Is global climate caused by human activities?
Currently, the question on whether human activities cause global warming has sparked debates from environmental experts. The massive growth of the population has increased growth of consumption, and this poses threats to the global climate. The rise of the earth’s temperature is mainly caused by the gases released by greenhouses, especially carbon dioxide. It is saddening to note that the climatic changes affect the physical and biological systems across the universe. Global warming can only be decreased if the carbon output released by human activities is reduced. The Journal of Climate published a paper by Jara Imbers, Chris Huntingford, Ana Lopez, and Myles Allen that scrutinized the IPCC statement expressing that 95% of the human activities contributes to global warming (Nuccitelli, 2). To understand the causes of global warming, an individual must understand the natural internal variability of the climate of the earth. Although some scientists argue that global warming is influenced by natural cycle, there is substantial evidence to show that human activities are the primary causes of global warming.
As a natural cause, the sun does not contribute to a higher degree of global warming. Andrew Schurer, Simon Tett, and Gabriele Hegerl published an article in Natural Geoscience that explained the role played by the sun in global warming. As a matter of fact, the sun does not lead to global warming since its activity has depreciated in the last 50 years. Current research indicates a slight impact to the climatic changes (Naik et.al, 01). The sun does not result to a global imbalance since in the last 300 years; the sun’s intensity has only increased by 0.1%. Climate scientists have failed to reach a consensus regarding the human activities contribution to causes of global warming. According to the study, the sun is not in a position to increase global warming by more than 0.15°C. The results of the research link global warming to carbon dioxide gas produced by green houses. Therefore, human beings are behind the increasing temperatures of the earth’s surface that causes global warming. The sun is a natural cause that causes an insignificant amount of global warming.
Although the paper attempts to illustrate that the global warming is as a result of human activities, it is important to shed light to the argument for natural cycle. Some of the arguments are strongly refuting that the global warming is as a result of human activities but due to the natural cycles. Such cases suggest that people are only partially accountable for the pragmatic climate change. However, according to Heymer (12), the emission of the carbon dioxide is not caused by the human activities but the natural factors. Heymer argues that the scientists are now in the favor of the sun as the primary source of the global warming contrary to the argument of artificial causes of the global warming. First, the modern scientists argue that the heat from the sun cannot be trapped, but heat transfer is merely delayed but not stopped. The greenhouse effect is demonstrated to be significant and relevant to controlling the global temperature because, without it, the global temperature would be about 30 degrees colder. Therefore, the global warming is caused by the warming atmosphere but not the human activities. In addition, Khandeker argues that the greenhouse effect in natural in the sense that the atmosphere gasses such as water vapor and Carbon dioxide absorb the long wave radiation from the ocean and earth. As a result, this process helps to maintain the surface temperature of the earth to about 15 degrees Celsius. Nevertheless, the water vapor effect on absorption of the long wave radiation is so substantial to the point the carbon dioxide effect is negligible (Khandeker 1562).
However, the argument favoring the natural impact of greenhouse fails to recognize the human activities do not cause the greenhouse effects but alters the active function of the greenhouse. According to Khandekar (1562), some scientists indicate that the increase of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere leads to the heating of the global climate. Some scientists such as Callendar suggested that the carbon dioxide contains absorption bands that are more efficient than the water vapor absorption. In addition, he suggested that the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere could result to substation global effects on the global surface temperature. He also indicates that human activates contribute to the accumulation of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere though it has to take several century to double the carbon dioxide accumulation in the atmosphere (Khandeker 1562). According to Dominick (34), the scientists have agreed that the human activities are the fundamental cause of the devastating volume of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Furthermore, some scientists argue that the change of global temperature is not monotonically. The temperature falls and rises in highly uneven cycles, and the fullness of the change is highly flexible. Looking closer at the global temperature changes, the global climate has been changing in historical and geological times. Although there is no relevant universal agreement on the global climate change, Khandeker (1562), used variety of data sources to show the temperature history. He used proxy records such as river flow, sea organisms, insects, sediments, pollen, tree rings, coral reefs, glaciers, crop amounts, and dune migration among others. The study indicated that the earth was warmer than today in -500, -390, -250, and -100 million years. Contrary, in -445, -310, 170, -35 million years, the earth was colder than in today. The data, therefore, suggests that that 20th century is not the warmest period. The climate change was a common phenomenon in the last millennium.
However, the above argument fails to realize that although the climate change has been a natural phenomenon, the change is accelerated by the human activities in the 20 and 21st century. Today proxy records such as crop amount that could be used tom show the change in climate is entirely determined by human activities. For example, deforestation, afforestation, and large plantation farming are human activities that have an effect on the amount of crops. Although the greenhouse effect has the natural way of balancing the volume of atmospheric carbon dioxide, human activities are affecting this balance. For example, human activities are increasing the human activities such as burning of fossil fuels leads to increase of carbon dioxide while the plants that are supposed to absorb the gas are reducing. According to the Stanford University's survey, most of the Americans believe that the human abilities are involved in the past global warming.
The gases that contribute to global warming include water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and chlorofluorocarbons. The activities of human beings have changed the perception regarding natural greenhouse. The combustion of fossil fuels like coal and oil increases co2 concentration in the atmosphere (Scherrer, D.). The burning fossil fuels bring together carbon particles and oxygen molecules to produce carbon dioxide. In addition, other human activities including extensive clearance of arable land for farming and constructions increase concentrations of the gases emitted by the greenhouse. When the natural atmospheric greenhouse is altered with, it results to global warming. In addition, the transportation sector is another major element that contributes to global warming. Most of the automobiles burn fossil fuel examples being gasoline and diesel. It is also known that automobiles discharge other gases like muffler, methane and carbon dioxide that are considered to be part of greenhouse gases. Personal cars and Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) release a huge amount of gases that contributes to pollution. SUVs are considered among the leading automobiles in the emission of carbon dioxide. All these activities are undertaken by humans, and they greatly contribute to global warming. Cars, electricity and factories emit Co2 into the atmosphere. Deborah Scherrer states, “each year we add 350 to 500 million tons of methane to the air.” Moreover, she argues, “Each year we add from 7 to 13 million tons of nitrous oxide into the atmosphere.” This is by far the most harmful of all the greenhouse gasses. Nonetheless, the fluorocarbons are emitted by humans from the use of air conditioners and refrigerators (Scherrer, D.).
In the 21st century, it is noted that sea level rise is expected to increase due to uncertainties about the contributions of the melting of glaciers, thermal expansion, and ice caps and sheets (Janin and Mandia 5). However, these factors are criticized since when glaciers melt in Russia, it is argued that it will thicken in Antarctica and Canada on the other hand. Therefore, there is a balance known as an equilibrium ecosystem. According to detractors, when humans induced change in climate they introduce risk of global warming, but there are natural factors to reverse the process to normal. Melting of ice and glaciers has been noted and pronounced as the challenging effects of climate change (Janin and Mandia 104). The largest position in the world is covered with a large reservoir of water, holding about 75%.
It has been noted that mountain glaciers and the ice sheets on Greenland and Antarctica have lost their masses. The degree of melting of glaciers and ice sheets is higher than replacing rate of ice and glaciers. According to critics, providing precise information make people believe. For instance, information on glacier areas melting does not conclude that all global glaciers are melting. While glaciers in particular areas are in melting the trend such as in Greenland, there is a certain place in Antarctica where there are large ice shelves with the opposite pattern. Evidence is not strong as to whether trends are warming or if trends will maintain the same degree. In particular areas of the biosphere, the temperatures have been getting warmer while in other areas the temperatures have gotten colder (Schwartz 501). Most areas, however, have remained the same. There have been various conspiracy theories explaining the phenomenon of global warming. Nevertheless, there is no science that is available to allow the scientist, no matter how educated and experienced, to forecast any weather pattern within rational accurateness.
According to environmental activists, global warming is an imminent threat to all living things as well as to humanity. Consequently, atmosphere will be destroyed which will cause the world to be nearly uninhabitable. The rise of half a degree Celsius in the atmosphere is a result of urbanization. However, the critics state that the level of lower and higher radiation given by uncontrollable force of the sun. The critics argue that while temperatures goes slightly high, atmospheric temperatures remain the same but varies in a different part of the world and averaging out there is zero change. This evidence chains the theory that global warming is fabricated the phenomenon that is caused by surface temperatures warming at a very slow rate, due to urbanization and not in a pollution of the atmosphere. Contrary, the paper suggests that global warming, and specifically rises in thermosteric sea levels. Human influences are causing specific climate variables which result to rise in sea level that can erode and flooding in low-lying coastal areas. The effect of natural impact is negligible and it cannot contribute to great impact on global warming.
As expounded above, it is evident that the human activities have the primary influence on the global warming, though some argument suggests it is caused by natural cycle. It is evident that carbon dioxide has a strong impact on global warming, and it is caused by the human activities. The climate change is accelerated by the human activities in the 20 and 21st century. The percentage contributed by the sun in global warming is minimal. Most of the gases that cause global warming are produced by human activities.
Works Cited
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http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=DcXZF9vogtkC&pg=PR14&dq=Will+Global+Warming+Cause+a+Rise+in+Sea+Level%3F:+A+Simple+Activity+about+the+States+of+Water&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VMx VMisO4LoywONjIHwDg&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Will%20Global%20Warming%20Cause%20a%20Rise%20in%20Sea%20Level%3F%3A%20A%20Simple%20Activity%20about%20the%20States%20of%20Water&f=false
