Global Warming
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. Even though it is an ongoing
debate, it is proved by the scientists that the planet is warming.
The 29th century is experiencing a continued increase of Earth’s mean
atmospheric temperature by about 1.4 degrees F and about two thirds of it
occurring since 1980. This is global warming is affecting the nature’s balance and
has a huge impact on life like continued heat waves, and sudden occurrence of
storms and floods. Don’t we see time to time the epidemics that are devastating
to human life and the flooding of the farmlands that puts economy in a deep
hole?
Scientific evidence indicates that since 1950, the world’s climate has been
warming, primarily as a result of emissions from non -stop burning of fossil fuels
and the razing of tropical forests. Since the industrial revolution till this day, there
is a constant emission of the carbon into the atmosphere, everything we do we
leave carbon footprints. It is a man made cause of the global warming. The global
emissions jumped 3 percent in 2011 and are expected to jump another 2.6
percent in 2012, researchers reported.
The greenhouse effect is a process by which the greenhouse gases absorb thermal
radiation; these are then reradiated in all directions. But when some of these
radiations come back to the surface and lower atmosphere, it causes increase in
the average surface temperature leading to global warming.
Global warming Causes
The causes are many of which the main culprit is the increase in the greenhouse
gases that is produced by burning fossil fuel and deforestation, thus intensifying
the greenhouse effect leading to global warming. The four main contributors of
the greenhouse effect are, water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane and ozone.
Mining for coal and oil releases methane in the atmosphere. More ever the
leakage from natural gas fields and landfills are additional source of methane.
Excessive cutting down of the trees is another factor causing global warming.
When deforestation happens the efficiency by which carbon dioxide is stored and
oxygen released by the green plants are decreased to a huge rate in turn causing
increased concentration of carbon dioxide that leads to increased greenhouse
effect.
The nitrous oxide from fertilizers, gases used for refrigeration and industrial
processes are other factors that cannot be forgotten as the cause of Global
Warming.
Another source of methane is methane clathrate, a compound containing large
amounts of methane trapped in the crystal structure of ice. As methane escapes
from the Arctic seabed, the rate of global warming will increase significantly.
Ice caps and glaciers reflect sunlight, bouncing high temperature sun -rays back
into space away from the Earth. When these icecaps are removed the earth gets
warmer as the dark oceans absorb much thermal radiation from the sun.
Some regions may be wet with rain and some areas will suffer drought due to
global warming. The climatic changes happen due to global warming. Seasonal
changes are unpredictable unexpected thunderstorms might result as mentioned
earlier.
The burning of wood (should be reduced to a greater extent) releases oxidizable
carbon to the atmosphere whose presence in greater amount causes the
elevation of temperature.
There is strong evidence that emissions of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) were the
major cause of the recent abnormal warming. Like carbon CFC do not trap heat
but in the presence of UV rays the chlorine gets detached from CFC, drifts up into
the stratosphere and these unattached chlorines catalytically convert Ozone
molecules into Oxygen molecules depleting the ozone layer.