Effects of Global Warming on us and on our planet
Introduction
Global warming is the most hotly debated subject in the world today. Most developed nations such as America, Germany, Japan and etc. are being blamed for not strictly adhering to the Kyoto protocol which was signed by most countries and accepted as the only way to control climate change. However, the biggest challenge is to eliminate very important economic contributors such as fuels from coal, sewerage and power plants that contribute to the increase in global warming. Because of its usefulness, the United Nations has been currently working with member countries to address the issue through all its organs. Environmental protection is something that will be important in the future and that is why the current generation would like to become of the generations to come. Global warming is the increase in the average temperate of the air near the surface of the water bodies which in turn result in climate changes.
Causes of global warming
There have been heated political, religious, social and scientific arguments about what could be the causes of global warming. Scientifically, burning of fossil fuels such as petrol, coal, electricity, garbage disposal, and methane from reared animals’ e.g. dairy cattle, goats and sheep the atmosphere of the earth is everywhere and it includes the air we breathe. The earth’s surface, water, land, and the whole biosphere absorb the heat from the sun after which it sends it back to the atmosphere. However, some of the sunlight energy passes back to the space while a good percentage is trapped by the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere thus causing the earth to heat up. Research has shown that global temperatures in the seas and on land have increased by 0.75 °C in the last century. The most significant changes were seen in the 1990s due to the increased greenhouse effects and increased human activity. Going by estimates of the Gorrard Institute of Space Studies the year 2005 was the warmest in history and scientists provide an explanation that the main cause could be increased levels of greenhouse gases which are as a result of industrial activities.
The atmosphere
The atmosphere literally covers the whole earth and it consists of a thin layer of mixed gases that make up the air we enjoy today. Specific weather systems that normally develop at the lower and upper part of the atmosphere may cause the air to be too hot or too cold depending on the rotations of the earth, sun rays and any variations that take place on the earth’s surface.
Oceans and seas
More than 70% of the earth’s surface is covered by the oceans and sea. Since it is a large mass of water, its thermal storage capacity enables it to store heat easily. Most oceans regulate the temperature through evaporation.
Ice
Ice covers about 3% of the earth’s surface and it supplies it with fresh water. Ice is known by its capacity to insulate the surface it covers and therefore this plays an important role in regulating the climate especially in the Antarctica and the Greenland. In some countries melting ice has caused a significant increase in the sea levels and this has contributed to global warming.
Greenhouse effect
Greenhouse effect was first discovered by Joseph Fourier in 1824 and it is defined as the warming of a planet’s atmosphere and surface through the adsorption and emission of the infrared radiations by its atmosphere. The greenhouse effect is that negative as it is said because without it the earth could be very cool such that it cannot be inhabited by a living thing including all the humans. The problem is that with increased human activity and industrialization, the greenhouse gases that trap the heat from the sun are affected resulting in varied variations on the composition of gases such as the carbon dioxide.
Increased temperatures
Countries on the islands will be greatly affected by the rise in temperature which is approximated to be 1.2 °C. These high temperatures are detrimental to the human health and are related to some illnesses such as cancer. In fact countries such as Alaska have experienced melting of permafrost in its initial stage signaling more serious environmental effects in the future. Most oceans have become warmer since the 1940s. Oceans get warmer from the top to the bottom which has caused anxiety among the scientist who had not previously considered measuring the depth of the water while analyzing ocean temperatures. The increase in water temperatures in the ocean has caused stronger ocean waves which directly translate to stronger; Typhoons, Hurricanes and Tsunamis. It is even worrying that most countries are recording higher temperatures to up to 50°C.
Sea level rise
Scientists believe that the sea level has shot up drastically to about 120 meters since 18,000 years ago- the last ice age. The most immediate consequence of high temperatures is an increase in the sea level at our oceans and seas. Precipitation is usually increased when the local temperatures rise triggering an increase in the evaporation rate. Also, when the high temperatures heat the water, it expands making it to occupy more volume. A glacier is a large sheet of ice that moves slowly. Most of the glaciers since 100 years ago have continued to melt. Melting of glaciers result in an increase in the sea level. The United Nations Environmental Program have approximated that the sea level has risen to 6-8 inches in the last 100 years and it is projected to continue to rise as long as greenhouse gases continue to be emitted into the atmosphere.
Extreme weather effects
With local and global temperatures going up due to global warming, there are evidences of increased occurrences of extreme weather patterns particularly rainfall , precipitation, evaporation rate and humidity. The most recent of this is the Hurricane that hit Brazil in 2004 and it measured about 40 m/s. This was the first time a Hurricane hit a country south of the Equator. Another phenomenon was the Tsunami that struck countries along the coast line of the Indian oceans damaging property and killing millions of people. (U.S Environment Protection Agency, 2007)
Economic effects
The economic implications of global warming are worse since these weather phenomenon occur unpredictably. Economic implications are considered to be harsh for third world countries as compared to developed countries because they lack the capacity to counter such disasters of big magnitudes. The other sector of the economy affected by global warming is the transport sector. Most of the infrastructure in Indonesia and India has collapsed as an outcome of these disasters thus making it very expensive for the countries to repair and maintain them. Agricultural production being dependant on weather conditions of a particular place is under threat from global warming. Countries in the Islands such as Madagascar produce very little agricultural produce not because they lack the water but because the conditions there are very uncertain and also harsh such that only greenhouses can produce well.
Environmental effects
Global warming as seen above results in increased amounts of rainfall which in turn causes an increase in erosion levels in arid and semi-arid areas of island nations which does not have adequate protective vegetation cover loss of soil implicates that the quality of soil cannot support the desired agricultural production and consequently low economic value for the country. With strong waves and wind speeds, some weather phenomenon can uproot trees in some areas resulting deforestation and in the future deserts can be created.
Conclusion
We can therefore deduce that global warming is a global concern that draws much attention from everyone and it also demands solutions from them since every person would like to live a brighter future. Global warming is not clear to the scientist trying to come up with a solution to it and therefore it is difficult to answer the question on how to manage global warming. Although many environmental activists have been trying to convince the current world leaders to adopt a common law that will see the elimination of fossil fuels in our countries, stiff criticism have been focused that suggests that alternative sources of fuel be developed to automatically weed out what is now available in the market. Climate change is already affecting our lives and the places we live and has a potential to dramatically impact the life of future generations. If we don’t act now, we will leave a much larger problem to our childrens. The good news is that, if we all join in to stop climate change, we can reduce its impact on our lives, on our environment and on future generations.
References
Global Warming International Center, (2005): Greenhouse gases are air pollutants under the Clean Air Act: U.S. policy on global warming today, Retrieved From, http://www.globalwarming.net/, on May, 24, 2008
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (2007): Global Warming, Retrieved from http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/globalwarming.html, on May, 24, 2008
U.S Environment Protection Agency (2007): Climate Change, Retrieved From, http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/, on March, 16, 2008
Wetherald, R.T. and Manabe, S. (2002): Simulation of hydrologic changes associated with global warming: Journal of Geophysical Research
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