An essay on "global warming".?

Question

An essay on "global warming".?

Answer 1

Global warming is the increase in the average measured temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans since the mid-twentieth century, and its projected continuation.

The average global air temperature near the Earth's surface increased 0.74 ± 0.18 °C (1.33 ± 0.32 °F) during the hundred years ending in 2005.[1] The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes "most of the observed increase in globally averaged temperatures since the mid-twentieth century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic (man-made) greenhouse gas concentrations"[1] via an enhanced greenhouse effect. Natural phenomena such as solar variation combined with volcanoes probably had a small warming effect from pre-industrial times to 1950 and a small cooling effect from 1950 onward.[2][3]

These basic conclusions have been endorsed by at least thirty scientific societies and academies of science,[4] including all of the national academies of science of the major industrialized countries.[5][6][7] While individual scientists have voiced disagreement with some findings of the IPCC,[8] the overwhelming majority of scientists working on climate change agree with the IPCC's main conclusions.[9][10]

Climate model projections summarized by the IPCC indicate that average global surface temperature will likely rise a further 1.1 to 6.4 °C (2.0 to 11.5 °F) during the twenty-first century.[1] This range of values results from the use of differing scenarios of future greenhouse gas emissions as well as models with differing climate sensitivity. Although most studies focus on the period up to 2100, warming and sea level rise are expected to continue for more than a thousand years even if greenhouse gas levels are stabilized. The delay in reaching equilibrium is a result of the large heat capacity of the oceans.[1]

Increasing global temperature is expected to cause sea level to rise, an increase in the intensity of extreme weather events, and significant changes to the amount and pattern of precipitation. Other expected effects of global warming include changes in agricultural yields, modifications of trade routes, glacier retreat, species extinctions and increases in the ranges of disease vectors.

Remaining scientific uncertainties include the amount of warming expected in the future, and how warming and related changes will vary from region to region around the globe. Most national governments have signed and ratified the Kyoto Protocol aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but there is ongoing political and public debate worldwide regarding what, if any, action should be taken to reduce or reverse future warming or to adapt to its expected consequences.



Terminology

The term "global warming" refers to the warming in recent decades and its projected continuation, and implies a human influence.[11][12] The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) uses the term "climate change" for human-caused change, and "climate variability" for other changes.[13]. The term "climate change" recognizes that rising temperatures are not the only effect.[14] The term "anthropogenic global warming" (AGW) is sometimes used when focusing on human-induced changes.

Causes



Components of the current radiative forcing as estimated by the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report.Main articles: Attribution of recent climate change and Scientific opinion on climate change

The Earth's climate changes in response to external forcing, including variations in its orbit around the Sun (orbital forcing),[15][16][17], changes in solar luminosity, volcanic eruptions,[18] and atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations. The detailed causes of the recent warming remain an active field of research, but the scientific consensus[19][20] is that the increase in atmospheric greenhouse gases due to human activity caused most of the warming observed since the start of the industrial era. This attribution is clearest for the most recent 50 years, for which the most detailed data are available. Some other hypotheses departing from the consensus view have been suggested to explain most of the temperature increase. One such hypothesis proposes that warming may be the result of variations in solar activity.[21][22][23]

None of the effects of forcing are instantaneous. The thermal inertia of the Earth's oceans and slow responses of other indirect effects mean that the Earth's current climate is not in equilibrium with the forcing imposed. Climate commitment studies indicate that even if greenhouse gases were stabilized at 2000 levels, a further warming of about 0.5 °C (0.9 °F) would still occur.[24]

Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere

Main articles: Greenhouse gas and Greenhouse effect

The greenhouse effect was discovered by Joseph Fourier in 1824 and was first investigated quantitatively by Svante Arrhenius in 1896. It is the process by which absorption and emission of infrared radiation by atmospheric gases warm a planet's lower atmosphere and surface.



Recent increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). The monthly CO2 measurements display small seasonal oscillations in an overall yearly uptrend; each year's maximum is reached during the Northern Hemisphere's late spring, and declines during the Northern Hemisphere growing season as plants remove some CO2 from the atmosphere.Existence of the greenhouse effect as such is not disputed. Naturally occurring greenhouse gases have a mean warming effect of about 33 °C (59 °F), without which Earth would be uninhabitable.[25][26] On Earth, the major greenhouse gases are water vapor, which causes about 36–70% of the greenhouse effect (not including clouds); carbon dioxide (CO2), which causes 9–26%; methane (CH4), which causes 4–9%; and ozone, which causes 3–7%.[27][28] The issue is how the strength of the greenhouse effect changes when human activity increases the atmospheric concentrations of some greenhouse gases.

Human activity since the industrial revolution has increased the concentration of various greenhouse gases, leading to increased radiative forcing from CO2, methane, tropospheric ozone, CFCs and nitrous oxide. Molecule for molecule, methane is a more effective greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, but its concentration is much smaller so that its total radiative forcing is only about a fourth of that from carbon dioxide. Some other naturally occurring gases contribute small fractions of the greenhouse effect; one of these, nitrous oxide (N2O), is increasing in concentration owing to human activity such as agriculture. The atmospheric concentrations of CO2 and CH4 have increased by 31% and 149% respectively since the beginning of the industrial revolution in the mid-1700s. These levels are considerably higher than at any time during the last 650,000 years, the period for which reliable data has been extracted from ice cores.[29] From less direct geological evidence it is believed that CO2 values this high were last attained 20 million years ago.[30] Fossil fuel burning has produced approximately three-quarters of the increase in CO2 from human activity over the past 20 years. Most of the rest is due to land-use change, in particular deforestation.[31]



Yearly increase of atmospheric CO2: In the 1960s, the average annual increase was 37% of what it was in 2000 through 2007.[32]The present atmospheric concentration of CO2 is about 385 parts per million (ppm) by volume.[33] Future CO2 levels are expected to rise due to ongoing burning of fossil fuels and land-use change. The rate of rise will depend on uncertain economic, sociological, technological, and natural developments, but may be ultimately limited by the availability of fossil fuels. The IPCC Special Report on Emissions Scenarios gives a wide range of future CO2 scenarios, ranging from 541 to 970 ppm by the year 2100.[34] Fossil fuel reserves are sufficient to reach this level and continue emissions past 2100, if coal, tar sands or methane clathrates are extensively used.[35]

Feedbacks

Main article: Effects of global warming

The effects of forcing agents on the climate are complicated by various feedback processes.

One of the most pronounced feedback effects relates to the evaporation of water. Warming by the addition of long-lived greenhouse gases such as CO2 will cause more water to evaporate into the atmosphere. Since water vapor itself acts as a greenhouse gas, the atmosphere warms further; this warming causes more water vapor to evaporate (a positive feedback), and so on until other processes stop the feedback loop. The result is a much larger greenhouse effect than that due to CO2 alone. Although this feedback process causes an increase in the absolute moisture content of the air, the relative humidity stays nearly constant or even decreases slightly because the air is warmer.[36] This feedback effect can only be reversed slowly as CO2 has a long average atmospheric lifetime.

Feedback effects due to clouds are an area of ongoing research. Seen from below, clouds emit infrared radiation back to the surface, and so exert a warming effect; seen from above, clouds reflect sunlight and emit infrared radiation to space, and so exert a cooling effect. Whether the net effect is warming or cooling depends on details such as the type and altitude of the cloud. These details are difficult to represent in climate models, in part because clouds are much smaller than the spacing between points on the computational grids of climate models.[36]

A subtler feedback process relates to changes in the lapse rate as the atmosphere warms. The atmosphere's temperature decreases with height in the troposphere. Since emission of infrared radiation varies with the fourth power of temperature, longwave radiation emitted from the upper atmosphere is less than that emitted fro

Answer 2

It's a fairy tale: http://common-sense-conservative.com/?p=...

Answer 3

Hmm. If you writing about how global warming IS happening; I'll try to give you some pointers.

In your introduction, you should start off with an 'attention grabber.' Here I would put an anecdote about the polar bears. Make it heartwrenching. It has to grab their attention, so it should be sad. Then your thesis statement, I will not tell you what to write as to not cheat, but you can come up with that, it should be pretty obvious.

You should compare both sides. Argue your case, whether you think yes, it is occuring, or vice-versa. You could really make this a many, many paragraph essay; if you take in account the numerous debates going around. Get a comback for each apposing argument.

Hope that helps some or sparks ideas.

Answer 4

i see so  ''the man'' is forcing beiefs on america's youth.  this is bull c**p

Answer 5

global warming is harming the polar bears.

Answer 6

anyone who says global warming is a hoax is a freaking idiot. the earth is being destroyed cuz of it and people call it a hoax. if it's so false then why are ice caps melting like theres no tommorow???

Answer 7

i dont know what you mean but there is a movie on it that you could watch

Answer 8

global warming is a liberal hoax

Answer 9

That would be just like writing an essay about the Easter bunny, tooth fairy, or Santa Clause.

Maybe you would want to start out with, once upon a time all the worlds scientist thought we were having global cooling.  today those same scientist warn us that we are in the middle of global warming and should start to do something.  These scientist fail to tell the public that they make a living off of federal funding into things like this, so they have to make up stories for a meal ticket.

THE END

Answer 10

An essay must successfully argue a statement, e.g, "Global warming threatens all life on earth" or, "Global warming is the the most damaging hoax ever thrust upon mankind"

Are you looking to cheat (plagiarize) or are you looking for ideas?

So, re-post and let us know which side your are on, then some seasoned essay writers will give you some pointers. I recommend you start by reading the major papers and seeing films for and against the global warming theory. A slam-dunk on an essay usually involves interviewing a subject matter expert (a scientist) or two and including this in your essay.

Remember, don't just regurgitate other people's opinions.

Answer 11

global warming will kill you and everything. thats about everything