...13 October 2009 Global Warming The Earth's climate is constantly changing over time. Many climatologists believe that the temperature of the Earth slowly fluctuates over time. In fact, several scientists estimate that between 15,000 and 30,000 years ago the Earth was covered by large sheets of ice. This period of time was known as the Ice Age. As the temperature of the Earth began to rise 7,000 years ago, the Ice Age came to an end. The first theory of global warming came in 1824 when French mathematician Jean Baptiste Joseph Fourier discovered that the Earth's temperature was slowly increasing. Fourier argued that the earth's atmosphere traps solar radiation and reflects it back toward the earth. In the late 19th century Fourier's theory was labeled the "greenhouse effect" when Nobel Laureate Svante Arrhenius coined the term to explain how carbon dioxide traps heat in the Earth's atmosphere. Today, scientists disagree on the effects of global warming while some deny the phenomena all together. Despite these arguments many historians point out the direct relationship between man and the environment, often referencing the American Dust Bowl of the 1930s, where large scale soil erosion reduced parts of Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas to arid deserts. Currently, many governments and corporations are working to reduce fuel emissions and produce "Earth friendly" products such as hybrid cars. Yet, many scientists warn that global warming is an imminent and...
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...* Global Warming: Fact or Fiction Victoria Rock AIU Online BUSN300-1202A-15 Abstract This report will explore the topic of Global Warming in terms of fact or fiction surrounding the impact on the environment worldwide. The purpose of this report is to inform members of Congress about the two opposing viewpoints on this matter. * I. Background of Global Warming A. Impetus for the subject 1. Arguments for the topic 2. Arguments against the topic II. Discussion A. Melting Glaciers B. Unpredictable Weather III. Conclusion I. Background of Global Warming One of the most debated topics on Earth is the issue of climate change or Global Warming. Global Warming fist became a concern in the 19th century when the industrialized revolution first began. Scientist believe that the increase use of fossil fuels and deforestation has caused greenhouse gases, which in turn has affected our climate temperatures. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a national climatic data center, and the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) are central to answering some of the most pressing global change questions that remain unresolved. A New York Times reporter said, “Global warming has become perhaps the most complicated issue facing world leaders [ (Global Warming & Climate Change, 2012) ]” The Natural Resources Defense Council says, “Climate change is the single biggest environmental and...
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...consequences of the enhanced greenhouse effect and global climate change Figure [ 1 ] - The greenhouse effect diagram, http://www.ozcoasts.gov.au/indicators/images/oze_fs_009_02.jpg Figure [ 1 ] - The greenhouse effect diagram, http://www.ozcoasts.gov.au/indicators/images/oze_fs_009_02.jpg “The unprecedented increases in greenhouse gas concentrations, together with other human influences on climate over the past century and those anticipated for the future, constitute a real basis for concern” (American Geophysical Union, 2014). The Earth's surface temperature has to be just right for humans, not too cold and not too hot. Thanks to the natural greenhouse effect, which has kept the Earth warm. It’s a phenomenon where the earth's atmosphere traps solar radiation, caused by the presence in the atmosphere of gases such as carbon dioxide, water vapor, and methane that allow incoming sunlight to pass through but absorb heat radiated back from the earth's surface. As there are naturally occurring greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that help keep the Earth warm, added amounts of these gases leads to extra heat being trapped in the Earth’s atmosphere. These gases (carbon dioxide, methane etc.) are being added by human activities and are enhancing the greenhouse effect as shown in figure 1. The global climate change is causing many environmental consequences and will cause more. There are five gases that contribute to the enhanced greenhouse effect. These five gases are water vapour...
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...Global Warming: A Global Threat Over the period within which human beings have existed, man has been in the forefront of all technological marvels to date. Man has created, destroyed and revived many natural cycles and dynamics that balance the delicate nature of this world. Although global warming is not a recent phenomenon, very few people had knowledge of its existence a decade ago. However, in the last few years, the media started to shed light into the dangers of global warming, and the idea has finally begun to enter the minds of past and the current generations alike. Global warming poses a great danger to planet earth. A harmonious blend of living organisms, human beings and the ecosystem is on the verge of being unbalanced. Within a matter of a few years, the world’s sea levels have risen, animals have become extinct and the delicate balance of nature has almost tipped off. Whether this is a danger to planet earth, is still uncertain, but whatever the effects of global warming may be, there is no doubt that the consequences are going to be massive. Disputes over this topic have reached a boiling point and people and scientists on both sides of the line have begun to wonder if they are right or wrong. Global warming poses a grave danger to man in the form of diseases, food shortages and economic decline. One of the first and obvious dangers of global warming is the effect on human beings in the form of diseases. Diseases are the biggest killers that the world has ever...
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...The melting of ice glaciers is considered to be a normal act of nature. The real problem occurs when “the snow replenishing it is less than the melted water.” (Mathias, 2011). This problem is occurring with the majority of glaciers around the world, with the size of the glaciers reducing causing an increase in the sea water levels. The primary culprit for the sudden melting of ice glaciers is the rapid industrialization and the burning of fossil fuels taking place. There are many negative effects on the earth because of the rapid melting of ice glaciers but the most prominent ones are global warming, shortage in fresh water and the rise in sea level. The human population has taken action to try and reduce the severity of these effects, and have been successful in doing so, but they are still very present. Global warming is a concern that is well-known by the majority of our population and a mutual effort of several countries to reduce the overall release of pollution and greenhouse gases was carried out through a contract called the “Kyoto Protocol.” This is one good example of the awareness of the issues that we as a planet are facing, and how we have tackled these severe issues. Glacier melting is on the rise and the effects, as a result, are becoming more serious which is why it is worth investigating ways in which these situations can be mitigated. The relationship between the melting ice glaciers and global warming is best described as a feedback loop, which defined by...
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...Global warming is the term used to describe a gradual increase in the average temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere and its oceans, a change that is believed to be permanently changing the Earth’s climate.Several current trends clearly demonstrate that global warming is directly impacting on rising sea levels, the melting of ice caps and significant worldwide climate changes Even though it is an ongoing debate, it is proved by the scientists that the planet is warming. Topic Sentence 1- causes Scientists have spent decades figuring out what is causing global warming. They've looked at the natural cycles and events that are known to influence climate. But the amount and pattern of warming that's been measured can't be explained by these factors alone.One of the first things scientists learned is that there are several greenhouse gases responsible for warming, and humans enfluence them in a variety of ways.Different greenhouse gases have very different heat-trapping abilities and certain gases in the atmosphere block heat from escaping which doesnt allow heat to reflect back in the space causing temperature to rise. Most come from the consumption of fossil fuels in cars, factories and electricity production. The gas responsible for the most warming is carbon dioxide (Facts of Carbondioxide as years pass and example from movie). Other contributors include methane released from landfills and agriculture (especially from the digestive systems of grazing animals), nitrous oxide from...
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...The Effects of Global Warming Global Warming: Fact or Fiction I. Description: Global Warming In plain terms, global warming is a phenomenon where the average temperature of the earth’s atmosphere has increased, and is causing a green house effect. The temperature is raised due to increased levels of carbon dioxide (Balaguer, 2010). On average, in America we annually release an estimated 20 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere through driving to work, the use of heating and cooling appliances, and turning on lights (Ecologic Development Fund, 2010). The increased temperature is depleting our ozone, causing severe hurricanes, major flooding, and intensifying desertification, meaning “reduction or destruction of the biological potential of the earth which can create the conditions analogous to a natural desert" (Desertification and Hazard Assessment, 2010). Although human activity is commonly blamed for the problem, there is some debate among experts regarding the severity of global warming, and whether the cause is a natural phenomenon or in fact a result of mankind’s environmental negligence. A. Impetus discussion: 1. Global warming is fiction: Although it is agreed that an increase of Co2 levels are causing a green house effect, according to Brown, there is no consensus among scientists to explain the true cause of global warming (2010). Some scientists believe the warming temperatures and rising sea levels is a natural...
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...Glaciers by Crystal Sweet Rasmussen College Author’s Note This paper is being submitted for Introduction to Geology course at Rasmussen College to Dr. Nikki Strong on June 16, 2013, by Crystal Sweet. When you think fresh water what comes to mind? Perhaps a bottle of water or a stream that is so clear you can see the bottom, did you ever think of glaciers? Glaciers actually store up to 75% of our fresh water (NSIDC, 2013). This natural occurrence has happened many years and at one time it actually had covered up to 32% (NSIDC, 2013) of the earth which occurred when there was an ice age. Figure [ 1 ]: Layers of Glaciers (http://whatdoino-steve.blogspot.com/2012/03/niveolian-art.html) Figure [ 1 ]: Layers of Glaciers (http://whatdoino-steve.blogspot.com/2012/03/niveolian-art.html) Glaciers are all over the world the only place that doesn’t have glaciers is Australia. You may not believe it but even Africa has glaciers. Glaciers start out as snowflakes but need to have the right environment to grow into a glacier. Most are found in areas that have large amounts of snow fall in the winters and the warm seasons stay cool so the snow doesn’t melt completely. So the snow from the winter starts to melt but does not completely melt, then it forms into ice and new snowfalls on the layer of ice that winter; this circle keeps happening and the glaciers grow and eventually start to move because of its own weight. They can be as small as a football field or as enormous as snow...
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...EFFECTS OF GLOBAL WARMING. Introduction In the past few decades, the earth has been increasingly warmer; weather changes have become more unpredictable. This phenomenon known as global warming, according to Maslin (2000), global warming is due to the massive increase in greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, which we are emitting into the atmosphere. Global warming can be natural or human induced, natural global warming occurs due to factors such as volcanic eruption, the relationship between the earth’s rotation axis position and revolution around the sun. However, global warming has increased over the last centuries at an unnatural pace, this has made specialist believe that the real cause of global warming is human induced. Activities that cause human induced global warming include, agricultural practices, burning of fossil, deforestation, industrial processes and the introduction of massive plants or animals. The effects of global warming may be physical, ecological, social or economic (Haldar, 2011). Some of the physical effects include extreme weather conditions such as rising temperatures, warmer temperature could lead to increased drought, more powerful and dangerous hurricanes and even intense rainstorms. Local climate change is another physical effect of global warming. According to (Haldar, 2001 ), there are three ways in which global warming can cause changes in regional climate, melting or forming ice, changing the hydro cycle and changing currents in the...
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...watched a television program, or read an article about Global warming? A person would be hard pressed to find someone who hasn’t. The news is hard to ignore since the information that is given to us comes from scientists or experts in the field of global warming. We are continually bombarded with information that the Earth is experiencing a warming trend, and human activity is to blame. The pollution that man creates is adding to the earth’s greenhouse gases. The resulting affect of global warming is triggering warmer temperatures around the world, and ecosystems are taking the toll. One of the most publicized looming catastrophes is the plight of the polar bears. Once the glaciers are gone, the polar bear will be extinct in the wild. Although, scientists say it is caused by the pollution that humans are creating, global warming is a natural phenomenon. Snow capped mountains are a wondrous sight to behold, and can be found on every continent. But, these massive ice shelf’s have a purpose that many people take for granted. Many people do not realize that glaciers are responsible for part of the world’s water supply. Revkin (2003) states “The melting is likely to threaten water supplies in places like Peru and Nepal” (¶ 19). The result from the melting glaciers will raise water levels and potentially create devastating floods over time. The eventual outcome that these countries will face once the glaciers are gone is drought. Many communities are also dependent...
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...Global Warming: Real or Temporary Climactic Change? Global warming is “the increase in the average temperature of Earth’s near-surface air and oceans since the mid-20th century and its projected continuation” (Wikipedia, 2010). Everybody can participate and cut down on a lot of energy that we use. Some of it we cannot help, like snowstorms, wildfires and floods. Those are some of the affects we are seeing. The Earth is warming up at a rapid speed and melting the glaciers that are causing floods. Some areas are so dry that when a severe thunderstorm occurs and lighting strike, this cause a wildfire. In the news every day we are hearing about earthquakes, volcanoes and flooding. Just this past winter was the worst one we ever had. Global Warming is far from over but we can do some things to try to prevent it but God has the last say so. It was predicted long ago that mankind was going to ruin the earth with all the consumption of gas and polluting the air. If we start now trying to go green we probably can pro long the crisis. You can get tips from Al Gore the former Vice President. He has written books and has video tapes on how we can save our planet. The most talked about effort is called “going green.” Buy all natural cleaning products, use a reusable shopping bag and build energy efficient buildings. Global Warming: Real or Temporary Climatic Change? Global warming has been the topic...
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...MAN CAUSES GLOBAL WARMING BY IGNORING THE WATERS OF OUR WORLD BRANDY D WATTS SAVANNAH STATE UNIVERSITY I believe that man’s carbon impact on our oceans is causing global warming. Those who think that we have not affected global warming have failed to see that our actions have had serious impact on our ecology. Global Warming is defined by The American Heritage® Science Dictionary as “An increase in the average temperature of the Earth's atmosphere, especially a sustained increase great enough to cause changes in the global climate. The Earth has experienced numerous episodes of global warming through its history, and currently appears to be undergoing such warming. The present warming is generally attributed to an increase in the greenhouse effect, brought about by increased levels of greenhouse gases, largely due to the effects of human industry and agriculture. Expected long-term effects of current global warming are rising sea levels, flooding, melting of polar ice caps and glaciers, fluctuations in temperature and precipitation, more frequent and stronger El Niños and La Niñas, drought, heat waves, and forest fires.” The information presented will clearly show that there is enough proof in our daily lives to see that not only is global warming real, but that we are, ourselves, making it worse. As the human race exists, we exhale carbon dioxide. This buildup of carbon dioxide is bad for the ocean’s ecosystem. This is because the ocean absorbs more carbon dioxide as...
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...Assignment 2: Global Warming: Cause and Mitigation Introduction to Physical Science xxxxxxxxxxxx December 6, 2015 Strayer University Professor xxxx xxxx One of the most all time debated and controversial topics to date in science is global warming. Over the last few decades climate change have lead scientist to develop a theories that human beings are the major contributors to the global warming crisis. Many theories suggest that different types of issues contribute to the warming of the planet but the mitigation strategies to slow this process down vary as well. When speaking of this topic there are two basic types of climate change, natural and anthropogenic. Main contributor in the climate change or global warming can be referred to as greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases are derived from water vapor, Methane, Chlorofluorocarbons, and Carbon dioxide. Anthropogenic theory state that the development and consumption of fossil fuels for human life has generated and released a large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. According to this theory the excess carbon dioxide is the main cause of climate change around the world. This process prevents heat from earth to escape naturally into space and hence cool the earth. The theory known as the natural theory states that the earth is going through one of the many peaks and valleys of changes. This of course being a peak of...
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...Global Warming: Fact or Fiction AIU Lower Division Capstone BUSN 300 Outline Introduction/Thesis: I. History of Global Warming A. A driving force for the argument 1. A debate that global warming is in fact a fiction 2. A debate that global warming is a fact II. Argumentation A. The Melting Glaciers B. Weather that is Difficult to Follow Conclusion/Closing: Global Warming: Fact or Fiction For years the glaciers have been melting and catching people’s attention, this has resulted in the rise of over 6 in. in the sea level where as a hundred years ago it was much lower. This raises the question as to whether global warming is a fact or fiction. Literature on global warming is comprised mostly on intelligent discussion on having "too much caution on global warming" (Nature, 1991) or "global warming is real" (Kerr, 1989, p. 603) rather than fiction. Let me break this down for you people, society is using to much resources and energy in assuring ourselves that global warming is in fact an issue at all. The top debate in favor of global warming being fiction is the lack of scientific evidence connecting the emissions of greenhouse gases as a result of human activity with global warming (Brown, 2010, p. 26). First and for most any connection at all is completely uncertain and there is no proof. Then we also have, people in today’s that say global warming is a fact and say that society, "have caused a number of environment issues, such as global...
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...Global Warming: Fact or Fiction I. Background on Global Warming What is as alarming as the fact that glaciers are melting, which have resulted to the increase of more than 6 inches in sea level compared to 100 years ago, is the seemingly unending debate on whether global warming is actually a fact or fiction. Literature on global warming is comprised mostly on intelligent discussion on having "too much caution on global warming" (Nature, 1991) or "global warming is real" (Kerr, 1989, p. 603) rather than fiction. In short, ladies and gentlemen, we are spending too time, energy and resources in assuring ourselves that global warming is in fact an issue at all. A. Impetus for the debate 1. Arguments that global warming is in fact a fiction The main argument of the proponents that global warming is a fiction is the absence of scientific evidence linking the emissions of greenhouse gases as a result of human activity with global warming (Brown, 2010, p. 26). As a matter of fact, any linkage is highly uncertain. 2. Arguments that global warming is a fact On the other hand, those who say that global warming is a fact argue that human beings, us, "have caused a number of environment issues, such as global warming, ozone depletion, distinction of biological diversity, hazardous wastes and acid rain, resource depletion and the destruction of ecological system, by overusing and misallocating the natural resources" (Lee & Hseuh, 2010, p. 111). II. Discussion The debate on whether...
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