Global Warming: Effects on Earth

by Sanjit sen (editor)

The whole concept of globalwarming revolves around the factthat the Earth is getting warmer,which--according to the proponentsof this concept--is attributed toanthropogenic or human-inducedcauses. While environmentalistsexpress grave concerns over thehazards of global warming, skepticsseem least interested. They arguethat the predictions on whichthese environmentalists andscientists are relying are made bycomputer-simulated climaticmodels which are far from reliable. Human-induced Vs. NaturalCausesEvery time this concept comes tothe debating table, the blamegame between its human-inducedcauses and natural causes has toreach its peak. There is no denyingthe fact that natural causes of thisphenomenon do exist, but one hasto understand that they havealways been there. If it was not forthese natural causes, the Earthwould have been a lot colder ...even unsuitable for humanhabitation perhaps. The major problem the planet isfacing today is that of human-induced global warming. Over thelast couple of decades, i.e., sincethe beginning of the industrialrevolution to be precise, the use offossil fuels for power generationhas increased tremendously. Whenthese fossil fuels are burned, theyproduce greenhouse gases, likecarbon dioxide and carbonmonoxide, which remain in theatmosphere for hundreds of yearsand trap sunlight, thus causingthe near-surface temperature torise. Other anthropogenic causes of thephenomenon include mining, useof vehicles, electricity production,deforestation, etc. While miningreleases methane stored beneaththe Earth's crust, use of vehiclesand electricity production releasecarbon dioxide in the atmosphere.Trees are designed to absorbcarbon dioxide from theatmosphere and therefore, eventheir destruction--in the name oflogging and agricultural activity--contributes to global warming. According to the U.S. NationalOceanic and AtmosphericAdministration (NOAA) team ofscientists monitoring the carbondioxide levels at the Mauna Loa,Hawaii, the region recorded CO 2levels of 400.03 ppm on May 9,2013. Though there has been adecrease in the atmosphericconcentration of this gas in thisregion since then, it is expectedthat the whole of the planet'satmosphere will average 400ppm by 2015 or 2016. According to the IPCC, theexpected temperature rise wouldbe somewhere between 2.5-10°Fover the next century. The datacompiled by the NASA GoddardInstitute for Space Studies (GISS)shows that the averagetemperature of 58.3°F recorded in2012 was 1°F warmer than theaverage for the mid-20th century.If the temperature rises at theongoing rate, the resultant climatechange is bound to cause theextinction of quite a few species ofplants and animals inhabiting theplanet.

105 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 22, 2014