Global Warming: Fact Rather Than Fiction The focus of this paper is on global warming and its causes. In the introduction phase, we have given a brief overview of the problem alongside a brief look at the details of the problem itself. It is mentioned here that how much change has actually recorded in the previous decades and what the future might hold on for the planet if the trend keeps on going as it is right now. It has also mentioned the consequences of rise in temperatures which can result in many different scenarios.

We then focused on the causes of the problem and again had a brief overview of it, the causes were divided into two main sections and proper emphasis was given on one of it in order to give the root cause of the phenomena. The discussion phase have a more in-depth look at the causes of global warming, here all the proposed causes and natural events that can lead towards global warming are discussed with a focus on the after effects which the world can face later on.

The main proposed causes are based on actions of humanity which include more and more usage of fossil fuels, deforestation and so on. The natural causes include solar variations, climate change cycle and so on. After the discussion phase we will look at some of the techniques which can help us do better assessment of climate change. Though this is not perfect and is even vulnerable at many cases, it still gives a very good idea of where the climate of the world is heading towards. It is also been stated that more and more new methodologies are being developed and more complex problems regarding this subject are now being touched than they ever were because of advancement in computing technologies available today.

Finally, the conclusion is given regarding global warming in which it is clearly stated that it is a fact rather than fiction and what are the reasons for its existence.

Introduction

In this paper our main task is to discuss global warming as a fact alongside discussing its causes. The global warming phenomenon refers to increase in the average temperature of the Earth's overall atmosphere including its oceans as well as the projected continuation in it. It has been carefully monitored that our planet's average surface temperature has increased by some 0.8 degree centigrade (1.4 degree Fahrenheit) in the last one hundred years, here some two thirds of the recorded increase has taken place in the last three decades.

Scientists from all over the world are on an almost complete consensus that this rise in temperature is because of the increase in the concentrations of the greenhouse gases which are produced through different human activities like burning of the fossil fuel and deforestation. Findings such as these are recognized and recommended by national science academies throughout all of the industrialized world as well as developing countries.

It is further projected by various sources such as the IPCC which is one of the main organizations looking after the climate change that during the current century global surface temperatures are more likely to increase by some 1.5 to 1.9 degree centigrade (2.7 to 3.4 degree Fahrenheit) in their lowest possible amount and 3.4 to 6.1 degree centigrade (6.1 to 11 degree Fahrenheit) in their highest possible amount.

"The increments in global temperatures are expected to make sea levels rise changing the amount as well as pattern of precipitation as well as a possible increment in the size of subtropical deserts." (Doyle 2000). This global warming effect is expected to hit the Arctic the hardest which will result in more retreat of glaciers, sea ice and permafrost.

"Other effects of warming include more occurrences of bad or extreme weather events which include droughts, heavy rainfalls, heatwaves, extinction of different species and so on." (Johansen 2002). Let's overview some of the main causes of global warming, if we take an in-depth analysis of the entire situation then we can easily divide the root of the problem into two groups, firstly the man-made causes and secondly the natural causes. Let's first have a look at some of the natural causes.

As by their title, the natural causes are those which are caused through nature....

These include the continuous release of the methane gas from the arctic tundra as well as from the wetlands. Methane gas is defined as a greenhouse gas and it is known to trap heat at the earth's atmosphere causing the whole planet to be warmer than usual. Another natural cause suggests that our planet goes through a climate change cycle, this cycle lasts about forty thousand years.
These were some of the natural causes that can be attributed towards the main root events for global warming, other cases which are man-made and which are more likely to be the main culprit include the following reasons.

Pollution comes in different sorts of shapes and sizes, here burning the fossil fuel is a major factor which causes pollution. The fossil fuels are made of the organic matter like coal or oil. When these fossil fuels are burnt they result in giving green house gas known as carbon dioxide (CO2). Besides this the mining process of oil and coal allows the methane gas to be released in the atmosphere, this occurs because methane is naturally found under the earth's surface and digging for fossil fuel can result in release of methane as well.

Other man-made cause includes overpopulation of the human race, with more people demanding more food as well as more means for transportation. This means more and more extraction of methane as there will be excessive usage of fossil fuels. "More agriculture can also contribute to more methane released as it is found in the manure of the farm animals." (Sim 2009).

Also, it is an established fact that the economies of the Far East nations such as China and India are growing at a rapid pace for the last couple of decades and will carry on this growth pattern for many more years to come. This growth comes at a huge price in terms of environmental issues and it is seen here that in order to power up a major economy the government requires major natural resources such as coal or oil. It is these resources which help in bringing up the necessary growth patterns as well as to support the livelihood of millions of individuals. All of this contributes towards a changing environment that is destined to affect not only the Far Eastern region of the planet but the whole world in general.

Economic growth also translates into more financial power in the hands of ordinary citizen, for example in China the average per capita income was around five hundred dollars two decades ago and it now stands at more than three thousand dollars. This increase in income also makes the people to do more consumption regarding the usage of various different resources that contribute towards a larger carbon footprint for the general population. As a result, we see the continuous shift of climate patterns especially in China.

There have been many cases of breathing problems and other diseases caused by the increment in pollution levels in major Chinese cities which is something the central governing authority still finds tough to fully control. Therefore the economic aspect which is related to the change in climate can not be ignored.

Above are mentioned some of the main causes of global warming, now let's have an in-depth discussion on the subject and look at the methodologies regarding the monitoring of this event.

Discussion

Let's discuss the causes of global warming in more detail here and then look at the monitoring of this entire event in the next section. The recent estimates by NASA's GISS as well as National Climate Data Center give us the info that the years 2005 and 2010 are tied for being Earth's warmest since more widespread and reliable instrumental measurements were made available in the later half of the nineteenth century.

"The observed temperature changes vary differently throughout the planet." (Weart 2003). Since the year 1979, temperatures in land areas have incremented by almost twice as faster as compared to the ocean temperatures which shows a 0.25 degree centigrade per decade increase in land as compared to 0.13 degree centigrade increase in oceans. The temperature at oceans increase slowly because of the ocean's increased and effective heat capacity as well as having the advantage of loosing heat through evaporation. It has also been recorded that the northern hemisphere of Earth is warming more faster as compared to the Southern Hemisphere since it contains more land mass.

Although it is also a fact that more greenhouse gases are emitted in the Northern Hemisphere as compared to the Southern Hemisphere, this specifically does not contribute in the main difference in warming in both of the hemispheres. The thermal inertia of Earth's oceans as well as slow responses of different other indirect effects means the overall climate can take many centuries or even longer to adjust according…