Essay About Causes Of Global Warming And Good Gas Mileage

Global Warming
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Global Warming
Global Warming, this is the topic lining many newspaper heads, a debate among
government officials and one even presidential officials have tried to keep out of the
media. Over the last couple of years many scientist have produced factual evidence of
the average temperature through out the world rising. It is a fact that global warming is
real and that it can and will happen to our planet. Global Warming is defined as an
increase in the earth’s atmospheric and oceanic temperatures widely predicted to occur
due to an increase in the greenhouse affect, resulting especially from pollution. Many
questions we ask are what cause global warming, how much is it changing the world in
which we live, how will we deal with it, what can we do to help, what can businesses and
industries do to help, and what can the government do?
There are many causes of global warming beginning with one of the major
greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide. Carbon Dioxide comes from power plants,
automobiles, airplanes and buildings, it traps heat into the atmosphere, causing a
warming of the earth. About 40% of carbon dioxide comes from the burning of fossil
fuels to provide electricity to power plants. Cars, trucks, mini vans, jeeps and other
automobiles contribute to at least 33% of the carbon dioxide that contributes to the global
warming effect. A pick up truck or utility vehicle that does not get good gas mileage is
worse of a hazard than a small compact car. For each gallon of gas an automobile uses it
is estimated that 19.6 pounds of carbon dioxide is released into the air. Other than
automobiles and power plants, airplanes come in at a 3.5% contributing rate and
buildings at 12%. Methane releases CH4 into the atmosphere and while it is not as
common as CO2 it is 20 times more effective in trapping heat in the atmosphere than
carbon dioxide. The most common form of methane is rice paddies, and the U.S.
produces most of the rice grown in the world. The only gas scientists have considered to
be both good and bad is water vapor. Water holds 2/3 of the heat, and is a form of all the
greenhouse gases, but as the earth gets warmer the humidity rises allowing more
warming. This is good because the warmer the air is the higher humidity can be and this
reflects heat back into space. Next is Nitrous Oxide, it is produced by oceans and
rainforests but also manmade in the form of nylon and nitric acid (a type of fertilizer used
on farms). It is a type of gas many people may be familiar with by going to the dentist
office, also know as “laughing gas”. It is also used as an anesthetic in hospitals around
the world. Deforestation also known as logging, which is the cutii9ng down of more than
34 million acres of trees every year, contributes 20-25% of atmospheric carbon dioxide
into the atmosphere. The destroying of our forests are sending hundreds of millions of
tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year. Ordinarily the forests would soak
up billions of tons of carbon dioxide keeping them from reaching the atmosphere. The
little things we do everyday such as making a living, driving to work or fertilizing a crop
is causing an increase in temp and global warming.
According to Klas Burgman, a spokesman for Institute for International Studies,
the average temperature has gone up 1 degree Fahrenheit in the last 100years, due to
increasing amounts of carbon dioxide. By the year of 2100 the temperature is expected to
rise 11 Fahrenheit. This is bad because the climate will be changing at a quicker rate than
most living things adapt and because of this scientist fear that there will be a
disappearance of many species. According to the IPCC, eleven out of the twelve hottest
years since thermometers where created have been recorded as between 1995 and 2006.
Due to the increase in the average temperature, two of our planets ice sheets have started
to melt (Greenland and Antarctica). Ban Ki-moon the United States Secretary General
stated that “Antarctica and the artic are both warming 2 to 3 times faster than the global
average”. Antarctica is 99% made up of ice and is a partially frozen ocean, home to
about 4 million people and many marine birds and seals. Scientist has predicted by the
end of the century there will be almost a completed loss of summer sea-ice in the artic.
What this means is that polar bears are likely to die out due to a drastic climate change.