Is Global Warming Caused by Humans - Research Paper Example

Is Global Warming Caused by Humans? College: Research Proposal During recent two centuries, humans have fundamentally altered theplanet, and all these changes are not positive at all. Perhaps, the most significant and dreadful of them is global warming because it has impact on lives of all organisms which inhabit the Earth. Over the century, the average temperature of the planets surface has increased and climbed 0.8 C and is predicted to increase in the future. At first view, this change can seem insignificant but even the smallest changes in the average temperature of the planet can lead to critical changes in weather and climate. Today, it is not only the increase of temperature of the atmosphere but also ocean warming, ice caps and ice sheets melting, rise of sea level, and changes of biochemical cycles that take place because of climate change. That is why understanding of the causes of global warming is so important. There are two points of view on the character of global warming causes. Some of researchers claim it is natural causes that lead to climate change. However, the recent studies show that it is human-induced causes that are the main drivers of global warming. In the following research based on recent researches and statistical data, information on three main anthropogenic causes will be summarized, discussed and set against the natural factors with the aim to prove that it is humans who cause global warming of the atmosphere. The following research is important for it presents concise evidence of human involvement in global warming. Is Global Warming Caused by Humans? These days, many scientists, researchers, environmentalists and, in fact, everybody who does care, express their concerns on the issue of the changes of climate on the Earth. More specifically, they argue that today the temperature of the planet tends to increase causing the global warming, which, in its turn, can lead to irreversible negative consequences for all the living beings which settle the planet. While the fact that global warming does take place has been proved in a great number of studies, its causes are still studied. Scientists, who work on the issue of climate change, agree that there are two causes of global warming, such as natural causes and human-induced ones. The latest researches show that the idea that natural causes are among the major ones that lead to climate change is irrelevant and that it is humans who are to blame for the irreversible warming of the Earths surface. Climate change is usually referred to as the change of weather patterns and trends over time. Overall, the atmosphere consists of range of gases, some of which absorb long-wave radiation emitted from the surface of the planet. At the same time, short-wave radiation comes from the sun and is absorbed by the Earths surface. In the course of different processes, this radiation is recycled and then emitted as a long-wave radiation. Natural gases, such as carbon dioxide and water vapor, keep the temperature of the surface warm by trapping the radiation in the atmosphere. This process is called the natural greenhouse effect. However, human activities have changed the natural cycle by adding other gases that also trap the radiation. As a result, the amount of the trapped long-wave radiation increases, and the temperature of the surface increases as well causing climate change (Ruhf, 1999). In this regard, global warming is defined as the increase of the planets average temperature “due to effect of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels or from deforestation, which trap heat that would otherwise escape from Earth” (New Mexico Solar Energy Association). It was in the nineteenth century that scientists started studying climate. They started with weather patterns and trends and then due to the developments in various branches of science and technology it became possible to reconstruct paleoclimate. Alongside with developments, the latter provides the evidence on the long-term changes in climate. Also, as the evidence shows, climate changes have taken place since the atmosphere of the Earth was formed, and there have been both warmings and coolings of the planet. All these changes, however, were natural because they resulted from natural causes. Today, the recent studies show that the current global warming is not a natural process because it is induced by humans (OSS Foundation, 2009; Environmental Defense Fund, 2014). Among the main causes named by meteorologists are the increased amount of greenhouse gases, the rise of the amount of aerosols in the atmosphere, and changes in land use patterns. One of the anthropogenic causes that contributes greatly to the change of climate on the Earth is the increase of the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere of the planet. As it has been mentioned above, the greenhouse effect has been a natural process caused by certain gases in the atmosphere which both allow the sunlight enter the surface and observe thermal radiation. Due to these gases, the average temperature of the surface of the planet is about 14 C. The main gases which take part in the greenhouse effect include water vapor, CO2 (carbon dioxide), CH4 (methane) N2O (nitrous oxide), and fluorinated gases. Despite the fact that water vapor is the most abundant greenhouse gas, it is not considered important for studying the problem of global warming because human beings have no significant impact on the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere of the Earth. Comprising a small part of all the gases in the atmosphere, carbon dioxide is regarded as one of the most important greenhouse gases, though. Naturally, it is emitted through living beings respiration and volcanic eruptions but today it is also emitted through human activities, for example, the use of fossil fuel (gas, coal, oil) (World Meteorological Organization). The concentration of methane in the atmosphere is less than the concentration of carbon dioxide but it is stronger because it absorbs greater amount of heat. The main source of methane in the atmosphere is the decomposition of organic matter, for instance, during agricultural activities and in waste management. Nitrous oxide is emitted in the course of agricultural activities, such as the use of fertilizers, and through burning of fossil fuels. Fluorinated gases are emitted through industrial processes and the use of a range of consumer products (Environmental Protection Agency, 2013). The researches on the discussed issue show that the amount of all the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere of the Earth has increased by 40 times. In accordance with the 2013 research of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2013), the concentrations of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane in the atmosphere have increased because of human activities since 1750. In particular, the concentration of these gases exceeded their pre-industrial levels by 40 percent, 20 percent, and 150 percent correspondingly. The rates of increase of greenhouse gases concentration in the atmosphere of the Earth are “with very high confidence, unprecedented in the last 22,000 years (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2013). These shocking figures do prove that the artificial, non-natural increase of the amount of greenhouse gases and, consequently, global warming caused by this increase are a man-made practice. One more anthropogenic factor that contributes to global warming is the increase of the amount of aerosols in the atmosphere. In fact, the influence of aerosols on the climate change processes is regarded as the most significant and at the same time unclear. In accordance with World Meteorological Organization, the increase in greenhouse gases emissions does not explain all the trends in global warming and the observation on the impact of aerosols adds precision to the research. There are two ways in which aerosols influence the atmosphere of the planet. First of all, they impact climate through “direct scattering and absorption of incoming solar radiation and trapping of outgoing long-wave radiation” (World Meteorological Organization, 2013). Secondly, aerosols change both chemical and physical properties of clouds as well as the process of their formation. The amount of aerosols in the atmosphere have changed because of human activity and in particular due to biomass burning, agricultural processes, emissions from transport which are converted to aerosols as a result of chemical reactions in the atmosphere (World Meteorological Organization, 2013). As the results of GAW Aerosol Research show, the concentration of aerosol in the Northern hemisphere is three times higher than in the Southern hemisphere. Such a high concentration of aerosols in the Northern hemisphere results in the radiation forcing which is 50 percent higher than in another part of the planet (World Meteorological Organization, 2013). This is so because much industry is placed in the Northern hemisphere. Changes in the land use patterns should be taken into consideration when it comes to the problem of global warming as well despite the fact that the rise of the amount of the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is regarded as the main driver of climate change on the planet. The results of researches in atmospheric studies show that the change in land use patterns should be included in climate simulations. In accordance with Pielke (2005), the conversion of forest to agriculture, or deforestation, in the Amazon region results in the increase of local average temperature compared to the increase of temperature caused by the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere as a result of emissions. Another research conducted by Malhi, Meir, and Brown (2002) shows that about 45 percent of the increase of the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has a positive relation to the loss of forest cover on the planet. Among the land-use activities that influence the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are deforestation, afforestation, and reforestation; clearance of forests for crops and pastures; changes in cultivation that depend on the increase and / or decrease of population, logging (Malhi, Meir, & Brown, 2002). Overall, as it follows from the two above-mentioned studies, land use is also an important anthropogenic factor that influences global warming because it causes the increase of the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which, in their turn, lead to the rise of average temperature of the Earths surface. There are also adherers to the theory that climate change and global warming in particular are caused by natural factors, such as volcanic eruptions and solar radiation. Despite the fact the planet is bombarded by solar energy and heat, the amount of this energy that reaches the planet remains relatively stable. In fact, in accordance with the most recent studies, the amount of solar heat that reaches the surface of the planet has increased only by 0.1 percent during the last three hundred years “causing a global energy imbalance less than 10 percent as large as that caused by humans over the same period” (Nuccitelli, 2014). The study described by Nuccitelly (2014) shows that the sun has caused no more than 0.15 C increase of the total increase of 1 C during the last three centuries. From the results of the described study, it follows that it is human beings who are responsible for the rise of the average temperature of the planet, especially if to take into account the fact that solar activity is relatively stable now. Volcanic activity is also claimed to be the reason why the average temperature of the surface of the planet tends to grow. Volcanoes actually do erupt a significant amount of aerosol particles of sulfur dioxide and dust into the upper level of the atmosphere, which then gradually cover the planet and stay there sometimes for several years. What is more, volcanic eruptions also affect the ozone layer of the Earth. For example, the massive eruptions, such as the eruptions of Mt. Pinatubo and Mt. Hudson, can cause the destruction of about 50 percent of the ozone layer in the region. At the same time, the amount of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, aerosols and other gases emitted as a result of human activity far exceed the amount of these gases erupted by volcanoes. Therefore, volcanic activity, just like solar activity, cannot be perceived as the major causes of global warming on the planet. While the fact that global warming does take place these days is taken as it is, the causes of climate change on the planet are still debated. Overall, there two major points of view on the issue. In accordance with the first one, it is the natural factors that cause global warming. Among them are solar radiation and volcanic activity. The most recent studies, however, have proved that solar radiation is not enough to rise the average temperature for 1 C and that the gases and aerosols erupted by volcanoes do not have a significant influence on the temperature of the surface. At the same time, the researches and available statistical data shows that it is human activity that causes global warming. More specifically, it is the increase of the amount of greenhouse gases and aerosols in the atmosphere as a result of human activity and the change of land use habits that should be taken into account while discussing the problem of global warming. The problem of climate change has become serious a significant time ago but researchers continue arguing on the causes of the problem. There is enough evidence that shows that it is people who are to blame for what is happening with the climate of the planet today. The pace of the growth and spread of the problem suggests it is high time now to stop and think what should be done to improve the situation or at least not to allow it to go worse. References: Environmental Defense Fund. (2014). How are humans responsible for global warming?. Retrieved from http://www.edf.org/climate/human-activity-is-causing-global-warming Environmental Protection Agency. (2013, September 09). Global greenhouse gas emissions data. Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/global.html Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (2013). Climate change 2013: The physical science base. Retrieved from http://www.climatechange2013.org/images/report/WG1AR5_SPM_FINAL.pdf Malhi, Y., Meir, P., & Brown, S. (2002). Forests, carbon and global climate. The Royal Society, 360, 1567-1591. Retrieved from http://www.imedea.uib-csic.es/master/cambioglobal/Modulo_V_cod101611/Terrestrial sinks (forests and soils)/Bibliography_terrestrial/Mahli 2002 Forests carbon and climate change.pdf New Mexico Solar Energy Association. (n.d.). Global warming FAQ. Retrieved from http://www.nmsea.org/Curriculum/Primer/Global_Warming/fossil_fuels_and_global_warming.htm Nuccitelli, D. (2014, January 9). Global warming is being caused by humans, not the sun, and is highly sensitive to carbon, new research shows. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2014/jan/09/global-warming-humans-not-sun OSS Foundation. (2009). Human caused global warming. Retrieved from http://ossfoundation.us/projects/environment/global-warming/human-caused Pielke, R. (2005). Land use and climate change. Science, 310(5754), 1625-1626. Ruhf, R. J. (1999). Global warming: An introduction. Retrieved from http://www.x98ruhf.net/global_warming.htm World Meteorological Organization. (2013). GAW aerosol research. Retrieved from http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/arep/gaw/aerosol.html World Meteorological Organization. (n.d.). Causes of climate change. Retrieved from http://www.wmo.int/pages/themes/climate/causes_of_climate_change.php Read More