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Global warming is sometimes refereed to as the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is the absorption of energy radiated from the Earths surface by carbon dioxide and other gases in the atmosphere, causing the atmosphere to become warmer. The greenhouse effect is what is causing the temperature on the Earth to rise, and it is creating many problems that will begin to occur in the near future. For the last 10, 000 years, the Earths climate has been extraordinarily beneficial to mankind.
Humans have prospered tremendously well under a benign atmosphere, (Bates 28). Today, however, many changes are taking place. People are conducting an inadvertent global experiment by changing the face of the entire planet. The human race is destroying the ozone layer, which allows life to exist on the Earths surface. All of these activities are unfavorably altering the composition of the biosphere and the Earths heat balance. If the population does not slow down the use of fossil fuels and stop destroying the forests, the world could become hotter than it has been in the past million years.
Average global temperatures have risen one degree Fahrenheit over the last century. If carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases continue to spill into the atmosphere, global temperatures could rise five to ten degrees by the middle of the next century. The warning will be the greatest at the higher latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, with the largest temperature rises occurring in winter. Most areas will experience summertime highs well above one hundred degrees Fahrenheit. New temperature record will be set each year. As a possible prelude to global warming, the decade of the 1980 s has had the six hottest years of the century (Erandson 18 - 22).
Atmospheric disturbances brought on by the additional warming will produce more violent storm and larger death tolls. Some areas, particularly in the Northern Hemisphere, will dry out and a greater occurrence of lighting strikes will set massive forest fires. The charring of the Earth by natural and man-made forest fires will dump additional quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Changes in temperature and rainfall brought on by global warming will in turn change the composition of the forests. At the present rate of destruction, most of the rain forests will be gone by the middle of the next century. This will allow man-made deserts to encroach on once lush areas (Bassett 1 - 2).
Evaporation rates will also increase and circulation patterns will change. Decreased rainfall in some areas will result in increased rainfall in others. In some regions, river flow will be reduced or stopped all together. Other areas will experience sudden downpours that create huge floods.
The central portions of the continents, which normally experience occasional droughts, might become permanently dry wastelands. Vast areas of once productive cropland could lose topsoil and become man-made deserts. Coastal regions, where half the human population lives, will feel the adverse effects of rising sea levels as the ice caps melt under rising ocean temperatures. If the present melting continues, the sea could rise as much as six feet by the middle of the next century (Bassett 1 - 2). Large tracks of coastal land would disappear; as would shallow barrier is lands and coral reefs. Low-lying fertile deltas that support millions of people would vanish.
The sea would reclaim delicate wetlands, where many species of marine life hatch their young. Vulnerable coastal cities would have to move further inland or build protective walls against the angry sea, where a larger number of extremely dangerous hurricanes would prowl the ocean stretches. Forests and other wildlife habitats might not have enough time to adjust to the rapidly changing climate. The warming will rearrange entire biological communities and cause many species to become extinct. Weeds and pests could overrun much of the landscape. Since life controls the climate to some extent, it is uncertain what long-term effects a diminished biosphere will have on the world as a whole.
It is becoming more apparent, however, that as man continues to squander the Earths resources, the climate could change in such a way that it is no longer benevolent to mankind. The green house effect and global warming correspond with each other. The greenhouse effect is recalled as incoming solar radiation that passes through the Earths atmosphere but prevents much of the outgoing infrared radiation from escaping into outer space. The global warming refers to a long-term rise in the average temperature of the Earth.
How do they correspond with each other? Simply, because without ones, the other doesnt exist. The natural greenhouse effect has kept the Earths average surface temperature around 33 degrees Celsius, warmer than it would be if there was no atmosphere. The natural gases in the greenhouse effect are water vapor, carbon dioxide, ozone, as well as other trace gases. Life could not exist if there were no greenhouse effect. The reason for the natural greenhouse effect is so that all the creatures living on Earth can live and breathe.
People, as inhabitants of this Earth, must do their part in preserving it, or there wont be much left for future generations to live on. Human activities are causing some greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide to build up in the atmosphere. Each time someone burns gasoline, oil, coal or even natural gas, more carbon dioxide is added to the atmosphere (Erandson 34). By cutting down the forest trees, the human race allows air pollution to set in.
This, therefore, causes many problems in addition to many others. Now that there are no trees to help filter out pollution, people are allowing more damage to the atmosphere causing global warming. These certain gases that occur naturally in the atmosphere tend to trap the suns heat which is called global warming. By trapping in the suns heat, the Earth can be warmed up. Many of Earths natural disasters, such as volcanic activity, and other factors, have caused our planets atmosphere to become either colder or warmer (Bates 23). The global average temperature of the surface has increased by one degree Fahrenheit over the past century.
This indicated that this warming trend is due to human influences. In conclusion, if there was no greenhouse effect then there would be no global warming. The greenhouse effect causes the global warming to increase as well as humans and other creatures influence it. There are many ways to help prevent and protect both.
If people try to help out, then it would be a longer process to keep the ozone layer healthy longer. However, nothing can be done until the human race starts helping out.
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Research essay sample on Natural Greenhouse Effect Carbon Dioxide
