Global Warming
Global Warming: Cause and Mitigation
Your Name
Professor Name
SCI 110 - Introduction to Physical Science
June 12, 2013
Global warming, also referred to as climate change, is real. The question remains, is man or Mother Nature responsible for causing it? The Nobel Prize-winning chemist Svante Arrhenius first proposed the idea of global warming in 1896. He knew that carbon dioxide traps heat in the earth’s atmosphere and that burning fossil fuels releases CO2 (Bryan). We know that there are some things that naturally cause climate change and are not in our control. Among them are small explosions on the sun which cause an increase in the normal heat output emitted by the sun, volcanic eruptions that cause a decrease in temperature due to the smoke and gas they put into our atmosphere, and the axis and tilt of our planet earth. Because the earth does not rotate around the sun in a perfect circle, a change in orbit can move the earth closer or farther away from the sun, our provider of heat and light, which can have a major impact on our climate. According to NOAA1, the “tilt” of the earth will give us either more severe weather –warmer summers and colder winters; or less severe weather –cooler summers and warmer winters. The earth is naturally colder than the sun, but thanks to our atmosphere and the greenhouse effect, it’s much warmer here than it is in space (Blue). Our planet is unique because it has the ability to absorb and reflect radiation from the sun and our atmosphere has multiple tiers and contains greenhouse gases. The greenhouse effect is natural and necessary to sustain life on earth by providing heat to the lower atmosphere. Naturally occurring greenhouse gases include water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. Under normal atmospheric conditions, they work in harmony to prevent part of the heat emitted by earth from escaping into space (greenhouse gases and climate change.
Your Name
Professor Name
SCI 110 - Introduction to Physical Science
June 12, 2013
Global warming, also referred to as climate change, is real. The question remains, is man or Mother Nature responsible for causing it? The Nobel Prize-winning chemist Svante Arrhenius first proposed the idea of global warming in 1896. He knew that carbon dioxide traps heat in the earth’s atmosphere and that burning fossil fuels releases CO2 (Bryan). We know that there are some things that naturally cause climate change and are not in our control. Among them are small explosions on the sun which cause an increase in the normal heat output emitted by the sun, volcanic eruptions that cause a decrease in temperature due to the smoke and gas they put into our atmosphere, and the axis and tilt of our planet earth. Because the earth does not rotate around the sun in a perfect circle, a change in orbit can move the earth closer or farther away from the sun, our provider of heat and light, which can have a major impact on our climate. According to NOAA1, the “tilt” of the earth will give us either more severe weather –warmer summers and colder winters; or less severe weather –cooler summers and warmer winters. The earth is naturally colder than the sun, but thanks to our atmosphere and the greenhouse effect, it’s much warmer here than it is in space (Blue). Our planet is unique because it has the ability to absorb and reflect radiation from the sun and our atmosphere has multiple tiers and contains greenhouse gases. The greenhouse effect is natural and necessary to sustain life on earth by providing heat to the lower atmosphere. Naturally occurring greenhouse gases include water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. Under normal atmospheric conditions, they work in harmony to prevent part of the heat emitted by earth from escaping into space (greenhouse gases and climate change.