“Earth has a natural system of balancing the absorption and release the heat, which it absorbs from the sunlight, but for the last few years, the balance seems to be under severe threat. There has been enormous increase in gases like Carbon -dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide etc.”
As the temperature rises, there is rise in sea level, due to melting of glaciers and the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica. While sea level is expected to rise almost every year but a considerable variation is seen now-a-days. In some regions, the rise in sea level may be almost nil, but the other might experience a rise of as much as twice the global average. The predictions are that the rise in sea level in some parts of north Pacific and to the west of Greenland may be comparatively more and it can spoil the ecological balance of the respective region.
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As per the latest reports of U.K. Met office’s Hadley centre for climate prediction and research, global warming over the next century might turn out to be much worse than estimated. If the green house gas emissions are stabilised, which means immediate cut of 60-70% emission of carbon dioxide globally, even then the rise of atmospheric temperature would be 1Ö C and the rise in would be approximately 1 metre. Based on the finding of the Intergovernmental Panel on climate change, the centre predicted that warming overland could lead to a 6Ö C rise in temperature by 2100, which is 2Ö C higher than the earlier estimates.
As per the findings of the joint study conducted by the Indian Institute of Technology New Delhi and Hadley Centre, the global warming may cause a good increase in rainfall in western coastline.
GREENHOUSE EFFECT: –
Greenhouse effect is an effect caused when there is rise in temperature due to trapping of Sun’s rays in the Earth’s atmosphere. The heat and light coming from the sun can get through the atmosphere, but it cannot escape out. Due to this, the temperature of Earth’s surface rises. As we know that the greenhouse effect help to make the people to live on this Earth. These gases help to keep the atmosphere of earth warmer, but too many gases will make the Earth unusually hot, making the survival difficult here. All the living species would die because there will be no much food.
Greenhouse Gases: –
The role of Greenhouse gases is to the heat and light that is emitted from the sun. When amount of gases in the Earth’s atmosphere will increase as a result they will larger amount of heat and light and the Earth’s surface will go warmer. It will be difficult to live in these conditions for humans, animals and plants. These greenhouse gases help in contributing greenhouse effect. Though green house gases are essential as there role is to allow the sunlight to enter the Earth’s atmosphere and to radiate it back after making the Earth’s atmosphere warmer. Thus greenhouse gases absorb this heat and trap it in Earth’s lower atmosphere.
First, sunlight shines onto the Earth’s surface, where it is absorbed and then radiates back into the atmosphere as heat. In the atmosphere, “greenhouse” gases trap some of this heat, and the rest escapes into space. The more greenhouse gases are in the atmosphere, the more heat gets trapped.
Causes of Global Warming on our Environment: –
While arguments persist, there is a little doubt that human-produced greenhouse gas emissions play a major role in the current warming trend. Nature has a role, but it pales in the face of increasing emissions from human activity.
Global warming means that the overall temperature of the earth is changing and getting to be warmer than it was before. The change in temperature can be a result of
natural causes of global warming and those which are caused by humans. The gases that are natural causes of global warming are also called “greenhouse gases.” Although the gases are one of the natural causes of global warming, humans add to them by deteriorating the ozone layer and burning too many fossil fuels.
NATURAL CAUSES: –
Along with human activities natural activities also emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
Some of the natural occurrences which cause CO2 emissions include:
Volcanic eruptions: – Large amount of carbon dioxide is released from the volcanic eruptions. But the amount of CO2 released is much less from the amount emitted by human activities.
Solar cycles and cosmic rays: A recent study released by a group of European scientists concluded that “The chance of the natural cosmic-ray or solar irradiance explanation being responsible for more than 14% of the observed warming is quite negligible.”
Gases emitted from a volcano
HUMAN CAUSES: –
1. Carbon Dioxide From power Plants
emission of carbon dioxide from the power plants is one of the most contributing factor for global warming. Large amount of CO2 is released in to the atmosphere from the power plants. According to recent researches, almost half of the carbon dioxide emission comes form the power plants. Natural gas, coal, and oil are the types of polluting power plants. Coal is the biggest contributor out of the 3 because of it releases more carbon than the rest of them.
Power plants releasing CO2
2. Pollution emitted from vehicles
There are almost, 3 billion vehicles being used today. Vehicles also emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Vehicles emit millions of tons of harmful gases into the air. In some populated cities of the world, this causes some of the smog that is mixture of fog and smoke and also causes ozone problems. Thousands of cases of cancer are reported each year from pollution.
3. Deforestation
Deforestation means cutting of trees. Trees help in balancing the ecological system as they absorb carbon dioxide. The more trees that are lost, especially in temperate forest zones, the less carbon dioxide that is recycled into oxygen.
4. Use of Fertilizers
With the increase in population the requirement for food has also increased. So to increase the productivity of the food fertilizers are used. The use of large amounts of fertilizers also contributes in global warming. Fertilizers emit large amount of greenhouse gas such as nitrous oxide, which also play a major role in global warming.
5. Methane
Methane gas is released into the atmosphere the cattle and the rice fields. After carbon dioxide methane is the second largest contributor to the global warming.
EFFECTS OF GLOBAL WARMING: –
For a long time now the effect of man’s industrialization and technological progress has quietly yet continuously eked away at the delicate balance of the planet’s atmosphere and ecosystem, but within the last 30 or so years the pace of this damage has markedly accelerated.
Green house gases stay can stay in the atmosphere for an amount of years ranging from decades to hundreds and thousands of years. No matter what we do, global warming is going to have some effect on Earth. Here are some effects of global warming:-
1. Melting of Polar Ice Caps
As expected, rising global temperatures are causing the glaciers to recede. It will raise the sea level. There are 5773000 cubic miles of water in ice caps, glaciers, and permanent snow. If all glaciers melt today the seas will rise about 230 feet. Luckily, that’s not going to happen in a single day. But the sea level will rise, which will affect 3 billion of our population.
Some of the glaciers have totally disappeared
2. Increased probability of heat waves and droughts
Although some areas of Earth will become wetter due to global warming, other areas will suffer serious droughts and heat waves. Africa will receive the worst of it, with more severe droughts also expected in Europe. Water is already a dangerously rare commodity in Africa, and according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, global warming will exacerbate the conditions and could lead to conflicts and war.
3. Economic consequences
Most of the effects of anthropogenic global warming won’t be good. And these effects spell one thing for the countries of the world: economic consequences. Hurricanes cause do billions of dollars in damage, diseases cost money to treat and control and conflicts exacerbate all of these.
4. Diseases caused by increasing of earth’s temperature
Thirty of the new diseases that emerged in the last 20 years, many thrive in warmer and wetter weather. Malaria one of its example which kills about 1 to 2 million people a year worldwide. About 90 % of new cases occur in Africa and Southeast Asia. Although the disease is almost rare in developed countries, that could change with global warming. As soon as 50 years from now, malaria could spread to parts of the world that are too cold to support life cycle of the mosquitoes and their parasites that transmit disease.
5. Warmer waters and more hurricanes
As the temperature of oceans rises, so will the probability of more frequent and stronger hurricanes. It appears that global warming already has increased the frequency of heavy rains in the United States. Which is caused by warmer air can hold more water vapours than cooler air can, so when it rains it really pours.
Preventive Measures: –
Never before in the history, global warming has drawn such attention of policymakers, academicians and the court at least in India. A lot of research has been done in the last a few years to find the suitable linkage between economic activities and global warming and a need for new technologies has felt in order to save our environment.
We can reduce the demand for fossil fuels, which in turn reduces global warming.
ROLE OE PEOPLE
1. Reduce, Reuse and recycle
People must do their bit to reduce wastes by choosing reusable products over of disposables. Buying products with minimum packing will help to reduce wastes.
If half of our household waste is recycled then we can save 1000 kg of carbon dioxide annually.
2. Using less heat and Air Conditioning
Adding proper insulation to our walls of the house and applying weather stripping around doors and windows can result in lowering our heating expenditure more than 25%, by reducing the amount of energy we need to heat or cool our homes.
While sleeping at night or away during the day we must turn off the heating appliances. We must keep temperatures moderate while using AC.
3. Drive less and Drive smart
Global warming can be reduced by not using vehicles for every purpose. By not using vehicle for 25km for a week we can save 30kg of carbon dioxide emission to the air. Use of petrol and diesel must be reduced.
Also while driving, make sure that the car is running efficiently. For example, keeping the tyres properly inflated can improve the mileage by more than 3%.
4. Afforestation
It is assumed that planting more trees will solve the problem as the trees absorb more carbon dioxide, but is a wrong presumption. Planting more trees will absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in some parts of the world, but in the other parts, global warming may hamper the growth of trees or even may cause their destruction. Therefore, afforestation may not be a perfect solution to this problem.
ROLE OF GOVERNMENT
The government is doing many things to help stop global warming. The government made a law called The Clean Air Act so there is less air pollution. Global warming is making people get very bad illness that could make them disabled, very sick and sometimes even die. The Clean Air Act is making many companies to change product production to decline the problems. The laws made give the information that no one is allowed to put much pollutants into the air.
The Clean Air Act has also made car companies to change something to reduce the amount of pollution caused by them.
Also many schemes and co-operations are made by the government has been successful to some extent.
Facts about global warming: –
1. Antarctica home of thousands of penguins is getting hotter slowly and gradually. In Antarctica the annual melt season has increased up to three weeks in the last twenty years.
2. Mount Kili Manjaro has lost 75% of its ice cap since 1912. The ice on the Africa’s highest peak could vanish totally within next 15 years if no remedial measures are taken.
3. Venezuelan mountain peaks had only two glaciers today out of six.
4. India’s worst heat stroke killed more than 2500 people in 1998.
5. Polar Bears in Hudson Bay are having fewer cubes, possibly as a result of earlier spring ice break up.
6. Since 1950s, Arctic ice has declined by 15%.
7. Coral reefs suffer from the loss of algae that colour and nourish them. The process called bleaching is caused by Warmer Ocean.
8. Florida farmland up to 300 meters inland from Biscayne Bay is being in filtered by salt water rendering the land too toxic for crops. Salt water is also nibbling at the edge of the farms on Maryland’s eastern shore.
Conclusion:
The bottom line is coming and we have to figure out what can we do. Waters rising will be disaster, food will be affected and we need to plan for the catastrophies. This will affect every one of us and we all are in the heap of trouble and will soon accepting this fact. We should put serious effort to overcome the problems and strive as much as possible to reinstate our earth for the sake of our future generations.
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In the nutshell the global warming has become a grave threat to the ecological balance of the Earth. The civilization is slowly moving towards the doomsday. All the nations, particularly the most industrialized, developed countries have to be active to take immediate action on the matter, otherwise, the human race has to face an unimaginable peril and the day is not too far.
” MOTHER EARTH MAKES A CALL PRESERVE OR DESTROY ALL”
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