Global warming debate and scientific perspectives

Global Warming

The Debate of Global Warming

Global Warming is a serious problem for our planet and our generation. This is a topic of much concern and debate. The climate change in our environment has been the center of many debates. Global warming is the increase in temperature in the earth's surface and in the oceans. This increase in temperature and potential continued increase in temperature is a significant threat to the environment and planet earth as we know it. This type of imbalance in the environment can impact us significantly. Scientist believes that there are things we can do as a society to prevent this horrible change in climate.

There are some natural causes that create the climate changes. One of the natural causes is the release of methane gas from the arctic tundra and wetlands. The greenhouse gas is a gas that collects heat and keeps it stored in the earth's atmosphere. Over the existence of time there have been many changes in the earth's climate before post industrial humans. There are several natural causes for the global warming effect such as the planet's evolution, however most critics believe human activity causes the most impact.

Over the past century the National Academy of Sciences has reported that the temperature of the Earth's surface has risen by 1 degree Fahrenheit. There are also signs of increased acceleration of global warming in the last two decades, which many scientists are attributing to human activity (Langdon, 2003). There is a buildup of greenhouse gasses that are causing an alteration in the chemical composition of the earth's atmosphere. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has projected that the buildup of greenhouse gas will increase by 43% between 2000 and 2020 (Environment News Service, 2002). The greenhouse effect is caused by gasses emitted by cars, motorcycles, busses and many other post industrial changes. A buildup of carbon dioxide in the earth's atmosphere is a documented fact that causes changes in the climate.

Many scientists believe post industrial age humans are changing the earth's atmosphere, causing global warming. The continued production of carbon dioxide at increasing rates will continue to increase temperatures. The green house gas buildup of carbon dioxide is being attributed to mass consumption of natural resources and an abundance of waste on the planet. The buildup of carbon dioxide can be attributed to releases from landfills, cattle production, cultivation of rice and other human activities. New technologies and deforestation are a major part of global warming. The combustion of fossil fuels is a major anthropogenic source of carbon dioxide (CCIR-NYC, 2004). When the ecosystem is altered, trees are removed or other natural resources are removed or burned, the carbon stored in these resourced are released into the air as carbon dioxide.