The Political and Social Impact of Global Warming
Situation Analysis Global warming, also known as the green house effect is a topic that has received much attention in recent years; yet our climate change is not a recent problem.
It has been morphing over many years. What is increasing is the rate of change; it is accelerating due to the growth of the human population. The growth of our population has increased our use of fuel, land, and manufacturing. All of these are increasing emissions into our atmosphere that increases global warming.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, traveling 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. The problem begins when the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere were artificially raised by humankind at an ever-increasing rate since the past 250 years.As of 2004, over 8 billion tons of carbon dioxide was pumped out per year; natural carbon sinks such as forests and the ocean absorbed some of this, while the rest accumulated in the atmosphere. Millions of pounds of methane are produced in landfills and agricultural decomposition of biomass and animal manure. Nitrous oxide is released into the atmosphere by nitrogen-based fertilizers and other soil management practices.
Once released, these greenhouse gases stay in the atmosphere for decades or longer.According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), carbon dioxide and methane levels have increased by 35 and 148 percent since the 1750 industrial revolution. Pale climate readings taken from ice cores and fossil records dating back to 650 000 years show that both gases are at their highest levels. Thermal radiation is obstructed further by the increased concentrations of greenhouse gases, resulting in what is known as enhanced global warming. As the world continues to consume ever more fossil fuel energy, greenhouse gas concentrations will continue to rise, and with them Earth’s temperature.The IPCC estimates that based on plausible emission scenarios, average surface temperatures could increase between 2°C and 6°C by the end of the 21st century. Continued warming at current rates poses serious consequences.
Low-lying coastal regions, with dense population, are especially vulnerable to climate shifts, with the poorer countries and small island nations having the hardest time adapting. It has been projected that by 2080, 13 to 88 million people around the world would lose their home to floods. B. Statement of the Problem Global warming is affecting many parts of the world.Global warming makes the sea rise, and when the sea rises, the water covers many low land islands. This is a big problem for many of the plants, animals, and people on islands. The water covers the plants and causes some of them to die.
When they die, the animals lose a source of food, along with their habitat. Although animals have a better ability to adapt to what happens than plants do, they may die also. When the plants and animals die, people lose two sources of food, plant food and animal food. They may also lose their homes. As a result, they would also have to leave the area or die.This would be called a break in the food chain, or a chain reaction, one thing happening that leads to another and so on. The oceans are affected by global warming in other ways, as well.
Many things that are happening to the ocean are linked to global warming. One thing that is happening is warm water, caused from global warming, is harming and killing algae in the ocean. Algae are a producer that you can see floating on the top of the water. (A producer is something that makes food for other animals through photosynthesis, like grass. This floating green algae is food to many consumers in the ocean. (A consumer is something that eats the producers. ) One kind of a consumer is small fish.
There are many others like crabs, some whales, and many other animals. Fewer algae is a problem because there is less food for us and many animals in the sea. Global warming is doing many things to people as well as animals and plants. It is killing algae, but it is also destroying many huge forests. The pollution that causes global warming is linked to acid rain. Acid rain gradually destroys almost everything it touches.Global warming is also causing many more fires that wipe out whole forests.
This happens because global warming can make the earth very hot. In forests, some plants and trees leaves can be so dry that they catch on fire. http://library. thinkquest. org/CR0215471/global_warming. html C. Importance of the Study Global warming is “the greatest environmental challenge the world has ever faced.
” It is important for us to understand Global Warming because we may make the wrong decisions. For example, what if global warming does turn out to be just another natural cycle and the skeptics are right?We may be spending all our time and resources trying to reduce CO2 then realize we should have been spending all our resources trying to prepare for it. Through this research paper, readers can discover ample information about Global Warming, more comprehensive than the plain news being published in newspapers, or broadcasted in television or radio. Global Warming is caused by many things. The causes are split up into two groups, man-made or anthropogenic causes, and natural causes. We are experiencing different changes to our everyday lives.This research paper is a big help wherein the readers will have a wider and dapper approach regarding the subject.
Furthermore, particularly the youth, will be benefited from this study. It will open their young and critical minds into ills of their environment and their part today or in future rebuilding the debris of good and better place to live, our environment. It will be a guide for them, for us, to be ONE. D. Scope and Delimitation The global warming controversy is an ongoing dispute about the effects of humans on global climate and about what policies should be implemented to avoid possible undesirable effects of climate change.The global warming controversy is a variety of disputes regarding the nature, causes, and consequences of global warming. The disputed issues include the causes of increased global average air temperature, especially since the mid-20th century, whether this warming trend is unprecedented or within normal climatic variations, whether humankind has contributed significantly to it, and whether the increase is wholly or partially an artifact of poor measurements.
Additional disputes concern estimates of climate sensitivity, predictions of additional warming, and what the consequences of global warming will be.The controversy is significantly more pronounced in the popular media than in the scientific literature,[1] where there is a consensus that global surface temperatures have increased in recent decades and that the trend is caused mainly by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases. No scientific body of national or international standing disagrees with this view,[2][3] though a few organizations hold non-committal positions. III. A. Summary The term global warming simply means that the global climate is warming.Humans are popularly assumed to be the cause of global warming.
Further, global warming is usually assumed to be harmful to humans and to plant and animal life. Global warming is a commonly discussed and debated scientific topic both in the media and in the scientific community. Global warming is an example of global climatic change. To understand the concept of global warming and make decisions about how to respond to the seemingly contradictory information received from various sources, it is important to distinguish between climate and weather.Weather applies to short-term changes in properties of the lower atmosphere such as temperature, relative humidity, precipitation, cloud cover, barometric pressure, and wind speed. Climate is the general pattern of weather conditions, seasonal variation, and weather extremes over a long time—at least thirty years. A summer with record high temperatures is not a signal that global warming is occurring.
A winter with record cold is not proof that global warming is not occurring.Climate change, especially global climate change, must be determined from global averages of weather conditions collected, averaged, and compared over decades. C. Recommendation Global warming refers to the Earth’s air and oceans gradually heating up to a point that disrupts balance, a problem that is continually getting worse. It sounds like a problem too massive for any one individual to take on, but it really isn’t. Combining any few of these suggestions can make more of a dramatic effect than most people understand.The goal is to emit less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
Instructions Drive less. Take bikes, walk or carpool whenever possible. Consider investing in a hybrid or electric vehicle to help prevent against further global warming. Replace all the light bulbs in and around your home with energy-efficient fluorescents that use fewer watts for the same amount of light. Clean or replace your filters monthly. Choose energy-efficient appliances when it’s time to buy new ones. Decrease your air travel.
Wash clothes in cold water and line-dry whenever possible.Use a low-flow showerhead, which will lessen the hot water used but not drop your water pressure in the shower. Cut down on your garbage-buy fewer packaged materials to prevent further global warming. Unplug electronics when they are not in use, because they still take up energy. At the very least, turn items off when they’re not being used. Run the dishwasher and clothes washer only when you have a full load, and if available, use the energy-saving setting. Insulate your home better, and don’t forget to repair or replace worn caulking or weather-stripping.
Insulate your water heater.Buy recycled paper products and recycle as much of your waste as possible. Bring your own reusable canvas grocery bags when grocery shopping. Plant a tree. Have an energy audit done on your home so you can find the trouble areas and fix them. Use nontoxic cleaning products. Shop locally for food.
A farmer’s market is an excellent place to visit. And choose fresh food over frozen foods. Fresh takes less energy to produce. Keep your car tuned up, and check tire pressure often to save gas. Eat less meat and more organic foods in your diet to do your part in preventing lobal warming. Global warming has become a hot topic and many are asking themselves, what can I do to help stop global warming? There are ways that you can help the earth. If we all do our part we can prevent global warming.
Difficulty: Easy Instructions The great thing about helping to stop global warming is it can also save you money. Cutting back on the energy that your household is using. Purchase energy efficient appliances and replace incandescent bulbs with CFL bulbs. Cut back on energy use in the home by using less of it by turning things off.Replace products that not reusable with products that are. Examples would be purchasing and using reusable grocery bags in stead of paper or plastic. Bringing your own coffee mug to the local coffee shop instead of using Styrofoam cups.
Buy plastic reusable picnic ware to use instead of paper and plastic plates and silverware that you toss when your done. Buy spending the money now for these reusable items you are saving money for you and your helping to stop global warming. Recycle products that you use. Buy recycled products.You can look for the symbol on packages that will give an easy way to tell if you are purchasing recycled products. Eliminate the use of paper, buy opting to go green with your statements and sign up for online accounts. Anywhere from your bank statements to all your Bills.
Buy local products from farmers and other locally owned business who don’t have to have their products shipped from across the country. This eliminates the amount transportation that it takes to ship products. Buying goods from local business not only can help stop global warming, but can help your local economy.Write to you local senators and state congressmen. Ask them to support legislature that prevents global warming. Consider the stand of government officials who may be running for office and consider their views on global warning when you decide to vote. There actually is so many ways that you can help to stop global warming.
If everyone made a few adjustments in the way they lived their daily life we as a group could stop, and prevent global warming.Read more: How to Help Stop Global Warming | eHow. com http://www. ehow. com/how_4803675_stop-global-warming. html#ixzz19qwOScAd
