Causes of Gloabl Warming

8/8/2019 Causes of Gloabl Warming

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GLOBAL WARMING

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Global warming is the increase of earths temperature in the atmosphere and sea level.

The suns energy heats up the earth and causes the weather and climate to change.

The effects of the warming can both harm the environment and the life of humans. The

warming of earths atmosphere can cause important changes to the earth. Global warming

can cause the sea level to rise because of the melted ice glaciers. When the water gets too

warm, it would increase and cause coastal cities to flood. Global warming can also lead

to dangerous storms such as hurricanes, droughts, and tornados.

GREEN HOUSE GASES

Gases trap in energy and keep earths temperature steady. Greenhouse effects add carbon

dioxide to earths atmosphere, which makes earths surface warmer. The greenhouseeffect causes global warming, but without it, living things The greenhouse gases (GHG)

such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, and other on earth would also be in danger. The heat

of global warming melting ice caps and glaciers can cause the sea level to increase.

Greenhouse gases trap heat when sunlight passes through the atmosphere and warms the

earth. Heat rising from the ground warms the air and the GHGs stop the heat fromescaping, so the earth becomes warm.

Greenhouse gases are made of water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide,

ozone, and chlorofluorocarbons. They are all natural gases, but extra greenhouses gasescan be made by humans from pollution (Global Warming 2). Extra greenhouse gases

are made when more carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone, and

chlorofluorocarbons are put into the air more than it should be. This happens by burning


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fossil fuels, deforestation, and animal waste that leave behind methane. The greenhouse

earth is surrounded by a shield of atmospheric gases, rather than a glass or a plastic

cover (Global Warming Impact 1).

The Gases in The Atmosphere

Human actions played a big role in global warming some examples are trap in heat..

Carbons pollutions, sulfur oxide, nitrogen oxide, and poisonous substances are all air

pollutions. An example is car burning gas fuels, volcano gases, or deforestation. Thegreenhouse gases are made up of many gases combine and water vaporization, but carbon

dioxide is the main one. The greenhouse effects are not the plant houses that you use

during winter, but it does react in a similar way. When heat from the sun travels down to

earth, the greenhouse gases would trap in the heat and cause the earth to get warmer andthe ozone layer to be broken down.

Besides carbon dioxide, methane, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and nitrous oxide are

contributing to the greenhouse effect. Agriculture is one of the major causes of methanethough coal-mining actions, and oil explorations. Plants that burned down during land

clearance also release methane into the air. Farming activity has to increase if the worlds

population increases, and due to this, the level of methane will grow. As the global heat

increases, large amounts of methane in the frozen northern Tundra and seabed will bereleased.

Chlorofluorocarbons are found in many things such as refrigerators, air conditioners, and

aerosols, which are a very effective in the greenhouse gases. The CFCs molecule is

10,000 times stronger than C02 in trapping heat in the air and has lived in the atmospherefor 110 years.

POLLUTION

Just like carbon dioxide, natural and human processes create nitrous oxide. Human

resources represent about forty-five percent of the cause. Some examples of how humanscontribute to global warming are: power stations burning fossil fuel, using nitrogenous

manure, burning rainforests, and the manure of human and animals. All these things

combine add up to six percent of methane in the air.

Graph of released CO2 in the Atmosphere


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WHAT IS GLOBALWARMING

CAUSES

GREEN HOUSEGASES

POLLUTION

DEFORESTATION

EFFECTS

CLIMATE

CHANGE OZONE LAYER

HEALTH

PREVENTIONS

HOW YOU CAN

HELP

THEN AND NOW

PAST

PRESENT

FUTUREImage obtained from Kathy Thao

DEFORESTATION

Trees are very important in the global

carbon cycle. They remove CO2 fromthe air more then any other things.Trees absorb CO2 through the process of

photosynthesis. An acre of forest can

absorb more CO2 than an acre ofcropland or grassland. One tree can

absorb about 13 pounds of CO2 a year.

An acre of forest absorbs about 2.8 tonsof CO2 a year. Trees take in CO2 and

give off oxygen. When trees are burn or

cut down, the carbon that was locked in

their structure is release into theatmosphere as CO2. Today, since there

are fewer forests they cant absorb all

the CO2 created by humans. Everydayover 5500 acres of forests are destroyed,

and over 50 million acres a year. Due to

growth in population and technology,the level of CO2 in the air has increased.

Planting and protecting tress will help

reduce global warming.

Causes for Deforestation

Technology is responsible for massively damaging Earths resources. Global warming causesbusiness to grow because crops need warm climate to grow, but if its too hot then it could redu

agriculture. In the tropical countries there are problems because of deforestation. People have

cutting down rainforests for farming. If deforestation of forests continue then rainforests willdisappear within 100 years, causing global climate change, extinction of plants and animals on

and unknown effects.

Source: Parks, Peggy J. Global Warming. Farmingtion Hills: Lucent Books, 2004.

The Effects of Global Warming . 12 Jan. 1996. 26 July 2006

.Juarez, Micheal. Threat Of Climate Change. Eco Bridge. 26 July 2006

.
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CLIMATE CHANGE

Acid Rain

Acid rain has acids that fall from theatmosphere. An acid deposit has two parts: wet

and dry. Too much pollution in the atmosphere

can cause acid rain. Wet deposits are acidic

rain, fog, and snow. When acidic water flowsthrough the ground, it affects many plants and

animals. The strength of the effects depend on

how much acid is in the water.

Image obtained from Kathy Thao

Scientists discover that acid rain is mostly cause by sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides(NO2). Acid rain happens when water, oxygen, and other chemicals that form acidic

compounds react with the atmosphere. Sunlight increases most of these reactions. Acid rainaffects forests, soils, fishes, materials, human health and other living things. Acid rain causes

your visibility to decrease.

Dry deposits are acidic gases and particles. About half of the acidity that falls from theatmosphere to earth is dry deposits. Winds blow acidic particles and gases into buildings,

cars, houses, and trees. Dry deposit gases and particles can be wash off trees and other

surfaces by rain. When this happens the acid that was wash off adds to the acid rain so therain gets more acidic. Prevailing winds blow these compounds everywhere.
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Weather

In the northern continental areas, the summer

will be drier because of the absence of snow,and more cloudless summers, which also

causes extensive evaporation in the groundmoisture. In the southern hemisphere they

will have less moisture, so lakes and rivers

will get smaller. If there were storms byglobal warming then insurance industry

would go bankrupt. The insurance industries

are now trying to come up with plans thatwould cover economic losses from climatic

changes. The cost for countries to come up

with plans to reduce CO2 and other gases

would be enormous. Since the industrializednations wont take actions in reducing CO2, it

will cause global warming to worsen.

Today our air is mostly made of nitrogen and oxygen. Global warming causes cloudy winter

nights to be warmer than clear winter nights. The earth absorbs 70% of the suns energy and30% is reflected back to space. Earth is about 60 degrees Fahrenheit, and it is warmer than the

clouds around us. Clouds and greenhouse gases are what keep the earth warm. When the

clouds are warm they reflect the energy to earth, making the earths surface warmer. This iswhat causes the greenhouse effect.

Tempreature

As the temperature rises, it causes the liberation of carbon dioxide and methane to increase

global warming. Higher temperature evaporates a lot of water in the air creating more cloudsinto the atmosphere. The clouds trap in the heat from the sun, and as it gets warmer, more

clouds are produced.

Source: United States Environmental Protection Agency. Acid Rain. The Environmental

Protection Agency. 1 Mar. 2006. 25 July 2006 .

OZONE LAYER

For centuries, the ozone layers have protected our world from the suns ultraviolet

radiation and years ago the earth could withstand the heat before humans developed

harmful chemicals. As humans developed technology, the ozone layer will get broken


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down, by such chemicals as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). In1985, scientists discovered

that a hole has appeared in the ozone layer above Antarctica. Without the ozone layer,

humans would absorb UV radiation, which can cause dangerous illnesses.

In September 1985 the hole in the ozone layer was 4.6 million square miles wide. In

September 1998 it has increased to 10.5 million square miles, and it was 11 millionsquare miles wide in September 2000.

The earths atmosphere is made up of four separate layers. The layer closest to the earthis troposphere, then the stratosphere, the mesosphere, and the thermosphere. The suns

heat is absorbed by land, air, and oceans, which takes about 30 to 40 percent of the heat

then the rest of it is given off back to space.

Humans heath depends on a niceclimate. Bad temperatures could

cause loss of life. Hot temperaturescan increase air and water

pollutions, which can cause to

harm humans. The worst diseasescan cause harm to occur in warm

areas. There are many of reasons

why hot temperature causes the

number of death to increase; peoplewith heart problems are vulnerable

because their cardiovascularsystem must work harder to keeptheir body cool during hot weather.

Heat exhaustion and respiratory

problems may increase.

Image obtained from Kathy ThaoHigh temperatures also increase the concentration of ozone at ground level. The ozone

layer in the atmosphere prevents harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation from reaching earths

surface, but in the lower layer, ozone is a harmful pollutant. Ozone damages lung tissue

and people can have chest pains, nausea, and pulmonary congestion. If a warming increase

by 4 degrees Fahrenheit the ozone concentrations could increase by 5 percent.


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Hospital admissions show that death rates increase

during hot days. And it mostly happens to old or veryyoung people living in cities. In July 1995, a heat

wave killed over 700 people living in Chicago. Studiessay that in Atlanta, for example, an increase of 2degrees Fahrenheit would increase heat-related deaths

from 78 to 247 people per year. If people were to

install air conditioning at home, then the death of

people would decrease.

Deaths due to heat are higher than deaths due to cold weather. In the Untied States, about1,000 people died from cold weather, but twice that much died from hot weather. Globalwarming may increase diseases especially those diseases that appear in warm areas.

Diseases spread by mosquitoes and other insects may become more common because

warm temperatures help them breed better. Public health programs could avoid this impactbecause it could help treat the spread of infections and other health problems

What is global warming?

Global warming is the process of the earth's atmosphere heating up.(The atmosphere is the air that covers our planet like a blanket.) Overthe last 100 years, the average temperature of earth's atmospherehas gone up 1 Fahrenheit. The weather has not changed exactly the

same way in every area of the planet. But, scientists think that therise in average temperature is already affecting the earth's climate.

What is the difference between climate and weather?

Weather is the word that describes conditions in the atmosphere (such as

temperature, precipitation, wind and cloudiness) at a specific time for a specific

place. For example, when someone asks, "What's the weather like outside?" he or

she wants to know what is going on in a certain area at that moment.

Climate is what you get when you summarize the weather for a long period of time.

Even though California might have rainy weather one day, its average weather over

the entire year is still dry and mild. Scientists who study global warming look at the

big picture. They look at how rising temperatures will affect the earth's climate.
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What causes global warming?

Many scientists now believe that global warming iscaused by human activities. Cutting down trees,producing more trash, and polluting the environment aresome of the reasons that the temperature has gone up.Many scientists believe that the biggest causes of globalwarming are new human technologies that releasegreenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

What is the effect of global warming?

With more heat trapped on Earth, the planet will become warmer, which

means the weather all over Earth will change. For example, summers willget hotter, and winters too. This may seem a good idea, but theconditions we are living in are perfect for life, and a large rise intemperature could be terrible for us and for any other living thing onEarth.

The effect of a change in the weather on plant growth may lead to somecountries not having enough food. Brazil, parts of Africa, south-east Asiaand China will be affected the most and many people could suffer fromhunger.

Many animals and plants may not be able to cope with these changesand could die. This could cause the loss of some animal and plant speciesin certain areas of the world or everywhere on Earth.

In other parts of the world, the effects will be different, some places willbecome drier and others will be wetter. Although most areas will bewarmer, some areas will become cooler. There may be many storms,floods and drought, but we do not know which areas of the world will beaffected.

Why are greenhouse gases a problem today?

The greenhouse effect is not new. Carbon dioxide, nitrousoxide and methane have been keeping the earth warm formillions of years. In the past, nature produced just the rightamount of greenhouse gases to keep earth at a balancedtemperature.

Today, most scientists are pretty sure that the risingtemperature can't be blamed on nature. Ever since theindustrial revolution in the 1700s, humans have relied onmachines for daily life. And many of those machines (likecars) give off, or emit, a lot of greenhouse gases. Anincrease in the release of greenhouse gases from humanactivities is throwing nature off balance.

How is global warming affecting the world?


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The climate is a very complicated thing, but many scientists agree thatthe rising atmospheric temperature has already damaged theenvironment. Sheets of ice, called glaciers, are melting in Antarctica andother parts of the globe. As glaciers break off and melt into the oceans,they are adding warm water to the oceans and causing the sea level torise.

Over the last 100 years, the sea level has risen 6-8 inches around theworld. That means that land along the coasts is beginning to disappearunder water. Bigger and warmer oceans are also adding to otherweather problems caused by pollution in the atmosphere. Some placeshave received more rain, others have had bigger storms and a fewareas in the world have experienced unusual droughts.

If the warming gets worse, as scientists expect, there may be somekinds of plants and animals that become extinct (disappear completely)because they cant move to new homes. There may be more storms andfloods. Sea level may rise so much that people have to move away fromthe coasts. Some areas may become too dry for farming.

What can I do about global warming?

You dont have to wait until you are grown to do something about global warming.

Scientists agree that the burning of fossil fuels is causing global warming. Since these

fuels are burned for energy, and everyone uses energy, everyone can help stop global

warming just by using less energy.

Think about the things you do each day that use energy. The lights in your house use

electricity. The TV and computer use electricity. The washing machine, dishwasher

and dryer all use gas or electricity. Every time you ride in your car, it uses gasoline.

There are some simple things that you can do to help stop global warming:

1. Turn off the lights when you leave a room. Use fluorescent bulbs in your room.

2. Turn off your computer or the TV when youre not using it. Unplug chargers

when not in use.

3. Wait until you have a lot of clothes to wash before using the washing machine.

Dont use the machine for one item just because its your favorite shirt.


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4. Take shorter showers. Heating water uses energy.

5. Close the blinds on a hot day if the sun is shining in. Dress lightlyinstead of turning up the air conditioning. Or use a fan.

6. Dress warmly inside your house when its cold, instead of turning

up the heat.

7. Offer to help your parents keep the air filters on your AC andfurnace clean.

8. Walk short distances instead of asking for a ride in a car.

9. Plant a tree.

Causes of Gloabl Warming

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