GLOBAL WARMING

Global Warming

Global Warming

Introduction

Global warming is the most pressing environmental problem affecting human beings . To solve this problem, it would be necessary to achieve stabilization of the concentration in the atmosphere of warming compounds. In Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2001 , a stabilization scenario for concentration of carbon dioxide is discussed based on atmospheric model calculations, but atmospheric model calculations are complex and difficult to apply to industrial activities with diverse characteristics. On the other hand, in the quest to achieve the reduction of global warming, it is common to use the GWP (global warming potential, 100 years value) of warming compounds to calculate the warming effect of industrial activities . In order to determine the stabilization of the concentration in the atmosphere it is necessary to carry out an analysis of the time variation of the concentration of warming compound, but the GWP (100 years value) cannot be used because it uses a fixed value for 100 years.(Arora and Boer, 2001) It could be possible to analyze the time variation using a GWP (x years value), but as the warming effect of carbon dioxide, which is used as the standard value, depends on the time, simultaneous time variation of both the GWP value and the warming effect makes it difficult to establish any comparison. In the case of a compound with a long atmospheric life like CF4, assessment of the global warming effect using GWP (100 years value) gives a result for 100 years although its atmospheric lifetime is 50,000 years.(Chiew , 1996) In the same way, although carbon dioxide is known to be the cause of global warming and its atmospheric life is long, current assessments for only 100 years seem to be too small. In the case of compounds with long atmospheric life, it is still more necessary to assess the stabilization of concentration in the atmosphere in the time .(Jones and Reid, 2001)

Causes of Global Warming

Global Warming is caused by many things. The causes are split up into two groups, man-made or anthropogenic causes, and natural causes.

Natural Causes

Natural causes are causes created by nature. One natural cause is a release of methane gas from arctic tundra and wetlands. Methane is a greenhouse gas. A greenhouse gas is a gas that traps heat in the earth's atmosphere. Another natural cause is that the earth goes through a cycle of climate change. This climate change usually lasts about 40,000 years.

Man-made Causes

Man-made causes probably do the most damage. There are many man-made causes. Pollution is one of the biggest man-made problems. Pollution comes in many shapes and sizes. Burning fossil fuels is one thing that causes pollution. Fossil fuels are fuels made of organic matter such as coal, or oil. When fossil fuels are burned they give off a green house gas called CO2. Also mining coal and oil allows methane to escape. How does it escape? Methane is naturally in the ground. When coal or oil is mined you have to dig up the earth a ...