Global Warming - Research Paper Example

Download file to see previous pages History of Global Warming. The notion of the ‘greenhouse effect’ was mentioned by a French scientist Fourier in 1827, who prompted the possibility that the earth trapped part of the longer-wave radiation coming from the surface of the earth (Grubb et al. 3). The issue of global warming was then introduced later in 1896, by a Swedish scientist named Svante Arrhenius (1859-1927), who claimed that the combustion of fossil fuels would eventually lead to a global temperature rise (Weart 205). However, this work was overlooked, due to the fact that human activity was too insignificant to have any impact on the planet, because of its sheer size and nature (Maslin Ch. 2). Improvements in infrared spectroscopy, in the 1940s, opened up a new chapter in the global warming phenomenon, where scientists were able to measure long wave radiation. It was up until now that they truly discovered through experimentation, that carbon dioxide did trap the radiation of infrared radiation within the atmosphere. However, this too was still considered insignificant, with more attention being given to the effects of water vapors into the atmosphere (Maslin). In 1955, after the world witnessed the Second World War, Gilbert Plass concluded that adding more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere would result in its capturing more infrared radiation, rather than it being lost into space (Maslin). From then onwards towards the end of the century, various treaties have come to form to tackle the issue of global warming, which I shall address later. Financial and Emotional Impact and Assessments The IPCC’s (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) Third Assessment Report projected various emission outcomes, under which North America, over the next century could warm at 1-3?C in under low emissions, or 3.5-7.5?C in a high emissions scenario (Gupta 41). It is also common knowledge now that as the planet’s temperature increases, polar region ice melting would lead to increased sea level, leading to the destruction of coastal regions all around the world. These include much developed areas such as Florida, whose insured property alone exceeds US$1 trillion (Gupta 44). Global warming will lead to global climate change, which leads to various financial impacts. For example, in parts of Siberia and Northern Canada, an increase in temperature and carbon dioxide, would lengthen the favorable climatic conditions for crops and plants leading businesses to reap in more revenue (Houghton 143). However, given the nature of the sensitivity of global climatic changes, the financial impacts would tend to be more adverse in terms of cost. Adaptation to climatic changes would induce affected communities to alter their complete lifestyle, or in the worst case scenario, to migrate to more suitable conditions (Houghton). Roeser states in her book with regards to global warming and emotions that “Global warming is not just a scientific curiosity. It is something that makes any sensible person extremely anxious, and it shames all of us who are such extravagant degraders of the environment” (viii). Controversy surrounding the topic Regarding the controversy of anthropogenic global warming, which is global warming caused by human behavior, the climate modeling community has taken a blind eye to the findings of various published research, which conclude that the effects of global warming are not caused by human b ...Download file to see next pagesRead More