Human Beings are Causing Global Warming - Research Paper Example

Introduction The major cause of global warming has been blamed on human activities. According to John Tyndall, a physicist who conducted an experiment in as early as 1859, it was evident that visible sunlight rays penetrate the atmosphere to reach the earth for the reason of warming it but little is known about the invisible rays which are usually reflected from the earth and basically they don’t easily escape back to space whence they came. Tyndall proved that certain gases were responsible for this; human beings were and still are the major source of carbon dioxide through combustion of organic fuels. Naturally, vegetation was and is meant to convert carbon dioxide to oxygen but human beings have further depleted the forest cover (Roger, 2010). Discussion Majority of researchers have concluded that the earth is undergoing major climatic changes. Further they also agree that carbon dioxide levels are increasing gradually. It is evident form satellite images that ice caps are melting quickly, the sea levels are rising in addition to severe weather conditions such as extreme temperatures, floods, drought, etc. This has led to increased water shortages, frequent hurricanes, cyclones and typhoons. It is without doubt that deserts will expand and the world will eventually experience food shortages and this is why human activities have to be regulated (Rahmstorf & Archer, 2010). Few scientists claim that the earth is going on well but for the case of dealing with global warming, we should advocate for the implementation of the precautionary principle which states that “…if any potential consequences of any action are irreversible or severe, in the absence of full scientific certainty the burden of proof is blamed on those who advocate taking the action…” (Silver, 2008 p. 66). The earth has undergone various climatic cycles during its history. The scary part is that human beings are causing unbelievable climatic changes at an abnormal rate. The combustion of fossil fuels produces greenhouse gases at a high life-threatening rate thus resulting in global warming. Global Warming, Climate Change, Greenhouse Effect…. All are happening just now and this is as a consequence of human activities (Roger, 2010). After sunrays reach the earth some heat is absorbed by earth while the rest is refracted back to the atmosphere at longer wavelength. These wavelengths are absorbed by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere before they disappear into space. The absorption of these wavelengths increases the atmosphere temperature (Hayhoe, 2009). The greenhouse gases form a layer that acts as a mirror, which reflects the rays back to the earth; this reflection is what is known as the greenhouse effect. The higher the concentration of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, methane among others the more heat energy is being reflected back to earth thus increasing the temperature. Emission of carbon dioxide is basically from the combustion of fossil fuels by human beings and over the last 50 years, the concentration of these gases has increased exponentially (Rahmstorf & Archer, 2010). The patterns which were predicted by Tyndall have sufficient evidence that human beings are fundamentally responsible for the emission of green house gases; the major causes of global warming, which have caused the breakdown of the carbon dioxide cycle, are discussed below. It has been established that human beings have basically led to the increase of CO2 levels in the atmosphere through deforestation and combustion of fossil fuels. In the first place, fossil fuels consume oxygen and emit carbon dioxide. Recent research has proven that the levels of oxygen are falling and the amount of CO2 is increasing (Silver, 2008). Due to the ever increasing demand for electricity generated from fossil fuels which emit the largest percentage of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, it has become a major issue of concern. Reports indicate that an average of 40% of U.S carbon dioxide emissions emanate from production of electricity from combustion of coal which is a fossil fuel. Each and every day, the use of electronic gadgets has been on the increase leading to an increase in the demand for electricity and most industrial plants that generate electricity are entirely dependent on fossil fuels which basically come from coal (Rahmstorf & Archer, 2010). Demand for consumer goods has lead to an increase in manufacture of cars for the purposes of transporting essential commodities. Vehicles contribute an approximate 33% of gas emission in the US. With more and more people in dire need of these goods, the demand for gasoline to fuel their motor vehicles has increased thus leading to increased use of fossil fuels for transportation and manufacture of these goods. Increased use of these goods has surpassed discoveries of finding solutions to the effects of global warming because there is an increase in consumption on daily basis (Rahmstorf & Archer, 2010). Methane is a greenhouse gas which is ranked after CO2. After the breakdown of organic matter through the constant activity of bacteria through oxygen-deficient conditions known as anaerobic respiration, the result is methane; this has been evidenced in rice paddies. With the increase of livestock farming, herbivorous animals produce a certain percentage of methane through their waste, which is eventually released to the atmosphere. There is also another source of methane, methane clathtrate which is a hydrocarbon compound trapped in the structures of ice crystal thaw due to global warming. The gas escapes into the atmosphere hence increasing the concentration of methane in the atmosphere (Roger, 2010). Increased demand for wood and charcoal as a source of fuel as well as desire for paper products have led to the destruction of forest cover. Human beings have kept livestock on what used to be forest land and at the same time establishing plantations for the production of palm oil and this has lead to clearing of forests to create space for these activities. Carbon dioxide is arrested from the atmosphere by these forests but due to their destruction, large amounts of carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere thus reducing chances of it being arrested. In the recent past, the use of industrial fertilizer in farming has been on the increase as opposed to animal manure. Fertilizers rich in nitrogen affect the heat storage and their excess makes dead-zones in our oceans. They also create high levels of nitrate in water (Silver, 2008). Scientists anticipate that in the near future, the level of sea water will rise due to melting of ice in the Antarctica and Greenland. Many people in the world are expected to experience rise in sea level and a considerable population will be rendered homeless especially in the Maldives republic. There has been an increase in hurricanes and cyclones and scientists have proved that global warming has spearheaded the intensity of storms across the globe. From 1981, tropical cyclones have increased in speed and upward tread in rise of temperature is expected to continue in the near future (Rahmstorf & Archer, 2010). It is estimated that in the next 100 years from now, about 3 billion of the world population will relocate their homes or will face starvation because of shortage in water supply due to global warming. The effects of this are reduced food production, poor hygiene, sabotaged economy and damaged ecosystem. Increase in temperature may lead to death of thousands of important species by the year 2050 according to a research carried out by the Nature and this poses a grave danger to the existence of human beings (Hayhoe, 2009). Global warming has threatened important species on Earth through habitat-destruction and modification. The current rate of global warming and increase of green house gases have exhibited signs of humans largely being principal participants in the production of greenhouse gases, which eventually results in greenhouse gas effects. Skeptically, two things must be noted as evidence that human beings are the fundamental sources of global warming. One: something that we don’t know causes the effects which act as a mirror for greenhouse gases. Two: another unknown effect is suppressing the already known one so we can conclude that we cannot accept two unknowns (Silver, 2008). As a result of human activity, the ever increasing global temperatures have resulted in irreversible climatic changes. The rise of sea level has been sufficient evidence and this has been caused by thermal expansion of the ocean and thawing of frozen water, especially in the arctic region. Precipitation patterns have changed and the frequency and ferocity of hurricanes has increased since 1975 and there is a strong correlation between the rise in sea temperature and hurricane power. Humans have been increasing the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere hence creating atmospheric gas imbalance and this may be very catastrophic in future. The sea level has risen by 4-8 inches, which may not sound as a big threat but it is sufficient to cause submerging of small islands (Hayhoe, 2009). The larger percentage of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is from fossil fuel combustion from human activities. Carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere every time something is burnt regardless of whether it is from a car, coal plant or airplane. So it is important to reduce the combustion of fossil fuels if we want the earth to survive and remain stable. All living plants have a reservoir of carbon and when the plants die and decay the carbon is released into the atmosphere thus as humans clear land for agriculture enormous amounts of carbon in the plants are released into the atmosphere. It is worth noting that trees are 90% carbon. The same vegetation which has been cleared is highly required to balance the carbon dioxide cycle based on the fact that plants absorb carbon dioxide and releases oxygen into the atmosphere during photosynthesis (Roger, 2010). The twentieth century has seen the green revolution which has given farmers the liberty to use both chemical and organic fertilizers in addition to machines to increase food production. One basic characteristic of green revolution is the extensive use of nitrogen fertilizers which effectively catalyze the productivity and growth of plants in the field. Plants are capable of capturing nitrogen on their own but due to green revolution, human beings have added more nitrogen to earth than the combination of all existing plants. The problem with nitrogen is that it has an extreme heat-trapping capacity and every time we add nitrogenous fertilizers to soil we increase nitrogen content (Hayhoe, 2009). According to a report released by a United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, modern farming has been more responsible for the emission of methane and other nitrogenous oxides into the atmosphere than all transportation sectors combined. There also exists other few but very strong greenhouse gases used in refrigeration i.e. chlorofluorocarbons and hydrochlorofluorocarbons. These gases are present in the atmosphere at low levels but the problem is that they are more potent than CO2 and thus they also contribute to global warming (Silver, 2008). Conclusion So far, there has been sufficient evidence that human beings are the major cause of the emission of greenhouse gases which eventually lead to global warming. Stringent measures should be put in place where alternative use of renewable sources of energy such as wind and solar energy, should be utilized (Silver, 2008). Governments should put in place measures to ensure logging of trees, charcoal burning which emits gases to the atmosphere do not lead to destruction of the ozone layer. Laws and regulations governing the control of pollution should be enforced such that the emission of greenhouse gases will be contained. Climate change is an irreversible process, which takes hundreds of years but since it cannot be reversed, that is why the combustion of fossil fuels should be limited otherwise in the near future the earth will be at a greater risk. References Hayhoe, K. (2009). A Climate for Change: Global Warming Facts for Faith-based Decision. Faithwords Publishers. Rahmstorf, M. & Archer, D. (2010). The Climate Crisis: An Introductory Guide to Climate Change. Cambridge University Press. Roger, P. (2010). The Climate Fix: What Scientists & Politicians Won’t Say About Global Warming. Basic Books. Silver, J. (2008). Global Warming & Climate Change. McGraw-Hill Proffessional. Read More