Global Warming: Fact or Fiction - Essay Example

Global Warming is one such repercussion, during which the surface temperature of the earth increases due to the buildup of Green House gases in the atmosphere, leading to extreme and grave climatic changes. However, the counter argument is, these grave climatic changes have been happening for centuries, and there are not sufficient evidences to link global warming to those natural calamities. Background Global Warming is mainly due to the “Green House Effect”. It is actually a natural process, which happens on an everyday basis.

That is, when the sun radiates its energy to the earth, the earth’s surface and the lower atmosphere absorbs some of this energy whilst the rest is radiated back in to space. However, when the Green House gases namely carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, CFCs, etc., ‘forms’ a layer in the atmosphere, the sun’s heat energy is trapped (without the possibility of ‘escaping’ to the outer space), thus leading to increase in the surface temperature of the earth. Scientists believe that the human activities particularly after the Industrialization Revolution have only accentuated the production of Green House Gases leading to Global Warming.

As Berliner (2003) states, “humans have been modifying the environment through processes associated with industrialization”, with increased emissions of carbon dioxide being one of the most important outcomes of those activities. Arguments to prove that Global Warming is a Fact The key argument that shows that Global Warming is happening and is only leading to grave climatic changes is the recent fluctuations in the weather conditions. That is, it is being said that summers have become very hot, while winters are have become extremely cold.

Due to extreme hotness caused by Global Warming, earth’s hydrological cycle has affected, with heightened evaporations. This is causing droughts and crop losses in many places all over the world. In addition, due to extreme heat, forest fires have become a common phenomenon destroying environment, animal species as well as livelihood of humans. “The number and size of large forest fires in the West have grown "suddenly and dramatically" in the past two decades in part because of global warming” (O’ Driscoll, n. d). On the other end, the high temperatures are causing meltdown of glaciers particularly in the Arctic Region.

As Freedman (2012) pointed out, “the rapid decline in Arctic sea ice during the past several decades is one of the most visible signs of manmade global warming”, with the warming happening at nearly twice the rate of the rest of the globe, and going by the forecast, the entire Arctic cover could vanish by 2100, leading to major consequences. For example, this melting of the Polar Caps is leading to high influx of water into the Oceans, increasing the sea level. Due to this increase, sizable low-lying regions are submerging, causing loss of human lives as well as damages to the environment.

With Green House Gases production increasing in the past few decades due to heightened industrial and automobile activities, the resultant global warming is causing all the above discussed natural calamities quite frequently. Arguments to prove that Global Warming is a Fiction Skeptics of Global Warming theory state that the grave climatic changes specifically the extreme hotness does not happen due to Global Warming, but mainly because of the