The greening of America

Introduction

The greening of America started with the creation of the United Nations (UN) in 1945. The following year an organization called the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) was also formed to serve as the primary scientific advisor to the UN on environmental issues. Since then, two other major international environmental organizations have also been created to serve as advisors to the UN; the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) and the World Resources Institute (WRI). All three work closely together to achieve common goals.

Global warming, cliamate change, greenhouse gas (GHG) emmissions, carbon footprints, carbon offsets, carbon sequestration, carbon capture are some of the terms used by a greening America.

Thesis Statement

Global Warming, Climate change in America, should we worry or just live one day at time?

The issue of global warming first came about when scientists became aware of the amount of carbon dioxide being added to the atmosphere as a result of human activity. Global warming is an increase in the earth's atmospheric temperature due to fossil fuel combustion, agricultural and industrial processes caused by human activities. The result is an increased release of various greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Such greenhouse gases are a natural part of the atmosphere and play a vital role in the sustaining of life on this planet by helping to trap the sun's warmth, and maintain the surface temperature at a level necessary to support life. I believe that the greenhouse effect is correct; however I do not believe that Earth will die because of the increase in temperature and decrease of ozone.

As our planet continues to heat up it is beginning to have adverse effects on many different aspects of the biosphere including the plants and animals. The most publicized is the rising ocean levels, which are caused by the ice caps melting and the water expanding from the extra heat in the atmosphere, buildings and roads which lye near the coast are then put at risk of destruction. If global warming continues at current rates by 2100 the Maldives would have completely disappeared. Other effects are that the number of category 4 and up hurricanes have doubled since the 1970s; people living as high as 7000 feet are being affected by malaria and about 280 different animal species are moving closer to the poles.

Life depends on the greenhouse effect which regulates the Earth's climate, keeping it stable enough to carry on life. Many gases display such "greenhouse" properties, including those that occur naturally in the atmosphere, such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, and those that are man-made, such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydro fluorocarbons (HFCs). By increasing the amount of some of these heat-trapping gases, we strengthen the natural greenhouse effect and further warm the atmosphere.

Scientist agrees that the Earth's surface has warmed by about 1 degree Fahrenheit in the past 140 years. The green house effect allows incoming solar radiation to pass through the earth's atmosphere, but it ...