As the earth continues to heat up, so does the debate on global warming. One of the sub-arguments of global warming concerns whether or not humans are at least partially to blame for the gradual increase in temperature of the earth. In this essay, I will display statistics and other information to demonstrate that human involvement has played a key role in causing such increases in surface temperature. To argue for this point of view effectively, this essay will cover the effects of global warming on land, water, and the atmosphere.
To start off, understanding the greenhouse effect and how human activity influences its effectiveness is crucial. S. George Philander defines the greenhouse effect as a “phrase for when a planet’s atmosphere and surface are warmed by the absorption and emission of infrared radiation of atmospheric gases” (96-100). Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide trap heat in the atmosphere. As humans pollute the air, for example burning fossil fuels and clearing land, greenhouse gases increase. The greenhouse effect keeps the earth’s temperature at a life-sustaining level. Humans influence the greenhouse effect by allowing too many greenhouse gases to trap heat in the atmosphere. With the over-abundance of greenhouse gases, the earth heats up at a rate that is unnatural and is potentially dangerous to the environment and all those who inhabit it. As stated in the Encyclopedia of Global Warming and Climate Change, Velma I. Grover provides a statistic saying that there has been an increase of thirty-one percent of carbon dioxide (CO2), 151 percent increase of methane (CH4), and a seventeen percent increase of nitrous oxide (N2O) since 1750 (470-73). Such significant increases in these greenhouse gases provide ev...
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The commonly debated “greenhouse effect” refers to “the global-average temperature increase that has been observed over the last one hundred years or more” (Spencer). President Barack Obama addressed the issue as an effort to highlight its severity, "We have to all shoulder the responsibility for keeping the planet habitable, or we’re going to suffer the consequences – together” (Leader). The earth’s increasing atmospheric and oceanic temperatures result in climate changes due to cumulative amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere.
In talking about global warming, we need to learn what causes the greenhouse effect. Rays from the sun are taken up and absorbed by water vapor that is natural in the atmosphere. The United States emits the largest man made greenhouse gases in the world. As Americans we must realize the responsibility to reduce the emissions. (Gore, Albert) Water Vapor is eighty percent of greenhouse warming. The last twenty percent results from other gases that are in very little amounts. A huge absorber of the sun’s heat rays is carbon dioxide. Us as humans release a lot of carbon dioxide. When fossil fuels are burned, they release big amounts of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is on the increase in our atmosphere due to car emissions. Approximately eighty percent of CO2 increases because of man’s use of fossil fuels. When there is more carbon dioxide in our atmosphere the more sun rays are absorbed. In result to this happening this will cause the earth and the earths atmosphere to warm. When the earth is warming, water temperatures will start to get warmer. Oceans and lakes will get warmer in result f...
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Background and Audience Relevance: There are always conversations about our planet. We see our earths glaciers melting, weather temperature rising, and pollution affecting our resources. But for some reasons we tend to look away. We should be more aware of this potential event and I’m here to inform everyone about what actually is global warming and the effects of it.
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...
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
Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet. Global Climate Change. Ed Amber Jenkins. NASA’s c Jet Propulsion Laboratory/CIT. Web. 12 Jan. 2014
The common definition of global warming 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 and other pollutants (Global warming, Wikipedia). Moreover, the effects of global warming will bring ecological and social changes. Because there is no exact way to predict the effects of global warming, it is almost impossible to say how strong global warming will affect life in the future. Scientists blame the greenhouse gas effect in combination with societies greenhouse gas emissions for the rising temperature. The greenhouse effect is a process by which thermal radiation from a planetary surface is absorbed by atmospheric greenhouse gases, and is re-radiated in all directions. Since part of this re-radiation is emitted back towards the earth’s surface and the lower atmosphere, it results in an elevation of the average surface temperature above what it would be in the absence of the gases (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). Simply, global...