INTRODUCTION

Our earth daily absorbs large quantity of solar energy from the sun. Most of the

energy is radiated back to atmosphere by the earth, and this process maintains the

balance of heat energy on the earth. There are many gases present in the atmosphere,

but only carbon dioxide and water vapour absorb this infrared radiation of the earth

strongly and effectively block the radiation of energy back to the atmosphere.

However a considerable part of it is re-emitted to the earth’s surface and consequently

the earth’s surface gets headed up. This increase in temperature of the earth is called

the green-house effect. Global warming is defined as the release of green house gases

into the air that trap heat on the earth, causing for warmer temperatures. Global

warming is affecting the earth a lot, and it is affecting it fast too. The greenhouse

effect is only troublesome when it gets too strong and warms things too much. The

people of industrialized nations have extracted Earth’s vast buried stores of fossil

fuels and burned them. All those extra greenhouse gases mean more and more solar

energy is being trapped in the atmosphere, exacerbating the greenhouse effect and

making things warmer. This decade has been the hottest decade in centuries (Stuart,

2005). Because of this the polar ice caps are melting, and it could change the flow of

the North Atlantic Current. The change in flow could cause immeasurable effects to

the Earth, and could change the weather that occurs on the earth dramatically.

According to the IPP 2001 report, the Earth’s surface has warmed by about 1 degree

Fahrenheit, and that is the biggest it has raised in centuries (Stuart, 2005). The hotter

atmosphere on the earth causes the ocean temperature to rise, and coincidently

hurricanes get more power from warmer waters. Not only does global warming

affects the earths weather patterns, it also affect its wildlife.

2. Global warming

2.1 Contributors to global warming

A majority of scientists have concluded that human activities are responsible for most

global warming. Human activities contribute to global warming by enhancing Earth’s

natural greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect warms Earth’s surface through a

complex process involving sunlight, gases, and particles in the atmosphere. Gases that

trap heat in the atmosphere are known as greenhouse gases. Global atmospheric

concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide have increased markedly

as a result of human activities since 1750 and now far exceed pre-industrial values

determined from ice cores spanning many thousands of years. The global increases in

carbon dioxide concentration are due primarily to fossil fuel use and land-use change.

Source: http://www.koshland-science-museum.org/exhibitgcc/images/causes03a.gif
2.1.1 Natural causes

The Sun is the only source of energy for the functioning of the Earth’s climate system,

any changes in solar output may lead to climate change and specifically global

warming. It is predicted that a change in solar output by only 1% per century may

change the average temperature of the planet by 0.5 to 1.0 Celsius. Changes in the

shape of the Earth’s orbit around the sun alter the total amount of solar energy

received by the planet. This would also affect the planet’s temperature. Volcanic

activity is yet another significant contributor to variations of Earth’s mean

temperature. The sun, water vapour and volcanism are far more powerful agents of

change in climate than carbon dioxide emissions. The world’s natural wetlands

produce more greenhouse gases annually than all human sources combined.

Greenhouse gases and solar forcing affect temperatures in different ways. While both

increased solar activity and increased greenhouse gases are expected to warm the

lowest portion of Earth’s atmosphere, an increase in solar activity should warm the

second major layer of the atmosphere (stratosphere) while an increase in greenhouse

gases should cool the stratosphere. The oceans play an important role in determining

the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide gas in the

atmosphere and dissolved in the ocean surface reach a balance. Changes in ocean

circulation, chemistry, and biology have shifted this balance in the past. Such changes

may affect climate by slowly moving carbon dioxide into or out of the atmosphere.
The above graph shows the departure from the long-term average, of average global

temperatures, in degrees Fahrenheit, since 1880. (Source: EPA)

2.1.2 Human activities

The main human activities that contribute to global warming are the burning of fossil

fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) and the clearing of land. The focal point of this cause

is the generation of energy for use both in industry and commercial/ private sector.

Fossil fuel combustion is especially heavily used as a source of energy for industry.

However, we have burned these fuels faster than the rate at which it was removed by

the early tropical forests, in other words very large amounts of carbon dioxide is

released at a very high rate and the nature is unable to remove it in good time. This

leads to the accumulation of extra carbon in the atmosphere and consequently to

global warming. For example, burning occurs in automobiles, in factories, and in

electronic power plants that provide energy for houses and office buildings as well as

deforestation and various agricultural and industrial practices are altering the

composition of the atmosphere and contributing to climate change. These human

activities have led to increased atmospheric concentrations of a number of

greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide,

chlorofluorocarbons, and ozone in the lower part of the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is

produced when coal, oil, and natural gases (fossil fuels) are burned to produce energy

used for transportation, manufacturing, heating, cooling, electricity generation, and

other application. There are some other industry-related activities usually called

industrial processes which are also significant sources of greenhouse gases. The

products whose manufacturing causes emission of these gases include cement,

minerals, chemicals, metals. Many activities related to industrial processes use large

amounts of energy and thus produce significant amounts of greenhouse gas emissions

through fossil fuel combustion.

2.1.3 Land use

Land use changes for example clearing land for logging, ranching, and agriculture

lead to carbon dioxide emissions. Vegetable contains carbon that is released as carbon

dioxide when the vegetation decays or burns. Normally, lost vegetation would be

replaced by re-growth with little or no net emission of carbon dioxide. However, over

the past several hundred years, deforestation and other land use changes in many

countries have contributed substantially to atmospheric carbon dioxide increases.

Methane (natural gas) is the second most important of the greenhouse gases resulting

from human activities. It is produced by rice cultivation, cattle and sheep ranching,

and by decaying material in landfills. Methane is also emitted during coal mining and

oil drilling, and by leaky gas pipelines. Nitrous oxide is produced by various

agricultural and industrial practices. When land is cleared for expansion of human

settlements or for timber sales, a cocktail of pollution is released as part of this

process and the main greenhouse gas emitted is carbon dioxide. Most importantly is

tropical deforestation especially by forest fires and alongside other pollutants causes

the release of carbon dioxide. The main greenhouse emitted as a result of waste

management is methane, with some small amounts of nitrous oxide. Tropical

rainforests play a very important role in regulating global and regional climate

patterns. An extremely important service provided by the rainforests is the removal of

carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by photosynthesis. It acts as a pollution or carbon

dioxide sink and storage. Deforestation leads to release of carbon dioxide from the

trees back to the atmosphere, release of carbon stores held in soil into the atmosphere

and destruction of forests as carbon sinks for future carbon dioxide removal and all of

these will further contribute to the global warming effect.

2.2 Impact of global warming

2.2.1 World

The impact of global warming is far greater than just increasing temperatures.

Warming modifies rainfall patterns, amplifies coastal erosion, lengthens the growing

season on some regions, melts ice caps and glaciers, and alters the ranges of some

infectious diseases. The IPCC has concluded that global temperatures will likely rise

from 1.2 to 6.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century depending on different

scenarios regarding greenhouse gas emission. Rainfall patterns will continue to

change around the world. In general, global warming should accelerate the

hydrological cycle. Warmer air cause more water to evaporate. A warmer atmosphere

can hold more water vapour, so more water is available to fall back to Earth when it

rains or snows. As a result, extreme precipitation events should become more frequent

and intense leading to worse flooding. In addition, increased evaporation in some

regions will lead to drier conditions, with a higher probability of drought. Ice is

melting worldwide especially at the Earth’s poles. This includes mountain glaciers,

ice sheets covering West Antarctica and Greenland, and Arctic sea ice. For more

places, global warming will result in more frequent hot days and fewer cool days with

the greatest warming occurring over land. Most importantly, global warming will

affect on ecosystems, the plants and animals that co-exists in particular climate zone,

both on land and in the ocean. Warmer temperatures have already shifted the growing

season in many parts of the world. This change in the growing season affects the

broader ecosystem. Migrating animals have to start seeking food sources earlier. The

shift in seasons may cause the lifecycles of pollinators to be out of synch with

flowering plants and trees. This mismatch can limit the ability of both pollinators and
plants to survive and reproduce which would reduce food availability throughout the

food chain.