Pro & con arguments: “ Is Human Activity the Cause of Global Climate Change?” The negative impacts of global warming far outweigh any positives. The best way to put this in perspective is to see the differences between the positive and negative sides on if human activity is the cause of global warming. First, I am going to explain the pros on why humans are the cause of global warming. In the 20 th century, 75% of human actions increased the CO2 for example by burning fossil fuels. That increase in CO2 was the largest contributor to the 1 degree F to 1.4 degree F warming. The CO2 produced by humans highly outweigh the natural CO2 and it is rising due to measurements from the 20 th century. From humans producing greenhouse gases, …show more content…
Any increase in CO2 are balanced by nature, not by humans releasing CO2 and 50% of the CO2 released by the burning of fossil fuels have already been absorbed. The fluctuations of the sun’s heat is the cause of global warming and cooling not minor greenhouse gasses. .19% of solar irradiance has increased between the years 100 and 2000 and this increase correlates with the rise in surface temperatures in the United States. The use of models can accurately determine the future weather but climate models have been unable to simulate major features of any past climates. The most abundant greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and the rising temperatures are causes by water vapor, not by CO2. Natural storm systems and ocean currents are the driving forces in water vapor concentration in the atmosphere. The increasing rate of warming during the 1990s was created by water vapor in the stratosphere according to the study by researchers at NOAA. The effects of tropical cyclone patterns is the result of the increasing hurricane activity, not the human-induced climate changes, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations testimony in the US Senate. Changes in the ocean’s current are responsible for the melting Greenland ice
Since measurements began in 1958 -- and it can be assumed to have been the case since the industrial revolution -- emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere has risen steadily as a result of the burning of fossil fuels (Quay, pp 2344). Although there is much argument over the implications of increasing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, there are several points that almost all scientists would agree on: firstly, carbon dioxide acts to absorb radiated heat; if present in our atmosphere will do just that to some extent. Second, the concentration of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere is rising. Third, the temperature of the planet is rising - although the amount of this increase and the causes of this rise are subject to disagreement (Philander, pp 193).
Volcanoes- the ash emitted during the eruptions cool the global temperature, in their absence the temperature has been on the rise.
For a significant number of years it has been evident that global temperatures were rising and that human activity is a major contributing factor to this rise. The rise in temperature is not only heating the planet but having an adverse effect on the global climate.
global temperature, caused by an increase in greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases are the blanket of gases surrounding
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.
Global warming has become on of the most controversial issues in the media today. While most of the Western world countries have generally accepted the premise that man's chemical emissions in the atmosphere can and are affected by the world’s climate patterns, in the United States, the issue has become so politicized with many republicans challenging the science behind the theory. Global warming is a greenhouse effect whereby gases are trapped on the earth’s surface causing it to heat up (Maslin 14). It is based on the worldwide temperature records that have been maintained by human beings through their activities since the 1880,s. In addition, global warming is not only caused by human activities only but also through climate changes in solar radiance. The problem is that, humans continue to contribute to the global warming phenomenon. All citizens should work in reducing human activities that cause global warming and also support the development of nuclear power. Scientists deem that, global warming is mainly caused by human activities which accelerate the natural process by creating greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Human activities have become a great contribution to the greenhouse effect and this means that climate changes are inevitable. They further argue that, if these activities continue and are not reduced, it will lead to more trapping of energy radiated from the earth and this will likely lead to extreme weather and global warming. Global warming should be at reduced levels or else, it will be catastrophic.
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).
Earth’s climate is determined by the physics and chemistry of its atmosphere. Earth’s atmosphere consists of four layers; troposphere which is closest to earth, stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere. Hardy says, “During the past 100 years we humans, as a result of burning coal, oil, and gas and clearing forests, have greatly changed the chemical composition of the thin atmospheric layer.” There is more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere due to burning fossil fuels. The atmosphere is made up of many gases such as nitrogen, oxygen, and argon. It also consists of trace gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, chlorofluorocarbons and, ozone. The trace gases have the greatest effect on our climate (Hardy 5). Up to a certain level, these gases help to keep the planet warm by absorbing certain infrared wavelengths, so that there can be life on the planet. Thus, they trap heat in the troposphere and stop it from escaping to space (Hardy 7). Therefore, the greater amount of greenhouse gases, the more heat trapped in the atmosphere. Earth’s temperature is increasing due to increased levels of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide released into the air from burning fossil fuels. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2001 report projects “global average surface temperature increases ranging from 1.4 to 5.8 degrees
Thesis statement: The global warming and the resultant climatic change is due to uncontrolled human exploitation of earth and its resources thereby emitting large volumes of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Similar to the above argument and equally nonsensical. We can see and feel the impacts of our changing climate and we should do something about it regardless of the cause.
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.
During the last century, burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil has increased the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide. This happens because the coal or oil burning process combines carbon with oxygen in the air to make CO2. To a lesser extent, the clearing of land for agriculture, industry, and other human activities has increased concentrations
Nearly all climate scientists can agree, that the most common cause of the current global warming trend, is to be blamed on the burning of fossil fuels, which changes the natural greenhouse of our earth. The usual process in which heat is absorbed by the earth, is when sunlight passes through its atmosphere
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...
Global warming is an increase in the earth's temperature due to fossil fuels, industry, and agricultural processes caused by human, natural, and other gas emissions. This results in an increased evacuation of greenhouse gases. “Short-wave solar radiation sinks into the Earth's atmosphere and warms its surface while long-wave infrared radiation emitted by earth's surface is absorbed, and then re-emitted by trace gases.” (2)