global warming

1546 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The physical impacts of HURRICANES

It was a dark morning that Sunday, it was the 28th of August of 2005. Douglas and his family heard a storm was coming, so they went to his mother-in-law´s house, as they always did when there were storms. They were there, and Douglas went to the bay behind the house to check the level of the water. It was too high, and the wind was getting stronger, so he went to warn his wife, daughter, and mother-in-law. As he was heading back, the roof of the house collapsed. None of the three women survived. That is the story of one of the thousands of victims of hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. But, why do disasters with this magnitude occur? Hurricanes, for example, are caused due to the energy from water vapor coming from warm oceans. Oceans get warm because, when the atmosphere gets warm, air temperature increases and oceans absorb this heat. In the end, it all came down to the atmosphere.
The atmosphere is a layer, surrounding Earth, composed of air and different gases. One of its main functions is to act as a shield to protect Earth from solar radiation, and, at the same time, to trap heat inside to keep the planet warm. Over billions of years the atmosphere has changed several times. Atmosphere affects climate, so, as it changes, climate changes as well. Climate change, as its name says, is the variation of global climate over long periods of time. Climate model projections made by the US Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) show that, recently, global temperature has increased. This increase in temperature is referred to as global warming. One of the main causes of global warming is greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases are gases in the atmosphere that absorb solar radiation to keep the planet warm. These gases have increas...

... middle of paper ...

...//climatechange.procon.org/>.
The great global warming swindle. Dir. Martin Durkin. Perf. Scientists. A, 2007. DVD.
“U.S. Energy Information Administration – EIA – Independent Statistics and Analysis.” U.S.
Energy Information Administration (EIA). N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Dec, 2013.
.
"Atmospheric Composition." — OSS Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Dec. 2013.
.
Zukerman, Wendy . "New Scientist."Warmer oceans release more CO2 than thought. N.p., 25 Apr. 2011. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.
.
"Survivors´stories: Living Through Katrina." NPR. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Dec. 2013. To .

Show More
Related

  • Climate Change

    736 Words  | 2 Pages

    For years to come there will always be a speculation on whether the climate change has really taken place or not. Many believe that large companies launched this topic in order to benefit from it in profit, as there are also those who are convinced that this are consequences that have emerged from human mistakes in understanding the environment. As humans are struggling to trust one another whether it is just a big conspiracy or not or environment changing itself, we are slowly starting to feel the effects of climate change. Because of the gasses (CO2) that are in the air, atmosphere is getting warmer, thereby triggering the Greenhouse effect. Almost 70% of emitted gasses in air are CO2, which leads us to believe that this is the main cause of Global Warming. Since it is billions and billions of metric tons per year that are being released in air, many scientists conclude that temperature will most likely be more higher in twenty years from now, than it was in near past.

    Read More

  • The Open Boat Essay

    1180 Words  | 3 Pages

    On August 29th, 2005, Hurricane Katrina, the most expensive hurricane in American history, made landfall in Louisiana with winds of one hundred and twenty-seven miles per hour (“Hurricane Katrina Statistics Fast Facts”). The sheer magnitude of the amount of lives and property lost was enormous, and it was triggered simply by warm ocean waters near the Bahamas ("How Hurricane Katrina Formed"). Nature was indifferent to whether the raging winds and rain would die off in the ocean or wipe out cities; it only follows the rules of physics. A multitude of American authors has attempted to give accounts and interpretations of their encounters with the disinterested machine that is nature. Two authors, Stephen Crane and Henry David Thoreau, had rather contrasting and conflicting interpretations of their own interactions with nature.

    Read More

  • Hurricane Harvey Essay

    1057 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hurricane Harvey was one of the most devastating hurricanes to strike the United States in several years. Harvey resulted in over eighty fatalities and over 150 billion dollars in damages. This proves to be one of the most destructive hurricanes to be recorded. The overwhelming damage was caused by many different aspects; however, three of the greatest aspects are: varying weather patterns throughout the storm, the city structure of Houston, Texas, and the lack of evacuation. Each of these factors affected the city in a different way, but all resulted in a common outcome, devastation.

    Read More

  • Impact Of Hurricane Katrina

    1195 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hurricane Katrina was one of the most devastating natural disasters to happen in the United States. The storm resulted in more then US$100 billion in damage when the cities flood protection broke and 80% of the city was flooded (1). The protection failure was not the only cause for the massive flooding, the hurricanes clockwise rotation pulled water from north of New Orleans into the city. 330,000 homes were destroyed and 400,000 people from New Orleans were displaced, along with 13,00 killed (1). Although the population quickly recovered, the rate of recovery slowed down as the years went on leading us to believe not everyone

    Read More

  • The History of Hurricane Katrina

    1811 Words  | 4 Pages

    On August 29, 2005, the third strongest and biggest hurricane ever recorded in American history hit the Gulf Coast at eight o’clock a.m. The interaction between a tropical depression and a tropical wave created a tropical storm later referred to as Hurricane Katrina (FAQS, 2013). Forming over the Bahamas, Hurricane Katrina gradually strengthened as it moved closer and closer to the Gulf of Mexico. Recorded on August 28th, 2005, Katrina jumped from a category three storm to a category five storm with maximum sustained winds up to 160 miles per hour. Although other hurricanes, such as Hurricane Rita and Hurricane Wilma, exceeded Katrina, this dominant storm was classified as the fourth most intense hurricane based its pressure capacity. Once Hurricane Katrina hit land, it was pronounced as a category four storm moving slowly. While people thought that the slow speed of this storm prevented trauma, records show that Katrina did more damage than any fast-moving storm could have ever achieved (Solanki, 2013). Katrina produced abundant debris. The debris was in such large quantity that if it was stacked together on a football field, the rubble would reach the elevation of ten and a half miles. The size of Katrina also caused 90,000 square miles to be affected. Once proclaimed a category three storm, Hurricane Katrina slowed to the speed of 155 miles per hour. At this point in time, Katrina proved to be the sixth most prevailing hurricane traced in history. (Solanki, 2013). Several different aspects of life were impacted by Hurricane Katrina such as availability of gasoline, economic issues, and the ability to have an adequate supply of drinking water (Solanki, 2013). Hurricane Katrina was a large storm ...

    Read More

  • Climate Change

    1158 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hong Kong nowadays has a major problem on global warming due to climate change. Climate problems may not take up any awareness among people in today’s society. Humans are responsible for many of the climate problems we are facing. Climate changes naturally and the current trend of global warming started before the industrial revolution. Before the climate change the climate was a lot warmer. Weather and temperature could be one of the major issues that affects global warming and climate change.

    Read More

  • Hurricane Katrina: Causes, Effects, and Aftermath

    1428 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hurricanes are powerful and destructive storms that involve great rain and wind. The United States of America has dealt with many hurricanes that have cost a great amount of damage. However, there is one hurricane that happened in 2005 that stands out among the others, Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Katrina was one of the worst hurricanes to hit the United States, a category 5 on the Saffir/Simpson Hurricane Scale. An estimated 1836 people died because of the hurricane and the floodings that happened after (Zimmermann 1). Katrina initially beg...

    Read More

  • Ethical Ethics On Global Warming And Global Climate Change

    1504 Words  | 4 Pages

    Global warming and global climate change is the study of future increases of temperature across the globe. Studying climate change refers to how the over- all climate will change such as the dry places getting dryer and the wet places getting wetter. Global climate is dependent on “the greenhouse effect a natural process that helps regulate temperature” (Easterling and Karl). In the past few centuries humans have had a monumental effect on increasing of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Climate change is result of the increase amount of the greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere such as methane, carbon dioxide, water vapor, nitrous oxide, and ozone. “Global temperature has rose approximately 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit over

    Read More

  • global warming

    584 Words  | 2 Pages

    over the past century primarily due to green house gases released as people burn fossil

    Read More

  • Climate Change

    547 Words  | 2 Pages

    In this essay, the effects of climate change on agriculture and how to manage it shall be discussed. Climate change has and will greatly affect agriculture. As time progresses, the effects of climate change will worsen and become detrimental. Mendelsohn and Dinar (2009:1) state,” if future climate scenarios lead to a widespread reduction in food supply, there could be massive problems with hunger and starvation”. Climate change is a change in global climate patterns which is mainly caused by the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by fossil fuels. The writer chose this topic because climate change is a global problem that will pose a threat to people’s lives around the world and must be dealt with sooner than later.

    Read More

  • The Pros and Cons of Global Warming

    1474 Words  | 3 Pages

    The climate on the Earth is changing. Ice age is interleaved with the global warming. In the present age, the temperature of the Earth's climate system continues to rapidly increase and it leads to global warming. Global warming is the process of gradual growth of average annual temperature of the atmosphere of the Earth and World oceans. The average temperature on the Earth was increased by 0.6C. There are various reasons for global warming, such as human activities, natural events, increasing of gases, such as carbon dioxide in atmosphere and solar activity (Global warming).

    Read More

  • Global Warming

    1608 Words  | 4 Pages

    Two issues that worry many scientists are global warming and the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is a natural process that keeps the earth at temperatures that are livable. What does the greenhouse effect have to do with global warming? When humans release gases into the air, the greenhouse effect will alter the temperature of the earth. More gases in the atmosphere means the earth will start to get warmer, and the result is global warming. On the other hand, if there was no greenhouse effect, the earth would be too cold for humans to comfortably exist.

    Read More

  • Global Warming

    2552 Words  | 6 Pages

    Global Warming is an increase in the average temperature around the world. Scientists have been able to trace the global climate and concluded that over the last ten thousand years, the climate of the earth has been relatively constant. In the twentieth century, the global temperature increased 0.740°C. The change in the warming, and cooling, of average global temperatures cause climate change, a change related to climate patterns such as temperatures, rainfall, wind and humidity. This flux in temperature is affected by multiple factors making it hard to determine the true source of problem. Evidence supports that the earth's warming is natural; however, some data indicates that the warming trend has increased due to human activity.

    Read More

  • Carbon Dioxide

    647 Words  | 2 Pages

    The amount of CO2 in a planet's atmosphere affects the temperature of the planet. As more and more CO2 builds up in the atmosphere, less heat can escape and the planet gets hotter. The CO2 traps radiation from the sun like a greenhouse. This is called global warming or the greenhouse effect. Global warming is becoming a serious problem and CO2 is the major cause. The earth is now warmer than it has been in 1000's of years. The amount of CO2 deposited in the earth's atmosphere from human activities is expected to double by the year 2050. It could possible increase by four in the future with developing countries, such as China, anxious to improve their standard of living.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Global Warming

    1167 Words  | 3 Pages

    Global warming is the gradual rise in temperature and oceans due to recent human activity. This is created by the production of too much carbon dioxide that is released into the earth’s atmosphere. The carbon dioxide, also known as a greenhouse gas, remains in the air trapping heat and gradually warming the planet. Other greenhouse gases such as: methane, nitrous oxide, and water vapor also contribute to this slow warming. According to Live Science, The state of these gases being trapped is called the greenhouse effect, which is one of the leading causes of global warming (Lallanillia). All the gases are created differently and have different effects on the earth. As for some greenhouse gases can be in the atmosphere for a short amount of time, other gases can remain in the atmosphere for thousands of

    Read More

More about global warming

Open Document