Global Warming

GLOBAL WARMING

Global Warming is also referred to as the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is the absorption of energy radiated from the Earth's surface by carbon dioxide and other gases in the atmosphere, causing the atmosphere to become warmer. The greenhouse effect is what is causing the temperature on the Earth to rise, which is speculated to cause many problems in the oncoming years.

Today, however, major changes are taking place. Organizations and groups of people who believe in the cause are running experiments, staging protests, and speaking up for what they believe in and what should be done. It isn't a hidden topic that we are destroying the ozone layer; the ozone layer is responsible for life to exist on the Earth's surface. If we do not slow down our use of fossil fuels and stop destroying the forests, the world could become hotter than it has been in the past thousand to million years. It has been reported that the average global temperatures have risen 1 degree Fahrenheit over the last century. If carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases continue to spill into the atmosphere, global temperatures are assumed to rise about five to 10 degrees by the middle of the next century. If we do not recognize and start to fix the problem of global warming, the earth will experience summertime highs well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. In turn, new temperature records will be set each year.

Atmospheric changes brought on by the additional warming might produce more violent storms resulting in larger death tolls. Some areas, particularly in the Northern Hemisphere, will tremendously dry out and a greater occurrence of lightning strikes are foreseen set massive forest fires. Resulting forest fires will dump additional quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, creating a vicious environmental cycle. At the present rate of destruction, most of the rain forests will be gone by the middle of the next century.

Not only will fires be a result of the greenhouse effect, evaporation rates will also increase and circulation patterns will change. If that is the case, decreased rainfall in some areas will results in increased rainfall in others. In some regions, river flow will be severely reduced or stopped all together completely. The central portions of the continents, which normally experience occasional droughts, might become permanently dry wastelands. Once fertile cropland will be turned into an inevitable desert. The most populated lands on earth are along the coastal regions, and experts are assuming that they will feel the effects of rising sea levels as the ice caps melt under rising ocean temperatures. Over the past century, the global sea level has risen 4-8 inches. By the centuries end, projections report that the sea level could rise another 4- 35 inches. A rise in the sea level of just 4 inches would cause major flooding in many South Sea Islands, Florida, and Louisiana.

As a result of the changing ocean, large tracks of coastal land, shallow barrier islands, and coral reefs would disappear. The low-lying deltas that people depend on would vanish. With the delicate wetlands disappearing, there would be no place for the domestic wildlife to live and breed. Also, whole coastal cities would have to pick up and move more inland to save themselves from the increasing water level.

Not only would the land change from global warming, but animals big and small are in danger of becoming endangered or extinct. It took centuries for animals, insects, and ocean life to adapt to their surroundings and flourish. Also, forests and other wildlife habitats might not have enough time to adjust to the rapidly changing climate. The warming of the earth will eventually rearrange entire biological communities and cause many species to become extinct. On the same note, with animals disappearing, weeds and pests could overrun much of the landscape. It is becoming more apparent with each passing day that as man continues to deplete the Earth's resources, the climate could change in such a way that it is no longer helpful. The greenhouse effect and global warming go hand in hand. The green house effect is described as incoming solar radiation that passes through the Earth's atmosphere but prevents much of the outgoing infrared radiation from escaping into space. Global warming refers to a long term rise in the average temperature of the Earth. Without the greenhouse effect, global warming doesn't exist. The natural gases in the greenhouse effect are water vapor, carbon dioxide (CO2), ozone (O3), as well as other trace gases. The natural greenhouse effect has kept the Earth's average surface temperature around 33 degrees Celsius, warmer than it would be if there were no atmosphere.

Scientists state the fact that life could not exist if there was no natural greenhouse effect. The result of the natural greenhouse effect is so that all the creatures living on Earth can live and breathe. It is our obligation here on Earth to do our part in preserving it, or there isn't a future for our children's children. Because we are not doing all we can to help control our emissions, we are causing some greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide to build up in the atmosphere. These gases escape into the atmosphere through the most basic tasks we perform everyday, which is the scary part. Each time we burn gasoline, oil, coal, or even natural gas, more carbon dioxide is added to the atmosphere.

Humans are greedy by nature. Within the past 50 years, we have been cutting down thousands of acres of trees for the lumber industry to make room for new developments. By cutting down