Global Warming Research Paper #2 (Research Paper Sample)

Global Warming
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Global Warming
Global warming is a slow but constant increase in the average temperature of the earth and the oceans to an extent that it has a permanent change in the climate. Scientists believe that carbon dioxide emitted by people together with the greenhouse effect are some of the factors that heat up the atmosphere leading to global warming. This paper will look at the causes of global warming, its side effects and how to control it.
Scientists have a wide array of evidence supporting the theory that human activities are behind the unabated global warming. Information from the metrological stations point out that atmospheric temperature has been on the rise since 1980 (Wang & Oppenheimer, 2005). Over the same period, scientists have studied ice cores where they measure the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The scientists noticed a positive correlation between temperature information and the amount of carbon dioxide found in the atmosphere aiding the scientists to conclude that carbon dioxide emissions lead to high temperatures in the environment. Global warming results from the greenhouse effect, which in turn is the rise in temperature the earth experiences when gases in the atmosphere trap energy from the sun (Wang & Oppenheimer, 2005).
Causes
Since industrial revolution, factories have contributed to a large percentage harmful gases and dumping of waste products to the environment. These gases form a layer that trap heat and prevent it from escaping from the atmosphere leading to abnormally higher temperatures (Wang & Oppenheimer, 2005). When dumped waste products react with compounds in the air in the presence of the sunlight, they decompose into gases that remain suspended in the air causing global warming.
National Center for Policy Analysis (2007) says that power plants including televisions, light bulbs, and microwaves among other gadgets have contributed to the greenhouse gases since they use electricity as a source of energy and emit gases while they are in use.
The world’s population is more than seven billion people, and every person uses manufactured products to make life easier and complete. The same people will produce waste products they do not need and dump it into the environment, and some will venture into businesses that emit harmful gases into the environment. Therefore, people should carefully assess and monitor their actions and the consequences they have on the environment as a way of reducing global warming (National Center for Policy Analysis, 2007).
Trees act as dumping sites for carbon dioxide which they use to manufacture their food through photosynthesis. Currently, people are cutting down trees in large numbers for various reasons. This deforestation will have the consequence of reducing the number of trees and therefore there will be excess carbon dioxide in the environment leading to global warming (National Center for Policy Analysis, 2007).
Fossil fuels result from the decomposition of animal and plant remains that remain buried in the earth’s surface for many years. These fossil fuels have carbon dioxide as one of their main product. When burning the fossil fuels, if there is incomplete combustion, some gases will escape into the atmosphere where they will trap energy leading to global warming.
Side effects
Cook (2010) says that global warming has resulted in rising sea levels given that the higher temperatures have contributed to melting of ice in higher mountains. The rising sea levels has resulted in flooding of low-lying coastal towns where water destroys property and claims human lives.
As the temperatures increase, the earth will have a longer growing season leading to lower freezing temperatures at the northern and southern hemispheres (Cook, 2010). Such an increase in atmospheric temperature will have an impact on land and sea animals that are used to cold temperatures and could lead to their death and possible extinction.
Increased temperatures will also affect plants in many parts of the globe and by that negatively affecting the food chain. In some cases, the changes in temperature will prolong the period a plant will take to maturity and in some cases, higher temperatures will alter the mechanism of the plants and they will lower yields or fail to grow at all (Cook, 2010). There are cases, where hotter temperatures have led to the death of plants that were used to cold temperatures.
Changes in the climatic conditions resulting from global warming have been the cause for the increased number of hurricanes along the coastlines (Cook, 2010). A cyclone is wind that moves at high speeds in a circular manner and it is mostly very destructive. The cyclones are reported to be common where there is a lot of human activities that promote global warming. It is important for people to plant trees and regulate human activities in such places as a measure of controlling the cyclones.
Control
People should take a bold step of controlling the amount of carbon dioxide they produce. This is possible through moving away from fossil fuels like oil, coal and gas to renewable sources of energy like solar power to run humans’ daily activities.
Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and release oxygen, which is not a greenhouse gas. By absorbing carbon dioxide, trees make it possibl...