Global Warming Essay Research Paper There are

Global Warming Essay, Research Paper

There are many problems concerning the environment. Pollution, destruction of the rainforests, and the consumption of all of our planet’s natural resources are just a few. None of these issues quite compare to the problem of global warming. Global warming is a problem that affects not just some people, but everything and everyone. People must take action to stop global warming and must realize the severity of this problem before it is too late. The future depends on what we do now to slow the process of global warming.

What exactly is global warming? Global warming is a problem that emerged as a major issue in the late 1980’s. Global warming can be defined simply as a rise in the average land temperature around the earth (Hynes 181). Currently, the average temperature of the earth is roughly 57 degrees Fahrenheit (Schneider 16). This temperature could be the result of several different factors. Some of the factors that cause the earth’s temperature to rise are natural, but humans have caused many others.

Surrounding the issue of global warming is the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect plays an important role in the issue of global warming, but it is not the reason behind why global warming is occurring. The earth produces greenhouse gasses naturally, and without this gas, humans along with many other forms of life, would not be able to survive. The reason for this is that earth would be much too cold for many life forms to exist if it did not have some form of gas to heat up the environment. Without the greenhouse effect the earth would be 40-60 degrees cooler than its current temperature (Hynes 176). The problem though, is that the earth is producing an abundance of this gas, and we are going to become much too warm (Schneider 13). Life cannot survive in a certain amount of warmth as well, so a middle ground must be sustained.

Although some scientists dispute that humans are in any way responsible for the rise in the amount of greenhouse gasses many others believe that humans are partially responsible (What is global warming?). Numerous things can cause the amount of greenhouse gasses on the earth to rise. The Industrial Revolution of the early 1900’s is said to have increased the level of carbon dioxide by 30 percent, methane by 100 percent, and nitrous oxide by 15 percent (Global Warming). Another one of the factors that can increase the levels of greenhouse gasses is the burning of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels make up 90 percent of the commercial production of energy in the world today (Gribbin 235). This percentage is far too high for the environment to handle.

Along with the variety of causes for global warming, there are also many results from global warming. Several of these results are negative; there really are not any benefits from the earth growing warmer. One of the major negative effects of global warming would be an increase in disease (Hynes 182). Diseases such as Malaria, Hantavirus and many others would be much more common because they would survive better in a warmer climate. Another negative effect of our planet growing warmer would be an increase in the number of natural disasters (Hynes 182). There are a number of natural disasters that would occur more frequently in a warmer environment.

The occurrence of hurricanes most importantly, along with a slight increase in the number of tornadoes, floods, droughts, acid rain along with warm and cold extremes as well, would be much more common if the balance of our planet’s temperature was thrown off. Natural disasters such as “superhurricanes” for example, would occur because of warmer surface temperatures of ocean water (Hynes 182). Storms of this magnitude would produce winds up to 225 miles per hour (Hynes 182). An increase in the number of floods and tornadoes would be a result of these storms.

In spite of the fact that many of the problems concerning global warming are very serious, a large number of them would be able to be dealt with by humans through some action. The biggest problem, though, is something that humans cannot control: rises in sea levels and thermal expansion of our oceans. Thermal expansion takes place when the average temperature of the water in the ocean is increased (Gribbin 20). Because the water is warmer it expands, and therefore occupies more space. Because of this, a one-to three-foot rise in ocean levels could occur. If the seas do expand at the current rate, by the year 2075 the oceans could be as much as seven feet higher than they currently are (Houghton 176). This could cause the arctic ice sheets and some glaciers to partially melt. The melting of ice and its replacement by forestland would only add to the amount of water in the oceans. This rise in the level of our oceans could have a tremendous impact on the earth. It would cause $10-100 billion in repairs along some shorelines in the United States alone (Hynes 181). This is only including the East Coast of our country. Since a significant portion of the country consists of shoreline, the amount of the damages would be massive.

The many effects faced by humans because of global warming are of course very important. Because global warming is a global issue it will effect more than just human beings. It will have a profound effect on plant and animal life as well. With an increase in the earth’s temperature of just 3 degrees