Climate Change Paper
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Climate Change
Global climate change is one of the most urgent environmental problems we have to acknowledge today. The world, as we have observed and recorded data over the last several decades, is in the midst of an unexpected alteration. Temperature in the winter season is changing more than other seasons and mid to high latitude positions are showing comparatively bigger changes than those of low latitudes. The water vapor, carbon dioxide, ozone and many other chemical compounds in the atmosphere which absorb thermal radiation emitted by Earth’s surface and atmosphere, are increasing, contributing to the significant changes in our global climate. Over the past one hundred years, Earth’s average surface temperature has increased by approximately 0.74 degrees Celsius and for the past 16 years from
1995-2010, 15 of those years were among the warmest years in the instrumental record of global surface temperatures since 1850. (IPCC, 2007) It has been shown that since the start of the Industrial Revolution, atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations have risen exponentially and steadily as a result of the combustion of fossil fuels as an energy source for industrialized nations and developing nations alike. Apart from that, deforestation also play a major role in global warming as forested lands are typically cleared and burned for farming. The sea levels have as a result of the associated thermal expansion of ocean waters and melting of glaciers, shown to rise at a rate of 1.8 millimeters per year in the past century. A rise in sea levels will have serious implications on coastal environments or small islands from the perspectives of both natural ecosystems and human populations as a large portion of the human population live in coastal areas. There would be direct inundation of low-lying wetlands and dryland areas, increased salinity of estuaries and aquifers, heightened storm surges and floods.
Apart from that, changes in the global climate patterns will
Climate Change
Global climate change is one of the most urgent environmental problems we have to acknowledge today. The world, as we have observed and recorded data over the last several decades, is in the midst of an unexpected alteration. Temperature in the winter season is changing more than other seasons and mid to high latitude positions are showing comparatively bigger changes than those of low latitudes. The water vapor, carbon dioxide, ozone and many other chemical compounds in the atmosphere which absorb thermal radiation emitted by Earth’s surface and atmosphere, are increasing, contributing to the significant changes in our global climate. Over the past one hundred years, Earth’s average surface temperature has increased by approximately 0.74 degrees Celsius and for the past 16 years from
1995-2010, 15 of those years were among the warmest years in the instrumental record of global surface temperatures since 1850. (IPCC, 2007) It has been shown that since the start of the Industrial Revolution, atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations have risen exponentially and steadily as a result of the combustion of fossil fuels as an energy source for industrialized nations and developing nations alike. Apart from that, deforestation also play a major role in global warming as forested lands are typically cleared and burned for farming. The sea levels have as a result of the associated thermal expansion of ocean waters and melting of glaciers, shown to rise at a rate of 1.8 millimeters per year in the past century. A rise in sea levels will have serious implications on coastal environments or small islands from the perspectives of both natural ecosystems and human populations as a large portion of the human population live in coastal areas. There would be direct inundation of low-lying wetlands and dryland areas, increased salinity of estuaries and aquifers, heightened storm surges and floods.
Apart from that, changes in the global climate patterns will
References: Jones, R., Ougham H., Thomas H., Waaland S. (2013) Flooding deprives plants of oxygen, affecting respiratory processes, gene expression and acclimatory changes in IPPC (2007) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Sheaffer, C and Moncada, K Rosenzweig, C. et al. (2000) Climate Change and U.S. Agriculture: The Impacts of Warming and Extreme Weather Events on Productivity, Plant Diseases, and Pests, Oerke, E.C. et al. (1994) Crop Production and Crop Protection: Estimated Losses in Major Food and Cash Crops, Elsevier Epstein, P.R. (1999) Climate and health. Science 285, 347–348 Harvell, C.D marine biota. Science 296, 2158–2162