How Does Global Warming Happen?

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Global warming generally occurs when radiation bouncing off the Earth’s surface gets trapped in the atmosphere. Certain gases in the atmosphere, called greenhouse gases, block most of the heat and radiation bouncing off the Earth’s surface from heading out to space.  So while a fraction of the heat and radiation escapes, those that are absorbed by the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is reflected back down to the Earth’s surface. This process, called “greenhouse effect,” is basically how our planet keeps warm.

The various greenhouse gases differ widely in their properties and behavior, including their ability to absorb, retain, and emit radiation. Though, by far, carbon dioxide is cited as the major contributor for the current global warming trend as it makes up a huge percentage of the greenhouse gases present in the atmosphere. This is because aside from the naturally occurring carbon dioxide, massive amounts of this gas is produced by burning fossil fuels to produce electricity as well as to run machines and factories.

Another greenhouse gas that contribute to global warming is methane. This gas is naturally present below ground and under the sea floor.  And when it is released into the atmosphere, it becomes known as atmospheric methane. It is highly flammable and is used as fuel for ovens, heaters, turbines and many other things. Methane is also produced by certain chemical processes that occur in landfills, agriculture and marine sediments.

Two other greenhouse gases that are contributory to global warming are Nitrous oxide from fertilizers and fluorinated gases which are used for refrigeration and industrial processes.

But while Carbon Dioxide makes up majority of the greenhouse concentration in the atmosphere, Nitrous Oxide is actually 300 times more potent.  Unfortunately, despite the knowledge of how our activities are greatly affecting climate change, not much has been done to rectify the problem due to varied interests and concerns of the planet’s general population. So, will the time for a collective effort to combat global warming and preventive measures to abate the possible demise of humanity ever come to fruition?

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Is Climate Change Really Happening Now?

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Is Climate Change Really Happening Now?

 

Throughout Earth’s history, the planet’s climate has gone through several temperature fluctuations, thereby causing several cycles of glacial advance and retreat. Most of these climate changes are due to subtle variations in the planet’s orbit which varies the amount of solar energy the planet receives. Other factors include biotic processes, fluctuations in the Sun’s energy and plate tectonics.

The eventuality of a climate change is ultimately inevitable, it being a natural process as a result of Earth’s reactions to the goings on within and around it. But is climate change really happening now?

Yes, scientists have been recording compelling evidence that climate change is real and that global warming has already begun. The indicators are:

Rising Global Temperatures. Scientific reports have shown that the current global warming trend began around 1880 with some of the warmest years occurring since 1981. But what’s even more alarming is that 15 out of the top 16 warmest years in NASA’s 134-year record have taken place since the year 2000, which could only mean that the warming has greatly accelerated.

Warming Oceans and Ocean Acidification. Oceans makes up a huge portion of the planet and for good measures. These actually do a darn good job at soaking up excess heat from the atmosphere and distribute it more evenly throughout the planet. With its heat insulating capabilities, it serves as a good indicator for the changing climate and it has been noted that since 1969, up to 2,300 feet of the ocean’s surface have significant elevated temperatures. Also, as the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increased, more I being absorbed into the oceans, increasing the acidity of surface ocean waters.

Shrinking Ice Sheets. Among many other things, there is a growing concern in the decreasing Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. NASA’s records reveal that between 2002 and 2005, Antarctica has lost about 152 cubic kilometers of ice, while Greenland has lost between 150 to 250 cubic kilometers of ice every year between 2002 and 2006.

Declining Artic Sea Ice. Another indicator is the rapid decrease of the extent and thickness of the Arctic sea ice during recent decades.

Glacial Retreat and Decreased Snow Cover. Glaciers in various locations including the Alps, the Andes, the Himalayas, the Rockies, Alaska, and Africa are retreating, while the coverage of Spring snow in the Northern Hemisphere decreased during the last five decades.

Rising Sea Levels. With the melting of ice sheets and sea ice, sea levels have noticeably risen. In the last century, global sea level rose to about 17 centimeters. However, in the last decade, it further increased to nearly double that of the last century.

Extreme Events. Burning temperatures, pouring rains, flooding, drought, devastating earthquakes and a myriad of other natural disasters have been recorded the world over and the frequency of these occurrences have been surprisingly and alarmingly high.

These scientific evidence are very hard to ignore. So what can we do to rectify the problem. Will we still have an opportunity to do so?

 

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What is Global Warming

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Global Warming, What Does It Mean?

 

Have you noticed that it’s way hotter nowadays than let’s say, ten, five years ago? And when it rains, it pours. Wildfires are fiercer than ever, damaging hectares of wildlife. Does it not concern you how the climate has become quite extreme?

True, throughout Earth’s history, the climate has warmed, cooled, and gone to extremes one too many times. Basically, the climate does change due to a number of factors including biotic processes, subtle changes in the planet’s orbit, plate tectonics, or when the sun’s energy fluctuate. There have been a series of scorching climes that alternated with glacial periods. However, each cycle lasted several thousands of years!

So why has the climate changed faster this time around? And why is it unreasonably hot these days? First, a background on how Earth keeps warm.

Heat and radiation from the sun enter the atmosphere and gets bounced off from the surface back to the atmosphere. In the atmosphere, greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane absorb heat reflected from the Earth’s surface. These atmospheric gases trap heat for extended periods, all the while radiating heat in all directions including down back to the surface. Consequently, the Earth’s surface temperature elevates as the atmosphere continues to radiate heat.

Greenhouse gases are naturally present in the planet and has been contributory to the life-sustaining workings of the planet. However, in the past century, greenhouse gases emitted from the Earth’s surface have spiked due to burned fossil fuels, increasing the concentration of these gases in the atmosphere. So imagine the amount of greenhouse gases absorbing heat and how much heat is radiated back down to Earth’s surface, and for how long.

Global Warming may seem self-explanatory, but is the reality of it as simple as it sounds? What can and must we do to safeguard the future of the planet and humanity?

 

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