Alhajry Unit 5 - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages Causes of global warming According to research, the human population has created a significant imbalance between living and planet earth in which the result has been the occurrence of natural disasters reported over the past a hundred years. Ideally, the rise of global temperature started mid twentieth century because of the increase in greenhouse gas emissions to earth’s atmosphere (Maslin 9). Environmentalists agree with the fact that the global temperature’s have increased by 0.5 degrees and will be on an increasing trend for years to come. Researchers indicate that 1990 was the hottest year of the twentieth century with scientists indicating that the global temperatures would rise by at least 3 degrees within the next a hundred years. First, air pollution and the greenhouse effect are the principle causes of global warming as the former is through factory emissions and vehicle gases (Maslin 10). The latter is through the entrapment of gases by green houses that help the sun to cool off, hence influencing the globe to experience higher temperatures. Over the years, the ozone layer has also experienced depletion as the atmosphere has allowed the penetration of harmful gases that heat up the earth. In essence, the ozone layer is the outermost layer of the atmosphere that prevents the damaging of the earth’s surface from radiations that are cancerous. The depletion of the ozone layer due to the heating up of the atmosphere and the resulting puncturing of the same (Ozone Holes) has allowed cancer-causing radiations to penetrate the earth leading to global warming. Further, the sulfur dioxide gas released during volcanic activities also causes global warming as they tend to cause blockage of the sunlight from reaching the earth’s surface hence distorting the global temperatures. With the rise of the global population, there has been an increase in human activity especially on forest as many strive to attain lands to settle in, which has led to the increased deforestation levels and decreased crop cover. Deforestation causes global warming because the cutting down of trees decreases the production of oxygen by plants and increases the concentration rates of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Essentially, plants take in carbon dioxide and produce oxygen during the process of photosynthesis in which if forest cover decreases then there would be plenty of harmful carbon dioxide for human beings. On the other hand, the increased use of fertilizers that contain nitrogen oxide as compared to the conventional animal manure has also paved way for increased global temperatures as these fertilizers have heat storage capabilities. Nitrogen oxides have higher heat retention capacities as compared to carbon dioxide and when they get into the atmosphere, they destroy the ozone layer faster hence allowing the penetration of ultraviolet rays. The burning of fossil fuels on a daily basis is another cause of global warming because these fuels contain high levels of carbon (Haldar 11). Burning them increases carbon levels in the atmosphere as there is no complete consumption of the same. In the end, the increased establishment of industries and continued human activities continues to rise, the global temper ...Download file to see next pagesRead More