GLOBAL WARMIMG

Global Warming

Global Warming

Introduction

Global warming is an unconditional truth that cannot be denied. The record of average global temperature measured is broken every year. In the year 2010 NASA declared that “2010 ties 2005 as the warmest year in the 131-year instrumental record”. (National Aeronautics & Space Administration, 2011) As many as two thousands scientists have concluded that global warming is responsible for the significant changes in the climate and ecological system. It seems carbon dioxide from human-based use of fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas is building up in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, which catches heat that otherwise would have escaped into the outer space. The emittion of greenhouse gases through industrialisation, deforestation and pollution have caused a rise in temperature near the surface of earth. This results in the emittion of carbon dioxide at a rate much higher than it is being absorbed by plants. A “planetary emergency-the catastrophe that threatens the survival of civilization and the habitability of the Earth”, that is how former Vice President Al Gore describes global warming.

Discussion and Analysis

The critical issue pertaining to global warming is its consequences and the possible affects the planet faces in the future. The scientists believe that soon the planet will be facing catastrophic results due to global warming. Every few years, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a group of the world's leading climate scientists, report on the causes and effects of climate changes. Moreover, the rate of evolution climate change has increased dramatically in comparison with the published reports. Since the IPCC's release of the report in November 2007, studies suggest that sea-ice melt, glacier retreat, and food insecurity are worse than predicted in any reports. (Worldwatch Institute, 2009)

The analysis forecast that the entire ice-sheet in Antarctica maybe destroyed by the year 3000. In addition, a dramatic rise in the water levels, about 4 metres, is also expected. Moreover, the research reveals that even if production of carbon dioxide is ceased, the impact from the amount already produced is enough to lead to unfavourable consequences. This research executed at the University of Calgary by Shawn Marshall reveals that the Southern hemisphere will be most affected. The melting glaciers and increased sea temperature have resulted in the expansion of water which is the prime reason behind floods and tsunamis. Therefore, populations on low-lying coastal regions will be in great danger of being wiped out. (Archer D, 2007)

Susan Solomon from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Earth System Research Laboratory, proposed that carbon dioxide in atmosphere might rise too about 450-600 parts per million in the next period of time, which would result in dreadful effects. The affect this could have on plants and animals could be catastrophic. There have already been so many extinctions since the time man started roaming about this earth. As natural habitats change, the species living in those habitats must either adapt to and evolve with the change, or migrate to a more favourable part of the ...