...The effect of global warming on the United States Global Warming was first recognized in the 1950's and will continue to be a problem for us, as humans keep contributing by releasing heat trapping gasses in our everyday life. The drought in Texas was very sever and caused a lot of problems while also creating expenses as well. Texas suffered from extreme wildfires in more than twenty cities. In the year 2011 there were 30,457 fires recorded in the state of Texas. More than seven thousand square miles of agriculture were burned. 3,017 homes were lost.7.62 billion dollars were documented in agricultural losses and 117 drought related deaths were noted (Amico). The greenhouse effect is a process by which certain gases in a planet's atmosphere give it a higher temperature than the planet would have otherwise. Light is one form of electromagnetic radiation. From lower energy to higher energy, categories of EM radiation includes radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, x-rays, and gamma rays. Blackbody radiation is EM radiation given off by all matter, as a function of the matter's temperature. Hotter objects give off more total EM radiation, and also give off a greater fraction of that radiation as higher energy radiation.Since the Sun has a surface temperature of 5,700° C, about 42% of the blackbody radiation it radiates is visible light The Earth also radiates blackbody radiation but almost entirely as infrared light Certain gases in the Earth's atmosphere...
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...DEBUNKING THE GLOBAL WARMING THEORY Name of Author Institutional Affiliation There has been a growing concern over the issue of global warming over the years. A vast number of global warming skeptics, politicians, and groups of scientists such as those that constitute the IPCC believe that climate change is adversely influenced by human activities that constantly raise CO2 levels. However, new studies reveal that there is little evidence to support the popular theory that global warming is directly influenced by man’s activities, and it is this that discredits the baseless global warming theory. First, there are no real scientific proofs that support the global warming theory. Contrary, most of the observations over the past 30 years reveal that human activities are not a contributing factor to the rise in temperatures. In fact, most of these temperature changes are natural. Fossil fuels, on the other hand, cannot be labeled as the main cause of global warming despite their contribution to CO2 levels. The IPCC can be disputed for its scientific consensus report because most of its scientists lack scientific qualifications, and there are scientists in the same panel that object sections of the IPCC report that relates CO2 emissions to the increase in global temperatures. It is also worth noting that some corporations stand to benefit from the global warming scare, and this may be a reason why the theory still exists. Ultimately, it is absurd to blame a single gas for the...
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...Global warming occurs when carbon dioxide and other air pollution collect in the atmosphere like a thickening blanket, trapping the sun's heat and causing the planet to warm up. Currently, the state of Texas ranks number one in the amount of carbon dioxide emissions in the air, toxic chemicals released into the water, and the amount of hazardous waste generated. As a result, the number one issue in Texas today, is the amount the state as a whole is contributing to the worsening of global warming/pollution, and the effects it is having on the environment. Carbon dioxide emissions are the number one contribution factor for global warming and they are at an all-time high. They are currently higher in this year than they ever have been before. Research shows that if carbon dioxide levels raise 2-3 ppm each year, inconceivable catastrophic events will occur. However, with Texas’s contribution of emission levels, the ppm levels are already at 380 and are estimated to rise 2-3 ppm each year; thus, emission levels would reach their catastrophic limit within twenty to thirty years....
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...Global Warming in Texas ECON 410-Environmental Economics Content Introduction Page 2 Question Page 2 Answer Page 2 Conclusion Page 3 References Page 3 Global Warming in Texas Introduction The purpose of this paper is to identify an effective economic solution and to answer a question involving the impact of global warming in Texas. Questions What valuation technique would you use to measure the value of improving the environment to a defined level? What are some drawbacks to using this technique? How would you minimize problems associated with this technique? What are the explicit and implicit costs of the policy proposal to use tougher controls/standards for environmental improvement to your concern and explain the implicit and explicit costs involved? Answer The best valuation technique to use to prevent global warming would be the use of wind energy. I believe the use of the windmill will be a good measure and will quickly improve the environment. The cost of operating wind energy is more expensive, but I think our environment is well worth the cost. Some drawbacks of wind energy include, noise disturbances which all though wind energy are non-polluting, and the windmills may create some amount of noise when it’s turning. Wildlife can also be threatened due to large scale construction of wind turbines in remote locations, so it could cause a threat to wild...
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...Hi! My name is (...). Today I will talk about global warming with main focus on the polar ice including the artic animals like the polar bear. So as a start, the global warming is the biggest threat for artic animals like the polar bear. Even though people like those in the Bush administration, refused to accept global warming; many think that the future climate changes can erase all the artic animals, and basically destroy the world as we know it. So, what will happen if we don’t act now? As I said, the world biggest bear is in danger. The polar bear uses the ice to rest and catch seals. Without the ice the polar bear will have no place to hunt or rest. The number of bears has never been so low. Today its just 20.000 to 25.000 left because the ice is melting. Their natural habitat is disappearing. The UN tells us that 50% of the winter polar ice will disappear before year 2100, and all the summer ice. If this happen, it’s hard to imagine that the polar bear and all the other artic animals will survive. And it isn’t just the polar bear that is in danger, but also our future generations. The polar ice cool down air, and stores millions of gallons of water. From now, and up to year 2100, the water level is likely to rise with 40 centimetres. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but even a small increase can have a devastating effect on coastal habitats. And in America parts of Louisiana, Texas, Florida and North Carolina will be flooded. So what causes this development, and the sea...
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...Environmental Risk Perception Paper Fredrick B. Lowe PSY/460 June 20, 2016 Susie Ingram Environmental Risk Perception Paper One environmental risk that is taking over now and is getting a lot of press is global warming. I decided to pick this risk because if we do not do something now we will be in a lot of trouble later with this issue. It seems like the world is taking this environmental risk lightly, and I attribute this to the lack of education. I feel that if the world were more educated on this issue it would get the attention that it needs. Global warming has been one of the more commonly discussed environmental issues in the news lately. I picked two articles on this issue with the first article rating global warming as being a high risk and the second article seems to be not much concerned with global warming as being a major issue of the world. The first article focuses on the impact of the tourist transport industry and how this affects the environment along with global warming. The article points out that tourist travel by bus, train, car, plane, etc. and it let us know that traveling from both air and road can burn large quantities of fossil fuels, and also release high levels of pollutants into the atmosphere. The article also talks about how parking and ground level car movement can be harmful to landscapes and the undisturbed nature of protective areas. The article seems to focus more on air and road transport because these the two that are burning...
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...Increasing human population numbers are putting great pressure on our environment, people can affect environment and vice versa. Atmospheric quality, energy flow, water cycle and recycling all causes by human and can influence them. So how human activities can affect our ecosystem? What is the ways that global warming might affect our ecosystems? Is our local ecosystem affected more or less than other parts of the world? Local and surrounding ecologies and environments with specific factors: North Central Texas has a humid subtropical climate with hot summers and winters that are not extremely cold. High elevation areas in the "Upstate" area have less subtropical characteristics than areas on the Atlantic coastline. In the summer, North Central Texas is hot and humid with daytime temperatures averaging near 90 °F (32 °C) across most of the state with overnight lows near70 °F(21 °C). Winter temperatures are much less uniform. Coastal areas of the state have very mild winters with high temperatures averaging near 60 °F (16 °C) and overnight lows near38 °F (3 °C). Further inland in the Houston area, temperatures average between 50 °F (10 °C) during the day and32 °F (0 °C) at night. There’s really nothing around me but schools and police department, which is called the Collin County Sheriff Department and there are some forests near to my local. How human activities affect our ecosystems: Human activities are altering the equilibrium involved in the natural processes and cycles...
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...or regionally. There has been many drastic changes throughout the globes climate. In my opinion this is due to global warming. Winters are colder in more fierce and summers are more hot and humid where I live, in the state of Maryland the United States. Texas which is by the equator has even gotten snow in the last few years. I believe the changes are due to global warming. Global warming is an increase in the carbon dioxide levels due to the burning of fossil fuels. By us using oil and gas to run our cars and homes, using factories to make things we are increasing the levels on earth. The carbon dioxide thins the o-zone. The o-zone is like a layer of relation to earth. It protects us from the sun in the summers and it keeps heat in in the winters. Without it we would probably burn up under the sun. Locate two articles and discuss the following, in at least 75 words per article: Is the information contained in the articles reliable? Has your opinion changed after reading the articles? Explain your answer. Cite your references. Submit your answers in the Assignment Files tab above. http://climate.nasa.gov/news/2312/ In this article NASA tells us about glaciers melting in Greenland quicker then originally estimated causing sea levels to rise. Although they do not explain the dangers of what this means for us they do conclude then it is a response to climate warming. I believe this article to be very creditable and reliable. For one the site itself is .gov meaning that NASA is...
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...As we continue to thrive and progress though, the planet is slowly deteriorating; the temperature and water levels are slowly rising. A popular misconception about the rise in temperature is that the ozone-hole and global warming are the same, but they are not and neither is directly the main cause of the other though both are aided by humans. The proper accepted definition of global warming is "the rise in the average global surface temperature caused primarily by the build-up of human- produced greenhouse gases, mostly carbon dioxide and methane, which trap heat in the lower levels of the earth’s atmosphere" and that is what directly affects us unlike the ozone-hole which actually has a slight cooling effect on the upper parts of our atmosphere. The gradual temperature increase has many negative effects on the species able to survive on Earth including humans. The slight increase in temperature is actually more deadly than once believed, in fact “climate change and extreme heat causes more deaths each year than hurricanes,...
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...N T I S S U E S ------------------------------------------------- Natural gas a weak weapons against climate change ------------------------------------------------- Texas and Antarctica attacked, Rocks hint ------------------------------------------------- 2011 Among Hottest years, marked by extreme weathers ------------------------------------------------- Planting Wind Energy on Farms May Help Farmers ------------------------------------------------- With Gas Prices High, U.S. Refinery Closures Hit Workers and Drivers How to Win the War On GLOBAL WARMING NATURAL GAS WEAK WEAPONS AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE Nathan Myhrvold found "some really counterintuitive results" when he and study coauthor Ken Caldeira set out to see what the climate effect would be if the world switched from coal power plants (like the one seen above in West Virginia) to natural gas and other sources. INDEX ------------------------------------------------- Natural gas a weak weapons against climate change pg 3 ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- 2011 Among Hottest years, marked by extreme weathers pg 8 ------------------------------------------------- Texas and Antarctica attacked, Rocks hint pg 4 ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- Planting Wind Energy on Farms May Help...
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...different as the people themselves are. This paper will address some of those issues and risks. This paper will summarize two articles that deal with the subject. This paper will also compare and contrast the risk factors in both articles while identifying the stressors that are related to the environmental risks. To sum up the two articles, one of the most interesting takes on this subject was that of global warming. There are many things that have been accredited to global warming. Many may wonder what exactly is global warming. Global warming is simply when too much carbon dioxide is in the atmosphere and it acts as a shield shielding heat and warm air in the earth (Merriam-Webster, 2014). As humans burns through precious fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas, and coal as well as continuing to cut down trees have all important risks of global warming. Nevertheless, the two article both addressed the ever present environmental risk, global warming. Although they both addressed global warming, they happen to take a different stance on the matter. The first article, “Global Warming: the good, the bad, the ugly and the Efficient,” took the...
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...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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...As Texas keeps on getting hotter with the years, it has become evident that animals are starting to change the way they are accustomed to life as a direct result of climate change. Ted Hollingsworth, director of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, states that “species may be migrating, shifting, because of climate changes.” One notable example of this is the American goldfinch, a North American bird, has shown to have migrated up to 220 miles north of Texas, and it’s population in Texas has shown to decrease by up to 40 percent. Not only is climate change affecting land animals, but it is also affecting sea creatures as well. The Gray snapper has shown to “steadily [move] hundreds of miles north since the 1990s, and is now found near Sabine Lake, close to Port Arthur. Young snappers live inshore in mangroves and grass beds, moving offshore to coral or rocky reefs when fully grown” (Ana M. Tinsley). Climate change is affecting many animals, causing them to migrate as a way to avoid...
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...climate; these changes are mostly damaging to the environment and have caused irreversible affects that have damaged the environment. One of these changes is global warming. Global warming is one the main affects that the use of fossil fuels has created. Global warming is an climate change that has its own consequences; it has created many secondary effects. By heating up the planet the ice caps have begun melting; this in turns increases the amount of water...
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...Global Warming: How Do We Stop it and The Effects it has on our World Jay A. Clemons ITT-Technical Institute – West Palm Beach Campus (Global Warming, 2014) Global Warming: How Do We Stop it and The Effects it has on our World Throughout Earths long history the planet has cooled and wormed several times, such as, the great Ice Age, the volcanic activity when dinosaurs ruled the Earth, and the apparent meteor that hit the Earth and wiped out the dinosaurs. Some of these have been caused by shifts in the Earth’s orbit, or from a meteor that may have hit the planet or volcanic activity causing massive clouds of dust and debris to block out the sun. Now for the last century we have forced the Earth’s next warming trend. Since humans have started using fossil fuels and emitting greenhouse gases, the Earth has started its next warming trend. (Table 1) Carbon dioxide and methane gases have increased in the upper atmosphere causing it to absorb more heat, which increases the Earth’s temperature. This warming triggers many undesirable effects on the planet. Literature Review Have you noticed that the severity of the weather on our planet in the last thirty to forty years has changed dramatically? Such as, record droughts, increased tornado activity, rising ocean levels, severe periods of heat and cold. These are being caused by the excesses of humanity. The use of fossil fuels, gas and oil, the cutting down of trees in the rainforests and elsewhere, wildfires in our forests...
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