digibutter.nerr

[Yamada Hanataro]

yes al this destruction is something no one else should go through

[Bonechill]

[Sir Trentov]

[Legendary Mashine]

A LOVELY PIECE OF LITERATURE BY JOLENE


There has often been debating over whether or not global warming truly exists. Some say that the evidence for it is real, and others say those who believe in it are just being alarmists. Out of the people who do believe it exists, there are many theories for how exactly it is caused. Also, out of the people who do believe it exists, some even think it will be beneficial somehow. There is only one way to settle the disputes, and that is to look at the facts; we must look at what we know is true, and draw conclusions from that only.
First, to know about global warming, we must understand the natural greenhouse effect. When the sun shines on the earth, much of its energy is reflected back to space, or if it is absorbed, it will just dissipate back to space eventually anyway. The only way we can keep some of the sun’s warmth and use it to warm our planet is by the greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. Some of these greenhouse gases include water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, ozone, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases. (EPA) These gases “hold on” to heat and keep it in our atmosphere, like the glass panes of a greenhouse hold the heat in the building; hence, the name. The reason they “hold on” to the heat is because they have three or more atoms per molecule, as opposed to gases like oxygen and nitrogen which have only two. Gas molecules with three or more atoms can retain the infrared rays that the sun gives off, thus retaining the heat. (Blashfield 17)
Though this effect is often talked about as though it is a bad thing, it is necessary for life. With it, our earth’s average surface temperature is 59ºC, but without it, the average surface temperature would be only -18ºC, too cold to sustain much life. (Stille 15) It is when we have too much carbon dioxide that a problem occurs; we only have about 0.1% of it in our atmosphere, but Venus has about 98%, and the average surface temperature there is 430ºC! Sometimes, this is called the “runaway greenhouse effect.” (Blashfield 40)
Are we currently experiencing this runaway greenhouse effect due to human emissions, or is this supposed warmer temperature simply a natural fluctuation? To find out, we need to know what “natural fluctuation” would be, and what the climate changes have been like in the past. Some natural things that may alter the climate could be a slight change in the earth’s orbit pattern, a change in the sun’s intensity such as sunspots, or volcanic eruptions which release lots of ash and gas into the air. Things like these can cause ice ages where ice covers much of the earth, as well as interglacial periods where ice is almost gone. (EPA) Sometimes there are smaller fluctuations similar to these, such as the Medieval Warm Period, or the “Little Ice Age” which occurred from 1645-1715. (Stille 24)
Obviously, scientists use written history record to know about the climate changes that occurred while humans were around. However, there are several techniques that scientists must use in order to find out what the climate was like many years ago before humans existed. Some of these include tree rings, ice cores, and rock sediments. (EPA) Tree rings show climate change by the thickness; the thicker the ring is, the warmer it was, because that means the tree was able to grow more rapidly during that year. Ice cores are also incredibly useful, because they contain bubbles of air in them. The air can be analyzed to determine how much carbon dioxide they contain; from the depth of the air bubble, we can compare it to how the climate was during that particular time period. From this, we know that the amount of carbon dioxide corresponds with the temperature. Svante Arrhenius, a Swedish chemist, was the one to actually discover that carbon dioxide and water vapor hold heat in, in 1896. (McCaffrey)
These natural climate fluctuations are disrupted by humans, when we emit excessive greenhouse gases into the air. According to the International Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC, formed by the UN in 1988, “most of the warming observed over the last 50 years is attributable to human activities.” Since pre-industrial times, there has been a 31% increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide, from burning of fossil fuels and usage of cars. Our deforestation adds to this as well, since typically the trees will use up the carbon dioxide for photosynthesis, but if we cut them down there are less to do this. (Bily) We also emit other greenhouse gases; fossil fuels, as well as agricultural practices, emit methane and nitrous oxide. (EPA) All of these things hold in more heat and cause the earth to get warmer.
The 10 warmest years in the 20th century were all between 1985 and 2000; since the century began, the global average temperature has risen 0.6ºC. (Stille) It may seem like a small difference, but this can alter our climate significantly. The fairly even climate throughout the world depends on thermohaline circulation, and a small temperature change can disrupt this. This is when water of different temperatures flows throughout the ocean, thus changing the temperature of the area around it. Most people are probably aware that things of a higher density sink, and things with a lower density float; this is how thermohaline circulation works.
The warm, less salty water at the equator is less dense than cool water, so it flows to the poles on the top of the ocean; at the poles, the water, now saltier, cools off and sinks, thus flowing back to the equator at the bottom of the ocean. As the warm and cool water flow around the globe, they keep the temperatures fairly even, preventing the equator from becoming incredibly hot and the arctic from becoming incredibly cold. If the air gets warmer and the ice caps begin to melt, the water from the melted ice will make the ocean water near the poles less salty, and it will not be dense enough to sink, which will ruin the circulation. Ice at the poles has already been melting; since the 1970’s, the Arctic ice pack has lost enough ice to have an area equivalent to both Texas and Arizona. (McCaffrey) Also, 1,000 square miles of the Larsen Ice Shelf have collapsed in the past two years. (Bily 95)
As a result of this runaway, hazardous climate change, many negative things may happen. Some of these include sea level rising, changes in precipitation, increased frequency and intensity of weather events such as floods, droughts, heat waves, and hurricanes, and many species extinctions as creatures run out of places with temperatures they are able to live in. (Wikipedia) Malaria will also run rampant, particularly in Africa, because if it is warmer it will be easier for mosquitoes carrying the disease to breed. (Bily) Hurricanes have already become bad, as seen by recent hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2006, as well as the sheer number of hurricanes in that year; it has been 52 years since we last had to resort to Greek letters to name hurricanes. (McCaffrey 57) The sea level rise is particularly disastrous; the sea level has already risen 10-20cm since the early 1900’s (Stille 39) and if it continues to rise at the same rate, 15 of the world’s 20 largest cities will end up underwater because they are located close to the coast. The entire countries of Egypt and Bangladesh could end up underwater as well. (Blashfield 54)
To prevent things such as these from occurring, we must take some measures to reduce global warming. The most obvious one is to emit less carbon dioxide; good ways to accomplish this would be to drive hybrid cars that partially use ethanol instead of all gasoline (Blashfield) or pursue alternate energy sources besides fossil fuels. Several countries have already signed the Kyoto Protocol, agreeing to use alternate energy sources so that they will emit fewer greenhouse gases (Wikipedia), but this is easier said than done. As of now, the most efficient alternate energy sources are wind and nuclear energy; however, many people say that nuclear is too dangerous, and renewable resources cannot match the output of non-renewable ones. (Bily) One could also attempt to plant trees to use up some of the carbon dioxide that is being emitted, but this would also be difficult; to soak up the 2.9 billion excess tons of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere, one would need to plant 1.1 billion acres of new trees, about half the area of the continental United States. (Blashfield 107) Evidently, combating global warming is quite a daunting task.
It is still uncertain to what extent global warming will occur, or if it even really is at all; if it is, it will be a difficult problem to tackle. However, we must focus solely on what we know is true in order to find out more about global warming, and try different solutions such as those mentioned above to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. So long as everyone does a small part, such as planting some trees in their yard or driving a hybrid car, we won’t have to find out whether or not global warming will result in disaster, because we will have prevented it from doing so.

[Mimi!!!]

Anyone saying Global Warming isn't happening is calling Stephen Hawking an idiot and he's much smarter than anyone who goes on this forum.

[Mimi!!!]

I live in Toronto and we usually get snow in December and a lot of it, but not this year.

[LynxRunner]

People, just because you don't beleive in global warming doesn't mean it can't exist~ I know some aethists who don't beleive in God but still keep one eye open in case he does exist...

Besides, it's always best to take precautions. Pollution is STILL bad, global warming or not. Cutting down the rainforest is also bad. We should use more energy-efficient light-bulbs. Hey kids (and maybe some adults), wouldn't doing stuff to prevent this stop global warming? Even if it didn't happen, doing stuff to help the Earth is still great. We are all one with nature.

...Do I sound like some kind of extremist hippie, treehugger or something? XD

[Sir Trentov]

Actually, I believe global warming is a Solar issue. I mean, if the Sun if 4.6 Billlion years old, shouldn't the Sun be powering up into a red giant?

[Francis]

Sorry, but this is what most media and politicians say about Global Warming. It is all emotional and really does not look at the facts. So I thought I would break it down for you...

[Mimi!!!]

[Shiaoran]

[Pirahna Plant]

I say we move to another planet.
Or all turn into plants like me.

[Pirahna Plant]

EVERYONE!!! SHUT UP!!!

If we die, we die. Were not going to live forever!!! Now start playing outside or enjoying the weather instead of complaining in front of your computer about Global Warming!

[Shiaoran]

[Aran Ryan]

Check this out...
http://news.aol.com/topnews/articles/_a/southern-ocean-loaded-with-carbon/20070518204409990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001