Causes of Global Warming - Term Paper Example

Causes of Global Warming Over the last century lot of advancements has taken place in the field of science and technology, all these inventions have been introduced that have made the human life easy. The last century is marked by rapid growth in the field of industry and machines. However all is not good and price is being paid in form of warming of the atmosphere around us and the heating of our mother land Earth. The advancements have taken place in various fields ranging from automotive industry to manufacturing industry and furniture building, all these have contributed in their own capacity towards the disaster and unwanted situation. In modern times, mankind is confronted with various challenges which pose a direct threat towards its peaceful existence; Global warming is at the top of list amongst those challenges and threats. This threat is being created by the inhabitants of the earth itself, and no one else but the mankind is to be held responsible for it. The human activities are directly responsible for the global warming. It cannot be denied that aero planes in the sky, cars on the road, large ships in the seas and various other manufacturing plants have made life very easy, however the other side of picture is slightly gloomy. All these inventions have damaged the environment in a large way and earth is faced by enormous amount of challenges in face of these inventions (Ploutz, Paul.2011). We are not only guilty to our selves but the future generations as well, because the large devastation and road to destruction has been set ablaze by the inhabitants of earth who lived between the 20th and 21st century. Industrialization might have presented a large number of gifts and has made life easy however it has been counterproductive in the pursuit towards a clean and healthier environment. The effect of environmental pollutants and contributions in the last century have been so enormous, it is believed that the last two decades of 20th century were the hottest in last four hundred years (Wogaman,2010),this all can be termed as the gifts of rapidly increasing population, industrialization ,deforestation. Research conducted in this regard by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) shows that the last 11 out of 12 years were the warmest since 1850 that are recorded on the surface of earth (Kusky and Cullen,2010). Remedial actions on urgent basis are vital for survival of future generations. Large scale climate improvement steps must be taken in this regard in order to make living better and easy on this planet earth .The world structure has changed from thick ice layers to thin sheets of ice and melting glaciers. Mountain tops do not present an extensive sheet of ice bergs anymore and it is a painful sight for the eyes. Introduction: Global warming is termed as the phenomenon that defines the heating of earth atmosphere due to certain activities that are against the existent nature of earth. This term looms over the earth’s pleasant atmosphere as the dark cloud and poses certain serious threats towards the coming generations .Various elements are the contributing forces towards this evil, all are piloted by the mankind itself .Global warming has a million reasons to it, few of them are deforestation, industrialization, use of chemicals, nuclear experimentations and all of them are equally dangerous and alarming (Maslin,Mark.2009). Global warming and its side effects are not limited to the field of science only, rather affects all fields of life in an equal way. It affects the economies, social life, individuals and geographic areas in equal amount. An example of global warming’s impact on the economy is in form of tourism .Many nations depend on their tourism as an asset towards the investment and stable economy. Many countries bank of the tourism department for attracting people from across the globe, with ever shrinking green and healthier climate that industry is largely at risk. Many European Nations depend of foreigners who come from different parts of the world for tourism in peak seasons, visiting the snowfalls and below 20 to 30 degree centigrade temperatures, with ever heating weathers, these industries and nationals are at direct financial losses due to this factor. Global warming impact is not pertaining to the mankind only, it affects the animals on earth and in water in equal proportion, many species of birds and animals are at threat due to the warming climate .Polar bears are the prime example in this regard and are a direct victim of global warming (Kazlowski,Steven et al.2008). The global warming is not limited to those continents where the pollution is being generate by the mankind in form of automation and industry rather it has direct impact on those parts of the world and those two continents of the world where there is no human activity . Antarctica is at direct threat from the activities of mankind in various other continents. The glaciers in the north and South Pole are melting at ever fast pace and this all is the result of activities of mankind. All these sources have contributed in their own way and it is believed that the overall temperature of earth has risen by a staggering high value of 0.6 degree centigrade just in the last century. It is being estimated that if the global warming continued at this pace, the temperatures could soar up by 1.4 °C while the sea levels can raise any value between 20 cm to 88 cm (Bernstein, Lenny,et al.2007). Apart from the increasing temperatures on the surface of earth the precipitation level is also on the rise and it has been noticed that the average mean precipitation is on the rise , however what’s more alarming is the fact that the value is variably fluctuating at different parts on the world consequently the wet lands are getting further wet and the dry lands are getting further drier. The precipitation value is the difference between the fixed wet and dry seasons for a complete duration of time .Various studies were conducted in this regard that took into account global average precipitation between 1980 and 2099 and widening of the precipitation level was observed around 0.282mm per day per century. Further study of thermodynamic components of the atmosphere also show that the overall temperature has been on the rise and the average value of precipitation are on the rise except for two exceptions 30° N and 30°S(Chou,Chia et al.2011). It is being stated that around 80 percent of the heat and emissions that are being generated in the last couple of decades, have affected the oceans in a direct manner .For this reason, a large imbalance between the radiations of natural sources and radiations by the mankind sources is being observed, which have created an imbalance and a direct impact on the green house gases equation .This has resulted in thermal expansion. IPCC: Acronym for Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the organization is an authoritative body that is monitoring the climate changes and the challenges faced in modern times with concern to global warming .It works under the Umbrella of United Nations Organization (U.N.O) and World Metrological Organization (W.M.O) .The nature of organization is scientific in nature and keeps an eye on the technological inventions, and their impact on the already deteriorating global environment. The organization contains large number of experts from the associated field who provide recommendations and work on areas that need improvements. Over a hundred nations are enrolled in this body and considering the severity of the issue work is being conducted on mitigating the threat that is being faced globally. Recommendations are in consideration for neutralizing the green house gases equation and aim is to restore and bring down the gases level to its original level. This can be done through strong policies which demand strict cutting on all those means that are affecting the environment. The governing body was brought into existence in 1988 with considerations of the vastly deteriorating environmental situation across the globe. The organization has been effective to some extent and has imposed several severe rules however much more need to be done for the degrading green environment (Farrell, Alexander.2006). Startling facts: The dark cloud of global warming looms over everything that is part of the eco-system.the effects have been noticed in the forests, the oceans, wildlife, urban life, life expectancy. In short it has affected every discipline of life. The following presents a list of facts and figures that are related to global warming and their subsequent impact on the environment over a period of time. Arctic ice is not spared by any amount and the activities performed by human beings have even reached the Arctic and it is believed that. The large layers of ice are fast depleting and according to a report and survey that is based on the current proceedings and the fire paced destruction, the arctic region will get to see a snow less summer no later than 2040(Wogaman,2010).The wild life attached to arctic as well as the rest of the cold regions in the world are equally suffering and are finding it difficult to continue living a natural life. Polar bears are a prime example in this regard. Apart from glaciers the snow that covers the think dense layers of mountains across the globe are also noticed to have reduced. A prime example in this case can be seen in form of Montana’s Glacier National park that was famous for its abundant amount of glaciers .Over the last century, considerable amount of damage has been done. It is being reported that the current standing of number of glaciers is less than 30, which was once over a hundred ( 150) in no earlier than beginning of 20th century ( 1910).(Khan,2009) Sources: IPCC, 2007: Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change Coral reef have equally been affected by the devastation and due to their sensitive nature they have been greatly affected by the global warming in form of water pollution that is contributed in various shapes primarily, the industrial pollution, the submarines wastes being disposed into the rivers and oceans. According to a figure stat that includes the data from 1998 findings, the destruction intensity was so high that nearly 70 percent of coral reef bleached out in parts of the world. Cause and effect phenomena: The cause and effect phenomenon applies aptly to the global warming, the cause is human activities, the response is global warming and extreme weathers. The degree of worsening impact increases with increase in the activities that are contributing towards the heating of atmosphere. This is seen in form of the abrupt weather changes, extreme weathers, killer storms, volcanoes eruption and various other unsuitable situations. Sources: Environmental Protection Agency Methods: Mankind has found multiple ways of destroying itself and its environment in form of global warming. Contributions range from individuals to organizations to governments to scientists, all have been equally potent and have brought the earth’s atmosphere to brink of disaster with extreme weathers and storms and floods a common trend in modern day. Last few centuries and the people that lived during that era are largely responsible for this current standing of environmental situation all marked by the improvements in the industrial arena. The progress is not a fortnight achievement rather the progress has been steady one and many factors have contributed towards it that have been taken upon in last two decades. Following are few of the vital reasons that have contributed towards the global warming. Green house effect: Green house gases emission is a word in trend over last few decades and all the pollution that has been in action has an impact and relation to the green house gases, The earth atmosphere has a natural balance of gases in it .In general the earth constituent gases include nitrogen, oxygen and few other gases, the matter of interest is the other gases. They have an adverse effect on the atmosphere and increase results in imbalance of the already existing gases in the environment. This group contains an important gas carbon dioxide; it’s this particular component whose rapid increase is a threat to the clean atmosphere of the earth. Without the presence of these two components of natural gases, the earth atmospheric temperature would go down drastically and create a large imbalance in the current temperatures that are optimum for survival and suitable working. Sources: http://www.geocraft.com/WVFossils/greenhouse_data.html The contribution of mankind in form of all the wastes and elements that are polluting the atmosphere create a green house effect. The ozone layer prevents the additional amount of rays from striking the surface of earth, with increase in the amount of heat on the surface of earth and radiations and heat all around, the ozone layer is getting depleted with time and allowing more rays to penetrate and enter the surface of earth and hence contributing in form of rising sea levels, melting glaciers, health diseases, extreme weathers and various other un favorable activities. The sun already emits enough radiations into the surface of earth and imbalance is being created in form of further heat and radiations from human activities (Hyndman, Donald et al.2010). Different skin diseases are widely known that were never even thought of before, all this can be attributed to the ozone layer damaging and rapid increase in the pollution on the surface of earth .Increase in population is an equal contributor towards this problem. Industrialization and its subsequent wastes: With advancements in the field of science and technology, large numbers of industries have been put in place and have made the modern day life very rapid, however the wastes emitted from them have damaged the earth’s atmosphere in equal amount. The wastes emitted from industries come in different forms. They can be in form of the carbon dioxide emitted from the industries .the waste disposed into the rivers and seas, as well as the dry land. It is being often argued that the industrial wastes are one of the prime reasons for the global warming, since nearly every manufacturing industry is prone to creating and generating pollutants into the atmosphere. The waste can be in form of the fuel emitted, carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere, the chemicals used and then disposing off the chemicals into the rivers and subsequently affecting the water and water life. These chemicals get dissolved in the rivers and make the water unsafe for drinking. The chemicals manufacturing industries are direct contributors to this evil, and any kind of waste generated from it is harmful for both the land and its inhabitants Nuclear Industry: the nuclear industry might not add to the carbon dioxide issue but it has several other direct negative impacts on the atmosphere, the nuclear waste emitted into the atmosphere has far more dangerous impact than any other industrial waste. It has a direct impact on the human health, the plants and forests. With other resources running short, focus is on nuclear energy for power generation and automobile transportation, therefore increase in its consumption and demand is expected in coming years, which is a positive sign for the nuclear science field in itself however it raises concerns about the environmental safety in terms of the water and plants being damaged by the nuclear fuels and waste emission. The disposition of the waste is very critical and a issue of concern. It must be disposed off at a right place, if they make it to the fields they get into our food, and if they make it to the waters, they affect the sea life directly. Radioactive material in this case must be kept under the check and radioactive material becomes non active with period of time, while it is active and hazardous it must be kept under the roof and should not be exposed to outside atmosphere in form of waste emitted. Nuclear fuel used for the nuclear plants may not be harmful to the atmosphere like carbon dioxide, however their disposition is a concern and the only common practice of discarding the nuclear waste is in water across the oceans and rivers, which affects the water along with the animals inside the water. Cases of many turtles and fishes of various kinds coming to the shores and dying on the shores are quite a routine these days and this all is a gift of water pollution. Fossil fuels: Fossil fuel burning includes use of oil and coal. They result in releasing of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and hence disturbing the balance of gases in the greenhouse gases and further damaging the ozone layer. Ozone layer is directly at threat from this process and over last few decades massive damage has been caused to the ozone layer through burning of fossil fuels. Coal is used for various activities in our daily life and the amount of carbon dioxide generated through this is enormous. Oil being used in the submarines and other ships on the surface of water across various rivers and oceans in the world are directly emitting and releasing the wastes and remains of these oils into the waters. Deforestation: With ever advancing world of technology and large buildings construction in progress, wood work is in demand and large amount of wood is being cut on daily basis across the globe. The trees serve as shelter against various natural forces such as tornados, floods, and various other harmful natural impacts. An essential feature of forests is the prevention of floods by reducing the flow of water and absorbing them .moreover, forests provide green and healthier environment. They are directly responsible for keeping the environment clean, trees intake carbon dioxide while emit oxygen, with less trees , the carbon dioxide percentage would gradually increase in the atmosphere and result in more heating and warming of the climate .Increase in population across the world is a direct influence towards increase in the deforestation .With the world population standing at a staggering figure of over 7 billion, need is for building more and more houses, and furniture is in direct use of every individual, this factor has contributed richly towards the cutting of woods and use of trees for commercial use(Palmer, Charles et al.2009) . Chemical fertilizers: chemical fertilizers are being largely used these days over the plants in order to increase the yield .They might benefit in producing crops in a faster manner and increasing productivity but they have negative impact on the atmosphere. They help killing the pesticides but also damage other leaves and soil in itself. Chemical fertilizers might be safe for one kind of plants while it can have direct ill effects on the other plants .Use of nitrogen based fertilizers is largely in use in current day which is directly affecting the human health in an adverse manner (Yadava, Ram.2003). Contamination of water: Water contamination comes in various forms, and the contributors vary from individuals to organizations and industries. Many industries across the world use the rivers and seas nearby for dumping the waste material into it. At many places the community authorities use the rivers for disposing off the waste; this affects both the sea life and water. Large submarines contribute to the contamination and their fuel wastes go direct into the rivers and oceans and create pollution on large scale. Farmers all over use this water and the contamination has a direct impact on the food we take and the living of farmers. This in return affects the drainage system and entire irrigation system across many nations of the world especially in parts of Asia and Africa. Coral reefs are at equal threat from the submarine wastages and drilling. Since the drilling is performed deep down into the sea, they directly affect the colonies .They are high value assets and should be protected from environmental pollution .Many incidents have taken place in past where nuclear submarines leaked and sunk into the deep oceans and seas. They have had negative impact on the coral colonies and this should be avoided. Rise in sea levels: In last century in particular, the sea levels have risen at an alarming rate. This all has been the result of human activities and is a direct cause and effect relationship. Human activities are the cause to it and rising sea levels are the direct effect that have created many dangers .Extreme weathers are result of rising sea levels along with floods and other catastrophes. The melting of ice and glaciers over the north and south pole have added to the increase in sea levels all over .Maldives a long series of islands is highly vulnerable and is seriously concerned over the rising sea levels and attempts are in action to find solution and alternates to the risen sea levels .Large ice sheets are on course of melting and Greenland and Antarctica are melting at ever rapid speed. Caribbean islands will also feel the heat, in case of rising sea levels large scale excavation would be needed and many would go homeless with the ruthless nature of waters rising on their shores. (Douglas, Bruce et.al.2000). The rising sea levels are giving birth to abnormal sea behaviors .United states of America alone has suffered massive losses in the first ten years of modern era and all are effects of the leveling up of sea waters .Hurricanes , Roller coasters are a routine thing in every season now. This all can be attributed to the rising sea levels. Sources : IPCC Kyoto Protocol: Kyoto protocol is an attempt towards reduction of global warming. The need was felt for initiating a body which would look into the emissions by the industries and other giants and would provide recommendations to facilitate improvements in the environment and take measures to overcome the already polluted atmosphere. Efforts started in the end of 20th century and this body became functional in 2005.The idea was to oblige the industrialist nations to reduce the emission from industry sources by a certain percentage. In a broader perspective the efforts will be made to reduce the additional emissions that are contributing to the green houses that exist in the atmosphere. There have been certain disagreements by the industrialist nations due to which the organizing body has not been able to achieve its objectives to perfection(Oberthür and Ott,1999). Conclusion: The earth’s future is in the hands of its inhabitants directly, lots of damage has been done however, whatever damage has been done can be retrieved and recovered if actions are taken in time. It cannot be denied that a lot of damage has been done, however not everything is lost. These actions would require large scale changes ranging from individual personal approaches to industrial approaches. The need is to plant more trees; every tree grown will have a direct positive impact on the atmosphere. Strong regulations must be brought into act that discourages the actions of non friendly activities towards the environment. In the industrial arena strict regulations must be brought into place that discourage and strongly penalize those who are involved in damaging the atmosphere. A famous quote states “a stitch in time saves nine” (Read, Peter. 1994) this phrase applies rightly to the global warming and the damage being done. Remedial actions if taken now would enable saving the planet earth from further destruction and damage. Decentralized approach should be adopted towards the resolution of this issue and each individual contributor should be addressed and mitigated in its own vicinity. For example in case of the pollution being generated by the vehicles, better means of transportation must be introduced and environment friendly means must be encouraged. A recent approach in this regard has been the Hydrogen run motor cars engines; these are environment friendly and would eliminate the use of petrol and other lethal gases that are affecting the atmosphere of planet earth. Strict rules and penalties must be imposed over the non friendly transportation means. The authoritative body must think on options that are eco friendly, for this purpose alternate source of energy must be explored and its use must be encouraged. An initiative taken by the German car manufacturing giant B.M.W is the introduction of BMW-I, which is electrically powered engine that doesn’t make use of petrol and hence does not emit anything harmful into the environment. Such innovations must be encouraged and funds and support must be provided to all those who aim at adopting the environment friendly means of transport and industry. (Koch and Eising,2004) Regulation must be imposed on governmental level as well as international level in order to discourage the cutting of woods .Forests provide a shelter and life to the wildlife animals .with ever fast cutting of woods, large number of species are becoming extinct. To avoid floods and other natural disasters more and more trees should be planted, use of trees for commercial purposes should be minimized incase if complete stoppage is not possible. Industries should be located and the machineries should be installed outside the cities and those areas that do not have any negative effect on their environment. Ways should be explored through which the global warming can be controlled. Seminars and trainings should be conducted for this purpose. Massive forestation campaigns must be initiated. . The wastes of industry and other sources must not be dumped into the river. Use of plastic bags must be strongly discouraged. The problem with plastic bag is its immortal nature, in commercial fields; instead of plastic bags other kind of bags must be introduced in order to help the environment. Wildlife animals should be provided with more protection; the scarce species of animals must be protected and given the due shelter (Dauncey, Guy. 2009). Bibliography: 1-Ploutz,Paul F.2011.Global Warming : Handbook of Ecological issues. Xlibris Corporation 2-Wogaman, J Philip. Christian Ethics: A Historical Introduction. Westminster John Knox Press, 2010 3-Kusky, Timothy M and Katherine E. Cullen. Encyclopedia of Earth and Space Science. Infobase Publishing, 2010. 4-Maslin,Mark.2009.Global Warming: a very short introduction.Oxford University Press. 5-Kazlowski, Steven and Theodore Roosevelt.2008.The last Polar Bear: Facing the Truth of a Warming World. Braided River. 6-Bernstein,Lenny,et al.2007.Summary for Policymakers.Climate Change.22 7-Chou,Chia and Chia –wei Lan.2011.Changes in the Annual Range of Precipitation under Global Warming. Journal Of Climate. 8-Farrell,Alexander E.2006. Assessments of regional and global environmental risks: designing processes for the effective use of science in decision making.Resources for the Future. 9-Khan, B H. Non Conv Energy Res. Tata McGraw-Hill Education, 2009. 10-Hyndman, Donald and David Hyndman 2010.Natural Hazards and Disasters.Cengage Learning. 11-Palmer, Charles and Stefanie Engel.2009. Avoided deforestation: prospects for mitigating climate change. Taylor & Francis 12-Yadava, Ram Narayan. 2003. Environmental pollution." proceedings of the International Conference on Water and Environment . Bhopal: Allied Publishers.408. 13-Douglas, Bruce C., Michael S. Kearney and Stephen P. Leatherman. 2000. Sea level rise: history and consequences. Academic Press. 14-Oberthür, Sebastian and Hermann Ott. The Kyoto Protocol: international climate policy for the 21st century. Springer, 1999. 15-Read, Peter. 1994. the technology, economics, and politics of sustainable energy. Zed Books. 16-Koch, Beate Kohler and Rainer Eising. The Transformation of Governance in the European Union. Routledge, 2004. 17-Dauncey, Guy. 2009. The Climate Challenge: 101 Solutions to Global Warming. New Society Publishers. Read More