon dioxide we find in our atmosphere today. When the ecosystems are altered and vegetation is either burned or took out, the carbon stored in them is relinquished to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide (What causes global climate change, 2005). Methane is another gas being produced in the process which all have served to increase the greenhouse effect in our atmosphere. Methane is produced from the cultivation of rice, from the burning of coal and from cattle, it has increased by 145% due to human
Scranton believes that human beings are killing present life by ignoring the effects of global warming on the world. He continues to warn the reader that change is coming regardless of what people do now and that they human race must prepare for what is inevitably coming, as it will be the collapse of global civilization as it is known. Scranton states that this time we are living in, the anthropocene, presents humans with multiple challenges but mostly, “what it means to be human” (page 234). How to control the inevitable
While the Earth has historically gone through fluctuating periods of heating then cooling, “[there is over a] 90 percent certainty that emissions from heat-trapping gases due to human activities have caused [the majority] of the observed increase in globally averaged temperatures since the mid-20th century” (Solomon et al., 2007 as cited in Ekwurzel). These emissions are largely due to non-renewable fossil fuels, like oil, coal and gas, that are burned to power vehicles and produce electricity. Carbon is mined from the Earth’s crust, which is the source of fossil fuels. Global warming is the rise in temperature on Earth, caused by the phenomenon known as the greenhouse effect. Radiation from the sun is reflected onto the Earth’s surface; the solar
As the graph in the reference section illustrates, the burning of coal, oil, and natural gas has accelerated since 1850 and shows no sign of slowing down today, at least not at the global level. An inevitable byproduct of burning carbon compounds is the production of far more atmospheric carbon dioxide than green plants and phytoplankton can extract via photosynthesis. Emissions of CO2, methane, and other so called greenhouse gases have skyrocketed, especially after 1900. Annual greenhouse gas emissions are estimated at over 8 billion metric tons
The article “an introduction to climate change” describes in detail about the causes of climate change, and its potential effect on earth. According to this article, the global warming is due to the accumulation of carbon dioxide and other pollutants formed from burning fossil fuels that accumulate on earth’s atmosphere so that light rays are reflected back to the earth surface causing the atmospheric air to heat up. In addition, the article also gives some relevant solutions to global warming such as reducing air pollution and use of “clean energy.”
There is no longer any question that our world climate has changed (King, 2004). Over the last 100 years, "temperatures have risen by about 0.6 degrees Celsius and global sea level has risen by about 20cm" (K...
The Global Warming Debate encompasses one of the most complex systems in our natural world, the Earth’s atmosphere, so it is very important to understand the basics. In the book, The Science and Politics of Global Climate Change, climate is defined as “The climate of a place, a region, or the Earth as a whole, is the average over time of meteorological conditions that occur there – the average weather” (Dessler & Parson, 2010, p. 7). The source of energy for the Earth’s climate is electromagnetic radiation, more specifically the sun. This means that the sun is the main driver behind the climate, unless something else acts upon it. According to Environmentalists, humans are changing the climate by our actions. The official definition of manmade climate change is given by The United Nations’ report “Framework Commission on Climate Change”, as “change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods” (Bell, 2011, p. 45). According to environmentalists, the main way humans are changing the climate is by the Green House Effect. The Green ...
Humans and animals breathe out Carbon Dioxide, often referred to as the greenhouse gas, as a waste product. Plants take in this CO2 and use it to make food. This is called photosynthesis. During this process oxygen is released which is then breathed in by humans and animals. This procedure is repeated over and over and a natural balance is obtained. However this natural balance is disrupted by human activity. People of the world are putting more than 5.5 billion tons of CO2 into the atmosphere every year. 75% of this is caused from the burning of fossil fuels. These fuels are burnt all the time to run factories, power plants and vehicles. The main sources of CO2 emissions are electric utilities, residential buildings, industry and transportation. The other 25% is induced by the destruction of the world's forests. The reason for this is that there are less trees and plants to take in the CO2 but there is just as many, if not more, humans and animals to breathe it out.
The main purpose of this text is to explain that the global warming trends that we are hearing so much about these days actually are “part of a natural trend with a cycle that results in elevated climactic temperatures every 1,500 years” (Avery).
The emission of green house gasses due to human activity contributes the most in increasing global warming. Today, fossil fuels are used as a source of energy for transportation, electricity, industrial process and to increase human comfort in this era. Over the last decade humans have created mass amount of industries. These industries have been burning fossil fuels such as coal, which release carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide; carbon dioxide absorbs heat that raises the temperature of the earth. More than 80% of carbon dioxide comes from tr...
Hardy, J. T. Climate Change: Causes, Effects, and Solutions. New York: J. Wiley, 2003. Print.
One of the most substantial problems in the world today is global warming. This gradual warming of the earth is in occurrence at an extremely slow rate but it is happening. Many scientists believe that as human’s work and release greenhouse gases into the earth’s atmosphere, it can become dangerous for the long lasting life of humans and our environment. “Unless we take immediate action, the impacts of global warming will continue to intensify, grow ever more costly and damaging, and increasingly affect the entire planet - including you, your community, and your family” (“Global Warming Impacts”). Everyone should be knowledgeable about global warming and the dangers that it brings to our planet. This essay will examine
Global warming changed from a scientific topic to a real life concern in 1988 and is a topic that proposes everlasting environmental issues. Some countries are already seeing the effects that global warming can cause, not only will the temperature increase causing ice caps to melt and many animals becoming extinct but it’s the way global warming is happening that will really impact the environment. This problem mainly started to rise due to the Industrial Revolution. When more and more factories were built gases were released into the atmosphere and the main gas that causes global warming is the ever-growing amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2). As the world becomes more urbanized the more the crisis of Global Warming increases.
Human beings are the advanced species on the earth. The ability of our ancestors to think outside of the box is the reason why humans are the most dominant species. Once upon a time humans were same as the wild animals. The daily chore for human from the past was to hunt, eat, and survive. At present, the life of human beings is more convenient with all the inventions like cars and air conditioners. These inventions have made our lives easier but have also helped to cause global warming. The emission of carbon dioxide from these machines in the atmosphere causes global warming. Global warming, defined by Oxford dictionary is a gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earth's atmosphere generally attributed to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons, and other pollutants (“Definition of global….”). There are several creative ideas to stop global warming and some of them have promises, for example, saving money while saving the environment. Planting and protecting the trees is a popular attempt, and it looks great on paper, this solution works well and is beneficial for the people as well as the environment.