Many people don’t know how much they contribute to the emissions of green house gasses. The truth is we as people support the burning of fossil fuels almost unknowingly. We use them for everything from daily household supplies to the gases we use to heat our homes and run our cars. The steady rise in the use of these fossil fuels is having an alarming affect on our climate. Global warming will change the Earth in unimaginable ways. With the ever increasing amount of Greenhouse gasses in our atmosphere, glaciers are now melting rapidly causing sea level to rise. The coastal changes will be sure to change our living environment over the next few hundred years. Global Warming is a phenomenon in which the temperature on the Earth increases. Over history we see natural stages in our Earth’s climate between warm and cold periods because of increased Carbon Dioxide. These stages are usually cyclic but temperatures are rising faster than ever before (Pipkin). Ancient ice cores dating back 800,000 years show a steady level of greenhouse gasses (Scambos). Proving this point Ted Scambos states: “The dramatic rise in the gasses seen in the past few decades- from 315 parts per billion in 1958 to 388 parts per million for carbon dioxide. . . "(37). Greenhouse gasses are emitted from the burning of fossil fuels (Carbon Dioxide, Methane, and Nitrogen Oxides). These gasses create a barrier that traps the incoming solar radiation (Insolation) and reheats the earth. Carbon Dioxide is the most abundant of the gasses but not nearly as powerful as Methane. For instance, "Methane in the atmosphere warms the Earth over 20 times more per molecule than carbon dioxide does than after a decade or two, it oxidizes into Carbon Dioxide and keep... ... middle of paper ... ...mbia University. Coloumbia University, 19 Jan. 2011. Web. 15 Oct. 2010. Kunzig, Robert . "World Without Ice." National Geographic Oct. 2011: 90-109. Print. Orlove, Ben. "Glacier Retreat: Reviewing The Limits Of Human Adaptation To Climate Change." Environment 51.3 (2009): 22. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 21 Nov. 2011. Pipkin, Bernard W.. Geology and the environment. 6th ed. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning, 2011. Print. Scambos, Ted. "Earth’S Ice: Sea Level, Climate, And Our Future Commitment." Bulletin Of The Atomic Scientists 67.1 (2011): 28-40. Academic Search Elite. Web. 21 Nov. 2011. Stephen M. Smith, et al. "A Review Of Recent Developments In Climate Change Science. Part II: The Global-Scale Impacts Of Climate Change." Progress In Physical Geography 35.4 (2011): 443-464.Academic Search Elite. Web. 21 Nov. 2011
In his essay, “Global Warming is Eroding Glacial Ice,” Revkin is arguing that global warming is constantly changing the ...
The planet we live in, the earth is a tiny composition in this huge universe. It has diversities ranging from highly variant temperature and pressure belts as well as various ecosystem types. One such remarkable feature of the earth is the polar ice caps. There are three major prominent features, the Antarctic ice on the South Pole, the Arctic ice on the North Pole and Greenland on the north between North America and Europe. Antarctica consist about 90 percent of the world's ice (and 70 percent of its fresh water). It is covered with ice an average of 2,133 meters (7,000 feet) thick. If all of the Antarctic ice melted, sea levels around the world would rise about 61 meters (200 feet). The Arctic ice is not so thick in comparison and it mostly floats in the Arctic Ocean. Greenland, on the other hand would add another 7 meters (20 feet) to the oceans if it melted because Greenland is closer to the equator than Antarctica, the temperatures there are higher, so the ice is more likely to melt. Scientists from the Universities of London and Edinburgh say that ice loss in Antarctica and Greenland together contribute approximately 12 percent of the rise in sea levels. The melting of these enormous ice bodies can significantly impact the global changes in climate and reversely, this climate changes also impact the melting of the ice bodies. It is a two way process and the causes are mostly anthropogenic.
Glaciers are one of the most fundamental phenomenon on the planet, and much of their purpose and impact on earth has been well documented and published. Ice sheets, Ice Caps and Glaciers trap nearly 90% of the world's fresh water, and are replenished by snowfall each year. Their existence on this planet dates back 650,000,000 years and yet they are always moving, always shifting and always melting. Before, human existence and even during the brief era of humans, ice dominated all of the earth's landmass and have regulated, created and altered many of the landscapes around the world.
Portions of the United States experienced an exceptionally cold winter this year. Here in North Carolina we had three months of overnight temperature below freezing with temperatures in the 20s. I have lived in the Raleigh area for 25 years and have never experienced a winter so consistently cold with thick layers of ice on windshields every morning and frost on the roofs of homes that remained frozen until the middle of the morning. The act of cleaning up snow and ice brought back memories of growing up in the 1960s in the far north of New Jersey where temperatures remained below freezing for months and the ice on local lakes was solid enough to support the weight of a tractor to plow away the snow so everyone could ice skate, and we did skate there for at least two months. Recent winters in my hometown have been so mild that the lake did not freeze at all and even the Canada geese did not migrate south, but remained there in NJ. This winter, while we were freezing inside our homes back here in Raleigh, the news media continued to debate the global warming issue. The conflict between the weather outside for me vs. the news reports of global warming made me pause and question where the truth lies. My research uncovered that global warming is very real and, in fact, explains the shift in air currents that caused the extreme weather this winter that is negatively impacting millions of lives. In conclusion, the time is now when politicians must legislate strong actions to minimize man’s contribution to global warming and enact measures to provide emergency assistance wherever these violent weather patterns cause crises.
The use of fossil fuels has greatly increased the amount of atmospheric and oceanic CO2 to a point where it’s ruining the natural flow of the world; the earth’s temperature is rising. As a result, the polar ice caps are melting causing the seas to rise. With only a 1 meter increase in sea level the United States alone could lose over 10,000 square miles of land, and thousands of houses will be destroyed. The effects will be just as prominent around the world: many islands will become submerged, 17% of Bangladesh will be underwater, and tens of thousands of people will be displaced (“Global Warming” 3).
What is global warming? According to the Natural Resource Defense Council, “Carbon dioxide and other air pollution that is collecting in the atmosphere like a thickening blanket, trapping the sun’s heat and causing the planet to warm up” (“Natural Resources Defense Council”). This shows that global warming is caused due to the fact that harmful gases such as Carbon Dioxide escape into the atmosphere and capture all of the sun’s heat; keeping it secure. This causes the planet to get warm. Coal burning power plants are the main cause of global warming (Natural Resources Defense Council). Power plants and factories give off gases that pollute the air and cause disruptions in the atmosphere. These gases taint the atmosphere, making it thicker and causing it to contain more heat, also warming the earth. These intense heating conditions lead to w...
Chasing Ice is a documentary on climate change, the rise of CO2 gases and seeing what effect these two factors have on glaciers. Climate change is a incredibly serious problem because it kills off special species that the world needs in which humans are causing this problem. A photographer decided he wanted to try and capture life’s changing images of many glaciers to determine what effect climate change truly had on the world. He traveled to Greenland, Alaska, Montana, and Iceland and sets up cameras to grasp what effect climate change had on these glaciers. In a six month period, James, the photographer, captured that glaciers were not just shifting a couple of feet, however they were moving miles and miles from the current location. Climate
Firstly, global warming is said to be caused by the high levels of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by humans. Smoke produced by factories, vehicular exhaust, and the burning of fossil fuels such as coal in power plants are the primary sources of carbon dioxide. The theory is that carbon dioxide being released into the Earth's atmosphere is steadily building up because it cannot escape into space. The theory as to why the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere actually causes the Earth's average temperature to rise is outlined as follows:
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
To understand the issue, global warming must be defined as well as broken down. Earth has a fairly simple way of regulating global temperature, involving natural gases. After reading the article, “What is the Greenhouse Effect?” the author explains in other words;
Global warming is a phenomenon and impact of climate change. An average upward change in global temperature over a period, a few decades, is the impact of climate change caused by human actions. The deforestation, use of fossil fuels, emissions, and the likes cause such environmental changes as rising sea levels, enhanced atmospheric temperatures, and extreme weather conditions. Whether human actions are responsible for global warming is a controversy doing the rounds. The greenhouse effect which refers to retaining of a part of the sun's radiation in the earth's lower atmosphere leading to increasing in the earth's temperature is the cause of global warming. Also, depletion of the ozone layer is a major source of global warming. However, human actions in burning ...
Furthermore, this analysis must take place amidst serious gaps in the existing research and technology concerning the developing climatic conditions. For these reasons, global warming stands as one of the most daunting policy issues facing our world today. This is compounded by the debate over the very existence of climate change. While countless sources of empirical evidence testify to the very real presence of climate change the world over, considerable denial of the phenomenon still exists. The argument has been made that evidence of climate change is a gross overstatement, or in some cases, a complete fabrication.
The emission of green house gasses due to human activity contributes the most in increasing global warming. Today, fossil fuels are used as a source of energy for transportation, electricity, industrial process and to increase human comfort in this era. Over the last decade humans have created mass amount of industries. These industries have been burning fossil fuels such as coal, which release carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide; carbon dioxide absorbs heat that raises the temperature of the earth. More than 80% of carbon dioxide comes from tr...
Global warming is the phenomenon of the rising average air temperature near the Earth’s surface over the last couple of centuries. The theory of global warming was first released in 1896 by Svante Arrhenius, a Swedish scientist. He claimed that the cause of global warming was the burning of fossil fuels by humans (School, Climate Change, 2014). He and his fellow scientist, Thomas Chamberlin, concluded that the increasing air temperature was because of excessive amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The excessive amount of carbon dioxide in the air was a direct effect of the burning of fossil fuels (NRDC).
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