...Global warming: cause and mitigation Name: Institution: Introduction Global warming refers to climate change that causes an increase in the average temperature of the lower atmosphere. Though global warming has many different causes, it is greatly associated with human activities especially those that leads to release of greenhouse gases. This paper aims at evaluating both the scientific basis of global warming and the role of human beings in global warming. The paper achieves this by comparing natural and anthropogenic climate changes, providing evidence that global warming is taking place, and assessing carbon taxing and clean coal technology as current alleviation strategies for global warming. The paper finally proposes policy changes intended to stabilize global climate and points out nations and business sectors that would encounter strict standards on implementation of the proposed policies. Natural versus anthropogenic climate changes The climate change debate seems to be divided into two major sides. One side argues that the current global warming is caused by human factors while the other side credits global warming to natural processes. Although some scientists acknowledge natural processes as a cause of climate change, it has often been noted that there is no enough quantitative evidence to support that natural forces are dominant causes of current climate changes (Giddens, 2009). Many scientists credit the recent trends in climate change to anthropogenic causes...
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...Climate change is attributable to both natural and anthropogenic factors. Anthropogenic climate change, which are also known as human induced climate change, is a result of increase in greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and chlorofluorocarbons in the atmosphere, increase in atmospheric aerosols, and changes in land use, for instance, through cutting down of forests to create farms. The increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere causes an increase in the amount of heat that is being retained and consequently, increasing the temperatures on the earth’s surface significantly. For example, the amount of carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere has risen by more than 30 percent since the industrial revolution (Mulvaney, 2013). Atmospheric aerosols absorb infrared and solar radiation and also change the chemical composition of the clouds, both physically and chemically. Industrial processes, human activity, biomass burning and exhaust emissions lead to chemical reactions, which consequently, form aerosols in the atmosphere. Changes in land use have also led to a significant increase in the sunlight reflected back into the surface. In North America and Eurasia, during the industrial era, it is estimated that one-fifth of land was attributed to agricultural activities and deforestation. On the other hand, natural climate changes can be a result of changes in suns energy and shifting of the orbit of the earth. Essentially, the earth’s orbital...
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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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...Andrew Mosolovich Week 9 Assignment Professor Pavlov 06/07/2013 Is our environment being compromised from excessive use of different chemicals? This is the question that has been the ground for major debate for many years, is our advancements causing global warming? When debating global warming the first thing to consider is what the cause of global warming is, and the answer to this basic question is greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases are natural gases such as CO2, Nitrous Oxide or Methane and are created in one of two ways. The first way is, through natural cycles, for instance, CO2 is released through animal respiration or plant photosynthesis. The alternative greenhouse gas production comes from man’s use of different fuels and products; this can lead to anthropogenic climate changes. Anthropogenic Climate Changes are changes in the atmosphere brought on by human activity, and there is evidence of these kinds of changes all over. By studying the size of the polar ice caps we can see that they are shrinking and this may be due to a warmer atmosphere temperature brought on by none other than an anthropogenic climate change. An IPCC report from 2007 showing levels of some of the greenhouse gases also shows that the levels of greenhouse gases in the earth’s atmosphere has skyrocketed since the post-industrial era, this can only be attributed to man-made machines that have come to rise. So how does human activity attribute to the climate rise? Greenhouse gases are natural...
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...Global Warming: Cause and Mitigation Tyler Turner Strayer Introduction to Physical Science SCI 110 Prof. Amanda Slaughter June 5, 2016 Global Warming: Cause and Mitigation In this paper I will be discussing different causes and effects of global warming. First we will look at comparing and contrasting natural versus anthropogenic climate changes and include examples of each type. We will then discuss which position I will take in wither global warming exists or not. After that we will I will assess two current mitigation strategies for global warming and analyze the effectiveness of the mitigation strategy. Lastly we will look at the policy changes that I would propose to help stabilize global climate, and what business sectors or nations would be held to stricter standards to my proposed policy. To start this paper off I will first look at comparing and contrasting natural versus anthropogenic climate changes and providing examples of both. But I think to start off we need to first know what natural climate change and anthropogenic climate change are. Natural climate changes are anything that effect the climate of the earth in natural ways, for example the sun, the moon, the atmosphere. But what is anthropogenic climate change? Anthropogenic climate change is defined as; “the production of greenhouse gases emitted by human activity” ("Anthropogenic Climate Change," n.d.). Let us first look at natural climate changes, and what causes these type of changes. There...
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...Lab Research Report 2: Global Warming: Cause and Mitigation Rhys Greer September 14, 2014 Dr. Rana Miller Strong University Compare and contrast natural versus anthropogenic climate changes. Include specific examples of each. In an article written by the United States Environmental Association (EPA) it lists natural changes in greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations, volcanic eruptions and solar energy as some of the natural causes of climate changes on earth. The article goes on to say “Recent climate changes, however, cannot be explained by natural causes alone. Research indicates that natural causes are very unlikely to explain most observed warming, especially warming since the mid-20th century. Rather, human activities can very likely explain most of that warming.” These human activities are the causes of anthropogenic climate changes. The article also adds “Since the Industrial Revolution began around 1750; human activities have contributed substantially to climate change by adding CO2 and other heat-trapping gases to the atmosphere. These greenhouse gas emissions have increased the greenhouse effect and caused Earth’s surface temperature to rise. The primary human activity affecting the amount and rate of climate change is greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of fossil fuels.” Some human activities that initiate climate changes are caused by the gas emissions from fossil fuels used to heat homes, petroleum based fuels like gasoline and diesel used for transportation...
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...Professor Richmond Jones Expository Writing September 18, 2014 Assignment 2 Global Warming: Get Used to It Fareed Zakaria, editor of Newsweek International argues in his 2007 essay “Global Warming: Get Used To It” there is no stopping global warming; it is going to happen regardless of human activity, so adaptation and mitigation are essential. Zakaria cites reliable sources, including the British Association for the Advancement of Science, Frances Cairncross, and their policies for adaptation programs like developing new crops, constructing flood defenses, and making different building codes to prevent building close to sea level. His main purpose is to inform us about the rapid negative effects of global warming in order to persuade his audience to start acting by reducing fuel consumption methods and carbon dioxide pollution. Zakaria stresses the importance of early planning for the inevitable impact of climate change, and although the initial cost might be high, it is worth in the long run. Zakaria is effective because he utilizes rational and emotional evidence to support his claim. Zakaria shows good use of rational evidence when he provided facts and expert opinions to support his position about climate change, mitigation, and adaptation. For instance, he states, “Of the 12 hottest years on record, 11 have occurred since 1995.” This example indicates the rapid growth of global warming in a short span of time and how it will only continue to get worse. Zakaria emphases...
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...Abstract Global warming is a large increase in the Earth’s climatic temperature over a short period of time, and had become one of the most controversial topics that we have been facing. What impacts does global warming have on the atmosphere and what actions can we take to rectify the problem. Does global warming exist and what can we do about it? Global warming is caused by natural and human interference. Some global warming differences with natural and anthropogenic climates changes are, natural climate changes include volcanic activity and anthropogenic changes are caused by human influences such as burning coal oil. I believe that global warming is taking place; climate change has already had observable effects on the environment. Glaciers are shrinking, ice on rivers and lakes are breaking up earlier, plants and trees are flowering sooner. The changes in the weather is one indication, many places have been experiencing more floods, droughts and more severe heat waves. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the average surface temperature across the contiguous 48 states has risen at an average rate of 0.13°F per decade. Average temperatures have risen more quickly since the late 1970s and seven of the top 10 warmest years on record for the United States have occurred since 1998, with 2012 being the warmest year on record. A second indicator is the change in the sea level. After a period of approximately 2,000 years of little change, sea level...
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...Global Warming : cause and Mitigation SCI 110 December 4, 2013 Global Warming: cause and Mitigation Comparing contrast natural versus man-made climate changes. My sciences agree that there are natural causes to climate change so says the sun greenhouse effect and reflectivity. Many would also debate the man-made atmosphere changes can increase these significantly to be determined as a man-made change the global climate. Whenever sciences look at the history of the changes and whether they can have many different conclusions for rising temperature stay in that can be a normal Earth cycle. The greenhouse effect is something scientism turn was the resolution of plants release some energy back into the estimate fear is he causing a greenhouse type effect on the entire planet. The rule of reflectivity in the past sciences have concluded that ice melting and increase call cover can contribute to climate change also known is volcanoes eruption's in the past have been known to change the atmosphere. In my opinion global warming does exist the amount of man-made materials and emissions into the atmosphere is almost uncountable. To be naïve to believe that these emissions’ staying with in our atmosphere does not have a change on our global climate is ignorant to the fact that these emissions are home for toxic and dangerous to humanity and the earth itself. Although it may be difficult for politicians and business people to believe are to take advantage of the information given...
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...ecosystems rely on warm and cold temperatures, winds, rainfall, and even fire to flourish. Due to historical issues such as Apartheid, the almost 4 million residents of Cape Town (City of Cape Town) are often times racially divided in terms of physical housing locations. Some areas are much more impoverished than others, causing the effects of climate change to be felt more intensely and mitigation efforts to be more difficult (Ziervogel, Shale and Du). Climate change is largely attributed to global warming. In a nutshell, this involves greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide to collect and form a layer in the atmosphere. The sun’s heat is then trapped in the atmosphere, causing a rise in the planet’s average temperature (NRDC). This collection of meteorological phenomena poses threats to the planet and the people living in it. Three different effects of climate change in Cape Town will be discussed, explaining the factors leading up to these, how the local people are affected, as well as mitigation efforts and the effectiveness thereof. Coastal Zones: Global warming, as described, causes thermal expansion of the water of the oceans. Another contributor to the rise of the sea level is the melting of the glaciers. This has many effects, including increased saltwater intrusion, higher tides, more flooding and increased coastal erosions. In some areas, developments have taken place too close to...
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...Coral Reef Mitigation Plan XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX SCI/275 October 9, 2011 XXXXXXXXXXXXX Coral Reef Mitigation Plan A recent report estimates that 27% of the world's reefs are already gone and severely damaged and that another 58% are degraded and threatened. Here in the United States, in faraway places, and in the planet’s most secluded areas are experiencing coral reef crisis. Coral reefs survival are endangered from a controlling mixture of stresses which include global warming, bleaching, carbon dioxide, water pollution, sedimentation, coastal development, damaging fishing practices, coral mining, tourism, and ozone depletion. Threatening behavior from human activities, either direct or indirect, create considerable hazards to coral reef ecosystems, and the human populations that rely on them. Ocean warming caused from global warming and ozone depletion is severely hazardous to coral reefs. Coral organisms are extremely receptive to temperature changes. Water temperature increase may cause mass bleaching among coral reefs which causes coral polyps to expel zooxanthellae from the stress caused by ultraviolet radiation or heat. Zooxanthellae supplies reef corals with up to 80% of its energy, making zooxanthellae necessary for coral survival (Coral Reef Alliance, 2010). Zooxanthellae provide color for corals so when released corals become white or bleached. Coral have a chance to recover from bleaching effect only if normal conditions return promptly enough, but in most...
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...Cause and Mitigation Luis A. Ortiz Pamela Ray Introduction to Physical Science June 11, 2014 Abstract Global warming has been a topic of much debate, heated arguments and even the creation of environment oriented groups that look to impact the modern industrial world with their views and protest driven rallies in an effort to spread awareness about climate change. Cause and Mitigation Climate change has certainly been a bigger topic of discussion now than it has ever been in the past 10 years. While "some people speculate that the current global warming trend is part of the natural cycle"(Hilderman, 2011, para. 1), there is no denying that the human carbon footprint has had its effect in recent years. The Sun initiates global warming through its natural cycle of orbital variations, these variations are due to the Milankovitch Cycles and the presence of sunspots during these cycles. This initial global warming effect triggers the release of the greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The Earth has a natural greenhouse effect which means that when carbon dioxide and methane are released into the atmosphere these gases absorb radiation heat from the Sun and keep the average surface temperature on Earth higher, around 14°C, by amplifying the orbital warming. "Without the natural greenhouse effect, the Earth’s average surface temperature would be around -19°C'("Causes", n.d., para. 2). The natural climate cycle is nothing more than the combination of orbital changes and the...
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...Global Warming Cause and Mitigation Vanessa Gunnoe Week 9 assignment Professor Pavlov 06/07/2013 ------------------------------------------------- The role of anthropogenic climate changes is a climate change that refers to the production of greenhouse gases emitted by human activity. By examining the polar ice cores, scientists are convinced that human activity has increased the proportion of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere; The Earth has a natural greenhouse effect where certain gases (known as greenhouse gases) in the atmosphere allow the sunlight to enter but absorb the heat radiation. Because these gases absorb the heat, they average the surface temperature on Earth around 14°C. Without the natural greenhouse effect, the Earth’s average surface temperature would be around -19°C.which has skyrocketed over the past few hundred years. In other words this is anthropogenic climate change, and the significant increases in the atmosphere of these potent greenhouse gases are a result of human activity. The most potent of the greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N20). Alarmingly, these are a result of anthropogenic climate change, and the gases are at the highest levels for over 650,000 years. Since 1750, it is estimated that about two thirds of anthropogenic climate change CO2 emissions have come from fossil fuel burning (coal and petroleum) and about one third from land use change (mainly deforestation and agricultural). About...
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...Global Warming Cause and Mitigation Vanessa Gunnoe Week 9 assignment Professor Pavlov 06/07/2013 ------------------------------------------------- The role of anthropogenic climate changes is a climate change that refers to the production of greenhouse gases emitted by human activity. By examining the polar ice cores, scientists are convinced that human activity has increased the proportion of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere; The Earth has a natural greenhouse effect where certain gases (known as greenhouse gases) in the atmosphere allow the sunlight to enter but absorb the heat radiation. Because these gases absorb the heat, they average the surface temperature on Earth around 14°C. Without the natural greenhouse effect, the Earth’s average surface temperature would be around -19°C.which has skyrocketed over the past few hundred years. In other words this is anthropogenic climate change, and the significant increases in the atmosphere of these potent greenhouse gases are a result of human activity. The most potent of the greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N20). Alarmingly, these are a result of anthropogenic climate change, and the gases are at the highest levels for over 650,000 years. Since 1750, it is estimated that about two thirds of anthropogenic climate change CO2 emissions have come from fossil fuel burning (coal and petroleum) and about one third from land use change (mainly deforestation and agricultural). About...
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...Project Part 2 This research and overview provides awareness of global warming and how our planet’s atmosphere is overloaded with heat trapping carbon dioxide (CO2), which threatens wide-ranging disorder in climate with devastating consequences. Global warming is an environmental issue that affects human health, ecosystem, etc. and this study is summed up into basic responses and opposing viewpoints. I. What are the causes of global warming? • CO2 emissions and increased concentration of greenhouse gases • Human activity is causing the Earth to get hotter • Global warming is a natural occurrence of nature a. Deforestation and natural resources are part of the earth’s cycle b. Negative conception due to media c. Lack of scientific evidence II. Global warming causes serious concern. • Record-breaking extreme weather a. Severe droughts b. Damaging wildfires c. Rising sea levels, warmer temperatures d. Heat waves; diseases • Clean Air Act (CAA), Endangered Species Act, and the Clean Water Act (CWA) that addresses pollution from sewage systems and storm water run-off • NRDC examines long-range consequences if issue is not addressed III. Solving global warming will improve our lives. • Set practical and feasible limits on global warming pollution; in accordance with EPA standards • Think “green” a. Smart cars b. Public transportation c. Communities and buildings d. Stricter efficiency requirements for appliances IV. Curbing climate change •...
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