Cause And Effect Essay On Climate Change

Ori Malul
Climate Change

Climate change means any significant, long-term change in the expected patterns of average weather of a specific region, or even the whole world over a significant period of time. It describes changes in the state of the atmosphere over time, scales ranging from decades to millions of years. Data shows that earth’s average air temperature has changed by about 1.4 degrees fahrenheit (Citation). Climate change is about abnormal variations into the climate, and the effects of these variations on other parts of the Earth. One example is the melting of the ice caps at the South Pole and North Pole. These changes may take tens, hundreds or perhaps millions of years. The greenhouse effect occurs when certain gases in
the atmosphere trap infrared radiation. This effect makes the planet warmer, the same way a greenhouse keeps its inside temperature warmer. Because of this it makes the planet's average area temperature rise, which is referred to as climate change. The greenhouse effect is caused by greenhouse gases. The most important greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere are: water vapor, carbon dioxide, and methane. When there is more greenhouse gas in the air, the air holds more heat. This is the reason why more greenhouse gases cause global warming. Carbon Dioxide is the main greenhouse gas.
In 2013, 82% of human-produced greenhouse gas emissions were carbon dioxide (Nasa climate change). This resulted from the burning of fossil fuels, solid waste, trees, wood, and other chemical reactions. The biggest reason is because of the burning of fossil fuels this includes driving your car and nuclear power plants. Another greenhouse gas, methane, comes from landfills, coal mines, oil, natural gas operations, and agriculture. It represented about 9% of total greenhouse gas emissions (Citation). Nitrous oxide (6% of total greenhouse gas emissions) is emitted through the use of nitrogen fertilizers, from burning fossil fuels, and from certain industrial and waste management operations (Citation). Satellites orbiting the earth and other advanced technologies have enabled scientists to collect many different types of information about our planet and its climate on a global scale. This body of data, collected over many years, reveals the signals of a changing climate.The heat-trapping nature of carbon dioxide and other gases was demonstrated in the mid-19th century. Their ability to affect the transfer of infrared energy through the atmosphere is the scientific basis of many instruments flown by NASA. There is no question that increased levels of greenhouse gases must cause the Earth to warm in
response. The strongest proof of climate change is the earth's temperature rising. All three major global surface temperature reconstructions show that Earth has warmed since 1880 (citation). Most of this global warming has occurred since the 1970s, with the 20 warmest years having occurred since 1981 and with all 10 of the warmest years occurred in the past 12 years (citation). another proof of climate change is the shrinking of ice sheets. Data from NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment show that Greenland has lost 36 to 60 cubic miles of ice per year between 2002 and 2006, while Antarctica lost about 36 cubic miles of ice between 2002 and 2005 (citation). All of these things show us that climate change is real and is changing the climate of earth. Us humans need to take action towards this issue. If we don't do it soon enough we could even end our world. If we use the advanced technology that we have today we might be able to stop this forever.