A lot has been said and written about global warming. Almost every day new hypothesizes urge, refuting the old ones. People are constantly afraid of what awaits them in the future. There is a good saying that may applied here: “We are so long and terribly afraid that it is no longer scary”. Many statements and articles are openly conflicting and thus misleading. For many, global warming became a global confusion and many decided to let go the theme of the climate change. Therefore, it is important to systematize the existing knowledge, creating some kind of a global warming blitz encyclopedia for the majority of people to see that it is a real threat to our and future generations.
What is global warming?
Global warming is a progressive increase in the mean annual temperature of the surface layer of the Earth's atmosphere and ocean, due to various reasons (Bradford). It is often related to the greenhouse effect, although it is not exactly the same thing.
For the first time on global warming and the greenhouse effect have been brought up in the middle of XX century, and at the UN level, the problem of global climate change, has been first announced in 1980 (Rose). Since then, many scientists are occupied with this issue, often refuting each other’s ideas and claiming the solution to the problem.
Evidence of global warming
Paleontological evidence shows that Earth's climate has not been constant. Warm periods were followed by cold glacial. Then warm periods, sooner or later, were cooled by ices that at times were reaching modern tropical latitudes (Paleoclimates).
It has been witnessed that over the years, areas of ice territories shrank drastically and the temperature of arctic seas has increased significantly; the thickness of the Arctic sea has decreased, the average winter temperature in many areas rose and the habitat of many living organisms shifted to the North after this. These changes are especially visible when comparing photos of glaciers.
NASA site presents some upsetting statistics, indicating that since 1880 the overall Earth temperature has risen by 1,4 degrees, the snow layer in the Northern hemisphere has decreased by 13,4%, and the sea lever is rising at alarming 3,4 millimeters per year. These facts cause certain concerns. Will the earth temperature continue to rise or will it slow down – to answer this question, one first needs to establish the cause of the climate change.
While there are some people, who believe climate change is cause by factors, that have nothing to do with human activity, it remains clear that our factories, pollution and deforestation are more than a drop in a sea of global warming.
There are various hypothesizes of global warming, which demonstrate all possibilities, including ones that seem to put human activity outside the climate change equation:
Change in solar activity
Change of the angle of the Earth's axis and its orbit
Ocean, being a huge accumulative inertia of solar energy
Volcanic activity
Unknown interaction between the Sun and the planets of the solar system
Climate change can occur on their own, without external influence or human activity
Human activity
Human activity and the greenhouse effect
Global warming has numerous scenarios of development, from graduate warming of the planet to the fast increase in temperature and sinking of several major cities under the water of World Ocean to the ideas that during global warming certain parts of the world may experience freezing as a side effect. While it may be a possibility and the reason our planet is heating may lie in the solar system, there are scientific proves that certain human activities, such as deforestation and production of various gases has a great impact on the ecosphere of the nearby environment and as a result on the environment of the whole planet, when talking about mass production or cutting down the trees of Amazonia.
Consequences of global warming
There are inevitable consequences to the rise of temperature, we are witnessing today. The increase in the average annual temperature of the top layer of the atmosphere will be felt more strongly on the land than in the oceans, which in the future will cause a radical transformation of the natural areas of the continents. Melting of the Arctic Ocean causes disappearance of some animals’ natural habitat and even separate islands.
An increase in temperature creates favorable environment for the development of diseases that will result in the expansion of the habitat of a number of animal and thus a quicker disease spread.
It is obvious that something needs to be done. As a generation of such advanced technologies and minds, we cannot sit back and blame the Sun for being too warm. While there is a chance, it is the initial problem; it is also evident that we, as a species are forcing the issue with our activity. At this point, it is wise to face the facts and act depending on one’s capabilities.
Works Cited
“Global climate change”. NASA (online). Web.
Bradford, Alina. “What is global warming?” Live science. 15 December 2014. Web.
Rose, David. “Global warming stopped 16 years ago, reveals Met Office report quietly
released and here is the chart to prove it”. Daily mail (online). 13 October 2012. Web.
“Paleoclimates: Global Climates of the Past”. The national center for atmospheric research
and the UCAR office of programs. 2003. Web.
