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Global Warming: Natural or Man-Made?

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GLOBAL WARMING: NATURAL OR MAN-MADE?
Donna Berg
SCI 207: Dependence of Man on the Environment
Instructor: Lincoln Simmons
September 3, 2012 GLOBAL WARMING: NATURAL OR MAN-MADE There is no question that there is an increase in Earth’s temperature and we are experiencing what is referred to as global warming. The Earth has experienced this many times in history on a much larger scale, but, humans did not exist (and would not have been able to exist) at the time. The questions now are whether human actions are accelerating the process of global warming and possibly decreasing Earth’s future sustainability; and, if so, what, if anything, can we do to ensure that Earth will have the ability to sustain life for many many many future generations to come. Human activity has been linked to Earth's warming temperatures, rising seas, more intense storms, and a host of other environmental woes, because increases in greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation trap heat that would otherwise escape from Earth which results in global warming; however, global warming may just be caused by natural occurrences, such as cosmic rays, the sun, volcanic activity and the ocean. The combustion of fossil fuels input enormous emissions of CO2 into the atmosphere causing the atmospheric CO2 levels to rise radically. The academic textbook, Contemporary Environmental Issues states, “CO2 is the principal gas contributing to the enhanced greenhouse effect…three main greenhouse gases, CO2, CH4, and N2O, are rising because of human activities such as the burning of coal, oil, and natural gas” (Turk & Bensel, 2011). Levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have increased substantially through the industrial revolution. In particular, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased by roughly 35 percent since

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