Global Warming is Real - Research Paper Example

?Global Warming is Real Introduction Global warming is the condition in which the temperature of the Earth rises due to the trapping of sun’s light and heat by the greenhouse gases which include carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane and water vapors (Houghton, 2004). The earth’s atmosphere contains these trace gases whose purpose is to prevent some of the heat of the sun to escape into the atmosphere when it is reflected by the Earth. This helps maintaining a certain degree of acceptable temperature on the Earth. When these gases rise in concentration, they start absorbing sun’s heat which results in rise in temperature to an unacceptable degree. Due to the rise in temperature, much of the living organisms are affected most of which die. Researchers suggest that the rise in the concentration of these greenhouse gases results in the Earth getting warmer gradually. This concentration occurs, for example, by the release of gases like CO2 in the atmosphere through natural processes and also by industries and factories that burn fossil fuels. Deforestation is another cause of increase in CO2 concentration in the atmosphere since trees are the most important absorbers of CO2 and when they are cut down, CO2 increases and thus concentrates the atmosphere. The debate whether global warming is real or not is going on and it is being researched whether increase in the level of greenhouse gases like CO2 will eventually lead to man’s death by warming up the Earth to an unacceptable level. In my view, global warming is as important an environment issue as air pollution or ozone depletion is, and needs serious consideration so as to save the Earth and the life. Reason 1 Now, I discuss the reasons behind my thesis statement. I believe that global warming is real because the stakeholders are many. Humans are being affected by this problem and will continue to get affected if it is not solved. Human beings are the most important stakeholders of global warming and are also the cause of it. They will have to understand that their communities are at stake due to abrupt rise in sea level, massive storms and hurricanes, and heat and cold waves. For example, the year 2007 brought worst floods in the history of many countries like Malaysia, UK, North Korea, and other African countries. Pakistan saw the worst flood in 2010 that took millions of lives and took the shelter of thousands of people. After human beings, the next important stakeholders are the animals and plants. Some animals are able to move to places of acceptable temperature but some are not able to cross the mountain barriers and waters. Plants cannot move, so they die. Another stakeholder is the global governments whose vision toward solving the issue of global warming depends upon the views of their citizens. Many of these governments have not taken satisfactory moves toward the solution of global warming but there are other examples like Kyoto Protocol of 1997 which planned to counter the climate change issue. The Southern Baptist Convention of June 2007, which was considered as the country’s largest Protestant denomination (Miller, 2008, p.128), raised concerns about the fact that global warming will continue to affect the poor of the country because even if steps are taken to counter global warming by reducing the number of factories that emit CO2, this will result in an increase in the cost of energy that will ultimately affect the poor. Businesses are the only stakeholders that will not make movements against the global arming issue so much so that they will even try to stop the decrease in global warming. This is because businesses tend to run such factories and industries that emit CO2 into the atmosphere and no business would want to end his business. But not all businesses work in this manner. For example, FedEx is such a company that tends to decrease global warming by shifting its entire fleet of delivery trucks to hybrids. Reason 2 I believe that global warming is real also because it is resulting in many climate changes. Everybody will agree to the fact that the Earth today is much warmer than it was 100 years ago. “Around the world, the Earth's average temperature has risen more than 1 degree Fahrenheit (0.8 degrees Celsius) over the last century, and about twice that in parts of the Arctic” (National Geographic Society, 2011). One way we can observe the Earth getting warmer is by observing the trees. In warmer conditions, the trees get thicker and form thick rings. Comparing new trees with older ones can help us understand the difference. Other ways include the experimentation with the sediment that rests in the bottom of the oceans and seas. Scientists observe these sediments which contain particles and fossils that tell a lot of information about the climate the time when they settled down at the bottom. Global warming increases the sea level. High sea level is dangerous for communities living at coastal line because there would be constant fear of flooding. Rise in temperature will result in the melting of ice on the ice pole. These climate changes are expected to dry out the agricultural lands which will reduce the agricultural productivity. More storms and hurricanes will be expected along with harsh weather changes with heat and cold waves. Climate experts are already noticing the change in oceans and the Arctic ice, and have confirmed the fact that climate has got warmer since some decades. The climate expert, Time Barnett, who works at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, stated at an annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, that “New computer models that look at ocean temperatures instead of the atmosphere show the clearest signal yet that global warming is well underway” (as cited in Reuters, 2011). Other proofs that make this fact evident that global warming is a real issue include a U.S. survey that was based upon the opinions of 3,146 climate experts (CNN World, 2009). The results of the survey revealed that the rising global temperatures were a real problem but it cannot be predicted as to how much responsibility should be laid on the shoulders of humans for being a cause of this issue. Hence, the change in the climate over the years and the predictions that these changes will continue to occur and get harsher, have strengthened my belief that global warming is actually real. Reason 3 I am firm in my belief about global warming being a real problem also because today I am seeing much more forest fires than there used to be in the past. There have been many wildfires in these years that have burnt down forests and have lasted much longer than usual. The southeast and southwest of the U.S. have been affected by these wildfires. “Fires are also starting in forests in the Amazon, Siberia, Greece, Indonesia, and a number of other countries around the globe”, (Ecoble.com, 2008). The U.S. Forest Service is taking measures to reduce the forest fires which are very likely to become so uncontrollable and catastrophic by 2015 that they will threat millions of acres of national forests present in the interior West. If proper measures are not taken, then these wildfires will cost millions of dollars to the governments. For example, it is estimated that these wildfires will cost around $488 million to New Mexico in 2020 if the government does not take this into serious consideration because “New Mexico will face more frequent wildfires amid prolonged heat waves, significant reductions in precipitation except for northern regions where increases are anticipated and increased seasonal droughts and floods”, according to University of Oregon Media Relations (2009). Conclusion To conclude, I restate my position that global warming is real because of the reasons that there are a lot of stakeholders that are getting affected by the issue of global warming; the climate changes have been harsher since last decades; and, there have been more wildfires seen around the globe that there ever were. The stakeholders include human beings, animals, plants, governments, and the poor people. Businesses are not expected to take any measures to stop global warming since businessmen would never want to end their businesses that result in CO2 emissions in the air. Due to the rise in the concentration of greenhouses gases in the atmosphere, the Earth’s climate has been getting warmer and harsher, and this can be observed through tree sample, sediments from oceans, and other techniques used by the climate experts. Also, there have been many forest fires in the world in these years that have continued for long and are expected to burn millions of acres in future too. These reasons have strengthened my belief that global warming is real. Time has come that this issue should be addressed at international level. Global governments should enforce legislation changes that should address the issue of fewer emissions of CO2 and other poisonous gases in the air. Governments should also invest in the green and energy projects because in this option, cost and benefit is fairly distributed and all stakeholders benefit by the investment in such projects. References CNN World. (2009). Surveyed scientists agree global warming is real. Scientists. Retrieved July 10, 2011, from http://articles.cnn.com/2009-01-19/world/eco.globalwarmingsurvey_1_global-warming-climate-science-human-activity?_s=PM:WORLD Ecoble.com. (2008). Is Global Warming Real? 5 Proofs That Urge Action. Retrieved July 10, 2011, from http://ecoble.com/2008/11/23/is-global-warming-real-5-proofs/ Houghton, J.T. (2004). Global Warming: The Complete Briefing. USA: Cambridge University Press. Miller, N. (2008). Environmental Politics: Stakeholders, Interests, and Policymaking. USA: Taylor and Francis. National Geographic Society. (2011). Is global warming real? National Geographic. Retrieved July 10, 2011, from http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/gw-real.html Reuters. (2011). Experts: Global warming is real. Wired.com. Retrieved July 10, 2011, from http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2005/02/66651 University of Oregon Media Relations. (2009). What if New Mexico doesn't address climate change? Wildfires - Global Warming Forecasts. Retrieved July 10, 2011, from http://www.global-warming-forecasts.com/wildfires-climate-change-fire-forest-fires.php Read More