Global Warming and other Ecology Issues; The Energy Crunch - Essay Example

Global Warming Global warming is a term commonly used to describe the consequences of man- made pollutants overloading the planet’s naturally occurring greenhouse effect causing an increase of the average global temperature, the subject of great debate and concern worldwide. Essentially, the greenhouse effect functions in the following manner. When sunlight pierces the atmosphere and hits the earth’s surface, not all of the sun’s solar energy is absorbed. Approximately a third of it is reflected back into space.

Specific atmospheric gases serve in much the same way as does the glass of a greenhouse, thus the terminology. These gases allow sunlight to penetrate the atmosphere then trap some of the solar energy which heats the earth (Breuer, 1980). It is a delicate balance and because these greenhouse gases have been artificially augmented by man-made sources, more build up in the atmosphere has occurred thus trapping more of the sun’s energy and reflecting less back in to space. This occurrence is causing the earth to warm.

Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is the most prevalent of the greenhouse gases. Although deforestation is contributing heavily to the excess of CO2 in the atmosphere, a larger portion is caused by the burning of fossil fuels such as oil and coal. Fossil fuels are burned by factories, vehicles and electricity-producing power plants to name a few sources. Other greenhouse gases include methane, which is released when vegetation is burned during land clearing, during oil exploration activities and the coal-mining process; chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which is the substance that cools refrigerators and provides the propulsion in aerosol cans and nitrous oxide (N2O) which is the lesser cause of CO2 (Breuer, 1980).

It is generated from both man-made and natural processes. It is estimated that man-made influences represent about half of the CO2 output. Although warnings about the human generated causes of an enhanced greenhouse effect and the subsequent catastrophic outcomes have been sounded for over 100 years, global warming has only recently become an important political matter. One would have to wonder what enormous problems this will cause not only to people and property but to the health of the global economy as a whole.

Entire sections of various countries will be forced to abandon their homes and businesses. The process will be a slow and torturous one. Agriculture activity, land masses and the very air we breathe will suffer a radical change from the effects of global warming. The question before us is, are we stewards of our earth and will we preserve it for future generations? If the past 30 years are any indication, then the answer is no. Noticeable effects of global warming are fairly insignificant right now to the average person, but its effects are unquestionably growing in scale.

If the population of the planet were to immediately discontinue polluting the air with carbon dioxide emissions, climate changes would still continue long into the future (Trenberth 1997). In 1997 the Kyoto Treaty, which has now been signed by more than 160 countries, is, to date, the most comprehensive global effort to decrease CO2 emissions. Though the agreement was signed by the U.S. and then President Clinton consented to decrease greenhouse emissions in the U.S. by 40 percent, the agreement has been dismissed by the Bush administration and has yet to be ratified by the U.S. (Melinin, 2005).

The projected rate of climate change is very alarming to many scientists but not as much to politicians as this topic isn’t as high on the political agenda as some others. World leaders have no sense of urgency about them regarding global warming. They place great importance on the popular items of the day such as education, crime, economics and war so as to be reelected but if they don’t address this issue, there will be nothing to politicize in the future as we will have no future. Works CitedBreuer, Georg.

Air in Danger: Ecological Perspectives of the Atmosphere. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1980.Malinin, Sergei. “USA, China and India Outlaw Kyoto Protocol and Set Forth New Climate Change Initiative.” Pravda. (July 27, 2005). May 31, 2007 Trenberth, Kevin E. “Global Warming: It’s Happening.” National Center for Atmospheric Research. (1997). May 31, 2007