What human activity can contribute to climate change?

Answer 1

Since 1750 when the Industrial Age began we started burning more and more fossil fuel (coal, oil and natural gas) in industry, transport and to generate electricity. This burning releases all the carbon that has been stored safely underground for millions of years. Carbon dioxide is a powerful greenhouse gas and it is this extra carbon dioxidethat is contributing to the runaway greenhouse effect, which is causing global warming.

Humans have also cut down the vast forests that used to cover our planet. Vegetation and trees absorb and store carbon dioxide. These huge carbon sinks are still being destroyed in many parts of the world.

A:By studying the planet Venus, scientists have long understood that Carbon Dioxide is a greenhouse gas. What this means is that the accumulation of the gas in the atmosphere decreases the ability of the planet to shed heat it has absorbed from the sun. Consequently, the temperature rises and rises. Venus is much further away from the Sun than Mercury, and yet it is hotter than the planet Mercury. This is due to the profound greenhouse condition on Venus.

On planet Earth, Carbon Dioxide levels were stable for a very long time - as plants and animals exchange with each other Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide, and the oceans and formations of rock absorb Carbon Dioxide, and other natural processes such as volcanic eruptions release Carbon Dioxide. These processes are all natural and have resulted in a balance of atmospheric gases.

Humans emerged as a very intelligent animal capable of manipulating the environment. Eventually, we learned that there is fuel stored very deep in the Earth that can be combusted to release great amounts of energy. Unfortunately, the combustion also releases Carbon Dioxide (greenhouse gas) as a by-product. During the industrial revolution, our need for energy from fossil fuels grew exponentially - and from that point on humans in western societies have relied completely on the combustion of fossil fuels for energy. Not just for the millions of cars on the road, or the electricity to cool and heat our homes, but also to make every day products such as tires, makeup, plastic, and countless other things.

As more and more nations become modernized - such as China and India - the demand for fossil fuels is only growing. All of this fuel will be combusted and give off tons and tons of Carbon Dioxide into the atmosphere. This is "new" Carbon Dioxide that was never part of the natural balance established for hundreds of thousands of years.

The Carbon in Carbon Dioxide was buried deep in the Earth and without human technology would have remained there.

Instead, unthinkable quantities of Carbon Dioxide have been released into the atmosphere. As one would expect, scientists have been able to detect this increase through time. Whereas it was stable for eons, since the industrial revolution it has steadily increased. And there is no end in sight in the immediate future for the demand of oil. In fact, it will only continue to increase.

Mean global temperature has increased ever so slightly in correlation with this increase in atmospheric Carbon Dioxide. Once major environmental changes begin they will set off a cascade of events that will only spur the change on even faster.

For example, as the glaciers melt, the sea level rises and the water changes from white (ice) to dark blue (liquid water). White objects reflect heat, while darker objects absorb heat. This means the planet will absorb much more heat than it does when there are ice caps at both poles reflecting heat away from Earth. The absorbed heat will only increase the melting of ice, the rise in sea level, and the change in salinity of the sea water.

As another example, as atmospheric Carbon Dioxide increases, the oceans will absorb some of this - which may seem like a blessing. However, the dissolved molecules change the pH of the ocean - which greatly impacts tiny organisms such as plankton. Not only do plankton take in Carbon Dioxide and release Oxygen, they also form the basis of marine food chains.

Humans are, at the very least - contributing to climate change - if not solely responsible. For some reason this has become a political issue and some people debate findings that are rather straightforward and found over and over by qualified scientists around the world working independently. Or they suggest alternative explanations for observed changes - such as astronomical cycles, sun activity, etc.

One thing is clear, humans have been responsible for introducing countless tons of a greenhouse gas directly into the atmosphere - and will continue to in the foreseeable future. We can only hope any damage done can be minimized and worked through without too much damage to world agriculture, population, and geography.

A:

1. Burning fossil fuels to release carbon dioxide
2. Growing demand for meat causing forest clearing for pasture
3. Clearing of forests removing carbon dioxide sinks.

Answer 2

Yes. Humans emit 40 billion (40,000,000,000) tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year, over 30 billion tons of which comes from fossil sources (coal and oil). This gas traps infrared radiation, and is cumulative. It does not readily come back out of the air. Thus, CO2 levels have risen from 280 parts per million in 1700 to nearly 400 ppm today. By 2050 they will exceed 500 ppm at current rates of consumption. 350 ppm is considered by many climate researchers to be maximum sustainable value.

Answer 3

Burning fossil fuels for transportation and energy production is a major human activity that contributes to climate change. Deforestation and land-use changes also release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere contributing to global warming. Industrial processes, such as cement production and agriculture (particularly methane emissions from livestock), also play a role in exacerbating climate change.

Answer 4

The burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas) in industry, transport and the generation of electricity, which releases carbon dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas.