The Causes and Effects of Global Warming - Essay Example

Expository Essay: Global Warming Introduction Global warming is a phenomenon that has been bandied about more frequently in the past several years.Most especially since the weather conditions these past few years have demonstrated warmer temperatures; the global warming phenomenon has been brought to the spotlight as a major concern. This paper shall discuss the causes and effects of global warming and the major future concerns which we should all take into consideration in order to ensure that we have the right capabilities to deal with this phenomenon. Discussion The global temperature is regulated by the earth’s atmosphere. The sun emits heat and its ultraviolet rays onto our planet in order to light and gradually keep us warm. This heat is powerful and is regulated by our atmosphere. The infrared rays of the sun penetrate our atmosphere. Some are absorbed in order to keep the atmosphere warm; these rays are trapped in our atmosphere through the phenomenon known as the greenhouse effect. Other gases on our atmosphere bounce these gases out of the planet’s surface, thereby ensuring that the earth does not become overheated. The balance of these gases and molecules in our atmosphere ensure that the greenhouse effect keeps our temperature regulated for sustainable living. However, emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) have increased and have created an imbalance of the gases in our atmosphere. There are now more gases like carbon dioxide which trap the heat in our atmosphere (Global Warming, 2009). Consequently, our planet’s temperature keeps on increasing – and the phenomenon known as global warming is manifest. This phenomenon has been studied by various scientists and they credit it for the many natural disasters we experience in our current weather conditions. Global warming is attributed to several causes, such as: combustion of fossil fuels from cars, factories, and various industries which are mostly run through oil and petroleum products. Most of these fuels produce carbon dioxide as a by-product. Carbon dioxide is the major and most abundant greenhouse gas in our atmosphere. Other gases which are released by landfills from agriculture activities; nitrous oxide from fertilizers, gases released from refrigeration and industrial processes also contribute to global warming. We have abundant emissions of these greenhouse gases from our cars, our industries, and our electric-powered activities. One molecule of methane actually produces more than 20 times warming capability as compared to a molecule of carbon dioxide; nitrous oxide is 300 times more dangerous than carbon dioxide; the chlorofluorocarbons have more powerful heat trapping abilities as compared to carbon dioxide. However, these gases are comparatively lesser in concentration as compared to carbon dioxide (National Geographic, 2010). And since 1990, our annual emissions of carbon dioxide have increased with about 6 billion metric tons worldwide (National Geographic, 2010). Forest losses also exacerbate global warming as there are fewer plants which store carbon dioxide (National Geographic, 2010). Many of our forests have been denuded in order to give way to our expanding population; many trees have also been cut in order to use for building activities. Latest figures indicate that we lose an average of 20,000 hectares of forest cover a day (Finfacts Team, 2010). Slash and burn practices in these forests causes about 650 million tons of carbon dioxide released into our atmosphere yearly. This also makes deforestation responsible for 20 percent GHG emissions worldwide (Finfacts Team, 2010). Consequently, as our carbon dioxide emissions are increased through our GHG emissions and there are no trees and other vegetation to eliminate such gases from our atmosphere, these gases will continue to increase and our planet will also continue to get warmer. The fact that higher temperatures often trigger forest fires is yet another complication of global warming. The cycle is brutal yet inevitable unless measures to cut the cycle off are made by the one who started it all – man. There are various effects of global warming in our planet. These effects are being felt by most everyone – from the Arctic to the Antarctic regions. These effects include aspects related to health, agriculture, ecosystems, coastal zones, water resources, energy production and use, water resources, and extreme events, among others. First and foremost, with increased temperature levels, more lives would be lost from increased parasites, increased air and water pollution, heat waves, extreme cold, climate sensitive diseases like dengue, yellow fever, and malaria, among others (US Environmental Protection Agency, 2009). In terms of agriculture, crops would be lost through drought, floods, and severe storms. The changes in the weather such as warmer temperatures, rainfall amount and patterns, increased carbon dioxide and pollution levels, and extreme weather conditions all contribute to the destruction of agriculture and the decrease of our food supply. This would mean increased levels of poverty for many people in the world. Global warming also impacts on biodiversity and the ecosystem, in the sense that, the timing in the growth stages of flora and fauna can be interrupted. Changes in the season – with earlier onset of spring and of migration can interrupt their growth. This makes it more difficult for these plants and animals to thrive and to find food and shelter. Consequently, many of these species will likely perish. If this trend is not stopped, extinction can set in (US Environmental Protection Agency, 2009). The fact that many of their habitats and food supply are also diminished by global warming and by human activities exacerbates the rate of damage to the ecosystem. Global warming can also increase the temperature of the waters and induce the melting of our glaciers and the rise of our sea levels. Coastal zones are areas which are vulnerable to higher sea levels. Higher sea levels mean inundation of the wetlands, erosion of beaches, intensified flooding, increased salinity of rivers, and groundwater tables (US Environmental Protection Agency, 2009). Land loss would also be seen as sea water levels rise, leading to the decrease of habitable lands. The rise in our sea levels would also lead to flooding during storms. Consequently, there may also be shore erosion from the increased rain fall and higher sea water levels (US Environmental Protection Agency, 2009). The most obvious effects of global warming are the extreme weather conditions and stronger typhoons and storms that we are now experiencing. Warmer ocean temperatures bring about stronger typhoons and stormy conditions. Warmer oceans mean that storms can draw on more warm air which would then power the storms (Walsh, 2008). Water evaporation would also increase, thereby creating more voluminous rainfall. Scientists claim that “for every rise of 1 degree Celsius in surface temperature in the tropical Atlantic, rainfall from tropical storm increases 6 to 19 percent and wind speeds of the strongest hurricanes increase by up to 8 percent (Walsh, 2008). We have witnessed many of these strong stormy conditions, and extreme weather conditions in the past several years alone. What used to be storms which were of rare strength and occurrence have now been occurring at greater frequency in the past several years. In some areas, rainfall is heavy; early winters or early springs are happening, snow is falling in places it usually does not; and rain is also falling in unusual places. Conclusion Global warming is caused mostly by our human activities. Our neglect and our emission of GHGs are causing our temperature to increase and now we are slowly experiencing all the signs of global warming. Our planet has become warmer; we are experiencing droughts and floods in our planet; we are experiencing strong storms and extreme weather conditions. Global warming is not a future event which will affect the future generation. It is happening now and is affecting us now. And the time to act is now – in our generation. Works Cited Causes of Global Warming (2010) National Geographic. Retrieved 16 March 2010 from http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/gw-causes.html Climate Change - Health and Environmental Effects (15 October 2009) US Environmental and Protection Agency. Retrieved 16 March 2010 from http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/effects/index.html Finfacts team (20 January 2010) Global forest cover shrinking by 20,000 hectares a day. Finfacts. Retrieved 16 March 2010 from http://www.finfacts.ie/irishfinancenews/article_1018858.shtml How does global warming happen? (2009) Global Warming. Retrieved 16 March 2010 from http://globalwarming.com/2009/03/how-does-global-warming-happen/ Walsh, B. (8 September 2008) Is Global Warming Worsening Hurricanes?. Time Magazine. Retrieved 16 March 2010 from http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1839281,00.html Read More