Global warming is the trend with which temperatures across the globe are increasing beyond the range of normal fluctuations. The effects of global climate change are real and will result in serious consequences for the generations to come if nothing is done to solve this problem. The problem of global warming has mainly been caused by the emission of greenhouse gases into the Earth's atmosphere. These greenhouse gases that are being emitted into the Earth's atmosphere and result in global warming include carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. Some of the serious effects of the global warming problem include hotter and dry summers, increased flooding as well as lessened snowfall and soil moisture. This problem also results in serious consequences on the agricultural and tourism industries of many countries across the globe. Therefore, there is a need for rapid changes and actions that will help in the reduction of greenhouse gases that are being emitted into the atmosphere. Global warming continues to have serious effects on the lives of people; using things that don't emit greenhouse gases into the atmosphere is a long-term solution to this problem.
Explanation of the Problem:
As mentioned earlier, global warming has been as a result of the emission of greenhouse gases into the Earth's atmosphere. This emission of greenhouse gases into the Earth's atmosphere is because of the atmosphere's naturally occurring substances. However, human beings have increased the level of these greenhouse gases by pouring large amounts of these substances into the atmosphere following the Industrial Revolution (Strickland & Grabianowski par, 1). Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, human beings have continued to pour huge amounts of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide into the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is a colorless gas that is produced by the combustion of organic matter and constitutes about 0.04% of the Earth's atmosphere. Most of this percentage of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere was as a result of the pre-historic volcanic activity. The general level of carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere has been increased by human activities that pump large amounts. Given that carbon dioxide absorbs infrared radiation, the increased concentrations of this gas in the atmosphere is viewed as the primary factor in global warming. The increased concentration of this gas in the Earth's atmosphere basically results in more energy absorption and a general increase in temperatures across the globe. In fact, if the level of this gas in the Earth's atmosphere doubles, temperatures are likely to increase by 5°C (Venkataramani par, 3).
In addition to being the main component of natural gas, methane is also a combustible gas that occurs naturally as a result of the decomposition of organic matter. While this gas is usually encountered in swamp gas form, there are various man-made processes that produce methane. These man-made processes include extracting methane from coal, from decomposition of garbage, from herds of livestock and bacteria in rice paddies. Even though methane is not as much as carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere, it absorbs and emits twenty times more heat as compared to carbon dioxide. The other significant greenhouse gas is nitrous oxide which is also a by-product of combustion. This gas is usually released in great quantities into the Earth's atmosphere through the use of huge amounts of nitrogen fertilizer on crops. While human activities don't release nitrous oxide as much as carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide absorbs great energy than carbon dioxide, an approximate of 270 times.
The Need for Solution:
According to reports, the level of carbon emissions across the globe has continued to increase annually resulting in an increase in the average surface temperature of the Earth. For example, carbon emission increased from 1 billion tons in 1900 to around 7 billion tons in 1995. Additionally, the average surface temperature of the Earth increased from 14.5°C in 1860 to about 15.3°C in 1980. Moreover, the amount of carbon dioxide in the pre-industrial period was estimated to be around 280 parts per million and had increased to approximately 379 parts per million by the year 2005. Attempts to limit the emission of greenhouse gases into the Earth's atmosphere have also focused on methane and nitrous oxide because of the effects of these gases on the atmosphere. While the level of these gases in the Earth's atmosphere is not as much as that of carbon dioxide, they absorb more heat energy than carbon dioxide. Given that there are several human activities that release both methane and nitrous oxide and their great effect on the atmosphere, there is need to curb their emissions.
The effect of global warming will continue to have a significant effect on the planet because of the fact that greenhouse gases stay in the atmosphere for a number of years which ranges from decades to centuries to thousand of years (Simmons par, 1)....
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