Global Warming Consequences

Global Warming Solutions

We know that you are probably aware of the phenomenon called GLOBAL WARMING. But we believe it is important to understand exactly what it is and why it is happening. So to understand Global Warming you must know what the GREENHOUSE EFFECT is.

The "greenhouse effect" is the warming that happens when certain gases in Earth's atmosphere trap heat. These gases let in light but keep heat from escaping, like the glass walls of a greenhouse. First, sunlight shines onto the Earth's surface, where it is absorbed and then radiates back into the atmosphere as heat. In the atmosphere, "greenhouse" gases trap some of this heat, and the rest escapes into space. The more greenhouse gases are in the atmosphere, the more heat gets trapped. This greenhouse effect is what keeps the Earth's climate livable. Without it, the Earth's surface would be an average of about 60 degrees Fahrenheit cooler, so the Earth would be uninhabitable.

The climate system varies through natural, internal processes and in response to variations in external forcing factors including solar activity, volcanic emissions, variations in the earth's orbit (orbital forces) and greenhouse gases. The cause of the recent warming according to the scientific consensus identifies increased levels of greenhouse gases due to human activity as the main influence.

The atmospheric concentrations of CO2 (CARBON dioxide) and CH4 (methane) have increased considerably since the industrial revolution it is a lot higher than at any time during the last 650,000 years, the period for which reliable data has been extracted from ice cores. About three-quarters of the anthropogenic [man-made] emissions of CO2 to the atmosphere during the past 20 years are due to fossil fuel burning. The rest of the anthropogenic emissions are predominantly due to land-use change, especially deforestation.

On Earth the major greenhouse gases are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane ozone and nitrous oxide. Levels of greenhouse gases (GHGs) have gone up and down over the Earth's history, but they have been fairly constant for the past few thousand years. Global average temperatures have stayed fairly constant over that time as well, until recently.

Through the burning of fossil fuels and other GHG emissions, humans are enhancing the greenhouse effect and WARMING EARTH. So we know that the greenhouse gases emission is considered the main cause of GLOBAL WARMING. The situation is alarming and requires immediate action!

References:

green.nationalgeographic.com/environment/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/global_warming
www.stopglobalwarming.org/sgw_actionitems.asp

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