All About Global Warming
Global warming is essentially the gradual longterm warming of the earth's surface. Simply put; when we talk about global warming we're referring to the fact that the earth's average surface temperature is slowly but surely rising and the mechanics behind global warming lie in the greenhouse effect.
The principle of the greenhouse effect is that the amount of energy absorbing gases such as carbon dioxide, water vapor and ozone, in the atmosphere, determine how much of the sun's energy will be trapped within the confines of earth's atmosphere therefore maintaining or rising the average temperature of the surface, or how much will escape back into space.
Our neighbor Venus is at the high end of this scale with so much greenhouse gas-namely carbon dioxide- that the average surface temperature is 860° F. Most of the sun's infrared energy is trapped.
Mars on the other hand has very little greenhouse gases. So the majority of the sun's energy is lost. Therefore Mars surface temperature can be very low at times.
But according to data gathered by the NASA Earth Observatory, Earth's average temperature has been rising steadily since 1880 and we attribute this to the fact that the concentration of green house gases in the atmosphere has risen dramatically since then, hence global warming.
The greenhouse gases' ability to alter climates was suspected to have been a major factor in the list of causes that brought about the end of the ice ages. In 1859 an English scientist by the name of John Tyndall of the 1800s ice age debate found that the most important green house gases were water vapor and second most CO2. Then in 1869 Svante Arrhenius calculated the amount of decrease in CO2 needed to reinstate an ice age. Reversing this figure would mean global warming instead which is what's happening.
The major source of increased release of CO2 into the atmosphere in the US is fossil fuel burning power plants. According to the US Emissions Inventory 2004 Executive Summary p. 10 this accounts for 40% of CO2 emissions in the US. Power plants, factories and cars all over the world also contribute to the growing percentage of CO2 in the atmosphere. This probably began at the start of the industrial era when power plants and factories first appeared pumping pollutants and CO2 into the air.
Another factor is deforestation. All green plants absorb carbon dioxide and give off oxygen, trees most of all. Deforestation is having the effect of maintaining the higher than should be CO2 levels because the amount of recyclers is dwindling.
The whole situation becomes a chain reaction when considering the fact that the earth is warming because of to much carbon dioxide, this excess heat is causing more water vapor to exist in the air and water vapor is the most abundant and effective greenhouse in the atmosphere. With more water vapor in the air the earth will heat up even more and more water will evaporate adding to the amount of water vapor and so on.
The effects of this are no joke or hoax; according to National Geographic News; Arctic ice is rapidly disappearing, and the region may have its first completely ice-free summer by 2040 or earlier. Polar bears and indigenous cultures are already suffering from the sea-ice loss.
Coral reefs, which are highly sensitive to small changes in water temperature, suffered the worst bleaching-or die-off in response to stress-ever recorded in 1998, with some areas seeing bleach rates of 70 percent. Experts expect these sorts of events to increase in frequency and intensity in the next 50 years as sea temperatures rise.
In addition to this the rising water temperatures around the world are resulting in bigger more powerful tropical storms and hurricanes.
It is important that you as an individual stay informed. One person alone cannot make a difference but with whole nations attune to the consequences of global warming those whole nations can help to put a stop to it before people and animals get killed because of our indifference or ignorance to an important matter. We can stop this.
US Emissions Inventory 2004 Executive ,
"Causes of Global Warming" EcoBridge
"Global Warming: Definitions and Debate" Zfacts.com
National Geographic "Global Warming Fast Facts" National Geographic News
Published by Karai
I have a passion to learn and I love sharing what I know. Writing is my way of sharing. I have some experience in web design,teaching and tutoring, and psychology. In the near future I hope to fulfill my dre... View profile
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4 Comments
Post a Commentvery informative... I still don't understand all of the factors, but it is easy to see that our usage and garbage habits have affected the earth.
Hey, SeekTruth...live up to your moniker and truly seek truth.
Karai, thank you for bringing this issue to the forefront. There can never be too much awareness of the problem. To those people that do not see global warming as a problem, is the solution to your non-problem really all that bad? Hmmm...let's see, cut down on the use of fossil fuels (which are getting prohibitively expensive to acquire and refine), plant more trees and reduce/prevent clear-cutting leaving a habitat for the animals that inhabited the planet before we did, reduce emissions and provide cleaner air for us to breath perhaps cutting down on respiratory diseases...
Global warming is just one issue, but there is so much more good that would result from reversing the trend.
So, if CO2 levels are causing global warming (as is claimed), and CO2 levels have steadily increased (which they have), how is it possible for global cooling to EVER occur (which it has)? Clearly, there is something much more significant at work with regard to regulating global temperature. Why are so many people so unwilling to accept this fact? A bunch of treehugging dolts make people feel guilty for something that they actually are NOT responsible for, that's why.
Very good article!