Global Warming

Global Warming

The atmosphere is something that is around us everyday, but do we really think about the changes that occur in it. It isn't that we just aren't paying attention, but more of the fact that it is hard to notice slight changes over long periods of time. Everyday gases are released into the air by all living material. The gases in the air are used for many important things. For example, hydrogen is released by volcanoes, which can give energy to the cell; photosynthesis has evolved to take the gas carbon dioxide and create food and release oxygen; nitrogen is a gas used in our air, oceans, and solid earth, as an essential part of living things. Carbon dioxide is also involved in processes where it is stored as limestone and marble, as gas and oil and coal, and is in organic material in the soil. Not only do these gases make up our atmosphere, but they also keep the temperature of the earth stable. Carbon dioxide absorbs the radiation that would otherwise escape the earth. By adding oxygen and taking away carbon dioxide this causes the earth to be cooler than it would otherwise be. These are just two of the many gases that make up the atmosphere we live in today. The temperature in our earth is directly determined by these five gases. If not enough are in the air, then the earth is too cold, but if too many gases are released into the air, then we have the problem of things heating up. Even though the causes of global warming are known, the exact effects it will have on us in the future are yet to be determined. People need to understand that they need to act now in order to keep the world as we now know it the same in the future.

The earth's atmosphere is made up of five layers of gases that act as a blanket covering the earth. This blanket keeps in some of these gases to keep the planet warm. It is called the greenhouse effect. This is because it acts like greenhouse windows by letting in sunlight to warm the surface and air, and hold in most of the solar generated heat. The greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide, methane, oxygen, nitrogen, ozone and water vapor, as well as other atmospheric gases. These greenhouse gases cause the greenhouse effect by capturing and absorbing solar energy. For without the greenhouse effect, the planet would be inhospitable to life because the surface temperature of earth's surface would be cooler by 63 degrees F (Roleff 12). This world mean the average temperature would be 19 degrees C which causes the earth to be barren (Bilger 23).

Many scientists believe that the increase in temperature is caused by humans. The greenhouse effect increases because of the burning of fossil fuels such as natural gases, oil, and coal. These cause more heat to be trapped in the atmosphere than needed. Carbon dioxide is the most important gas that humans have affected. It has increased by nearly 30% since 1700 because of human destruction's (Roleff 18). The amount of fossil fuels we burn each year has increased dramatically. Between 1850 and 1950 60 million tons of fossil fuels were burned. Now the world burns at least five billion tons of fossil fuels each year. This means that we are adding between 15 and 20 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every 12 months (Firor 50). This is causing a steady increase of carbon dioxide into our air.

Another way humans increase the amount of carbon dioxide is by deforestation. Huge numbers of trees are cut down each year to clear land for farming and building. The rain forest are really needed because they absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen into our atmosphere. Also, when trees decay or are burned, the carbon dioxide that was absorbed is put back into the air. George M. Woodwell and KilapartiRamakrishan said, "Deforestation is the second biggest source of carbon dioxide, . . . only the burning of oil,

coal, and gas produce more, . . . If [global warming] is to be slowed, the world must not only stop cutting and burning large forests, but replace the many millions of acres that have been destroyed." (Roleff 13). Deforestation is most severe in the tropical regions where the rain forests grow. Most of the rain forests are around developing countries. The people of these countries have to find a way to get land, buy food, and get money. The only way they know how is to go into these forests and clear land to create more space for farms.

More recently, the amount of rain forests destroyed each year is causing attention. Thirty-three acres of rain forest are chopped or burned down every minute, and up to 25% of the world's species will be extinct by the next century (Bilger 36). The great plains that we have now were once one enormous forest before the Europeans settled. It is said that if deforestation continues at its current rate, all of the world's forests could be destroyed within only a few decades. It is very important that we stop destroying our forests and replant what has been destroyed.

Another cause of global warming is El Nino. From December through March, off the coast of Peru and Ecuador, a warm ocean current appears called El Nino. It is said to have the long-term effects of drought and severe storms. Nicholas E. Graham says that there is a link between El Nino and the rising global temperatures. This warm current has caused the ocean and atmospheric temperatures to rise. This is just a natural way of global warming that we can do nothing about.

Methane is the second most important green house gas. Even though there is less methane in the air than carbon dioxide, methane is much more absorbent of infrared radiation than carbon dioxide. Methane comes from many places. Large amounts of methane gas come from cattle. The plants and grass that the cattle eat are broken down by different types of microorganisms. Methane is then produced by their digestion process. These cattle belch every two minutes and release methane gas each time they do

it. Since one cow emits a half pound of methane a day and there are 1.3 billion cattle in the world, more than 100 million tons of methane are released each year into the air (Bilger 50). Another type of animal that releases methane gas is a termite. Even though they are very small, they are also very numerous. Their population is increasing at a fast rate because of deforestation, causing us to pay attention to their effect on global warming. Termites thrive on barren land that is left by the destruction