...Evidence of this change may be seen in increased water pollution, more severe droughts, and larger and more frequent flooding. Because we have so poorly managed land and water in the past, mankind is inadequately prepared to handle the tasks that the ongoing climate change is presenting. Not only are there a number of opinions on this very hot topic, but there are also government-imposed regulations on the matter. Some will argue that global warming is good for us, while others fear that the injection of greenhouse gases will trigger a new ice age. Still, there are others who maintain that self-regulating planetary mechanisms exist which may uphold climate stability even in the face of anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases. While I’ll take a closer look at each of these theories, I’ll also consider the stance of the EPA and the UN, and some of the measures that the government is taking in an effort to monitor the impacts that climate change has on human health. About 25,000 years ago, during the last ice age, half of North America was completely covered by ice. A significantly cooler environment would be devastating for humans, as well as plants and animals. “For this reason, Soviet climatologist Mikhail Budyko and others like him argue that we should welcome global warming, and even encourage it, if possible” (Jeffreys, n.d.). Enhancing the greenhouse effect may very well contribute to our future survival, as we hope to avoid another ice age. Even in the comparatively...
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... Group 5 Global Warming Introduction Global warming begins when sunlight reaches Earth. The clouds, atmospheric particles, reflective ground surfaces and ocean surface then reflected about 30 percent of it back into space, while the remaining is absorbed by oceans, lands and air. This in turn heats the planet’s surface and atmosphere, making life possible. As Earth warmed up, this solar energy is radiated by thermal radiation or infrared heat, travelling directly out to space, thus cooling the Earth. However, some of the outgoing radiation is re-absorbed by carbon dioxide, water vapor and other gases in the atmosphere and is radiated back to Earth’s surface; these gases are known as greenhouse gases due to their heat-trapping capacity. This re-absorption process is naturally good; the Earth’s average surface temperature would be very cold if not for the greenhouse gases. Causes of Global Warming Global Warming is caused by many things. The causes are split up into two groups, man-made or anthropogenic causes, and natural causes. Natural Causes Natural causes are causes created by nature. One natural cause is a release of methane gas from arctic tundra and wetlands. Methane is a greenhouse gas. A greenhouse gas is a gas that traps heat in the earth's atmosphere. Another natural cause is that the earth goes through a cycle of climate change. This climate change usually lasts about 40,000 years. Man-made Causes Man-made causes probably do the most damage...
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...The effects of global warming on the environment and human life are numerous and varied. Scenarios studied by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predict that global warming will continue and get worse much faster than was expected even in their last report. Research by NOAA indicate that the effects of global warming are already irreversible. The IPCC reports attribute many specific natural phenomena to human causes. The expected long range effects of recent climate change may already be observed. Rising sea levels, glacier retreat, Arctic shrinkage, and altered patterns of agriculture are cited as direct consequences of human activities. Predictions for secondary and regional effects include extreme weather events, an expansion of tropical diseases, changes in the timing of seasonal patterns in ecosystems, and drastic economic impact. Concerns have led to political activism advocating proposals to mitigate, or adapt to it. Geoengineering is a further potential response, which could potentially reverse some effects that may otherwise be irreversible. It is notable that many of the effects of global warming are non-linear in nature, with potential for dramatic positive feedback effects. This means that the climate may enter a critical state where small changes can trigger runaway or abrupt climate change. Geoengineering has been suggested as a means of interrupting or reversing these effects. A notable example of a 'runaway' effect is the release of methane...
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...Global Warming Nowadays the human life is developing continuously in every field like technology, science, education, art, society and so on. Besides that, these developments have generated many negative effects. One of these biggest problems currently is global warming, that the whole world is facing with. According to Theodore C. Sorensen, an American presidential adviser, “Global warming is for real. Every scientist knows that now, and we are on our way to the destruction of every species on earth, if we don't pay attention and reverse our course”. In fact, global warming is happing and humans are causing it. Global warming will largely affect human in the future, so it is worldwide concern. However, none all of us know exactly the definition, the reasons, the impacts of global warming, and the solutions for global warming. What is the global warming? Global warming is a gradual increase in temperature of Earth’s surface, oceans and atmosphere. Scientists have documented and accepted the global warming as fact since 1800s. According to the lasted (January 2014) analysis from NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), Earth’s average temperature has risen by 0.8 degrees Celsius (1.4 degrees Fahrenheit) since 1980. Temperatures are predicted to rise another 1.133 to 6.42 degrees Celsius (2 to 11.5 degrees Fahrenheit) over the next 100 years. These statistics of temperature change are based on many independent scientific analyses from observations of the climate system...
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...anomalies. Some claim an apocalypse is coming, some say we are heading toward an ice age, some believe we have accelerated a change in the Earth’s climate cycles by our own actions. Any view taken, is one of fear and trepidation. As a factual and unbiased paper, we will not take the Apocalypse theory into account for the fact that there are concrete facts or evidence. Regardless of why we believe something is wrong or changing, it is undeniably fact that the world is changing on many levels. The purpose of this paper is explore and attempt to find the reasons why this is happening, and what we, as mankind, can do to be prepared, and to attempt to mitigate any effect we may have on the acceleration of these changes Pollution and human consumption of fossil fuels, trees and other natural resources have been the scapegoat for “global warming” for several years now. How is it that, specifically, carbon emissions from vehicles allegedly has caused or sped the rate of global warming? Carbon emissions have been in existence since fossil fueled engines have been around, which is roughly between 150 and 200 years at this point. How could something happening in such a very short part of a climate cycle possibly have an effect on how rapidly or slowly the cycle may be changing? 3 “...a sign of global warming -- which most readers presumably took to mean "anthropogenic," or human-caused, global warming. But is that the...
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...the Earth to get hotter. How? Burning fossil fuels in one research that I found. When people extract and burn fossil fuels such as coal or petroleum, they cause the release of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other heat-trapping "greenhouse gases" into the atmosphere, as old and recent searches have found. Though natural amounts of CO2 have varied from 180 to 300 parts per million (ppm), today's CO2 levels are around 400 ppm. That's 40% more than the highest natural levels over the past 800,000 years, said by researchers. In another research by the (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) IPCC in 2013, they announced the earth will get hotter over the next century. The IPCC's full and final findings on the state of the planet’s climate have been stated that limiting climate change will require ‘substantial and sustained’ reductions of greenhouse gas emissions. Kind of like what the last report I found was talking about. It says that atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases, already at levels not seen in at least 800,000 years, will persist for many centuries and ‘continued emissions of greenhouse gases will cause further warming and changes in all components of the climate system’. The IPPC report revealed that it is 'extremely likely' that human activity is the dominant cause for global warming. It claims a rise in temperature in the Northern Hemisphere will cause snow cover to decrease by 25 per cent by the end of the 21st century. Which is the age in time were in now. But...
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...Reports of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Since 1990 and Reactions • In its first 1990 REPORT, the IPCC refrained from suggesting that the 0.5 degrees Celsius rise in the average global earth temperature since the start of the 20th century was due to humans or from natural variability. • In its second 1995 REPORT, the IPCC did not move much from its earlier position of the origin of higher global temperatures. However, it did say that subsequent research since the last report gave a strong indication that, “The balance of evidence suggests a discernible human influence on the global climate.” • In its third 2001 REPORT, the IPCC went a step further when saying the continuing trends in climate warming were “likely” – meaning more than a 66% chance of being due to humans. • In its fourth 2007 REPORT, the “likely” scientific viewpoint got much stronger with the term “very likely” – meaning more than a 90% chance of being due to humans. Conclusions were more definitive that the warming up was unmistakable from measurements of atmosphere and ocean temperatures, from worldwide rapid melting of glaciers and pole ice and from the rise in sea level. globalwarming5The provocative statement was also made that, even if the greenhouse gas effect stabilized, the warming up of the earth and the rising sea levels could continue for a 100 years with irreversible effects on nature and humans. As noted, not surprisingly, the neo-conservative Tea Party types call this...
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...of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions, or in the distribution of weather around the average conditions (i.e., more or fewer extreme weather events). Climate change is caused by factors such as biotic processes, variations in solar radiation received by Earth, plate tectonics, and volcanic eruptions. Certain human activities have also been identified as significant causes of recent climate change, often referred to as "global warming". Scientists actively work to understand past and future climate by using observations and theoretical models. A climate record — extending deep into the Earth's past — has been assembled, and continues to be built up, based on geological evidence from borehole temperature profiles, cores removed from deep accumulations of ice, floral and faunal records, glacial and periglacial processes, stable-isotope and other analyses of sediment layers, and records of past sea levels. More recent data are provided by the instrumental record. General circulation models, based on the physical sciences, are often used in theoretical approaches to match past climate data, make future projections, and link causes and effects in climate change. Terminology The most general definition of climate change is a change in the statistical properties of the climate system when considered over long periods of time, regardless of cause. Accordingly, fluctuations over periods shorter than a few decades...
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...Global Warming: Challenging the “Settled” Science In December of 1997, political leaders gathered in Kyoto, Japan to contemplate a world treaty restricting human production of “greenhouse gases,” in particular carbon dioxide (CO2). They worried that CO2 would result in a severe and sudden increase in earth’s temperatures, leading to environmental disasters on a global scale. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the preeminent body for the assessment of climate change, humans are responsible for the majority of global warming since 1900, including virtually 100% of the warming since 1970 (IPCC, 2007b, p. 39). In the years since Kyoto, there have been major efforts to bring about worldwide agreement to the treaty, including a recent climate summit—much publicized for its failings—held in Copenhagen. But not everyone is going along with the IPCC. Despite a continuing maelstrom of media hype and alarmist politics, the idea that the earth is warming at an unprecedented rate, due primarily to human influence, is quickly losing ground. This global warming backlash is due in large part to a growing chorus of skeptics and climate experts willing to challenge the prevailing science at the core of the movement. Over 31,000 scientists, including over 9,000 PhDs, have raised concerns over the IPCC’s findings. They have signed a petition stating that the organization’s claims are extreme, that the climate system is more complex than what is now known, and...
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...If we look 40 years ago , everybody was propagandizing Global Cooling. And 40 years later people are talking about Global Warming, Isn’t it amazing how they use the same picture for two opposites? Over a hundreds of thousands of years, the Earth’s average surface temperature has varied within a narrow 4-degree.Climate changes is natural, continuous and repetitive phenomena and we do not have the power to change it. The planet has gone through cold and warm episodes and it will continue to do so even after man. Natural forces are amazingly more important in determining atmospheric greenhouse gas levels than human activity. For example, the explosion of Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines on June 15, 1991, put more greenhouse gases (including water vapor) into the atmosphere than all human industrial activity in the preceding 78 years. "A volcanic eruption similar to the one we saw in Russia during June 2009 lets out more carbon dioxide than we humans let out in five years", Kevin Martin meteorology scientist Today the Earth experiences volcanic eruptions from the “Ring of Fire” in the Pacific Ocean; earthquakes in Indonesia, Japan, Alaska, California, etc. These are “natural” phenomena of Earth, or for lack of better words, adjustments. A Global Temperature graph made by UN Panel on Climate Change shows that world indeed has been warming, since about 1650 ,centuries before factories belching CO2 and other greenhouse gasses even existed. Even more important, the earth...
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...GLOBAL WARMING NAME INSTITUTION GLOBAL WARMING The gradual increase of temperatures within the earth surface has raised concerns off late. Global warming; which is the gradual heating up of the earth surface, has posed threats to the survival of flora and fauna and to some extreme extent resulted to the extinction of some species. Scientists have documented the statistics on the world changing temperatures since 1800. It is evident from the data collected that the earth surface temperatures have risen by 0.8 degrees Celsius over the past century. The Environmental Protection Agency has predicted that if the trend continues the in the next 100 years the temperatures are bound to rise from 1.33 to 6.42 degrees Celsius (Revkin, 2005). In this paper, I will exclusively look at some of the cause of global warming, effects and how the situation can be brought under control. Global warming is a human-caused state. This occurs when man releases too much of certain types of gasses in the atmosphere. These gasses commonly known as greenhouse gasses have resulted in depletion of the ozone layer hence the global warming effect. Increased emission of the gasses implies increased warming of the earth surface. Such gasses include water vapor, Methane, Carbon dioxide and Nitrous Oxide. Some levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are considered natural. For instance, before the industrial revolution, the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was estimated to be about 280...
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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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...ENS-314 Global Environmental Change Living in the Environment: Concepts, Connections, and Solutions, 16th ed., by G. Tyler Miller, Jr., and Scott E. Spoolman (Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole CENGAGE Learning, 2009). FINAL PROJECT Climate Change Prepared by Student at Thomas Edison State College Assignment Distributed Prepared for Global Environmental Change (ENS-314) Thomas Edison State College Technical summary of climate change Overwhelming scientific study demonstrate the earth’s atmosphere is warming rapidly, mostly because of human activities, and that this will lead to significant climate change during this century (Miller, Spoolman 2010). Climate change throughout history has affected evolution and natural selection, moving continents and dispersing populations throughout the world with these movements. Until the industrialization of the human population a hundred and sixty years ago our atmosphere...
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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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...A PROJECT TO DESIGN A BASIC START UP PLAN TO REDUCE THE IMPACT OF GLOBAL WARMING A REPORT BY, CE1050 SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES 25 OCTOBER 2012 A REPORT ON A PROJECT TO DESIGN A BASIC START UP TO REDUCE THE IMPACT OF GLOBAL WARMING Prepared for MS1001 (Professional communication course, National Institute of Technology, Calicut) as a part of curriculum Approved By: Jemshina.M.T Faculty, Professional communication Course, School of management studies, National Institute Of Technology, Calicut. 25 OCTOBER 2012 FORWARDING LETTER CE1050 H BATCH DEPT OF CE NITC 11 OCTOBER 2012 JEMSHINA.M.T. FACULTY PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION COURSE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES NITC Madam, SUB: SUBMISSION OF THE PROJECT REPORT We are submitting the project report on “DESIGNING A BASIC START UP PLAN TO REDUCE THE IMPACT OF GLOBAL WARMING” due on 25 October 2012 as a part of our professional communication course. The purpose of the project is to introduce to the present generation about the various technologies available to limit the impact of global warming at an early stage. Through this project we intend to create awareness among people to demonstrate against the practices that badly affect the future of our planet. The highlights of the project are the promotion of green technology and it seeks to find solutions...
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