Global Warming Essay Research Paper The phenomenon

Global Warming Essay, Research Paper

The phenomenon described as global warming has been well studied and

documented by researchers throughout the world for several years. It is a phenomenon that has the potential to destroy our planet and all life on it. This essay will briefly define global warming, provide evidence of global warming, outline the main causes of global warming and discuss both the known and potential impacts of global warming on the planet earth. Comments are also made concerning actions being taken as well as others that need to be taken to protect our planet from the potential catastrophic consequences of continued global warming.

For thousands of years the earth has gone through many changes in climate. In the last decade however, the earth has experienced notable increases in temperature, resulting in rising sea levels, changes in precipitation as well as other climate changes. The earth has not experienced such dramatic climate changes before in it’s history as it has in the last one hundred years. Some of these climatic changes have been blamed on global warming. What is this phenomenon referred to as global warming.

Global warming is the term used to describe a moderate increase in the earth’s temperature as a result of human activities. Examples include, the burning of fossil fuels and the production of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) which build up greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The greenhouse effect is a term used to describe the warming of the earth’s surface due to the presence of carbon dioxide and other atmospheric gases, which trap radiant heat at the earth’s surface. Diagram 1 illustrates the greenhouse effect. The denser these gases the more heat that is trapped. Energy from the sun drives the earth’s weather and climate, and heats the earth’s surface; in turn, the earth radiates energy back into space. Atmospheric greenhouse gases (water vapour, carbon dioxide, and other gases) trap some of the outgoing energy retaining heat. This is not unlike the glass panels of a greenhouse. (EPA 1) The increase in the amounts of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane from industries and cars causes energy to be trapped in the earth’s atmosphere resulting in a rise of global temperatures. Without a little greenhouse effect though, life as we know it could not possibly exist on the earth. The natural greenhouse effect causes the mean temperature of the earth’s surface to be approximately 33 degrees Celsius warmer than it would be if natural greenhouse gases were not present in the earth’s atmosphere. (The Greenhouse Trap, 1) However, scientists are worried that human activities are intensifying the greenhouse effect. Cairncross writes, “global warming is likely to be the result of the build-up of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide” (Cairncross 111).

The three main greenhouse gases produced by human activities are carbon dioxide, methane and nitrogen gas. Carbon dioxide is the most common greenhouse gas produced by humans. It is responsible for over half of the increase in greenhouse gases present in the atmosphere. This is primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels. Each year, the burning of fossil fuels releases 5.5 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. (footnote) The main sources of carbon dioxide include, electric utilities (35%), transport (30%), industry (24%), and the other 11% is produced by residential buildings (Brisbane Adventist College www.ozkidz). The graph below shows the dramatic increase in carbon dioxide gases in the atmosphere.

It is believed that since the Industrial Revolution began about 250 years ago, atmospheric carbon dioxide has increased from a value of about 275 parts per million before the Industrial Revolution to about 360 parts per million in 1996, and the rate of increase has speeded up over this span of time (Hartmann). Scientists have determined this by measuring the carbon dioxide levels in the air that became trapped in glaciers, hundreds of years ago. They then compare this to the amounts of carbon dioxide in today’s air.

Global warming was first predicted in 1896, by a Swedish chemist named Svante Arrhenius. Arrhenius realized that the amount of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere was increasing rapidly due to industrialization. Arrhenius predicted that doubling the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would raise the earth’s average temperature by about 5.C (Herring). Though no one really paid any attention to him, Arrhenius’s prediction was surprisingly accurate. He was only off by about 2 to 3 degrees. This is very remarkable, considering he had to make the calculations by hand without the aid of scientific equipment. It was not until the 1980’s that it was determined global warming was actually occurring, almost a hundred years after it was first predicted by Arrhenius. Global warming has already raised the average temperature of the earth’s surface by about 0.5 degrees within the last one hundred years (Bates 6). The top ten warmest days in recorded history have all occurred within the 1990’s. Global temperature changes between 1861 and 1996 are outlined in Diagram 2. It has been estimated that global average temperatures will increase of as much as 9 degrees F (5 degrees C) before the year 2999 (6).

Up until recently most of the carbon dioxide produced was absorbed by the world’s oceans, trees an