Preview

Global Warming

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1278 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Global Warming
Global Warming: Origins, Effects, and Potential Solutions Since the dawn of the 19th century, civilization has been very dependent on the consumption of fossil fuels. Greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide, coming from these emissions plague our atmosphere. Greenhouse gases trap heat and prevent warmer air from escaping our atmosphere, which causes a containment of excess heat, thus causing a climate change; in this case, a rise in temperature. There has been large amounts of debate on whom to blame for global warming, although further conclusions generally accept that it is originally an all-human cause. In the beginning of the industrial revolution, it was thought that the emission of these green house was completely harmless. But it has long been impossible for any nation, or any multinational corporation, to go on emitting greenhouse gases without being aware of the general consequences (Blakemore). By taking a glimpse at the nations that emit the most greenhouse gases, the largest portion of cumulative greenhouse gases are emitted from the United States. Although viewing it in a amounts per-person basis, the largest portion of greenhouse gases heating the planet is released by the United Kingdom. That’s partly because the United Kingdom created the “industrial revolution” around the year 1800, first by burning enormous amounts of coal (Blakemore). By a literal stand point, the UK is blamed the most for the world 's excess heat because of surrounding countries wanting to industrialize along with them. In the end, nobody mean it to happen. Greenhouse gases are all natural and safe, for the majority. While essential for sustaining life on Earth, excesses of greenhouse gases cause problems. As mentioned by Larry West, a former About.com guide, “the problems begin when human activities distort and accelerate the natural process by creating more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere than are necessary to warm the planet to an ideal temperature.” These


Cited: Blakemore, Bill. "Who’s ‘Most to Blame’ for Global Warming?"ABC News. ABC News Network, 22 July 2012. Web. 10 June 2013. . Franzen, Harald. "More Proof of Global Warming: Scientific American." scientificamerican.com, 15 Mar. 2001. Web. 10 June 2013. . West, Larry. "All About Global Warming." About.com Environmental Issues. About.com, 15 Mar. 2006. Web. 10 June 2013. .

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    An important issue affecting the world today is climate change due to the increase in the amount of greenhouse gases that is released into the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases are gases that accumulate in the atmosphere due to human activity and the earth's natural biological and chemical processes. The four major greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide , methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2011). The main contributing factor to climate change is the abundance of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Due to the burning of fossil fuels, solid waste, trees, and other chemical reactions carbon dioxide is absorbed into the atmosphere enhancing the greenhouse effect.…

    • 1501 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Glaciers are melting, sea levels are rising, forests are drying and wildlife is suffering, these are all results of the apparent rise in global temperatures and it has become more obvious that humans over centuries are releasing harmful heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere known as greenhouse gases. The greenhouse effect causes the increase in global temperature as the gases which are released into the atmosphere allow light to be entered, but prevents heat from escaping.…

    • 1413 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Over the last century global temperatures have increased rapidly, and this period has been called global warming. However many have disputed how this rapid increase in the change in the temperature have been brought about. There is a general agreement among scientists that the changes in the climate over the last century are as a result of human activities. They have reached this consensus as they have been able to link the sudden change in rate of the temperature increase to the development of industrial activities beginning with the industrial revolution. The industrial activities that our modern civilisation depends upon have raised atmospheric carbon dioxide levels causing a rise in the amount of greenhouse gases that insulate the Earth. These extra emissions of greenhouse gases have led to a thicker layer of greenhouse gases present in the Earth’s atmosphere. The main causes of this rise in greenhouse gas emission are fossil fuels. The burning of these fossil fuels has allowed us to develop, both economically and technologically, which in turn has enabled us to advance as a civilisation. However the use of these fossil fuels has…

    • 1465 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Cap and Trade Paper 1

    • 3704 Words
    • 10 Pages

    Since the time of the Industrial Revolution, human activities have polluted the air with large amounts of greenhouses gasses. These gasses are thick covering the Earth in the atmosphere creating and trapping more heat on Earth’s surface; this is known as the greenhouse effect. While the greenhouse effect is needed to support life on Earth, a continuous buildup of these gasses becomes harmful. Greenhouses gasses come from burning fossil fuels, deforestation, industrial processes, and some agriculture practices. When the carbon dioxide is released by these activities it is trapped in the lower part of the troposphere heating the surface of the Earth thus creating global warming. The most significant greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide; it can cause the most substantial increase in temperature.…

    • 3704 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Greenhouse gases are responsible for trapping heat in our atmosphere. The increase in greenhouse gasses caused by human activity are a primary cause of global warming.…

    • 1015 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A book Titled, Global Warming in the 21 Century, by Juliana M.Cossia,talks about the long term effects of global warming and how they can impact our world. Since the beginning of the industrial revolution in 1750 global warming temperatures have risen up, Due to factories and power plants,and eventually cars;and burning of oil and coal. Carbon dioxide and other chemical gases go on to the atmosphere. Global warming had already been happening naturally but us humans have ascended the average temperature up. Carbon dioxide and other air pollutants and greenhouse gases collect in the atmosphere and absorb sunlight and solar radiation that have bounced off the earth’s surface.…

    • 1779 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are many questions about global warming, from its causes to its effects, and many people even question whether or not it even exists. Global warming is described as the increase of the average temperature of the Earth caused by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases produced by human activities, such as deforestation, use of fertilizers, fossil fuel combustion and cement production. According to the global warming theory, the intensification of industrial activities during the twentieth century (based on the fossil fuel combustion such as petrol and coal) increased the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere.…

    • 971 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Some of the gases in our atmosphere such as carbon dioxide, trap heat from the sun reflecting of the earth 's surface, keeping the earth warm. This is called natural green house gas effect. However human activities such as burning of fossil fuels are increasing the concentration of these gases in the atmosphere. These accidental gases are enhancing the green house effect which I know as global warming. The major green house gases include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen and water vapour.…

    • 2560 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Earth Has A Fever

    • 2981 Words
    • 8 Pages

    There is a scientific consensus that the recent rise in global temperature (global warming) is caused by human enhancement of the greenhouse effect, where greenhouse gases absorb outgoing long-wave radiation, so less is reflected back to space and is essential for keeping the planet warm. However, too much greenhouse gas in the atmosphere means too much energy is trapped and the planet warms up. One of the key findings in the IPCC report is the attribution of more than half the increase in global surface temperatures from 1951-2010 to human activities, underlining the dominant role of fossil fuel burning as a…

    • 2981 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Global Warming

    • 287 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The sky is falling, the sky is falling! Growing up I heard this phrase in folktales as a “wolf cry”-- a cry that is so ridiculous that nobody would believe it. Now that global warming is a major environmental issue, the saying doesn’t sound so out of place. Most people might say: what is global warming? That’s the question that was running through my mind when I first heard we were watching a documentary on it in my English 130 class. The film is Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth and it is about the causes of global warming and what it is doing to our planet. Being an environmentally involved citizen and growing up with conservative Republicans as parents, I was torn between not really liking Gore and this extreme reality that I felt was an impending doom on Mother Earth. The day before my writing class my dad called me and I brought up the fact that I was watching Gore’s film; his reaction was, “I’m paying for you to do that?” I tried to tell him it wasn’t about Gore and when I brought up global warming he claimed it was a scheme to get money and that our wor...…

    • 287 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The main cause of global warming is the burning of greenhouse gases. Some of the main gases are: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and the loss of forests. Most of the harmful gasses are emitted by humans through the combustion of fossil fuels in cars, factories, and electricity production. But why and how do these specific gases cause global warming, it is because all of these gases have very different heat-trapping abilities. A molecule of methane produces more than 20 times the warming of a molecule of CO2. Nitrous oxide is 300 times more powerful than CO2. Other gases, such as chlorofluorocarbons (which have been banned in much of the world because they also degrade the ozone layer), have heat-trapping potential thousands of times greater than CO2. But because their concentrations are much lower than CO2, none of these gases adds as much warmth to the atmosphere as CO2 does.…

    • 788 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Since the industrialization becomes worldwide, every country tries to find its way to develop the economy and technology. Although it is good to human beings, it is devastating to nature. Greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and ozone in the lower part of the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is produced when coal, oil, and natural gas (fossil fuels) are burned to produce energy used for transportation, manufacturing, heating, cooling, electricity generation and other applications. The use of fossil fuel currently accounts for 80 to 85% of the carbon dioxide being added to the atmosphere. (Global Change Research Information Office,2006)A large quantity of greenhouse gases are produced in the process of meeting our needs towards convenience. Many industrial products also create much methane and nitrous oxide, like motor vehicles and other transportations. In addition, CFCs have been used in refrigeration, air conditioning, and as solvents.…

    • 585 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Global Warming

    • 429 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Global warming and climate change threatens the very existence of mankind. Understanding the effects of each and implementing measures to save this planet are of dire urgency. Global warming has become a threat to everything and everyone on Earth. Global warming is caused by many natural and manmade processes that continue to affect our environment. The release of carbon dioxide and methane gases are the two main contributors to climate change. With the warming of the environment almost inevitable now, methane gases are sure to become an even bigger contributor as the planet warms and the ice melts at the poles. It is going to take a global effort, like no one ever seen before, to slow down and bring global warming to a much more manageable condition. People must commence to doing their part in reducing their carbon footprint, such as buying more fuel efficient cars, cutting back travel, recycling, reducing energy needs, and making their homes greener.…

    • 429 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Greenhouse Effect

    • 518 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The most significant greenhouse gases are water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs – made by humans). Water vapour contributes about 75% to the natural greenhouse effect, but the input of vapour into the atmosphere from human activity is so much smaller than natural levels that it is usually disregarded. However, any changes in the amount of water vapour in the atmosphere as a result of the enhanced greenhouse effect would affect the climate as a whole.…

    • 518 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The problem of global warming is primarily caused by humans and it began during the Industrial Revolution. Throughout the Industrial Revolution the production of burning fossil fuels increased drastically. The burnt fossil fuels began releasing large amounts of carbon dioxide, and artificial chemicals called halocarbons harming the environment. Scientists have concluded that most of the observed warming is very likely due to the burning of coal, oil, and gas. This conclusion is based on a detailed understanding of the atmospheric greenhouse effect and how human activities have been alternating it. The atmospheric greenhouse effect naturally keeps our planet warm enough to be livable. Sunlight passes through the atmosphere. Light-colored surfaces, such as clouds or ice caps, radiate some heat back into space. But most of the incoming heat warms the planet's surface. The Earth then radiates some heat back into the atmosphere. Some of that heat is trapped by greenhouse gases in…

    • 666 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays