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Global Warming
While the greenhouse effect maintains the appropriate temperature for life on Earth, problems arise when the quantity of greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere increases drastically.
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Global warming is the rise in the Earth's average temperature as a result of the accumulation of greenhouse gases. Water vapor, methane and carbon dioxide, three of the most important greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, exert control over the temperature of the Earth through a phenomenon called the greenhouse effect. Energy from the sun warms the Earth’s atmosphere. A portion of this energy is radiated back into space while the other portion is absorbed by heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere. According to scientists, the Earth’s average temperature would be below freezing without the greenhouse effect.
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Global Warming and the Ozone
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Although often confused with each other, global warming and ozone depeletion are two seperate problems threatening the Earth’s ecosystem today.
Global warming is caused by the build-up of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere, It was dubbed the ‘greenhouse effect’ because it is is similar to a greenhousein that the sun's rays are allowed into the greenhouse but the heat from these rays is unable to escape.
Ozone depletion, however, is the destruction of the ozone layer. Chemicals such as chlorofluorocarbons and methyl bromide react with ozone, leaving a ‘hole’ in the ozone layer that lets dangerous UV rays through.
Both are serious threats to life on Earth. |
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While the greenhouse effect maintains the appropriate temperature for life on Earth, problems arise when the quantity of greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere increases drastically. When this occurs, the amount of heat energy that is insulated within the Earth’s atmosphere increases correspondingly and results in a rise in global temperature. Since 1860, the temperature has risen 0.3 degrees Celsius, and if global warming continues at the same rate, the temperature will have risen 2.5 degrees Celsius within a century.
On paper, an increase of a mere few degrees Celcius does not appear very threatening. However, numbers can be deceiving. When you consider that the Ice Age resulted from temperatures only slightly cooler than those today, it is obvious that even very subtle temperature changes can significantly impact global climate. The repercussions of even a slight increase in global temperature are frightening. Global warming threatens to destroy the natural habitats of living organisms on Earth and disturb the stability of the Earth’s ecosystem. The climate changes that would result from global warming could trigger a variety of natural disasters such as droughts, heat waves, floods and other extreme weather events.
Like most other environmental problems, humans are the cause of global warming. The burning of fossil fuels is largely responsible for the increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Every time someone drives a car or powers their home with energy derived from power plants that use coal, carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere. The atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane have risen meteorically since preindustrial times, mainly due to the contributions of factories, cars and large-scale agriculture. Global warming has resulted from these increased concentrations of greenhouse gases, and we’ve only begun to see the ramifications of the temperature rise. Even if we immediately stopped emitting greenhouse gases, we would continue to see the effects of global warming for decades because of the damage we’ve already inflicted.
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Earth storm from orbit. Global warming can trigger severe storms. Courtesy: NASA |
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Despite this pessimistic outlook, there are things that can be done to reduce global warming. Alternate energy sources, such as wind and solar power, need to be exploited and implemented on a large scale. This would reduce fossil fuel consumption and cut back on the amount of greenhouse gas being released into the atmosphere. Forest preservation is another way of reducing and even reversing global warming. Plants remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and release oxygen into the atmosphere through photosynthesis. The desecration of the world’s forests not only destroys the habitats of forest-dwelling organisms, but exacerbates the problem of global warming.
Although the problem may seem overwhelming, individuals can make a positive difference in combating global warming. Simple things like driving less, using public transportation and conserving electricity generated by the combustion of fossil fuels can help reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases. It is important to realize that it’s not too late to make a difference. If everyone does what they can to reduce their contributions of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, the efforts of people around the world will act in concert to thwart the progression of global warming. If the effort isn’t made immediately, the delicate global ecosystem could be thrown irreversibly out of balance, and the future of life on Earth may be jeopardized.
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