Global Warming

In the discourse task, we were told to analyse anything that is affecting our human earth and what causes it and what we can do to stop it and ways to improve it etc. My choice in the task was Global Warming.

Global Warming is the increase in temperature of the earth's atmosphere which is attributed to greenhouse effects caused by the increased levels of carbon dioxide, pollutants, CFCs etc.

The diagram below shows the global warming due to the green house effect.

Fig 1. Green House Effect

This greenhouse effect being one of the causes of global warming is not only one of the initial ones but, the initial causes of some of them could be there climate system were the change to the external forces those being the 'push' and 'pull' climate with either warming or cooling. Examples of these external forcing include :

• Changes in solar luminosity
• Volcanic eruptions
• Variation of Earths orbit around the sun which generates heat 
• Green house effect.

Explaining how the greenhouse effect contributes alot to this global warming is by the process of absorption and emission of infrared radiation of gases in the Earths atmosphere which warm a planets lower atmosphere and surface.

Fig 2. Gases being emitted into the atmosphere

With some of the causes of global stated above, it is now to know what this causes could do to our planet earth, hence we are to know the consequences of global warming. Some of these are listed below :

• Weather patterns 

Warm water in the oceans pumps alot of energy in the storms which will make them stronger and more destructive which will cause hurricanes, storms that will damage areas of earth and that can cause flooding as well as erosion to the earths surface.

("Hurricane Katrina of August 2005 was the costliest and one of the deadliest hurricanes in U.S. history and caused economic losses in the order of $125 billion." , NRDC, http://www.nrdc.org/globalwarming/fcons/fcons1.asp 4/3/13, 8:21PM)

1. Warmer temperatures would increase the effects drought on land because of the high rate of evaporation that would happen.

• Peoples Health

1. With the heat levels around earth that are high, global warming can effect people health by giving them heat related deaths such as heat strokes due to the serve heat weaves emitted.

"In 2003, extreme heat waves claimed as many as 70,000 lives in Europe. In France alone, nearly 15,000 people died during two weeks of soaring temperatures, which reached as high as 104 degrees Fahrenheit." (http://www.nrdc.org/globalwarming/fcons/fcons2.asp,3/3/13, 8:21) 

1. Global warming could increase smog pollution in some areas and intensify pollen allergies and asthma. Hotter conditions could also aggravate local air quality problems. Some diseases such as Asthma maybe be experienced
2. The high temperatures are also capable of bringing diseases such as malaria through the mosquitoes that breed in some high temperature and also some wet weather.
3. The hurricanes, storms, floods etc are also putting peoples lives/health at risk incase some die or get injuries from these accidents.

• Sea Levels

1. Rising global temperatures will speed the melting of glaciers and ice caps and cause early ice thaw on rivers and lakes.
2. The rise of the sea levels increase the rate of thermal expansion of the oceans melting and the glaciers too. The risks of this may result in floods and the loss of coastal wetlands and barrier islands.

In the sense of knowing some of the causes of global warming, the are some ways that we can reduce of ways in stopping this world wide effect. Some of these are listed below :

• Reducing Fossil Fuel Usage

Burning fossil fuels increases the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.  There are two ways to reduce fossil fuel use Use less energy, or use alternative, nonpolluting energy sources like solar and wind power.  At home, this translates to saving electricity by using energy-efficient appliances and compact fluorescent light bulbs, as well as reducing gasoline use.

• Plant Trees

Because carbon dioxide is the most important greenhouse gas, planting trees and other plants can slow or stop global warming. Plants take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen. They use carbon to build their own tissues and return some of it to the soil in a process called sequestration. Deforestation of rain forests is a large contributor to global warming and CO2 emissions, but planting new trees will help.

• Reduce Waste

The production of garbage contributes to global warming both directly and indirectly. Decomposing waste in landfills produces methane and other greenhouse gases. Waste also requires energy to manufacture in the first place. Reducing your consumption patterns and reusing items whenever possible minimizes your carbon footprint, since fewer new items need to be made. Recycling metal, plastic, glass and paper lowers greenhouse gas emissions, since recycled items take far less energy to manufacture than items produced from scratch.

• Conserve water

Saving water reduces the amount of energy used. At home, turn off water immediately whenever you're not using it, and repair or replace leaky faucets and toilets. 

After thoroughly looking at the task we was given, i tried as much to give a detailed but short brief on the most important points such as what global warming be, the causes, consequences, and how we as people can stop this global warming. The information given can give someone a general idea of how this can be defined with the negatives and the positives. More information on global can be seen in this video Global Warming Facts.