Earth's atmosphere comprises many gases: oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide (hereafter abbreviated to CO2) and water vapour, to name a few. These gases are collectively called greenhouse gases and they keep the Earth's temperature at a comfortable 15°C. Without them Earth would be a chilly -18°C.
Since pre-industrial times, usually taken to be before 1750, we know from ice-core records that CO2 levels were about 280 ppm,that's 280 parts of CO2 per million parts of air. As industrialisation got underway humankind started to farm the land more intensely than ever before, which included deforestation for agriculture and settlements. Later - since about 1850 or so - the burning of fossil fuels for energy and transport has added considerably to greenhouse gas levels, particularly CO2.
This has resulted in CO2 levels increasing to about 385 ppm, a rise of about thirty-seven per cent from pre-industrial levels - mainly as a result of burning fossil fuels.
How do we know this?
Well, data from ice-core records that go back at least 650,000 years now show us that CO2 levels have fluctuated naturally during this time between 280 and 300 ppm. CO2 levels have also been measured accurately from the top of Mauna Loa Volcano in Hawaii since 1958, and results show an increase in CO2 levels from 315 ppm to 385 ppm since that time.
Therefore CO2 is now at eighty ppm more than it has been for at least 650,000 years of Earth's history. It is a known scientific fact that higher levels of greenhouse gases will lead to higher temperatures, which appears to be happening now. The world has warmed by an average of 0.74 degrees during the last 100 years or so. As a result of this warming, polar ice has started to decrease and melt, and so have Earth's land-based glaciers. This in turn is causing sea levels to rise, which is putting low-lying islands at risk of flooding or total submersion, and will eventually threaten more and more of the world's coastal cities and regions.
Things may get worse, however, because once Earth's atmosphere starts to warm, the warming itself may cause further positive feedback mechanisms to kick in. A warmer atmosphere holds more water vapour, which is itself a powerful greenhouse gas. This will in turn cause further warming, and so on.
Melting ice results in more sunlight being absorbed by the surrounding 'darker' water and land, and that results in further warming, and more melting ice. Methane deposits currently held in a frozen but stable state under the sea and under the permafrost may be released as the oceans warm and permafrost melts, which will cause further warming. This is very worrying as methane is a potent greenhouse gas and around twenty times more powerful than CO2 when talking about it's ability to warm the Earth's atmosphere.
This is global warming in a nut shell, however there are of course far more complex issues involved as global warming will not affect the whole planet in the same way at the same time. Some parts will experience more drought, some parts more rainfall, and some parts more extreme weather such as floods and heatwaves.
One thing is for sure,as the world warms, we will all know about it...
Copyright (c) 2008 Simon Rosser
The constant climate change is a fact that we just can’t disregard anymore. As unreal as it may sound, the world may soon end and we have some fault whereas these changes are concerned. Global warming is something that can’t be controlled as easily as one might think, having a dreadful effect all over the world. The catastrophic results reflect on the biodiversity of the planet and its eco-systems.
In order to attract people’s attention, many “festivals of life" and other similar campaigns have been organized in order to save Mother Earth. But campaigns, commercials, experiments… they are all useless when it comes to climate change. Responsible for this situation are indirectly greenhouse gases and directly the human race. In order to remediate this problem, the Kyoto protocol was adopted in Kyoto, Japan on 11 December 1997. The international agreement was signed by several countries (with well-developed industries), all agreeing on the importance of reducing greenhouse gases that have led to climate change.
All this trouble could have been avoided if the emissions of these gases would have been interdicted since their first appearance, but people are greedy and they always put money before ecology, not realizing that as rich as you may be, it means nothing… if the air that surrounds us is not breathable.
Although it is quite late, the solution remains the same and could still be put in practice in order to save what is left of nature, and that is: stopping the emission of greenhouse gases. But what are people constantly thinking about? Ecology? Of course not! Economy! Are they thinking that with the daily burning of new fossil fuels, the Amazon forest that sustains life on Earth is dying a little bit more and more? It’s hardly likely!
Global warming is a real problem and one that should be tackled with more seriousness. What we have seen in movies like “Armageddon", “The Apocalypse", “The end of the days", “The core", etc, is becoming more and more a possibility. Maybe it won’t happen now, but in 20-25 years or something... who knows?
In their attempt to stop climate change, a lot of scientists have repeatedly said that it is a “must" to develop forests, as many and as big as possible. This is the only way of reconstructing the ozone “blanket". We all know that this gas – the ozone – is one of the most important gases that exist in the Earth's atmosphere. The ozone has the very difficult task of blocking the harmful ultraviolet rays from reaching the Earth's surface and it also helps the temperature of the Earth's surface to stay warm enough.
Global warming is the single most destructive force hurting our planet. The industrial revolution of the past two centuries has taken a toll on our planet’s wild life and environmental infrastructure due to mankind’s destructive behavior. Global climate change is obvious in all corners of the Globe, from melting polar ice caps to ozone depletion. The theory behind this phenomenon is that the Earth receives heat from the Sun; the Sun gives off the heat in the form of radiation in which the Earth absorbs 70%, which warms the surface and the oceans, while the remaining 30% is reflected into space.
Both Simon Rosser & Clint Jhonson are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Simon Rosser has sinced written about articles on various topics from Global Warming, Legal Matters. This article is taken from The A-Z of Global Warming, which was published in September 2008 by Schmall World Publishing. Please goto the following website for further information on the book.. Simon Rosser's top article generates over 14800 views. to your Favourites.
Clint Jhonson has sinced written about articles on various topics from Modelling, Home Buyers Guide and Gardening. due to is not reversible now. But there is something that we ca. Clint Jhonson's top article generates over 1000000 views. to your Favourites.