Global Warming

1930 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Greenhouse gases causes and effects essay

What is global warming? As defined by Encarta Dictionary it is an increase in the world’s temperatures, believed to be caused in part by greenhouse gases. Holli Riebeek on NASA’s Earth Observatory website describes it like this: “Global warming is the unusually rapid increase in Earth’s average surface temperature over the past century primarily due to the greenhouse gases.” She states, “surface temperatures have risen on average .6 - .9 degrees” in the past hundred years and that, “the rate of temperature increase has nearly doubled in the last 50 years.” She goes a step further by boldly declaring that the gases are the direct result of “people burning fossil fuels” (Riebeek). Researchers, scientists, nonprofessionals, and I agree with Ms. Riebeek, man is the cause of global warming. The chart below shows the increase in the Earth’s temperature: Despite ups and downs from year to year, global average surface temperature is rising. By the beginning of the 21st century, Earth’s temperature was roughly 0.5 degrees Celsius above the long-term (1951–1980) average. (NASA figure adapted from Goddard Institute for Space Studies Surface Temperature Analysis.) Down through the ages the Earth has experienced climate changes. History shows that warming and cooling trends have occurred as the chart above clearly shows. According to NASA, climate change occurs “when the planet receives more or less sunlight due to subtle shifts in its orbit, as the atmosphere or surface changed, or when the Sun’s energy varied” (Riebeek). If climatic modifications and weather pattern variations take place naturally, then why are scientists and environmentalists in such lather over this global warming period? It isn’t about the warming... ... middle of paper ... ... Change Research Project. 12 March 2011 . Marten, Gerald G. Human Ecology - Basic Concepts for Sustainable Development. Sterling, Virginia: Stylus Publishing, 2001. "Nitrogen Dioxide." 17 July 2009. Ministry for the Environment. 16 March 2011 . Riebeek, Holli. "Earth Observatory." 3 June 2010. NASA. 12 March 2011 . Toomes, Ron. "Pollution." Best Global Warming Articles. 25 March 2011 . Vitousek, Peter M. "Beyond Global Warming: Ecology and Global Change." Ecology 75.7 (1994): 1861-1876. Wolosz, Thomas. "Effects of Acid Rain." Plattsburg.edu. 18 March 2011 .

Show More
Related

  • Fiery Future Of Climate Change By Tim Dickinson

    1444 Words  | 3 Pages

    Global warming is a scientific, political, and controversial topic. Some believe it is catastrophic, a slow moving killer hiding in the shadows. Others do not even think twice about it as they race by in a Hummer. Global warming is the gradual increase of temperature throughout different climates. It is caused by the greenhouse gas effect in which greenhouse gases, like methane and carbon dioxide, reflect sunlight back and forth. This reflected ultraviolet light bounces between the earth and the ozone layer and becomes trapped, resulting in a gradual rise of temperature. Over time, the slow rise of temperature causes new climates throughout the globe. The article “What Megablazes Tell Us About the Fiery Future of Climate Change” by Tim Dickinson

    Read More

  • The Adverse Affects of Climate Change

    1992 Words  | 4 Pages

    Global temperatures have noticeably been rising since the mid 1800’s.The average temperature has increased by 0.6 ± 0.2°C since 1860 according to (John Sweeney, 2003)with accelerated warming apparent in the latter decades of the 20th century. The legitimacy of global warming had long been debated, however in a report by (IPCC, 2007) it states that warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice and rising global average sea level. Simulations on models such as EC-Earth provide us with predictions for future climate change. Depending on levels of emissions an increase of 1 to 5.5 degrees celsius is expected in average global temperatures by 2100.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Climate Change

    1093 Words  | 3 Pages

    Climate change is a change in global temperature and regional climate patterns. At the turn of the 20th century, there has been rising issues about climate change, arguing that global warming and climate change is an issue worsened by the human race. Change in climate is a natural process in which changes from season to season and even fluxuates over thousands of years. Over the time frame of the last 650,000 years there has been seven cycles of glacial advance and retreat (Global Climate Change). It could be argued that climate change is a natural process and the Earth is suppose to change its temperature from hot to cold. Yes, that is true. However, the rate in which the temperature is changing is something this Earth has never endured. In

    Read More

  • Christians and The Environmental Ethics

    966 Words  | 2 Pages

    Retrieved October 11, 2011. www.gerrymarten.com/human-ecology/tableofcontents.html Retrieved October 12, 2011. www.equip.org/ Retrieved October 11, 2011. www.environmentmagazine.org/Archives/Back%20Issues/Se. Retrieved October 14, 2011.

    Read More

  • The Threat of Global Warming May Lead to Global Cooling

    1632 Words  | 4 Pages

    Over the last few years almost everyone has heard that the earth is warming. Also, almost everyone has heard the pleas to go green and reduce carbon emissions, led by former Vice-President Al Gore. Even though there is not a truly accurate definition of global warming it can be roughly defined as a rise in average global temperature according to Laurence Pringle’s book Global Warming Assessing the Greenhouse Threat (19). Global Warming Assessing the Greenhouse Threat also bring up that the average temperature data that scientist are using only goes back to 1860 giving scientists today only 150 years of temperature data. Also, with this current warming, even with humans contributing to the rising average global temperature, scientist today do not fully understand all the complexities of the atmosphere (Pringle 19-21). According to another book by Mr. Pringle, Global Warming the Threat of Earth’s Changing Climate, scientists predict global temperatures could rise from two to six degrees Celsius by 2050 (33). Despite these predictions historical and new information show that scientist are incorrect that global temperatures will forever continue to increase. Global warming and the rise in global temperatures is due to humans burning fossil fuels and overconsumption of products, as well as natural cycles changing slightly and other natural phenomenon; however, this warming will eventually lead to global cooling.

    Read More

  • Climate Change

    1158 Words  | 3 Pages

    Global warming has increased the average temperature of the world, because of this; glaciers are melting, oceans are warming and becoming more acidic, the sea level will increase too this is because ice caps are melting and the sea absorbs heat, neither more nor less this will have a negative effect on climate change. Climate changes across space and time, so climate takes a long time to be explored and to discover. The normal preference of climate change depends on different climate scientists. Before thermometers were invented, to understand how climate varies across time, scientists used three kinds of equipment to find the climate data. The types of equipments were observations, historical accounts, and environmental evidence locked up in fossils and ice cores. There are slight differences in global records between different climate groups that are calculating and recording data because they all have a slightly different formula or using different techniques. Each group calculates global temperature year by year. Between 1961 and 1990, the average temperature for the globe was around 57.2°F (14.0°C), according to the ...

    Read More

  • Climate Change Essay

    942 Words  | 2 Pages

    People tend to use this phrase to refer to the changes in the climate that is caused mainly by human activities, for example the activity of burning fossil fuels, more than changes that are caused naturally by the Earth itself. Therefore the term climate change is being given the same meaning as anthropogenic global warming.

    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

  • Urbanization Problems and Sustainable Development

    1366 Words  | 3 Pages

    Adams, W. M. (1999). Sustainability. In P. Cloke., P. Crang & M. Goodwin (Eds.), Introducing human geographies (pp. 125-130). London: Arnold.

    Read More

  • Why Is Climate Change?

    1400 Words  | 3 Pages

    Our world is always changing, so is our climate. Some changes are apparent, others not so much. Climate change is an important issue of concern in the twenty-first century. Environment, if it changes at all, evolves so slowly that the difference cannot be seen in a human lifetime (Wearth, 2014). Mostly all scientists predicted that it would take thousands of years for the planet to warm up due to emissions of carbon dioxide from fossil fuels called greenhouse gases. But in the past 200 years, things began to change. The rate and the amount of warming that is happening on this planet are unprecedented. Wearth says, “People did not grasp the prodigious fact that both population and industrialization were exploding in a pattern of exponential

    Read More

  • Population Growth, Industrialization, and the Environment

    1509 Words  | 4 Pages

    Southwick, C. H. (1996). "Chapter 15: Human Populations." Global Ecology in Human Perspective. Oxford University Press, 159-182.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay: Is Climate Change Real?

    825 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many people dedicate their lives to spread the message about climate change being real. Even though some change in the climate is natural, many events that have happened cannot be explained away by nature. Climate change is causing damage to the world that is completely irreversible. Nasa says, “Most scientists say it 's very likely that most of the warming since the mid-1900s is due to the burning of coal, oil and gas. Burning these fuels is how we produce most of the energy that we use every day” (nasa). The energy that we use daily makes our life easier, but it hurts the earth. Why does the government still allow us to use these things? Science has shown us that sea levels are rising in many parts of the world. Warm weather is causing glaciers to melt which results in the sea level rising. Earth 's average temperature has been rising for the last century in a half; and there has also been a steady rise in ocean temperature since 1969. It is said that climate control is man made and it is dangerous. On the other side of the argument, many people do not believe that climate change is real. They argue that their has not been a big temperature change in almost two decades. They also bring up the point of there not being enough data in the climate history to draw the conclusion of what is happening in the climate now is abnormal. Scientist started to record climate change around the 1800’s which many people believe is not enough data to do a comparison. Another reason some believe that climate change is not real is because of some instances where a scientist predicts a date of a significant climate change never happens. Rinkesh writes, “ For example:- Al Gore predicted that all Arctic ice would be gone by 2013. But, on contrary Arctic ice is up by 50% since 2012” (conserve-energy-future). Many people find that these reasons are why climate change is not

    Read More

  • Causes and Effects of Global Warming

    2365 Words  | 5 Pages

    These changes are becoming more prevalent in our world today, in the past 150 years. Scientists have been analyzing the causes and effects of the greenhouse effect and many other issues that global warming has presented. As John Houghton states in his book, Global Warming the Complete Briefing, on page 2, “The 1980s and 1990s were unusually warm. Globally speaking, the decades have been the warmest since accurate records began somewhat over a hundred years ago and these unusually warm years are continuing into the twenty-first century.” There are countless records that show that our world as a whole is getting warmer, and the facts cannot be disputed.

    Read More

  • Global Perspective Essay

    1829 Words  | 4 Pages

    Global warming is the term used to describe a gradual increase in the average temperature of the Earth's atmosphere and its oceans, a change that is believed to be permanently changing the Earth's climate. While it changes the Earth’s climate it takes away different species that we depend on and some which other species depend on and also effect (in a bad way) the environment in which we live and can cause permanent damages to humans, animals, plant which will change the whole chain of ecosystem.

    Read More

  • An Essay On Climate Change

    568 Words  | 2 Pages

    The earth is a complex system, which continues to evolve and change. Climate change and global warming are currently popular in the political agenda. But what does “climate” really mean? The difference between weather and climate can be conveyed in a single sentence: “Climate is what you expect; weather is what you get.” Based on research of the geologic record, we know that climate change has happened throughout Earth's history and at present, ever-increasing evidence points to the roles that humans play in altering Earth systems. The Earth and its atmosphere receive heat energy from the sun; the atmospheric heat budget of the Earth depends on the balance between incoming solar radiation and outgoing radiation from the planet; which has been constant over the last few thousand years. However present evidence seems to suggest that the recent increase in temperature has been brought about by pollution of the atmosphere, in particular the release of huge amounts of carbon dioxide, mostly through Anthropogenic Forcing (human activity) and other various internal and external factors. I...

    Read More

More about Global Warming

Open Document