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Essay about Global Warming

Decent Essays

Global Warming

Global Warming is an important ecological issue and has many negative effects upon our environment. Global Warming, or what has been called the Greenhouse effect, is the result of a fourfold ecological process. 1-Sunlight radiates from the sun, through space, to Earth’s atmosphere. 2- The sunlight enters the atmosphere and hits Earth. Some of it turns into heat energy in the form of infrared light. The heat gets absorbed by surrounding air and land, which in turn makes it warm. 3- Infrared rays, that are remitted into the atmosphere are trapped by greenhouse gases. 4- The gas then absorbs the light and is remitted back to the Earth’s surface and warms it even more. Left on it's own this natural process keeps our …show more content…

Activities such as fossil fuel combustion, waste disposal, the use of refrigerators, agricultural and industrial activities, and the cutting down of forests have all played a significant role in the spread of these gases.

These, and other human practices, have changed the chemical make up of the atmosphere. Between pre-industrial times and today, carbon dioxide concentrations have been on the rise. With these higher levels of gas concentration in our atmosphere the Earth's climate is slowing changing for the worse. The temperature of the Earth’s surface is as warm, if not warmer than it has been in any other century.

One study, conducted by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) said that unless governments do something to restrict the emissions of greenhouse gases to a lower level, global temperatures could rise 1.6 to 5.3 degrees Fahrenheit by the year 2100. This increase is significant, because it represents the fastest global warming since the end of the last ice age more than 10,000 years ago (Houghton and Griggs).
One result of these warmer temperatures is drought. With the warming of the planet, the water on the ground would quickly evaporate causing rivers and lakes to dry. This would lead to crops dying from lack of rain, which would lead to increased food prices and other associated

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