Global Warming and the Greenhouse Effect
Human induced climate change resulting from an enhanced greenhouse effect is probably the greatest environmental threat facing the world today. Specifically, the emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide may be classified as the primary culprit. As a result of greenhouse gases entering the upper levels of the earth's atmosphere, it diminishes or breaks down the earth's Ozone layer. With this loss of this protective blanket, harmful radioactive rays from the sun enter the deeper into the earth's atmosphere. This creates a rise in the overall temperature of our planet, along with alterations in the global environment, ecosystems and way of life for the habitants of earth.
The earth like any body in space cools and warms until energy inputs from solar radiation and outputs from natural radiation are balanced. Greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere from human activities trap some of the energy radiating from the earth, increasing the temperature at which the earth creates energy balance. Based on a study by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) done in the early 1990s, approximately 65% of human induced greenhouse gases contributed to global warming. Over 80% of the increased atmospheric concentrations of harmful gases since the industrial revolution have been causes by industrial countries. Due to recent outsourcing and manufacturing market transfers, Asia and Latin America are regions where harmful emissi...
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Show MoreClimate change, otherwise known as global warming, has grown more apparent in recent years, with increased natural disasters, significantly warmer temperatures and unreasonably long seasons. Global warming is one of the main concerns that scientists have been researching for the past century. Scientific evidence shows that global warming is caused by human behaviors. Due to the amount of human-induced carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that have been released into the air, the earth is becoming a highly poisonous place to live on. Earth’s climate has been constantly changing ever since the Industrial Revolution, when innovations began and factories were built, which emitted mass air pollution. As more technological advances continued the years after, the amount of carbon dioxide in the air also increased. According to the UPI Space Daily News, “Global emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) - the main cause of global warming - increased by 45% between 1990 and 2010, and reached an all-time high of 33 billion tonnes in 2010” (Writers 1). The 1900s through the 2000s is the time period in which humans caused the most air pollution by creating vehicles and other industrial machinery. In the contemporary time period, human activities that contribute to climate change consist of hydraulic fracturing, rice cultivation, the increase of fossil fuel burning, and the rise of deforestation.
Global Warming is a very controversial set words known worldwide. Global Warming is “the recent increase in the world's temperature that is believed to be caused by the increase of certain gases (such as carbon dioxide) in the atmosphere. (Merriam-Webster).” We have all heard the term Climate Change and/or Global Warming, but is it actually happening or is it a hoax?
Earth’s carbon levels have followed a natural cycle throughout the past 800,000 years where the carbon dioxide concentration varied from 180 ppm (parts per million) and 280 ppm which resulted in several changes in the environment.. In the grand scheme of Earth, these changes are miniscule and have stayed within the natural cycle. But when looking through the eyes of humans, these changes are drastic causing ice ages, draughts, and rain for years (Goldstein 6). During the last century carbon dioxides levels in the atmosphere have become significantly larger than they ever have in the past 800,000 years. Today these levels are at 390 ppm and show no signs of stopping which will cause temperatures to rise because carbon is a greenhouse gas. When a greenhouse gas, such as carbon dioxide or water vapor are present in the atmosphere, they absorb the heat that the Earth is giving off, creating a thermal blanket over Earth trapping in heat (Houghton 20).
The United States releases twenty tons of carbon monoxide per person per year. Carbon Monoxide release is a result of burning fossil fuels with an insufficient amount of oxygen that causes the formation of carbon monoxide that pollutes our environment. Everyday fuel is burnt by cars, airplanes, large factories and manufacturing plants. This is causing a very large and deadly problem for our environment. When gases used on earth are released into the atmosphere they act as a blanket and trap radiation that is then redirected to earth. This concept is called the Greenhouse Effect (Bad Greenhouse, 1).
Mankind’s industrialization of the world has caused a drastic increase in temperature. This rise in temperature is caused by solar radiation remaining in our atmosphere because of gases produced by humans through the burning of fossil fuels, land clearing, agriculture, and other human activities. These gases block the radiation from escaping into space therefore warming our planet. The result is raising of ocean levels, extinction of species and threatening of children’s health because of disease and less freshwater to drink. While many view climate change to be a more natural occurrence than others do, scientists have proven the average temperature rise of the Earth between 0.4 and 0.8 °C over the last 100 years.
The Vietnam War was not a “pretty” war. Soldiers were forced to fight guerilla troops, were in combat during horrible weather, had to live in dangerous jungles, and, worst of all, lost sight of who they were. Many soldiers may have entered with a sense of pride, but returned home desensitized. The protagonist in Louise Erdrich’s “The Red Convertible,” is testament to this. In the story, the protagonist is a young man full of life prior to the war, and is a mere shell of his former self after the war. The protagonists in Tim O’Brien’s “If I Die in a Combat Zone,” and Irene Zabytko’s “Home Soil,” are also gravely affected by war. The three characters must undergo traumatic experiences. Only those who fought in the Vietnam War understand what these men, both fictional and in real life, were subjected to. After the war, the protagonists of these stories must learn to deal with a war that was not fought with to win, rather to ensure the United States remained politically correct in handling the conflict. This in turn caused much more anguish and turmoil for the soldiers. While these three stories may have fictionalized events, they connect with factual events, even more so with the ramifications of war, whether psychological, morally emotional, or cultural. “The Red Convertible,” and “Home Soil,” give readers a glimpse into the life of soldiers once home after the war, and how they never fully return, while “If I Die in a Combat Zone,” is a protest letter before joining the war. All three protagonists must live with the aftermath of the Vietnam War: the loss of their identity.
One distinct structure that played a role in the Hindu and Muslim conflict was the famously known Taj Mahal. In respect to the Islamic tradition, there were verses from the Quran that were inscribed on the arched entrances, and other arched entrances of the mausoleum. Also, there was a moon with its points that pointed to the heavens in a U-shape, thus resembling a trident that represents the traditional symbol of the Hindu god Shiva. The Hindus’ architectural styles had great influence on the building and designing of the Taj Mahal, and as a result the ruler of the Munghal Empire in the year 1658, Aurangzeb, neglected this beautiful building. Aurangzeb had many militant policies whereby he destroyed the temples and shrines of the Hindus, and prohibited the construction and repair of old or new Hindu temples. He also ensured that in the year 1668 that the Hindu religious fairs became outlawed, and did everything in his power to discriminate against the Hindus in order to make their lives difficult. On December 7, 1992 the Hindus destroyed the Mosque of Babar because according to them the mosque was built on a sacred piece of land whereby the Hindu God Ram was born. However, the Muslims did not want to regain control of the mosque after its destruction because they feared that it would lead
The truth behind stories is not always what happened, with each person 's perspective is where their truth lies. In the beginning of the novel, you start to think that it is going to be the same old war stories you read in the past, but it changes direction early. It is not about how the hero saves the day, but how each experience is different and how it stays with you. From his story about Martha, to how he killed a man, each one is so different, but has its own meaning that makes people who have not been in war, understand what it is like. Tim O’Brien can tell a fake story and make you believe it with no doubt in your mind. He does this throughout the novel. In The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien distinguishes truth from fantasy and the
It is being understood that these gases, greenhouse gases concentration, are increasing. One problem resulting among others is a warming of the earth’s surface, which results in increasing temperature, climate changes, and subsequently associated sea level rises. Rapid increases in greenhouse gas concentrations are due mainly to human activities like burning fossil fuels, deforestation, intensive agriculture, coal-mining, and rubbish dumps. The greenhouse effect and global warming should be taken more serious by many people. Humans cause this problem. Humans can also stop this problem. If humans keep increasing the heat in earth’s atmosphere, there may not be an Earth. Humans should stop doing all these things that make the earth heat up and start doing more to cool off the earth.
Tim O’Brien’s novel The Things They Carried follows a platoon of soldiers in the vietnam war. The war reveals traits in the soldiers. O’Brien displays that war reveals traits such as boredom, fear, and bravery.
Climate change is occurring at unprecedented rates and is mainly caused by the human expansion of the “greenhouse’ effect which can eventually cause potentially damaging effects in the decades ahead. The natural greenhouse effect is paramount to the maintenance of life because it regulates the Earth's surface temperature from becoming too cold that is unsuitable for life. The earth naturally produces greenhouse gases that make up the earth's atmosphere, including carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. These naturally produced gases are good for the earth in certain quantities by protecting it from receiving an excess amount of energy from the sun. When the sun shines light rays onto the earth, a number of the rays are absorbed by the planet, while much of the rays are reflected back to the atmosphere. The greenhouse gases within the atmosphere absorb some of this energy, whereas the rest is reflected back into space, as a naturally occurring cycle that is required to keep the Earth's surface warmer. The problem is that humans are producing far too much amount of greenhouse gases as a result of increased human activities that demand the utilization of energy, which has led to emissions and a elevate in greenhouse gases. A rise within these greenhouse gases in the atmosphere means more heat is trapped in the atmosphere, which tilts the odds of a warmer average temperature that has a greater chance to influence climate change. Nevertheless, a small increase in temperature grows the odds of the negative effects of climate change. Particularly, as the conditions on the planet get warmer due to the number of greenhouse gases being produced there is an increase in the occurrence of record-breaking events including heat waves, droughts, elevating sea level, and the increase prevalence of extreme weather. With the perpetuating vicious cycle,
In The Things They Carried, he writes, “ Stories are for eternity, when memory is erased, when there is nothing to remember except the story.” (O’Brien 38) Stories last throughout history, through deaths, wars, and centuries. Throughout The Things They Carried he writes it is “dedicated to the men of the Alpha Company” yet on the title page we read: “ This is a work of fiction.” Except for a few details regarding the author’s own life, all the incidents, names and characters are imaginary. The use of fabrication is necessary in order to add O’ Brien’s experience in a manner that is entertaining but still truthful. Sometimes the author has to fabricate to get the reader to really feel what is happening in the story. O’ Brien writes in The Things They Carried, “ I want you to feel what I felt. I want to know why story truth is truer sometimes than happening truth.” The attention he wants to gain from the writing process is an attempt to truthfully convey the lasting images of the war, while still having fictional elements. The effect of fictional elements add the feeling that the readers are present in the war, that even though they may be false stories they make stomachs drop and hearts
...aders' minds, to make us go deeper when considering issues of right and wrong, our effect on the world around us, and its effect on us. If we use “The Things They Carried” as a springboard to asking ourselves, “How do I define 'necessity'?”, “What is TRULY important in life?”, and “What should I hold dear, and what should be left behind?”, then O'Brien's story will have served to encourage our awareness of our deepest beliefs, and how they relate to the world around us – an enlightenment that could help us to dispose of that which is not vital in our belief system. If the architects of the Vietnam War had been faced with a general public that had been enlightened in such a way, perhaps there would be no such war to speak of today.
Global Warming, much of what does or does not happen forty years from now rests on our actions or inactions taken between now and then. The crucial question is whether we should pour all our resources into mitigation – reducing our carbon emissions. According to scientists who study the climate there are other environmental problems; “we now face a global crises in land use and agriculture that could undermine the health, security, and sustainability of our civilization”.
The most destructive human contribution to climate change is fossil fuels combustion, which results in the release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Increased carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and halocarbons levels in the atmosphere cause an imbalance in the earth’s energy. This is because the gases alter solar radiation and thermal radiation which regulate the earth’s energy. Research indicates that anthropogenic climate change is the cause of the increased global warming over the last fifty years. 57 % of the carbon dioxide emitted is absorbed into the atmosphere while the rest is absorbed into the oceans. Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is the most central greenhouse gas that is associated with global warming (Eby, Zickfield, Montenegro, Archer, Meissner, & Weaver,