Global Warming

Global Warming
Kourtney Suszko
Writing 1020
Professor Agee
April 24, 2015

Global Warming

Abstract
The effects that global warming has on the Earth were looked at. Also many of the ways that
everyone can help solve the problem of global warming were looked at. The questions were if
global warming was actually happening, who it was affecting, and how people can help take care
of the issue. Many scientists are doing research to help find out more ways that they can prove
global warming is real and how everyone can help save the planet.

Global Warming

Even though the temperatures around the world are rising, there are still people that dont
believe global warming is a threat to Earth. If the temperatures get too high species of animals
and plants that help us on a daily basis may die off. There are ways that global warming can be
slowed down, or the output of carbon dioxide can be lowered, but in order for that to happen,
people from all around the world need to be educated on the topic of global warming so that they
can figure out how to make a difference.
Global warming is an increase in the overall temperature of the Earths atmosphere.
When gases are put out into the air, they dont just warm the Earth up for a while and go away,
when the Earth heats up because of these gases its a permanent change (Role of the Natural and
anthropogenic radiative forcings on global warming, 2013).There are many reasons why global
warming is happening, but it is mostly caused by an increase in greenhouse gases emitted into
the air, such as carbon dioxide. Air pollution is collecting in the atmosphere like a blanket, and is
trapping the suns heat, causing our planet to heat up. The United States is the country that
produces the most global warming pollution. Even though we only contain about five percent of
the Earths population, we produce twenty five percent of the carbon dioxide pollution. Here in
the United States, more carbon dioxide is produced than China, India, and Japan put together.
The largest source of carbon dioxide output in the United States are coal burning power plants.
They produce around 2.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide a year, but in 2009, fifty five nations
pledged to start trying to cut their carbon emission (Infobase Learning, 2010).
The second biggest source would be cars, creating about 1.5 billion tons of carbon
dioxide each year. Some people still dont want to believe that we are harming our planet with all
of the pollution that we put out into the air, but over the past fifty years the average temperature
of the Earth has increased at the fastest rate in history. The ten hottest years on record have all

Global Warming

happened since 1990. Researchers say that unless we do something, the average temperature in
the United States may be three to nine degrees higher by the end of the century (Natural
Resources Defense Council, 2005). If you take the temperature from all over the world over the
course of a year and average it out, you will see that the temperatures have already slowly been
moving up. Already around the globe, Earths temperature has risen more than one degree
Fahrenheit over the last century, and twice that in some areas of the Arctic (National Geographic,
2015).
We cant go back in time to see what the temperatures were before people began
recording it, but there are ways that we can tell what the temperatures were like. Trees are one
way that researches can gather information from the past. They store information about the
climate in the place they live. Trees grow thicker each year and form new rings. During wetter
years the rings are thicker, so the tree trunks can tell us a lot about the conditions from hundreds
of years ago. Creatures, pollen, and other particles fall to the bottom of the oceans or lakes,
forming layers of sediments each year. The sediments preserve what falls to the bottom which
hold information about what was in the air and water when they fell. Another way to check the
conditions of past years, is drilling holes through the polar ice sheets. Little bubbles that are
trapped in the gas are pieces of the Earths past atmosphere that have been frozen. Thats how
scientists have figured out that the concentrations of greenhouse gases since the industrial
revolution are higher than they have been for thousands of years (National Geographic, 2015).
Global warming has already started to create destruction around the United States. In
2002, some of the states on the west side of the country had the worse wildfire season they had
ever had, meaning that many trees that provide us with things such as wood, and help with taking
in carbon, were destroyed. In other states, a drought produced severe dust storms, covering

Global Warming

everything in a layer of dust and dirty filth. Since the 1950s snow accumulation has declined
about sixty percent, and winter seasons have shortened in some of the states. In other areas in the
world there are also problems with global warming. In 2003 there were extreme heat waves that
caused more than 20,000 deaths in Europe, and over 1,500 deaths in India. With the oceans
getting warmer, hurricanes are able to pick up more energy, causing them to become more
dangerous. Researchers have found the destructive potential of hurricanes has greatly increased
along with temperatures of the oceans over the last thirty five years (Natural Resources Defense
Council, 2005).
It is hard to tell what the long terms effects of global warming will be, but scientists have
come up with a list of consequences that are likely to occur if the current trend in global warming
continues. There will be glaciers that melt, early snowmelt during winters, and droughts will
cause water shortages in the West, causing illness and possibly death from dehydration. There
will also be rising sea levels, which will lead to flooding in areas such as Florida and the Gulf of
Mexico. This means that there will be a disruption of habitats including coral reefs and meadows,
which could potentially drive several plant and animal species to extinction. Another
consequence that comes with global warming is that forests, farms, and cities will face new pests
or insects that carry more diseases, which endanger the health of people everywhere (Natural
Resources Defense Council, 2005).
Most researchers have come to an agreement that if the trend in global warming
continues the ozone layer will vanish, and without the ozone layer all life on Earth will cease to
exist. Which is why researchers around the global are constantly monitoring the ozone and are
doing research on ozone depletion. Without protection from the ozone layer, humans, animals,
and plants will be destroyed. Life underwater will not be safe either since UV rays can go

Global Warming

through clear water to a certain depth before being absorbed. Scientists believe that for every one
percent drop in ozone layer protection there is an increase of around two percent in UV rays that
can get through to Earths surface. Another thing that is worrying scientists is that if there are
higher levels of UV coming down to Earth, it will stunt the growth and photosynthesis of many
crops, including corn, rye, and sunflowers. This will also affect the reproductive capacity of
aquatic life (Hunt, 2015).
Everyone around the world needs to start helping to keep the Earth as a healthy place
where we can all live. A way to start saving the planet is by reducing pollution from vehicles and
large power plants. We should also start using the technology that we have to start building
cleaner cars and more modern generators. By manufacturing more efficient appliances that help
us conserve energy, everyone will be able to increase their reliance on renewable energy sources
such as wind, sun, and geothermal sources. It is possible for everyone to cut power plant
pollution and still have enough electricity. For that to happen though, people must use more
efficient appliances and equipment in their houses and offices to reduce the need for electricity.
Power plants would also need to be replaced with cleaner plants (Natural Resources Defense
Council, 2005).
Some states are already making changes in the ways their power plants work. In
California they have required that their largest power plants get twenty percent of their electricity
from renewable sources by 2017. Another way to cut down on the amount of pollution the world
is emitting would be to use hybrid gas-electric engines, because they would be able to cut global
warming pollution by one-third, or even more, today. By forcing car companies to make all of
their SUVs, minivans, and pick-up trucks more fuel efficient, we would be cutting one hundred

Global Warming

and twenty million tons of carbon dioxide pollution a year (Natural Resources Defense Council,
2005).
One way to help stop global warming is to speak up. Some people want Congress to
make new laws that cap carbon emissions and require people who pollute pay for the global
warming gases that they produce. Sending a letter to your officials telling them how you feel
about the global warming situation, may help them pass the laws faster. In 2013, President
Obama heard the voices of people who were willing to speak up and made a plan that was geared
towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions and prepared for climate change related events
(Infobase Learning, 2015). Another way to help would be to look at your current electricity bill,
and see if there is an option to use renewable energy sources. To make up for your carbon output,
you can buy carbon offsets, which represent clean power that can be added to the nations energy
grid in the place of power from fossil fuels. The third way to help would be to choose to drive an
efficient vehicle, such as high-mileage cars like hybrids, they use less gas and will save you
money. Another way to lessen your carbon output that involves cars, would be to make sure your
tires are properly inflated. By keeping all of your tires inflated, gasoline use would come down
two percent nationwide. Making sure that your car is all clean and in shape, could make your
miles per gallon go anywhere from four to forty percent, and by getting a new clean air filter,
you could get ten percent more miles per gallon. Using public transportation, biking, walking, or
carpooling will also cut your carbon output by quite a bit. Even bundling all of your errands into
one trip instead of going out multiple times a day will lessen your carbon footprint. Living
somewhere that has a small community with public transportation will not only help with
pollution, but it will also help you save money by not having to buy gas as much (Natural
Resources Defense Council, 2014).

Global Warming

The last way would be to make sure your house is energy efficient. The heating and
cooling of a home takes up about forty percent of energy in a home, so make sure that your
house has appropriate insulation and that everything is sealed off. Just by turning your thermostat
down by two in the winter and up by two degrees in the summer, could save around two
thousand pounds of carbon dioxide a year (Top 50 Things to do Stop Global Warming). When
buying appliances make sure to be looking for the ones that are the most energy efficient. And
the last thing to do in your home would be to replace all of your light bulbs with fluorescent
bulbs. Fluorescent bulbs can last up to ten times longer, will lower your energy bill, and will
keep a half-ton of carbon dioxide out of the air (Natural Resources Defense Council, 2014).
Something that would make a big difference and help with stopping global warming
would be recycling. Two thousand four hundred pounds of carbon dioxide can be saved a year if
people recycle at least half of the waste that their household generates. Planting trees is another
great way to reduce carbon dioxide, just one tree can make a huge difference in the world. In its
lifetime, a tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide, and shade from trees will also allow you to
possibly reduce your air conditioning bill by up to fifteen percent. Although cutting down trees is
sometimes beneficial to an area, cutting them down does do a lot of harm to the ozone. Trees
store carbon dioxide, so when they are cut down all of the carbon that is stored in them is
released out into the atmosphere, accounting for about twenty percent of carbon dioxide
emissions every year (Top 50 Things to do to Stop Global Warming).
Even though most people believe that global warming is real and a possible threat to life
here on Earth, there are still some people who dont believe that global warming is happening.
Most of the people who dont believe in it say they dont believe because they dont have enough
proof. They dont have proof because a lot of the research that has to be done to prove that global

Global Warming

warming is real takes a quite a few years. Just because it takes longer to get proof doesnt mean
its not real.
Although most people believe that global warming is real, not all of them are doing
anything to stop it. What needs to happen to save our Earth is that people need to be educated
about how global warming happens and how it hurts the only planet that we have to live on. By
educating people, they will realize that they need to do their part to help our planet.

Global Warming

References
Chronology: Climate Change. (2015). Retrieved March 30, 2015, from Issues & Controversies
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ID=14072&sr=1
Global Warming Basics. (n.d.). Retrieved March 30, 2015, from Natural Resources Defense
Council
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How to Fight Global Warming. (2014, September 25). Retrieved March 30, 2015, from
http://www.nrdc.org/globalwarming/gsteps.asp
Hunt, S. (2015, February 9). What Will Happen to Life on Earth if Ozone Depletion Continues?
Retrieved March 30, 2015, from http://www.ozonedepletion.co.uk/
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Is Global Warming Real. (2015). Retrieved March 30, 2015, from National Geographic website:
http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/gw-real/
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Controversies
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Role of the Natural and anthropogenic Radiative forcings on Global Warming. (2013, January
22).
Retrieved March 30, 2015, from http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10651-0120226-z
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http://globalwarming-facts.info/50-tips/