What is global warming and what are its effects on our earth?

Answer 1

Global warming is the warming of our planet through gases which trap that heat in. Water vapor is the most common greenhouse gas and makes up about 80% of all the forcing that occurs. Water vapor is a naturally occurring item and makes up 5% of our atmosphere. This has kept the planet warm for millions of years.

When man started to burn fossil fuels 200 years ago (coal, oil and natural gas) this released additional carbon that had been buried underground since the time the fossil fuels were laid down. It is this extra carbon dioxide that is causing an enhanced greenhouse effect and the recent global warming. 2010 tied with 2005 as the two hottest years on record. The ten hottest years have all occurred in the past fifteen years.

The major causes of global warming are burning fossil fuels and deforestation.

Deforestation means cutting down forests. Just about every country in the world is still losing its forests. Forests act a a carbon sink, a huge area where carbon is stored inside the wood. When trees are cut down and destroyed, for instance to make newspaper, then all the carbon is released into the atmosphere. When a tree dies, from drought (a very severe drought killed many trees last year in the Amazon Rainforest), then as it rots it releases all its carbon.

Answer 2

Global warming is the heating of the earth because of humans. It's caused by a rise in Carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere which causes the greenhouse gases to retain more heat. (Without these gases our planet couldn't hold in heat) Our global temperature has raised about 1 degree Celsius in the last century, a change that would take thousands of years to occur naturally. One result is the melting of glaciers, which will eventually cause flooding.

Answer:

Global warming has been identified as a major issue for the global community. More properly this is called "Global Climate Change" as some areas may be warmer, some cooler, some wetter, some drier...

Background:

The contention of the larger number of climatologists is that human activities since the industrial revolution have increased the content of CO2, methane and other gases in the atmosphere that trap solar heat. At the same time human activities have reduced the forest cover that had traditionally absorbed these same materials. They state that an increasing level of these atmospheric constituents has lead to a chain of chemical and physical changes that have increased the world's average temperature.

Observations of atmospheric gas composition, average sea water temperatures, atmospheric temperatures etc. confirm the trends and support the proposition.

Potential Impacts:

1. The sea levels may rise. Technically this may be caused by melting ice from the polar ice caps or an increase in sea height as the less dense water is less compressed. Low lying land like many Pacific Islands and Miami will be under water.

2. Serious climate changes may result from diverted ocean currents. As an example, the Gulf Stream keeps Europe warm. If the Stream is not running Europe may be much cooler and drier. Crops may not grow.

3. Ecology changes on the land could include species of animals and plants extending their range to the polar regions. Local flora and fauna may become extinct. A good example is the spread of Africanized bees and Fire Ants. Sea life may also be impacted both through the introduction of competitive species presently kept in other areas by water temperature changes, and by failure to adapt to less saline water.

4. Human society may be disrupted if changes in rainfall and temperature cause crop failure. Famine refugees may require significant humanitarian attention by the "lucky" nations.

Answer 3

Global warming means the recent (200 year) rise in the earth's temperature caused by man's deforestation and burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas) since the Industrial Revolution.

Global temperature has risen 0.8° C since 1900, and 0.6 degrees since the 1970s. Given that earth's temperature changed about 6° C at the depth of the previous ice age 20,000 years ago to its end 11,000 years ago, the current rate of change is abnormally fast and geologically unprecedented within the span of human existence.

20,000 - 11,000 is 9000 years. Divide that into 40 year intervals and you get 225. Six degrees divided by 225 implies the rapid temperature increase marking the close of the last ice age was about 0.03° C every 40 years. Contrast that with the 0.6° C change in just the past 40 years, and you see that temperature is rising 20 times faster now (.6/.03) than it ever did throughout human history.

Natural climate cycles back and forth, but human induced change is unidirectional, and at a rate likely outpacing the natural ability of species to adapt.

Effects on the environment:

• Glaciers, sea ice and ice caps melting
• Sea levels rising
• Heat waves
• Unusual weather patterns and blizzards
• Famines and crop failures
• More energy in the atmosphere
• Animal habitats changing permanently

Answer 4

Global warming is the term used to describe the rising temperature of the Earth monitored by satellites in Space. Global warming is in fact an accelerated/enhanced version of the greenhouse effect which is perfectly natural and is necessary for life on Earth to exist.

The greenhouse effect occurs when energy from the Sun enters the atmosphere and is absorbed by greenhouse gases (methane, water, carbon dioxide being major examples) which cause the atmosphere to heat up. The overall effect is that less of the Sun's energy escapes than is let in; like a greenhouse (where the Sun's heat is retained to maintain a temperature higher than the outside).

Global warming is simply whereby an increased proportion of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is causing an increased amount of energy to be retained, with the effect of warmer climate. The additional greenhouse gases are man-made, or as a result of man's actions.

The effect, other than warmer climate, includes;

• Polar ice caps melting
  • Which results in raised sea levels
    • Which results in flooding
    • Which results in coastal erosion
  • Which results in cold fresh water being released into the North Atlantic
    • Which may result in air current changes supplying Europe with warm temperatures
    • Which may result in ecological consequences as yet unknown
  • Which reduces the space available at the poles
  • Which has known ecological consequences
• Droughts
• Permafrost (a sort of frozen peat) melting
  • Which results in methane being released
  • Which accelerates the greenhouse effect further (as methane is a greenhouse gas)
  • Which may result in a runaway greenhouse effect
• Decreased solubility of CO2
  • CO2 is released from the oceans into the atmosphere
  • This may also cause a runaway greenhouse effect

Answer 5

Global warming refers to the long-term increase in Earth's average surface temperature due to human activities releasing greenhouse gases. The effects of global warming include rising sea levels, more frequent and severe natural disasters, melting glaciers and ice caps, and disruptions to ecosystems and wildlife. These impacts can have wide-ranging consequences for human health, agriculture, and economies worldwide.