Global Warming Represents the Single

Global warming represents the single major environmental problem of the 21st century. The industrial revolution is not without its price. Man's quest for development has contributed to environmental degradation and depletion of natural resources. The natural equilibrium of earth is altered by man-made conditions. Global warming, or the heating up of the earth's surface is the by-product of the industrial revolution. Major attention was drawn to this problem when in 1995 more than 2000 scientists representing different countries submitted their report on the unnatural increase in earth's surface temperature due to the continuous burning of oil, natural gas and coal.[ROSS GELBSPAN] Today, while a strong majority of the people believe that global warming represents a real threat and a serious problem that deserves our immediate attention, there are yet others who continue to attribute it as a natural phenomenon or one without economically viable interventions. Economically viable to control or not, global warming represents a huge problem and control of greenhouse gases is a high priority, if we are to stop the destructive climatic patterns that are already beginning to destroy life. A brief discussion would help highlight the seriousness of the issue.

Global Warming (A real problem)

Global warming is a real phenomenon. Indeed, it may even be a bit of surprise to state that greenhouse effect is a natural phenomenon. It is only because of naturally occurring greenhouse effect that our planet's temperature is maintained at a level that can sustain life. The average temperature of earth is 60 F. Or 150 C. Without the natural greenhouse effect phenomenon, earth's average temperature would be 0 F. Or -18o C. [Environmental Defense] After a brief description of what exactly is global warming, we will go on to discuss why there is all this fuss about the subject if it is natural!. Sunlight enters the Earth's atmosphere and heats up the surface. The Earth in turn radiates heat back into the atmosphere. The naturally occurring greenhouse gases trap some of this heat from leaving the atmosphere and thereby maintain the Earth as a warm place fit for life. This is exactly the process that has been going on for ages and therefore is natural.

What is disturbing, however, is the man induced increase in greenhouse gases, which now trap more heat and thereby increase the temperature of earth more than usual. Atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases have increased dramatically due to human activities. Scientists have found that the atmospheric concentration of CO2, one of the important greenhouse gases has increased by over 30% in the post industrial revolution period. The burning of fossil fuels has contributed to this huge increase in CO2, Methane, nitrous oxide and other greenhouse gases. Environmental scientists state that the average increase of Earth's temperature, which was 1 F. per century, has over the last three decades increased to 4 F. per century. [Ross Glebspan] The UN intergovernmental panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has reported that man-made greenhouse pollution over the last fifty years is directly responsible for this rapid warming up of the Earth. [Environmental Defense] If industrial pollution and emission of greenhouse gases go unchecked, it would bear serious consequences for the delicately balanced ecosystems, which cannot adapt to this rapid, artificially induced temperature changes and consequent changes in weather patterns.

Undeniable Facts

There are still a minority of scientists who are hesitant to accept the fact that global warming is a man-induced condition. Their notions are neatly silenced by the truth of the actually observed climatic facts. Firstly, atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide over the last 10,000 years (pre gasoline era) has remained relatively stable at 280 ppm (parts per million). However, over the last 100 years there has been a dramatic change in the atmospheric CO2 concentrations which surged upto 360 ppm. Estimates also indicate that if the current trend of industrial and other forms of air pollution is left unchecked, CO2 levels would soon approach an alarming 560 pmm by the end of this century. These are valid scientific measurements, which prove that atmospheric CO2 equilibrium has been drastically disturbed by human activities. [Ross Glebspan]

At this rate of increase, the atmospheric CO2 concentrations are projected to increase the average global temperature by around 3 to 7 degrees F. By the end of this century. This increase over a hundred-year period represents a huge shift compared against the entire time scale of the planet. Those who argue that global warming is a natural happening have to explain why nature would shift gears all of a sudden? Also, how could increased CO2 levels also be part of the claimed natural process?. These questions and the true facts make it unambiguous that global warming is definitely a man-induced phenomenon. These arguments can be buttressed with the recently documented drastic climatic shifts.