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GlobalWarming

JenniferMiller

English12
JuneWhedon
15March2015

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Globalwarming,alsoknownasthegreenhouseeffect,isatopicthathasreceivedmuch
attentioninrecentyears.Yettheclimatechangeisnotarecentproblem.Ithasbeenchanging
overmanyyears.Whatisincreasingistherateofchangeitisrisingduetothegrowthofthe
humanpopulation.Thegrowthofourpopulationhasincreasedouruseoffuel,land,and
manufacturing.Alloftheseareincreasingemissionsintoouratmospherethatincreasesglobal
warming,andthisisnotonlyaffectingpeople,butanimalstoo.
Inordertotalkaboutglobalwarming,wemustfirstlearnwhatcausesthegreenhouse
effect.Alotoftheraysfromthesunareabsorbedbywatervaporthatisnaturallyinour
atmosphere.Watervaporaccountsfor80%ofnaturalgreenhousewarming.Theremaining20%
isduetoothergasesthatarepresentinverysmallamounts(Dunbar,Brian).Carbondioxideis
alsoabigabsorberoftheSun'sheatrays.Humanscancausealotofcarbondioxidetobe
released.Everytimeweburnfossilfuels,wereleasemorecarbondioxide.Ifthereismore
carbondioxideintheatmospheremoreraysfromthesunareabsorbed.Thiswillcausethe
atmosphereandtheearth'stemperaturetowarm.Thewarmingoftheearthwillcausetheoceans
tobecomewarmer.Whentheyheatup,morewaterisevaporated,causingmorecarbondioxide
tobereleasedintotheatmosphere.Oncethisprocessstarts,itisreallyhardtocontrol.Ifthe
temperaturekeepsrising,morecarbondioxidewillbereleased.Anothergreenhousegasis
methane.Methaneabsorbsinfraredradiation25timesmoreeffectivelythancarbondioxide,
makingitanimportantgreenhousegasdespiteitsrelativelylowconcentration(Energy).There
havebeenstudiesonhowmethanehasbeenletoutintotheatmosphere.Methaneinthe
atmosphereisgeneratedbybiologicalactivityrelatedtoricecultivation,leaksindomesticand
industrialgaslines,andthedigestiveprocessofdomesticlivestock,especiallycattle.(Energy).

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Somehistoryduringthe1940'sthereweredevelopmentsininfraredspectroscopyfor
measuringlongwaveradiation.Atthattimeitwasproventhatincreasingtheamountof
atmosphericcarbondioxideresultedinmoreabsorptionofinfraredradiation.Itwasalso
discoveredthatwatervaporabsorbedtotallydifferenttypesofradiationthancarbondioxide.Itis
concludedthataddingmorecarbondioxidetotheatmospherewouldinterceptinfraredradiation
thatisotherwiselosttospace,warmingtheearth.(WaterTreatmentSolutions)Earth's
temperaturedependsonthebalancebetween
energyenteringandleaving
theplanetssystem.
WhenincomingenergyfromthesunisabsorbedbytheEarthsystem,Earthwarms.Whenthe
sunsenergyisreflectedbackintospace,Earthavoidswarming.Whenabsorbedenergyis
releasedbackintospace,Earthcools.Manyfactors,bothnaturalandhuman,cancausechanges
inEarths
energybalance
.ScientistshavepiecedtogetherarecordofEarthsclimate,dating
backhundredsofthousandsofyearsbyanalyzinganumberofindirectmeasuresofclimatesuch
asicecores,treerings,glacierlengths,pollenremains,andoceansediments,andbystudying
changesinEarthsorbitaroundthesun.Thisrecordshowsthattheclimatesystemvaries
naturallyoverawiderangeoftimescales.Ingeneral,climatechangespriortotheIndustrial
Revolutioninthe1700scanbeexplainedbynaturalcauses,suchaschangesinsolarenergy,
volcaniceruptions,andnaturalchangesingreenhousegasconcentrations.(CausesofClimate
Change)
Thecausesthatareacceleratingglobalwarmingarerelatedtothegrowthofthehuman
populationincreasingtheneedforburningfossilfuels,havinglandtosettleon,andbeingableto
manufacturegoods.Theproblemwithfossilfuels,burninganycarbonbasedfuelconverts
carbontocarbondioxide.Unlessitiscapturedandstored,thiscarbondioxideisusuallyreleased

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totheatmosphere.Burningfossilfuelsreleasescarbonthatwasremovedfromtheatmosphere
millionsofyearsagobyanimalandplantlife.Thisleadstoincreasedconcentrationsofcarbon
dioxideintheatmosphere.(TheProblemWith.)Theeffectsglobalwarminghasonlandis,rising
temperaturesandshiftingprecipitationpatternsarechangingthegeographicareaswhere
mammals,birds,insects,andplantsthatliveonlandcansurviveandareaffectingthetimingof
lifecycleevents,suchasbudbursts,leafdropfromtrees,pollination,reproduction,andbird
migration.(GlobalWarmingEffectsonLand).
Theeffectofglobalwarmingisbeingseenthroughouttheworld,forexampletherisingof
sealevels,andtheicemeltinginthearctics.Scientificresearchindicatessealevelsworldwide
havebeenrisingatarateof0.14inchesperyearsincetheearly1990s.Thetrend,linkedto
globalwarming,putsthousandsofcoastalcities,likeVenice,Italy,andevenwholeislandsat
riskofbeingclaimedbytheocean.Overthepastcentury,theburningoffossilfuelsandother
humanandnaturalactivitieshasreleasedenormousamountsofheattrappinggasesintothe
atmosphere.TheseemissionshavecausedtheEarth'ssurfacetemperaturetorise,andtheoceans
absorbabout80percentofthisadditionalheat.(SeaLevelRise)Anotherbigeffectseen
throughouttheworldistheicemeltinginthearctics,ThepolarregionsoftheEartharewhere
climatechangeishavingthemostvisibleandsignificantimpacts.Seaiceandfreshwaterglacial
icearemelting,thepermafrostcontinuestothawandreleaseevenmoregreenhousegasesand
manyspeciesarefinditincreasinglyhardtoadapttotheescalatingchanges.(GlobalWarming
ImpactsintheArcticandAntarctic.)Alsocropsarebeingaffectedgreatly,agricultureand
fisheriesarehighlydependentonspecificclimateconditions.Tryingtounderstandtheoverall
effectofclimatechangeonourfoodsupplycanbedifficult.Increasesintemperatureandcarbon

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dioxidecanbebeneficialforsomecropsinsomeplaces.Buttorealizethesebenefits,nutrient
levels,soilmoisture,wateravailability,andotherconditionsmustalsobemet.Changesinthe
frequencyandseverityofdroughtsandfloodscouldposechallengesforfarmersandranchers.
Meanwhile,warmerwatertemperaturesarelikelytocausethehabitatrangesofmanyfishand
shellfishspeciestoshift,whichcoulddisruptecosystems.Overall,climatechangecouldmakeit
moredifficulttogrowcrops,raiseanimals,andcatchfishinthesamewaysandsameplacesas
wehavedoneinthepast.(AgricultureandFoodSupply.)
Globalwarminghasaverylargeeffectonanimals,ourcountryishometoadiversearrayof
wildliferangingfromthehighestpeaks,tothedriestdeserts,tofreshwaterandmarine
environmentsandtoalltheplacesinbetween.Theabundantanddiversewildliferesources,
whicharesoimportanttoourcultureandwellbeing,faceableakfutureifwedonotaddress
globalwarming.OneofthoseanimalsarepolarbearsTheyrelyheavilyonArcticseaice,which
israpidlydisappearingduetoglobalwarming.InHudsonBay,polarbearsarestarvingduring
thelongsummermonthsastheicetheyrelyontohuntforfoodmeltsearliereachspringand
laterinthefall.ThenthereisTheAmericanpika,asmallmammalthatlivesonWestern
mountaintops,isbeingforcedtomovetohigherandhigheraltitudestofindthetolerablealpine
temperaturesitcallshome.Asglobalwarmingincreasesaveragetemperatures,thepikamay
soonrunoutofplacestogo.Alsoducks,geeseandotherwaterfowlacrossthecountryare
changingbehaviorsandmigrationpatternsandsufferingtheconsequencesofmoreextreme
weather,includingdroughtandfloods.Thisnotonlythreatensthebirdsthemselves,buthas
greatlyimpactedthehuntingbusinessesthatdependonducksshowingupforduckseason.
(EffectsonWildlifeandHabitat.)Notonlyanimalsonladycanbeharmed,underwaterCorals

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areintolerantoftemperaturesjustafewdegreeswarmerthanusual.Smallincreasesinthe
temperaturecankillcorals.Therehavebeenproblemswithcoralsdyinginthepastfewyears
becauseofincreasedwatertemperatures.Othermarinelifemaymigratenorthwardorsouthward
becausethewatersarewarmer.Thewarmwaterwouldmakethemthinkthattheywereintheir
naturalhabitat,whentheywereactuallymigratingtowardthepoles.Foodwouldbescarcein
theirnewhabitat.Alsocausingthemtodieoff.AfterinterviewingateacheratthisschoolIasked
whattheythinkcouldbedonetosolveanimalsdyingoffbecauseofglobalwarming,andhesaid
weshouldusethethreeRsReduce,reuse,andrecycle.(Messer)

Therearewaysthatwecanhelpslowdownglobalwarming,wecanfindalternateforms
ofenergy,forexample,morethanhalfofU.S.stateshaveadoptedarenewableelectricity
standardapolicythatrequireselectricitysupplierstograduallyincreasetheiruseofrenewable
energysuchaswind,solar,geothermal,andbioenergy.Thesestatesaredemonstratingthat
renewablestandardsareanaffordablesolutiontoreduceCO2andotherunhealthyairemissions,
whilealleviatingtheharmfulimpactthatfossilfuelextraction,transport,andusehaveonland
andwaterresources.(RenewableEnergyStandards.)
Globalwarmingisbecomingamajorproblemaswemovetothe21stcenturyandbeyond.
Whenmoregreenhousegasseslikecarbondioxideandmethanearereleased,theytrapheatrays
andkeeptheminouratmosphere.Thiscausesanincreaseintemperature.Onlyafewdegrees
endedtheiceagethousandsofyearsago.Anotherwarminglikethatcanhavehuge
environmentaleffects.Someareaswillgetmoreprecipitation,somewillgetless.Awarmingof
afewdegreeswouldcauseglaciersandseaicetomelt.Thiswouldleadtooceanlevelsrising
andwoulddamagecoastalcitiesandislands.Itwouldalsocauseadisruptionindifferentspecies

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livingintheoceanandonland.Inordertostopglobalwarming,muchhastobedone.Although
itisverydifficulttoreverseoncetheprocessisstarted,globalwarminghastobestoppedifwe
wanttolivelikewearenow.Emissionoffossilfuelsbyhumansisabigfactorintheamountof
carbondioxideintheatmosphere.Controllingtheseemissionsisoneofthefirstofmanysteps
thatwemusttakeinordertocombatglobalwarming.Ifitisnotcontrolled,problemssuchasthe
aforementionedones,alongwithothers,willdefinitelydisruptourlivingpatterns.

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"AgricultureandFoodSupply."
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"CausesofClimateChange."
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Dunbar,Brian."CarbonDioxideControlsEarth'sTemperature."
NASA
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"EffectsonWildlifeandHabitatNationalWildlifeFederation."
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"Energy:TheDriverofClimate."
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MesserJeffinterviewFebruary27th

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"RenewableEnergyStandardsMitigatingGlobalWarming."
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