Global Warming Report Essay

Over the past few decades scientist have been observing a warming trend in the over all temperature of the earth. Although the earth has been known to go through warm and cold periods, it seems that we humans are causing the earth to heat up this time. The greenhouse effect is causing the earth to go through this warming trend that we call global warming. The greenhouse effect is caused when the infrared radiation from the sun is absorbed in atmospheric gasses such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, ozone, and methane. All of these gasses escape slowly from the atmosphere, therefore the heat stays here longer in a short of warm airy blanket. Without the occurrence of the greenhouse effect scientist say that the earths average temperature would be around 30 degrees C. or 50 degrees F. There are many greenhouse gasses that can trap the infrared rays of the sun. Carbon dioxide can be released into the atmosphere in several ways, the bulk of it is produced by car exhaust, deforestation, and the burning of fossil fuels. It is a colorless, odorless, non flammable gas, and it is also the most prominent greenhouse gas in earths atmosphere. CO2 is recycled through the earths atmosphere using the process photosynthesis, which makes most life on earth possible. Another greenhouse gas is methane and it is one of the most common gasses in the universe. methane is colorless odorless gas that is lighter than air and is produced by organic decay. Deposits of methane can usually be found in areas where lots of natural decay takes place, such as swamps, and land fills. Each year we add 350-500 million tons of methane to the atmosphere through mining, raising livestock, rice cultivation, and landfills. In fact a cow can release up to a half pound of methane into the air everyday. Nitrous oxide is another colorless and greenhouse gas, however it does smell sweet. It is mostly used medically because it deadens pain, because of this it is called laughing gas. It is released naturally from oceans and by bacteria is soil. It is important to reduce our emissions because nitrous oxide we release today will still be trapped in the atmosphere 100 years from now. The set of greenhouse gasses are fluorocarbons, that is a general term for any group of synthetic organic compounds that have fluorine and carbon. These can be found in aerosol cans, refrigerators, and air conditioners. When fluorocarbons are released into the atmosphere they breakdown molecules of the earths ozone layer. The effects of global warming are also good for human beings, because it could increase food production. The most important factor in crop production is climate, and global warming would facilitate a better climate for the growth of more crops. It would also create much more space for businesses were there was once ice and harsh climate. Also without global warming the earth temperature would be about 30 degrees F. n average. With global warming there would be far fewer deaths from cold exposer. If global warming caused enough arctic melt then shippers would have many new shortcut routes to take from place to place. After glacier melt we would have access to many new mining areas. However global warming will also have some large negative effects. Such as health concerns, scientist predict that there will be ma ny more deaths from diseases that are irritated by heat, including heart attacks and heatstroke. Another downside to global warming is the amount of flooding that will occur with coastal cities. Scientist have predicted that about a sixth of the country will be under water after global warming has taken full effect. The Maldive Islands are a nation of 1190 islands that are home to over 200,000 people. These islands are only 1. 5 meters above sea level and if global warming occurs then all of those people will have to be relocated. There are many things that we as human beings can do to help prevent global warming from happening. We can start to take advantage of all the different types of renewable energy instead of burning fossil fuels that pollute the atmosphere in multiple ways. There are many types of clean, efficient, renewable energy sources. There are many energy sources that the earth has provided for us that we need to take advantage of. We need to build more wind turbines, hydro electric plants, and solar power plants. Another way of producing clean energy include using fission through nuclear power to create a clean renewable energy source. Government can also be doing there part by funding research about global warming and raising awareness about how individuals can be doing there part to reduce pollution. In conclusion, Global warming is a very serious thing, it can affect the orld in many different ways. We just need to decide which effects help or harm the world the most and then make an educated choice as to which ones the earth can handle while taking the least amount of stress, and having the best long term effect. ————————————————â €”———————————————————————————————————— Patrick Michaels, â€Å"The Satanic Gasses† Henry Willis, â€Å"Earths Future Climate† Fred Singer, â€Å"Hot Talk and Cold Science† Ronald Bailey, â€Å"Global Warming and Other Eco Myths†