GLOBAL WARMING OF RECYCLING - Essay Example

However, the major direct cause of global warming is the increased greenhouse gas emissions because of human activities (US Environmental Protection Agency, 2008). The burning of fossil fuels (e.g. coal and oil), and deforestation raised the concentration of so-called greenhouse gases that contain heat within the earth’s atmosphere, preventing the heat from escaping to space. Greenhouse gases are found in the earth’s atmosphere. Most of these gases are natural like water vapour, methane, nitrous oxide, and carbon dioxide.

Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), are all human-made. When a percentage of the sun’s radiation entering the earth’s surface is re-radiated back to space as infrared radiation, or heat, the greenhouse gases trap this heat. The temperature of the earth is constant when the concentration of the greenhouse gases remains stable; however, due to anthropogenic activities, the concentrations of these gases continue to increase in the atmosphere, trapping more heat.

The earths surface temperature has increased by 1.2 to 1.4ºF in the last 100 years. The warmest year was 2005; and the eight warmest years since 1850 have all been recorded to occur since 1998 (US Environmental Protection Agency, 2008). Continued increase in greenhouse gases could lead to the increased average temperature from 3.2 to 7.2ºF above the 1990 levels by the end the 21st century. Since large-scale industrialization began more than a hundred years ago, the levels of several important greenhouse gases have risen by about 25 percent (Energy Information Agency, 2008).

In the last twenty years, 75% of human-caused emissions came from the burning of fossil fuels for transportation and energy needs. Largely, energy use is driven by economic growth with minor fluctuations due to weather patterns, affecting heating and cooling needs. Fossil fuels are made up of hydrogen and carbon, which upon combustion,