The greenhouse effect is responsible for the Earth's warm, livable atmosphere. Greenhouse gasses keep the Earth about 33 C (60 F) warmer than it would be without its natural blanket of protective gas. While the greenhouse effect is perfectly natural, we can change the climate from things we do. Water vapor, methane, carbon dioxide, CFCs, ozone and nitrous oxide are all greenhouse gases.
The greenhouse effect is when sun rays go through our atmosphere to warm up the ground, water, and everything else exposed to the sun. Those things exposed to the sun emit infrared radiation a.k.a. heat. Molecules in the atmosphere absorb the infrared radiation and release heat within the atmosphere, trapping the heat in the atmosphere.
Chronologically, here is a timeline of what has happened historically with global warming. In 1896, a Swedish scientist named Svante Arrhenius discovered what the greenhouse effect does and what it is. In 1913, Charles Abbot found that global warming correlates to weather patterns. In 1979, the first World Climate Conference was held in Geneva to discuss global warming and its effects on us. In 1988, the U.N. establishes the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and Carbon Dioxide levels reach 350 parts per million from the pre-industrial level of 280 parts per million. In 1990, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change presented its first assessment report, stating that we are doing harm to our planet. In 1992, the United States, and more than 100 other countries sign the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Rio de Janeiro, attempting to make efforts to curb our global warming increases. In 1997, the Kyoto Protocol is negotiated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 5.2 percent below 1990 levels by 2012. The U. S. signs the treaty although the U.S. Senate agrees in advance not to ratify the treaty citing economic concerns. President Bush will withdraw the U.S. from the treaty in 2001. In 2005, the Kyoto Protocol enters into force on February 16. The Protocol was ratified by 140 countries that account for most of global emissions from industrialized nations, according to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Concentration of carbon dioxide now stands at 372 parts per million, higher than at any time in at least the past 420,000 years according to David King, chief science advisor to the British Government.
What has caused us to rise to 372 parts per million of Carbon Dioxide and what is causing us all this damage? One thing that is doing excessive damage and seems to be our number one global warmer is hog, pig, and cow raising. What makes them our top contender for the number one spot is because of what they are forced to be fed, causing excessive methane gas from their wastes. One million metric tons of methane is equivalent to the emissions of 24.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, so as you can see…methane is a very harmful greenhouse gas. Another thing that contributes to the highest carbon dioxide levels ever is our everyday trucks, cars, vans, sports utility vehicles, SUV’s, and pretty much all construction units with wheels. While cars, vans, and SUV’s have emissions standards, the rest have way less and some of them have no standards. So while these vehicles are running they are releasing CO2 & Chlorofluorocarbons, or CFC’s. Both of these are greenhouse gasses, which contribute to the warming of our atmosphere and other problems as well, like ozone depletion, quality of air, smog, etc. The other main contributor to global warming is the factories and plants all around the globe. The United States Republican government now has a policy of de-regulation for all of these big-business factories so they don’t have to spend as much on environmental regulations and filters on their smoke stacks. So instead of being able to produce much cleaner smoke in to the air, they are putting raw pollutants in to the air. The U.S. is the largest global warming contributor, and China is in the second place. The United State’s role of non-involvement with the Kyoto Accords just shows how greedy we are and how much the government doesn’t care about our long term future. China is listed as a developing country, still, so according to the Kyoto Accords, they need not have any emissions standards on their factories.
What is the effect that global warming is having on the planet and all of us? One of our main concerns is the raised water levels from melting ice caps on both poles. When the ice caps melt, the water level will rise so greatly that it will bring the water up multiple feet, entrenching many towns and large cities situated along the coasts. Giant icebergs are cracking off the Antarctic that are gigantic in proportion, showing a rise in surface temperature even down there. Warming up the planet where blooming and seasons for animals and reptiles are starting earlier every year. For instance, the Japanese cedar is a tree that many are allergic to, and this season it’s producing more pollen than it ever has due to global warming, so it is affecting the health of the Japanese citizens as well. Receding and melting glaciers on large mountains like Mt. Kilimanjaro are a large problem, and are causing longer droughts in the surrounding areas, affecting the whole ecosystem there too. Alaska’s polar bears are thought to be roaming on snow and ice but these days you can even find them on the frozen ground…why? Because the surface temperatures and atmospheric temperatures have risen to the point where it doesn’t snow there in as much of an excess as it did in the past. The Sea bird population decline has been linked to global warming as well. The black guillemot population is declining from 1990 levels because melting sea ice has increased the distance the birds must fly to forage for food and reduced the number of resting sites available. The warmer water can affect migratory patterns of fish too, and in turn birds who feed on those fish. Global warming does not just affect humans, it affects the entire biosphere.
Who can we blame? We can blame the republicans and conservatives who are anti-environment and pro-money. They are helping big business out by imposing their policies of de-regulation on the factories and plants so that it is cheaper to run the factories by letting pollutants enter the air more freely instead of them being filtered out through emissions standards. We can also blame the President for repeatedly declining involvement with the Kyoto Accords, which over 100 countries are parts of. We are supposed to set a positive example for the rest of the world but instead people from the other countries dislike us for all of the bad things we are doing internationally.
What can we do to prevent further damage? The first thing I would suggest is getting a new President of the United States. It is clear that his imposition of his lack of values is ruining our planet. Second, we can regulate the factories again, like we had done in the Clinton administration. We can set better emissions standards for our trucks, cars, and other vehicles, so fewer pollutants are released in the air. We can require that all hog factories meet permanent performance standards to achieve environmental and public health goals and that they take care of the waste problems as well in a clean manner. The last thing we can do is hope that nothing extremely major and life changing happens.
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