Global Warning
Alex Bellus
April 22, 2007
English 101
Global Warning
The topic of global warming was created in 1896 by Swedish scientist Svante Arrhenius. The claim was that fossil fuel combustion, the burning and chemical change of things such as coal or oil for energy, could eventually lead to enhanced global warming. The idea was tucked away for later research and pretty much forgotten about until the second half of the 20th century. In 1955, Gilbert Plass concluded that “adding more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere would intercept infrared radiation that is otherwise lost to space, warming the earth” [Lenntech]. This theory has now become known as the greenhouse effect.
The debate between whether or not global warming actually exists did not become internationally popular until 1979, when Margaret Thatcher became prime minister of the UK [DALY]. In 1988, it was observed that the climate was warmer than any period since the late 19th century. In 2002, data proved that the ten warmest years on record all occurred before 1990 [Lenntech]. As the data gathered and popularity grew on the subject, more and more scientists began to research the topic. Many believe that all evidence leads to disaster within a century. Others believed that the climate change is completely normal and has occurred many times in the past. This leads to the other extreme of the debate, the people who believe that life best continue as is. Some of these people even believe that the warming created by the fossil fuel combustion would be beneficial. Whether or not the greenhouse effect is the cause of the recent temperature increase on Earth, there should be precautions taken in order to secure the safety of our future generations. If we continue to pollute the atmosphere around us at an exponentially increasing rate, there is no question that there will be very harmful effects sometime in the future.
"Global air temperatures as measured by land-based weather stations show an increase of about 0.45 degrees Celsius over the past century. This may be no more than normal climatic variation. Several biases in the data may be responsible for some of this increase" (Accuweather). One half of a degree may not seem very significant, but if the reason for this increase is in fact due to the greenhouse effect, this number will rise exponentially if we do not do something to stop the warming. In 2001, the National Academy of Sciences released a report that said, "Greenhouse gases are accumulating in Earth’s atmosphere as a result of human activities, causing surface air temperatures and subsurface ocean temperatures to rise. Temperatures are, in fact rising. The changes observed over the last several decades are likely mostly due to human activities, but we cannot rule out that some significant part of these changes are also a reflection of natural variability" [Globalwarming.org]. The report also predicts that the Earth will warm approximately 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the 21st century. If this did happen, I believe everyone would be a little more concerned. However, the fact is that if we wait until the serious effects of possible global warming start, it will be too late. The destruction would be catastrophic. The report and its estimate of temperature change seem very extreme to me, as they do to most people. Nonetheless, most scientists seem pretty confident that global warming is at least beginning to occur. Whether or not global warming would have a serious effect on the Earth’s population in the immediate future, there are many precautions that everyone can take in order to reduce and even completely eliminate the risk.
Since global warming affects the entire Earth, as its name suggests, the entirety of the population must work together in order to fight possible serious effects of global warming and the greenhouse effect. Some examples are simple and could help enormously if everyone tried to make them work. The most obvious way to reduce emissions is using an effective system of public transportation. For now, in the United States, this is considered an unrealistic objective because public transportation is much less convenient than forms of private transportation. In order to work properly, public bus, train, trolley, airplane, and boat transportation would have to be improved immensely. This includes making much more regular timetables and making the form of public transportation more comfortable and pleasing. Unfortunately, the initial cost of this infrastructure would be enormous. As Americans, we are spoiled and must give up some pleasures in order to ensure the safety and security of the world’s population in the future. We must try to conserve energy as much as possible in order to make a large dent in fossil fuel use. This includes simple, yet inconvenient measures such as turning out lights when not in use, using as little hot water as possible, and turning to other forms of power.
The largest way we could make a difference in the fight against global warming lies in another form of power, also known as green power. “Examples of green power include wind and solar energy, hydropower and biomass energy” [LENNTECH]. Unlike electricity, green power comes from renewable energy sources. Once again, the initial cost of setting up the infrastructures that would allow green power to work effectively would be immense. However, once working, green power could save governments an amazing amount of money while providing efficient and never-ending energy. “Consumers pay for renewable energy, but government funds may prevent prices from becoming much higher than those of fossil fuel energy” [LENNTECH]. Another possible, more cost-effective way of preventing further global warming could be nuclear energy. Although considered very dangerous, it may bring the world out of its energy slump. “Nuclear scores high on its low CO2 emissions, but it loses out by leaving a nasty legacy: its high-level radioactive waste needs to be secured for tens of thousands of years. Despite 40 years of assurances from the nuclear industry that this is an engineering problem no one has solved it. And it scarcely makes sense to generate more waste when we cannot dispose of what we already have [TRUTHOUT]. The world must face the fact that no matter what road we take in order to fight global warming, there is no completely safe method that doesn’t have its risks. However, if global warming continues, the world as we know it may come to a halting stop.
The beginning effects of global warming has started. “News about melting glaciers and ice caps and endangered polar bears have had a huge impact on our psyche” [NEWSBLOGS]. It is very sad to think that things can only get worse from here. As of right now, we are at the stage where we are first noticing the major climate change associated with global warming. If this climatic change continues, there will be a major impact on human and other natural animal systems. Once this occurs, our socio-economic development will take a turn for the worst (www.lenntech.com/greenhouse-effect/IPCC-SRES-scenarios-consequences.htm). This doesn’t even take in account the huge sea-level changes that could occur imminently if we do not stop global warming. “The IPCC predicts that sea levels will rise by about 18 cm by 2040 and by about 48 cm by 2100 in the most extreme case. Sea level rise is stated to be caused by thermal expansion of seawater, storm surges and rising and falling of land in coastal regions. The sea level rise may seem small, but there are countries where the larger part of the population currently lives on land that will be flooded if these projections are correct. Moisture changes will occur fast compared to changes in the past, and consequentially ecosystems will be destabilized” [LENNTECH].
The time has come for everyone to step up as a whole and try to do something about this impending doom. While it is possible that some scientists and advocates who don’t believe the climate is changing because of burning fossil fuels could be correct, there is more and more evidence piling up against this view. There are measure that can be taken to secure the future of our entire population and completely get rid of the risk of major climate change due to global warming. While projections of future temperatures and sea levels are just estimates, computers are telling us that we are at risk right now. The questions being asked now are how fast the climate will change and how fast the seas will rise. Even though there is no sure answer to this question, there is one thing that is certain. Once the seas rise and our population begins to die out, it will be too late.
RESOURCES:
www.lenntech.com [LENNTECH]
www.globalwarming.org [GLOBAL WARMING]
www.accuweather.com [ACCUWEATHER]
www.truthout.org [TRUTHOUT]
www.john-daly.com [DALY]
http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/ [NEWSBLOGS]
April 22, 2007
English 101
Global Warning
The topic of global warming was created in 1896 by Swedish scientist Svante Arrhenius. The claim was that fossil fuel combustion, the burning and chemical change of things such as coal or oil for energy, could eventually lead to enhanced global warming. The idea was tucked away for later research and pretty much forgotten about until the second half of the 20th century. In 1955, Gilbert Plass concluded that “adding more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere would intercept infrared radiation that is otherwise lost to space, warming the earth” [Lenntech]. This theory has now become known as the greenhouse effect.
The debate between whether or not global warming actually exists did not become internationally popular until 1979, when Margaret Thatcher became prime minister of the UK [DALY]. In 1988, it was observed that the climate was warmer than any period since the late 19th century. In 2002, data proved that the ten warmest years on record all occurred before 1990 [Lenntech]. As the data gathered and popularity grew on the subject, more and more scientists began to research the topic. Many believe that all evidence leads to disaster within a century. Others believed that the climate change is completely normal and has occurred many times in the past. This leads to the other extreme of the debate, the people who believe that life best continue as is. Some of these people even believe that the warming created by the fossil fuel combustion would be beneficial. Whether or not the greenhouse effect is the cause of the recent temperature increase on Earth, there should be precautions taken in order to secure the safety of our future generations. If we continue to pollute the atmosphere around us at an exponentially increasing rate, there is no question that there will be very harmful effects sometime in the future.
"Global air temperatures as measured by land-based weather stations show an increase of about 0.45 degrees Celsius over the past century. This may be no more than normal climatic variation. Several biases in the data may be responsible for some of this increase" (Accuweather). One half of a degree may not seem very significant, but if the reason for this increase is in fact due to the greenhouse effect, this number will rise exponentially if we do not do something to stop the warming. In 2001, the National Academy of Sciences released a report that said, "Greenhouse gases are accumulating in Earth’s atmosphere as a result of human activities, causing surface air temperatures and subsurface ocean temperatures to rise. Temperatures are, in fact rising. The changes observed over the last several decades are likely mostly due to human activities, but we cannot rule out that some significant part of these changes are also a reflection of natural variability" [Globalwarming.org]. The report also predicts that the Earth will warm approximately 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the 21st century. If this did happen, I believe everyone would be a little more concerned. However, the fact is that if we wait until the serious effects of possible global warming start, it will be too late. The destruction would be catastrophic. The report and its estimate of temperature change seem very extreme to me, as they do to most people. Nonetheless, most scientists seem pretty confident that global warming is at least beginning to occur. Whether or not global warming would have a serious effect on the Earth’s population in the immediate future, there are many precautions that everyone can take in order to reduce and even completely eliminate the risk.
Since global warming affects the entire Earth, as its name suggests, the entirety of the population must work together in order to fight possible serious effects of global warming and the greenhouse effect. Some examples are simple and could help enormously if everyone tried to make them work. The most obvious way to reduce emissions is using an effective system of public transportation. For now, in the United States, this is considered an unrealistic objective because public transportation is much less convenient than forms of private transportation. In order to work properly, public bus, train, trolley, airplane, and boat transportation would have to be improved immensely. This includes making much more regular timetables and making the form of public transportation more comfortable and pleasing. Unfortunately, the initial cost of this infrastructure would be enormous. As Americans, we are spoiled and must give up some pleasures in order to ensure the safety and security of the world’s population in the future. We must try to conserve energy as much as possible in order to make a large dent in fossil fuel use. This includes simple, yet inconvenient measures such as turning out lights when not in use, using as little hot water as possible, and turning to other forms of power.
The largest way we could make a difference in the fight against global warming lies in another form of power, also known as green power. “Examples of green power include wind and solar energy, hydropower and biomass energy” [LENNTECH]. Unlike electricity, green power comes from renewable energy sources. Once again, the initial cost of setting up the infrastructures that would allow green power to work effectively would be immense. However, once working, green power could save governments an amazing amount of money while providing efficient and never-ending energy. “Consumers pay for renewable energy, but government funds may prevent prices from becoming much higher than those of fossil fuel energy” [LENNTECH]. Another possible, more cost-effective way of preventing further global warming could be nuclear energy. Although considered very dangerous, it may bring the world out of its energy slump. “Nuclear scores high on its low CO2 emissions, but it loses out by leaving a nasty legacy: its high-level radioactive waste needs to be secured for tens of thousands of years. Despite 40 years of assurances from the nuclear industry that this is an engineering problem no one has solved it. And it scarcely makes sense to generate more waste when we cannot dispose of what we already have [TRUTHOUT]. The world must face the fact that no matter what road we take in order to fight global warming, there is no completely safe method that doesn’t have its risks. However, if global warming continues, the world as we know it may come to a halting stop.
The beginning effects of global warming has started. “News about melting glaciers and ice caps and endangered polar bears have had a huge impact on our psyche” [NEWSBLOGS]. It is very sad to think that things can only get worse from here. As of right now, we are at the stage where we are first noticing the major climate change associated with global warming. If this climatic change continues, there will be a major impact on human and other natural animal systems. Once this occurs, our socio-economic development will take a turn for the worst (www.lenntech.com/greenhouse-effect/IPCC-SRES-scenarios-consequences.htm). This doesn’t even take in account the huge sea-level changes that could occur imminently if we do not stop global warming. “The IPCC predicts that sea levels will rise by about 18 cm by 2040 and by about 48 cm by 2100 in the most extreme case. Sea level rise is stated to be caused by thermal expansion of seawater, storm surges and rising and falling of land in coastal regions. The sea level rise may seem small, but there are countries where the larger part of the population currently lives on land that will be flooded if these projections are correct. Moisture changes will occur fast compared to changes in the past, and consequentially ecosystems will be destabilized” [LENNTECH].
The time has come for everyone to step up as a whole and try to do something about this impending doom. While it is possible that some scientists and advocates who don’t believe the climate is changing because of burning fossil fuels could be correct, there is more and more evidence piling up against this view. There are measure that can be taken to secure the future of our entire population and completely get rid of the risk of major climate change due to global warming. While projections of future temperatures and sea levels are just estimates, computers are telling us that we are at risk right now. The questions being asked now are how fast the climate will change and how fast the seas will rise. Even though there is no sure answer to this question, there is one thing that is certain. Once the seas rise and our population begins to die out, it will be too late.
RESOURCES:
www.lenntech.com [LENNTECH]
www.globalwarming.org [GLOBAL WARMING]
www.accuweather.com [ACCUWEATHER]
www.truthout.org [TRUTHOUT]
www.john-daly.com [DALY]
http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/ [NEWSBLOGS]
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