What excaly is global warming?

Question

& why is everyone so terrified of it?

Answer 1

Walk out to your car on a sunny day when it is about 50 degrees outside. When you get in you will notice that it is much warmer in your car then outside. Why? This is called the greenhouse effect. The sun makes all kinds of energy not just light. This radiation passes through the glass of your window and hits your seat, then it reflects back towards the window but when it tries to pass through the window again lots of the energy is left behind, trapped in the car. Over time this trapped energy heats the inside of the car. Now, certain kinds of gasses like Carbon Dioxide have a similar effect as the windows of your car. The energy from the sun passes through it on the way in but when it tries to bounce back out into space the gas traps the energy here on earth and the temperatures begin to rise. Some scientists believe that humans are producing too many extra "Green House Gasses" which is causing the planet to warm up unnaturally. This unnatural warming could theoretically have catastrophic effects. Although there has been a great deal of hype behind it lately, human caused global warming is still a theory, a plausible theory but still a theory.

Answer 2

Global warming is an increase in the average temperature of Earth's surface. Since the late 1800's, the global average temperature has increased about 0.7 to 1.4 degrees F (0.4 to 0.8 degrees C). Many experts estimate that the average temperature will rise an additional 2.5 to 10.4 degrees F (1.4 to 5.8 degrees C) by 2100. That rate of increase would be much larger than most past rates of increase.

Scientists worry that human societies and natural ecosystems might not adapt to rapid climate changes. An ecosystem consists of the living organisms and physical environment in a particular area. Global warming could cause much harm, so countries throughout the world drafted an agreement called the Kyoto Protocol to help limit it.

Causes of global warming

Climatologists (scientists who study climate) have analyzed the global warming that has occurred since the late 1800's. A majority of climatologists have concluded that human activities are responsible for most of the warming. Human activities contribute to global warming by enhancing Earth's natural greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect warms Earth's surface through a complex process involving sunlight, gases, and particles in the atmosphere. Gases that trap heat in the atmosphere are known as greenhouse gases.

The main human activities that contribute to global warming are the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) and the clearing of land. Most of the burning occurs in automobiles, in factories, and in electric power plants that provide energy for houses and office buildings. The burning of fossil fuels creates carbon dioxide, whose chemical formula is CO2. CO2 is a greenhouse gas that slows the escape of heat into space. Trees and other plants remove CO2 from the air during photosynthesis, the process they use to produce food. The clearing of land contributes to the buildup of CO2 by reducing the rate at which the gas is removed from the atmosphere or by the decomposition of dead vegetation.

A small number of scientists argue that the increase in greenhouse gases has not made a measurable difference in the temperature. They say that natural processes could have caused global warming. Those processes include increases in the energy emitted (given off) by the sun. But the vast majority of climatologists believe that increases in the sun's energy have contributed only slightly to recent warming

Answer 3

Global warming is an increase in the average annual global temperature.

Seasonal and regional temperatures may be much lower and still allow for the global temperature to rise. The term has been popularized to indicate rising temperatures due to mankind's activity, but in reality it could be from any cause (volcanic or solar activity, deforestation, carbon emissions) and still be global warming.

The concern is due to the fact that climate change of any type (weather patterns, rise OR fall of temperatures, etc) can easily affect food sources, energy consumption, transportation, and a host of conditions critical to civilization as we know it. A change either direction of a few degrees or shifting patterns of rainfall could totally restructure our society. For instance, a slight drop in rainfall in the Great Plains of the Untied States over a period of as short as a decade could cause the majority of land in several major grain producing states to return to dune filled deserts. That would have a major affect on global economy and food supplies and very likely spark international conflicts.

Answer 4

coz it juz like u heating the oven for the turkey only to realise u are the turkey....

Answer 5

Global Warming, term denoting the accelerated warming of the Earth’s surface due to anthropogenic (human activity-related) releases of greenhouse gases due to industrial activity and deforestation

in easy terms,

GLobal warming is the increase in the temperature of the earth atmosphere due to the ultravoilet ray of sun.due to the release of CFCs gases(chloro-fluro-carbon) in the atmosphere there become a hole in the ozone layer which protect us from the direct effect of ultravoilet rays of sun.this is called green house effect.