FEATURED ESSAYS 1. The Problem Of Global Warming 2. Global Warming 2 - 3. Greenhousing The Wrong Way 4. Global Warming ------ 5. Essay On Global Warming 6. Global Warming 2 -- 7. Global Warming Extended Definitio... 8. Global Warming A Serious Threa 9. Global Warming A Serious Threat 10. Global Warming -. 11. Global Warming 4 12. Global Warming--is It Getting War... 13. Atmosphere Crisis 14. Carbon Dioxide

Global Warming

 Global Warming, aside from pollution is one of scientists biggest
concerns. Global Warming is caused by the Greenhouse effect. There are 4
steps in the Greenhouse effect. 1-Sunlight radiates from the sun, through
space, to EarthÆs atmosphere. 2- The sunlight enters the atmosphere and
hits Earth. Some of it turns into heat energy in the form of infrared
light. The heat gets absorbed by surrounding air and land, which in turn
makes it warm. 3- Infrared rays, that are remitted into the atmosphere are
trapped by greenhouse gases. 4- The gas then absorbs the light and is
remitted back to the EarthÆs surface and warms it even more. Some of the
naturally occurring greenhouse gases are Methane and carbon dioxide. This
is the way the Earth keeps itself warm enough for humans to live on it.

The only problem with this is that humans enhance the process even more.
Over the past 200 years the emissions of greenhouse gases have been
increasing due to the increase in technology that humans have developed
(example, factories). These human-induced gases include carbon dioxide,
methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone depleting substances such as CFCs, also
known as Chlorofluorocarbons, hydrofluorocarbons, and perfluorocarbons.
These gases are generated a number of human activities such as fossil fuel
combustion, waste disposal in landfills, the use of a refrigerator,
numerous agricultural and industrial activities, and the cutting down of
numerous forests.

These human practices have already changed the chemical make up of the
atmosphere. Between the pre-industrial times and today, we have seen the
concentration of carbon dioxide rise 30% in some regions, in particular
the northern hemisphere, human practices have increased concentrations of
aerosols in atmosphere, which is a traditional form of air pollution),
which tends to cool the atmosphere.

With all these gases in the air, it is starting to change the EarthÆs
climate. The temperature of the EarthÆs surface is as warm, if not warmer
than it has been in any other century since at least 1400 AD. The
temperature over the past century has risen one degree Fahrenheit over the
last century. These last few decades have been the warmest this century.
The sea level has risen 4 to 10 inches, and mountain glaciers world-wide
have begun to retreat.

It is important to recognize that with the recent warming and the other
climatic changes that have been going on have not been related to one
another. For example, warming has been greatest over the mid-latitude
continents in the winter and spring, with some area of cooling, such as
over the North Atlantic Ocean. Local and regional climate variation are
not inconsistent with the existence of global warming.

One recent study by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change)
said that unless governments do something to restrict the emissions of
greenhouse gases to a lower level, global temperatures could rise 1.6 to
6.3 degrees Fahrenheit by the year 2100. This would represent the fastest
rate of global warming since the end of the last ice age more than 10,000
years ago. With the increased warming of the Earth it could lead to
catastrophic events that could endanger living things on our planet.

One event is major drought all around the world. With the warming of the
planet, the water on the ground would quickly evaporate causing the rivers
and lakes to quickly dry up. This would lead to crops dying from lack of
rain, which would lead to food prices to skyrocket, which would lead to
people dying from hunger if they do not have enough money to pay the price
for food. Another event that would occur from global warming is the
drastic rise in sea level. As the Earth warms up, the polar ice caps will
start to melt. This would put immense amounts of water into EarthÆs
oceans. All cities along the coast would be flooded from the rise in sea
level. This would cause people to move inland, and with more people inland,
it would cause a shortage of space in some areas. With the coastal cities
under water, this would cause a great economic strain on the rest of the
cities throughout the world. Global Warming would also cause extreme
weather. Thunderstorms would be more powerful than they have ever been.
Tornadoes would be stronger than they normally would. With the warming of
the surface it would also warm the ocean over time. This would cause
hurricanes to be numerous and stronger than they have ever been.

There is only one way to stop global warming before it becomes a real
threat. That way is to stop emitting the greenhouse gases that cause
global warming. Only then will the problem of global warming be solved.

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