The Main Causes of Global Warming - Essay Example

Causes of Global Warming Global warming, as the suggests, means increase in the overall temperature of the atmosphere. Global warming has increased over the decades. The effects of global warming are alarming and have started to show up in the form of cyclones, tornadoes, melting of glaciers, and disappearing species of plants and animals. Although numerous theories have surfaced about global warming some of which suggest that this phenomena does exist while others refute them, yet scientists have generally identified a range of factors that are believed to have caused global warming.

The main causes of increase of global warming is increase in the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which happens because of different reasons. Greenhouse gases are increasing in percentage in the atmosphere. Release of methane gas from the wetlands and the arctic tundra is a cause of global warming (. Methane gas traps heat in the atmosphere of the earth. Methane is also released from agriculture and landfills, as well as from the grazing animals’ digestive systems. Fertilizers release nitrous oxide which is also a greenhouse gas.

Carbon dioxide is another gas that is responsible for global warming and its percentage in the atmosphere is rapidly increasing as a result of deforestation. These are very powerful gases as causes of global warming. “A molecule of methane produces more than 20 times the warming of a molecule of CO2. Nitrous oxide is 300 times more powerful than CO2” (“Causes of Global”).Lack of sufficient or efficient recycling is another cause of global warming. Since more material gets wasted than is recycled, the deficiency thus produced is addressed by extracting new minerals, metals, and materials from the earth through operations and processes, that not only result in a depletion of the natural resources in the earth, but also generate tremendous amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere (“Recycling”).

Lack of sufficient recycling is thus an indirect cause of global warming. If proper channels and laws are established to thrive the practice of recycling, there can be brought considerable reduction in demand as well as global warming. Another cause of global warming is the carbon released into the atmosphere as a result of the burning of fuel. Ever since man made vehicles and started driving them with the combustion of fuel, carbons have been released into the atmosphere. With every passing year, the number of cars increases and so does the carbon released from the combustion of fuel into the atmosphere.

Concluding, the main cause of global warming is increase in the amount of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Some causes of greenhouse gas emission include industrialization, lack of recycling, and carbon emitted from the combustion of fuels. There are different kinds of greenhouse gases that are released into the atmosphere as a result of a variety of natural and man-made processes. There is dire need to take important steps to stop global warming before the loss gets irreparable. Already, the effects of global warming have started to appear and they will intensify over the passage of time if the required measures are not taken in time.

Works Cited:“Causes of Global Warming.” National Geographic. 2014. Web. 3 Mar. 2014. . “Recycling.” Natural Resources Defense Council. N.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2014. .