Greenhouse Effect and Global Warming The modern world, while no doubt has provided us with immense luxuries and facilities, it has also come at a cost that our future generation will have to pay. The modernization of our world has meant that our towns and cities expand more and more, and increasingly greater pressure is being put on our planet; this is true, not only in terms of the demands for
He further protested that exempting many developing countries from the five percent reduction clause would place many American industries at a disadvantage in the world market. For the past decade, the United States government has tried to lower air pollution levels through legislation. Because car emissions are probably the greatest contributor to air pollution, states like California have initiated strict "zero emission vehicle" policies in 1990. Under this mandate, all
There are several models using the scientific method used to measure and support the concept of global warming. Scientists are measuring items that have remained on Earth for millions of years, such as the ice core samples, but they are also measuring tree rings and other living indicators of the Earth's temperature. Scientist Johansen continues, "By 1998, the Earth had sustained 20 consecutive years above the 1961 to 1990 average
22), and this may be one reason the United States is not participating in the Kyoto Protocol, the limits and agreements reached with 178 other nations are not effective in this country. With disregard for solutions such as Kyoto, it seems difficult to see how a global principle of fairness can be reached at all. Clearly, economic fairness must also be discussed in the principle of fairness. Singer notes that
Comparing Climate Change Mitigation Strategies for Global WarmingEven diehard climate change deniers are forced to concede the reality of global warming today, and many members of the scientific community cautions that the tipping point towards unpreventable climate change has already been reached and crossed. Nevertheless, efforts are underway on numerous fronts to identify effective mitigation strategies to address global warming to prevent a worst-case scenario from developing in the near
Greenhouse Gases Increased greenhouse gases will have a significant effect on the earth in the coming 10-20 years. Greenhouse gases are emitted through a number of activities, including the combustion of fossil fuels and from the flatulence of livestock. The gases rise in the atmosphere and form a layer that traps heat into the lower levels of the atmosphere. The greenhouse effect results in a warming of the surface-level air, which