Global Warming

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Date Global warming is a threat to earth and mankind. Global warming refers to the increase in the temperature of earth’s atmosphere. The increase in global temperature has been occurring in the past several years. According to Nardo et al., author of Climate Crisis: The Science of Global Warming, “scientists noted that of the 21 hottest years recorded, 20 of which occurred in the recent 25 years, with the hottest temperature was recorded in 2005. The all-time records of the hottest years in history have been broken since global temperature has remained higher than 100 degrees Fahrenheit in many parts of the world. Scientists also found that between 1982 and 2007, the overall temperature of the earth’s atmosphere increased by half a degree. Although this increase in temperature appears to be insignificant, small changes in the global temperature can actually have enormous effects in the climate. Moreover, it has been noted that global temperature is steadily rising, which means that the earth , mankind and all living things are bound to experience the adverse effects in the coming years“ (5). The adverse effects of global warming would be felt by all living things, and may even threaten the existence of some species. Nardo et al. on the book, Climate Crisis: The Science of Global Warming, stated that, “it was estimated that up to 30 percent of the species have increased risk of extinction if earth’s temperature rises 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit than the average temperature in the 1980s and 1990s” (5). The warming of the earth’s atmosphere subsequently results in the rise of the temperature of the bodies of water such as lakes and oceans. The increase in global temperature is apparent in the rapid shrinking of the world’s glaciers. Nardo et al. cited the case of Grinnell Glacier in Glacier National Park in northern Montana as an example wherein the ice retreated significantly in the past century so that it is almost gone at present. As for the Cascades Range in Oregon and Washington, its volume has notably reduced by 20 to 40 percent since 1984 (5). Indeed, there is evidence that ice caps have rapidly thinned. It was also reported that in recent years, some of the polar ice caps have actually disappeared. Nardo et al. also pointed out that extreme weather conditions experienced in different parts of the world is a result of global warming. It was noted that, “some regions may experience extremely hot weather, while others may experience extremely cold and harsh winters. Still others may experience the temperature swinging back and forth, and that the changes in rainfall, drought, flood and storms are also manifestations of climate change” (6). Maslin, in his book, Global Warming: Causes, Effects, and the Future, stated that, “global warming is directly related to the greenhouse gases” (9). “Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane form a blanket of gases, which traps the heat from the sun on earth’s surface and prevent it from reflecting back to space. Actually, the natural blanket effect of greenhouse gases is crucial in maintaining the earth’s temperature at levels living things can thrive (10). Since greenhouse gases contributed greatly to the steady rise of global temperature in the past century, it is apparent that addressing the problems with greenhouse gases can reduce the effects of global warming, which can be achieved by finding energy sources with low carbon dioxide emission.
Solutions to Global Warming In order to identify the effective solution for global warming, the cause of this phenomenon should be identified. Scientists proposed a number of theories to explain the increase in global temperature. Most theories suggest that global warming is a direct result of human activities, particularly activities that release gases to the atmosphere. Nardo et al. wrote that “the US Environment Protection Agency (EPA) also reported that pollution produced from oil refining, power generation and car emissions are the significant contributors to global warming” (12). It was noted that the “concentration of greenhouse gases particularly carbon dioxide occurred during the Industrial period” (13). Indeed it was notable that there was significant increase in carbon dioxide concentrations during the Industrial period. Maslin noted that the “pre-Industrial concentrations of carbon dioxide were 278 ppmv. In 1994, carbon dioxide concentrations were recorded at 358 ppmv (13). Since USEPA suggested that global warming is related to human activities, approaches to this crisis should focus on the reduction of human activities that contribute to the crisis. Dincer et al, author of Global Warming: Engineering Solutions, suggested several means to address the global warming crisis including “energy and environment policies, energy conversion technologies, energy management and conservation, energy saving, energy security, renewable and sustainable energy technologies, energy reduction, sustainable development, pollution control measures, carbon tax, policy development, global energy stability and sustainability and waste management (vi). Although mitigation started years ago, global warming remains one of the most important crisis facing humans. The crisis remains because it appears that scientists and policy makers were pushed in the wrong direction. Victor, in his book, Global Warming Gridlock: Creating More Effective Strategies for Protecting the Planet, identified three myths that influenced the way the crisis has been handled. He wrote, “scientists believe that by setting a limit on greenhouse emission will have positive results in reducing greenhouse emissions” (31). It was clear that setting greenhouse emissions did not work. It has been proposed solution and many international organizations have agreed, yet the problem remains. Essentially, political interests could have hindered from supporting this proposed solution. In addition, Victor further explained why the solution does not work. According to him, “the environment actually has natural means of clearing carbon dioxide emissions, but the process takes so slow that buildup of carbon dioxide occurs, and thus, in order for this solution to work, carbon dioxide emission should be reduced by as much as 50 percent” (40). This goal appears to be impossible especially with today’s dependence on fossil fuels. Victor also wrote, “Since global warming is an environmental crisis, policy makers are turning to environmental regulations in addressing global warming” (31). Apparently, global warming is an environmental crisis due to its adverse effects to the environment, but then the crisis should not be taken solely as such. Victor stated that “the crisis is deeply rooted in economics” (31). This statement generally argues that political interests indeed meddle with the approaches on global warming. Victor also put emphasis on the approach to utilize innovation and energy-efficient technologies to reduce greenhouse emissions wherein he contested that, “this solution is simply impractical” because “people would not be buying the low-emission technologies just because” (31). Authors pointed out that fossil fuels and carbon dioxide emissions are the culprit of global warming. With this information at hand, it appears that the best solution to global warming is reducing carbon dioxide emissions through the use of alternative fuels. According to Dincer, “renewable energy sources such as solar energy, hydrothermal energy, wind, geothermal, biomass, tidal energy and wave energy are as reliable energy sources as fossil fuel and do not produce as much greenhouse gases” (71). These sources, however, have not been fully tapped primarily because humans conveniently depend on fossil fuels for all their energy needs. If humans could stop this total dependence on fossil fuels and start exploring the potential of various renewable energy sources, the greenhouse emissions could be greatly lessened. It could be contested that renewable energy sources could not provide sufficient amount of energy considering the rate of energy consumption at present, and thus, renewable energy sources are only used as alternative and was never considered as a primary source. But then, if it is so desired to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, utilization of these energy sources should be fully supported. Abbasi et al., in the book, Renewable Energy Sources: Their Impact on Global Warming and Pollution, suggested that “of the renewable energy sources, solar energy appears to be the most viable since solar energy is inexhaustible, and the amount of energy from the sun that strikes the earth in an hour, is greater than all the energy consumed around the world in a year” (27). Moreover, Wheeler, in Nature Power, wrote that “Solar energy is abundant and clean form of energy. It does not release greenhouse gases and thus, it does not contribute to global warming” and suggested that solar energy could be used to curb carbon dioxide emissions if this form of energy is tapped to provide various energy needs. This form of energy has been used for thousands of years. Yet, despite the vast amounts of solar energy, it was not able to replace the conventional energy sources. This is because sunlight has to be converted to energy through the use photovoltaic cells” (6). Abbasi et al., however pointed out the current drawbacks of solar energy, that “the process is very costly since production process requires huge land area for installation of photovoltaic cells, and there was also problem with storage of the captured energy” (27). However, it appears that there is just no effort to improve and formulate more efficient means of harvesting this energy source. If efficient harvesting of solar energy is available, humans need not depend on non-renewable fossil fuels for energy, and carbon emission would be reduced greatly. Global warming is directly related to the release of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Essentially, these greenhouse gases forms a blanket that traps the heat of the sun in the earth’s surface resulting in the increased temperature at the lower level of the atmosphere. With its significant impacts on the living things, it is important to find the right solution for this global crisis. As authors suggested, in solving the global warming crisis, the solution should focus on the relationship between global warming and carbon dioxide emissions. It was noted that though efforts to address this problem have started several years without causing significant improvement because policies are pushing the wrong directions. It should be noted that greenhouse gases are primarily produced by human activities that utilize fossil fuels. Thus, pushing forth the use of renewable energy sources particularly solar energy therefore is the most effective means to reduce the impacts of global warming. It could be suggested that the best solution to global warming is the use of renewable energy sources particularly solar energy.

Works Cited
Abbasi, Tasneem and Abbasi, S.A. Renewable Energy Sources : Their Impact on Global Warming and Pollution. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd.

Dincer, I., Hepbasil, A., Midillu, A. and Hikmet, T. Global Warming: Engineering Solutions. Springer, 2009.

Maslin, Mark. Global Warming: Causes, Effects, and the Future. MBI Publishing Company, 2007.

Nardo, Don, Johnson, Roberta and Young, Terrence E. Jr. Climate Crisis: The Science of Global Warming. Compass Point Books, 2008. Victor, David G. Global Warming Gridlock: Creating More Effective Strategies for Protecting the Planet. Cambridge University Press, 2011.

Wheeler, Jill C. Nature Power. ABDO, 2007.

Works Cited
Abbasi, Tasneem and Abbasi, S.A. Renewable Energy Sources : Their Impact on Global Warming and Pollution. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd.

Maslin, Mark. Global Warming: Causes, Effects, and the Future. MBI Publishing Company, 2007.

Nardo, Don, Johnson, Roberta and Young, Terrence E. Jr. Climate Crisis: The Science of Global Warming. Compass Point Books, 2008. Victor, David G. Global Warming Gridlock: Creating More Effective Strategies for Protecting the Planet. Cambridge University Press, 2011.

Wheeler, Jill C. Nature Power. ABDO, 2007.

Cited: Abbasi, Tasneem and Abbasi, S.A. Renewable Energy Sources : Their Impact on Global Warming and Pollution. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd. Maslin, Mark. Global Warming: Causes, Effects, and the Future. MBI Publishing Company, 2007. Nardo, Don, Johnson, Roberta and Young, Terrence E. Jr. Climate Crisis: The Science of Global Warming. Compass Point Books, 2008.   Victor, David G. Global Warming Gridlock: Creating More Effective Strategies for Protecting the Planet. Cambridge University Press, 2011. Wheeler, Jill C. Nature Power. ABDO, 2007.