Global Warming

Global Warming

Global Warming is a controversial issue that is slowly taking over our world and will have a

direct impact on human civilization. “Glaciers are melting, sea levels are rising, cloud forests are

dying, and wildlife is scrambling to keep pace” (Richards). This grievous ordeal has been

majorly caused by our own human actions. Of course there is natural climate change, also there

is the greenhouse effect and our industrial activities/the industrial revolution.

Natural Causes

To begin with, climate change is in fact a phenomenon that develops itself naturally. A few of

these factors are the changes in volcanic activity and solar output. Firstly, volcanic eruptions

only have short term effects on the climate since they are periodic and brief. After the volcanoes

erupt, they release a mixture of gases and particles in the air. Sometimes they can emit gases that

will give a cooling effect because the gases and particles reflect sunlight away from the Earth.

But, there are also different combinations, for example CO2, that aggravates the greenhouse

effect by magnifying the heat. In addition, the solar output has an effect on global warming

since “the sun is the fundamental source of energy that drives our climate system” (NASA). As

an example of the solar radiation’s outcome, “studies show that solar variability has played a

role in past climate changes. For example, a decrease in solar activity is thought to have

triggered the Little Ice Age between approximately 1650 and 1850, when Greenland was

largely cut off by ice from 1410 to the 1720s and glaciers advanced in the Alps” (NASA).

The Greenhouse Effect

Firstly, in a greenhouse, the sun shines through the glass as rays of light and is absorbed by the

plants and objects inside, after the energy is drawn in it is converted to heat and is trapped

inside the greenhouse because of the glass exterior. Technically, the Earth is one big greenhouse

because “31 % of the incoming radiation from the sun is reflected directly back to space by the

earth's atmosphere and surface (particularly by snow and ice), and another 20 % is absorbed by

the atmosphere” (Climate Change Canada greenhouse effect). Therefore, the rest of the

radiation gets absorbed by the Earth’s land and waters and converts into heat warming the

surface of the planet and the air. This reoccuring event heats the surface of the Earth to a much

warmer tempature than it naturally is supposed to be.

Industrial Revolution

The

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