Greenhouse Effect and Global Warming - Essay Example

Topic Greenhouse Effect and Global Warming Introduction In recent years, green house effect and global warming as a phenomenon have received much awe and attention. The reason for this is its direct connection with nature and survival of human and animal race. The scientists have discovered the process of global warming, when they noticed the gradual melting of ice in the Arctic region and rise in the temperature around the globe. This greenhouse effect is spurred by humans by burning large amount of fossils over a long duration of time, say around 250 years. It is a known fact that, the greenhouse gas concentration in the atmosphere will rise as the fossils burn at a larger level. This process gets more aggravated when the people cut more trees, which are absorbers of carbon emitted. If we look at history of earth, we can notice that the earth has cooled and heated alternatively in a gradual span of time. The climate of the earth change according to the intensity of sun light receive or due to shift in the orbital movement of earth. However, in the recent times, one force which has alleviated the heating process of earth is humanity. As per (wiscombe,2012)“The global average surface temperature rose 0.6 to 0.9 degrees Celsius (1.1 to 1.6° F) between 1906 and 2005, and the rate of temperature increase has nearly doubled in the last 50 years”. Global warming can be described as a swift increase in the temperature of earth due to a vast release of greenhouse gas into the atmosphere due to the burning up of fossils by humans. What is green house effect? The greenhouse effect is a natural phenomenon where in the infrared radiation emitted by atmosphere heat up the planet’s surface. The term “greenhouse effect” derived from an analogy where the heating up of air inside a greenhouse is compared with the air present outside the greenhouse. Apart from earth, the planets Venus and Mars also experience greenhouse effect. Naturally earth receives heat in the form of radiation from sun and 30% of this incoming energy is solar radiation. The 70% of remaining solar energy is absorbed by the land, ocean and atmosphere of the earth. This natural process occurs in order to give the earth a temperature which is of a stable state and not to allow rapid heating or cooling in the earth’s atmosphere. Generally speaking, only one percent of the earth’s atmosphere is comprised of greenhouse gases .But this greenhouse gas has a feature of trapping heat in the atmosphere and creating a warm blanket of air around the planet. This is what is known as “green house effect”. Without this greenhouse effect, the earth would have been much colder place to live in and could obstruct the survival of living beings. But recently, the scientist have noticed an unusual rapid increase in the atmosphere temperature .This is connected to the fossils burned by the human being and the carbon emitted to the atmosphere due to this burning processes. As a matter of fact, the greenhouse effect unleashed by human beings has led to the breakout of global warming. The process of global warming When we consider global warming, it can be described as a process which increases the temperature of earth due to the greenhouse gas effect. In the process of global warming, the atmosphere of the earth is utilized as a blanket where in the heat of the sun is trapped. However , in the present global warming process, the greenhouse gas emitted by fossil burning get trapped in the earth’s atmosphere and make the temperature of the globe heightened. Mostly the carbon emission developed due to industrialization and automobile use, produce heat in the atmosphere and contribute to global warming. It is with the beginning of industrialization that the greenhouse concentration of earth increased. The industrial revolution of the world increased the carbon-di-oxide emission to the atmosphere which heats up the earth’s temperature. The main sources which elevate the emission of greenhouse gases are fossil fuel combustion for the industrial purpose, fuel usage in transportation, electricity generation process, space heating, woodlands and forest related ecosystem. From among this the sole culprit for global warming is the act of fossil fuel usage by human beings .Apart from carbon di –oxide ,there are other greenhouse gases like methane, chlorofluorocarbons and nitrous oxide accounts for the increase in the temperature of the earth’s atmosphere. It is generally argued by the authorities of developing nations that the western world is responsible for the increased global warming process detected on the earth in recent times. In his article (Lieberman,2012)mentions that“In fact, developing-world emissions surpassed those of the developed world in 2005 and are projected to rise at a rate seven times faster in the decades ahead.”. The negative outcome of greenhouse effect and global warming The natural green house effect and the resulted global warming do not leave a negative impact on earth. But the man made excessive greenhouse effect can create havoc on earth. The earth needs to maintain a particular temperature in order to make a stable ground for the living being to survive. However, if the temperature of the globe increases rapidly, then the planet can be a place impossible to live in. It is necessary for human beings to understand the malefic effect of excessive green house gas and global warming on them and the eco system. Some of the negative effects can be detailed as below: The excessive active greenhouse effect leads to the trapping of more than needed radiation in the earth’s atmosphere, which can cause overheating of the planet. The presence of carbon – di- oxide ,the most heat absorbing green house gas can entrap more radiation in the atmosphere, which can seriously harm the eco system of earth. The green house effect has the potentiality to increase the earth’s temperature by few degrees centigrade which will make the climate of the earth to dwindle. The greenhouse effect results in global warming and this in turn will lead to the melting of ice in the Arctic and Antarctic region. The global warming lea to the rise in seal level as the melted ice in colder plane move to the lower regions which are warmer. Is global warming a challenge to mankind? When we deeply study the phenomenon of greenhouse effect and global warming, we can find that global warming is a real big challenge for human kind. This is because in recent years the temperature of earth has significantly increased and people experience difficulty in living in this harsh environment. Moreover the sea level are rising which can cause threat to islands and people living in coastal areas. The matter of global warming is serious on both national and international level and a strong action must be taken by political authorities, scientist and industrialists to face this challenge. As global warming is a man made threat, human being itself should find ways to overcome this challenge. The global warming is a biggest challenge for government as they are the one who should create awareness among corporates and common men to lower the use of fossil fuels. The government, corporate and the scientific world have to take global warming as a challenge as they need to invent new kinds of fuel for the sustenance of commercialized business world. According to (Coward,2003,pg.9)“It is assumed that human and non – human suffering will result if global warming results in significant climate change, and that therefore all action that can be taken to avoid global warming is ethically required”. The government and international organization are answerable to the public regarding their strategy towards fighting global warming issue. The scientific world also has to take up global warming as a life threatening issue as they have ethical and moral responsibility to save nature from being deteriorated. The ethical responsibility with regard to global warming The earth is our home and as an intelligent and ethically responsible being, humans have the responsibility and obligation to save earth from being destroyed. Earth is a living ground where all the living beings have equal right. But human beings are the only creature who has the ability to manipulate nature’s resources. The industrialization which originated in the 20th century has paved way to the threatening natural disaster called global warming. Hence we have the ethical obligation to reverse this negative natural phenomenon by stopping the use of fossil fuels for our mechanical needs. Human beings have to contemplate on the future life of human generation and need to construct a health living environment for their wellbeing. The ethical and moral values of human being, needs to be awakened so that he understands the negative outcomes of his sinful actions The implementation of ethical responsibility of human being regarding global warming also comes with certain strings attached. When considering global warming, certain ethical facts to be considered are balancing of responsibilities and rights of developing and developed countries, the way to evaluate geo-engineering schemes which can reverse gradual climate change, the assessment of our obligation towards future generation and so on. The consciousness of human beings will definitely alarm them when they think about the destruction of earth caused by their negligence and ignorance. As per (Gardiner,2010,pg. 555-600 )“ Climate change is fundamentally an ethical issue. As such, it should be of serious concern to both moral philosophers and humanity at large”. The nature is supposed remain in balance and any immoral action from the part of human will tamper the ecological balance of nature. Solution to greenhouse gas effect and global warming threat Seeing greenhouse effect and global warming as a potential threat, human beings need to find apt solution to resolve it. This is not an easy task, nevertheless we need to think deeply about this issue and make use of scientific world in an appropriate manner. Global co – operation is the only way by which we can solve the serious issue of greenhouse effect and global warming. This action can be initiated by putting a tab on the consumption of fuel and coal by automobiles and industries. The international organization like United Nation should come forward to educate the corporate and government more about the threats of green house effect and global warming process. The UN should allot a ration on the consumption of fuel to the developed and developing nations. The UN, government and big corporate should take action to lessen deforestation and environmental pollution. It is a known fact that, the usage of fossil fuels leave residue of greenhouse gas known as carbon – di – oxide. So if there are more trees and plants around the earth, then they absorb carbon – d- oxide for their food synthesis. When we look at green house effect and global warming, the automobiles can be seen as a main culprit. They are responsible for green house gas emission and considerable amount of air pollution. So the scientist should come up with alternative bio – efficient fuel which can run the vehicles without emitting polluting green house gases. As per (Jangra,2012,pg.37-41)“We can control global warming effectively and can reduce the effect of presence of green house gases present in atmosphere, by installing enough wind farms”. Conclusion Global warming is caused by our technologically sophisticated way of life. In her book(Laurie,2006,pg.110) states that“ power plants and cars, factories and buildings, the way we live, the way we play, charging our cell phones and I-pods, running our dishwashers and washing machine co all our fossil energy use contribute to global warming” Since man being the real cause of the global warming phenomena, he has the sole responsibility to reverse this catastrophe. It should be understood by the human population that even one centigrade increase in the earth’s temperature can lead to damage in the bio – diversity of the planet. The greenhouse gas effect set out by humans can come to a decrease, if the usage of fuel and coal come to a lower proportion. There need to be a good strategy and its implementation of it by the government in order to effectively handle this natural catastrophe. The government as the ruling force needs to educate the corporate and citizens regarding the negative outcome of greenhouse gas emission and global warming. Now, as the scientific world has become more alert of the side effects of green house gas emission, some portion of corporate world has taken on corporate social responsibility to go green. Also the scientists have taken the task of finding renewable energy for the use of automobiles, industries and energy for electricity purpose. Only the advent of bio – fuel can save the world from being prey to global warming. Above all this, the government should motivate the people to avoid deforestation as this could absorb the carbon – di – oxide emitted by fossil fuel combustion. References Coward, H. G. (1993). Ethics & Climate Change: The Greenhouse Effect (p. 7). Ontario: Laurier University Press David, Laurie. Stop Global Warming!: The Solution Is You. Altona: Friesens Corporation, 2006. 11. Print Gardiner, Stephen M. "Climate change is fundamentally an ethical issue. As such, itshould be of serious concern to b." Ethics 114 (2004): 555-600. Print. Jangra, Munish K. "Reduction of Global Warming By Using Renewable." International Journalof Computer Science and Telecommunications 3.2 (2012): 37-41. Print. Lieberman, Ben. "U.N. Global Warming Treaty Process Still Off-Track in Bonn—and for Good Reason." heritage.org. The Heritage Foundation, 2012. Web. 17 Nov. 2012. . Wiscombe, Warren. "Global Warming." earthobservatory.nasa.gov. NASA, n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2012. . Read More