Global Warming a serious threat to planet earth

Introduction

Global warming is a phenomenon of increasing the temperature average of oceans and the atmosphere, around the world for several years. The warming is expected to continue, even if emissions stop because of the large heat capacity of the oceans and the life of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (Bengtsson, p3). Over the period within which human beings have existed, man has been in the forefront of all technological marvels to date. Man has created, destroyed and revived many natural cycles and dynamics that balance the delicate nature of this world. Although global warming is not a recent phenomenon, very few people had knowledge of its existence a decade ago.

However, in the last few years, the media started to shed light into the dangers of global warming, and the idea has finally begun to enter the minds of past and the current generations alike. Global warming poses a great danger to planet earth. A harmonious blend of living organisms, human beings and the ecosystem is on the verge of being unbalanced. Within a matter of a few years, the world's sea levels have risen, animals have become extinct and the delicate balance of nature has almost tipped off. Whether this is a danger to planet earth, is still uncertain, but whatever the effects of global warming may be, there is no doubt that the consequences are going to be massive (Drake, p607). Disputes over this topic have reached a boiling point and people and scientists on both sides of the line have begun to wonder if they are right or wrong. Global warming poses a grave danger to man in the form of diseases, food shortages and economic decline (Piers, p34).

Discussion and Analysis

One of the first and obvious dangers of global warming is the effect on human beings in the form of diseases. Diseases are the biggest killers that the world has ever seen. Millions of people die each year from insect borne diseases such as malaria, yellow fever and encephalitis. The world health organization says that global warming could lead to an increase in such diseases. Over the last sixty years, average global temperatures have risen by an average of 0.63 degree Celsius. An increase in temperature means higher amounts of rainfall than normal which also means that disease carrying insects like mosquitoes and ticks are going to increase in numbers. As the figures increase, there is going to be a higher number of people who will be affected by these diseases, and the deaths will most likely rise (Piers, p34).

Currently most of these diseases are limited to mostly equatorial regions such as sub Saharan Africa, and India. However, due to global warming, an increase in temperature means that the disease belt is going to spread out from damp and hot equatorial regions and people who currently live in zones outside this threat will likely have to face the dangers as well. As a result the world is going to have ...