Global Warming

Amanda Hansen

Global Warming is something we have all heard about. But there are many things we dont understand
about it. Some of the important things we need to understand are: what is the root cause of global
warming? Where is it occuring? Why is this occurring? And lastly, what is being done or can be done to
handle this environmental problem. I will be covering all of these topics to help you understand.
Root Cause of Global Warming
The main causes of Global Warming are Carbon Pollution and Human Activity. Listed Below is some of
the research and findings on global warming showing the effects of the ever increasing amount of
humans on the planet, as well as industrial pollution, deforestation, and even increased cement
production.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency:
Americans' health and welfare by leading to long lasting changes in our climate that can have a range of
negative effects on human health and the environment. Carbon dioxide (CO
2
) is the primary greenhouse
gas pollutant, accounting for nearly three-quarters of global greenhouse gas emissions and 84% of U.S.
greenhouse gas emissions. (EPA.GOV)
The greenhouse gas pollutants, among other things are causing the overall Global Temperature to rise.
Here is an example from NASA.GOV of the increasing land and ocean temperatures over the past 33
years.


Source: NASA.GISS.

Another graph I found interesting was this one from WIKIPEDIA.ORG showing the CO2
Levels.

SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA.ORG

Where is it happening? Globally!
Although we are usually more worried about what is happening in our own country, the climate changes
are most definitely happening around the world! There are many things that are happening as proof of
these changes. Our environment is in danger and we have to make changes to combat the warming as
much as we can. Some of the things that we know for sure are happening and have proof of are the
global temperature rise, warming oceans, rising sea levels, shrinking ice sheets and glaciers, and
extreme weather events due to the warmer weather.
Some really interesting information that I found on these categories can be found below thanks to
NASA.GOV

Global temperature rise
All three major global surface temperature reconstructions show that Earth has warmed
since 1880.
5
Most of this warming has occurred since the 1970s, with the 20 warmest
years having occurred since 1981 and with all 10 of the warmest years occurring in the
past 12 years.
6
Even though the 2000s witnessed a solar output decline resulting in an
unusually deep solar minimum in 2007-2009, surface temperatures continue to increase.
7

(Nasa.Gov)
Warming oceans
The oceans have absorbed much of this increased heat, with the top 700 meters (about
2,300 feet) of ocean showing warming of 0.302 degrees Fahrenheit since
1969.
8
(Nasa.Gov)
Sea level rise
Global sea level rose about 17 centimeters (6.7 inches) in the last century. The rate in the
last decade, however, is nearly double that of the last century.
4

Shrinking ice sheets
The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have decreased in mass. Data from NASA's
Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment show Greenland lost 150 to 250 cubic
kilometers (36 to 60 cubic miles) of ice per year between 2002 and 2006, while
Antarctica lost about 152 cubic kilometers (36 cubic miles) of ice between 2002 and
2005.
Extreme events
The number of record high temperature events in the United States has been increasing,
while the number of record low temperature events has been decreasing, since 1950. The
U.S. has also witnessed increasing numbers of intense rainfall events.
11


I think all of the above information found at NASA.GOV shows us the global warming definitely
is happening and that is having some major effects on the planet. It is so important for all of us to
take this seriously and do our part to protect our beautiful world.
For more interesting data and graphs concerning global warming
Go to Nasa. Com http://climate.nasa.gov/key_indicators/#globalTemp for updated graphs with
global temperatures, ice levels, and carbon dioxide levels.


Why is Global Warming Happening?
Basically Global Warming is happening because of us! The more of us that there are, and the more we
change the natural environment around us, the more damage we are causing. The burning of fossil
fuels, the CO2 levels, our clearing of forests, and other things such as cement production are all
factors that play a role. An article for the Environmental Defense Fund shed a lot of light for me on just
what we are doing to the environment.
According to the Environment Defense Fund http://www.edf.org/human-activity-causing-global-
warming
When we extract and burn fossil fuels such as coal or petroleum, we cause the release of carbon
dioxide (CO2) and other heat-trapping "greenhouse gases" into the atmosphere.
Though natural amounts of CO2 have varied from 180 to 300 parts per million (ppm), today's CO2
levels are around 400 ppm. That's 30% more than the highest natural levels over the past 800,000
years.
We also can tell that the additional CO2 in the atmosphere comes mainly from coal and oil because
the chemical composition of the CO2 contains a unique fingerprint.
Clearing forests also releases large amounts of CO2. On top of that, plants and trees use CO2 to grow.
Worldwide deforestation means we don't have as many trees to absorb the extra CO2.This means
more CO2 stays in the atmosphere, trapping more heat.
Another article from EPA.GOV (the Environmental Protection Agency) talks about Carbon Pollution and how
it effecting our health. I found all of this to be interesting and something that everyone should know!
Carbon Pollution
The electric power sector accounted for 32% of U.S. total greenhouse gas emissions in
2012. Greenhouse gas emissions from electricity have increased by about 11% since
1990 as electricity demand has grown and fossil fuels have remained the dominant
source for generation.
Fossil fuel-fired power plants are the largest source of U.S. CO
2
emissions. Fossil fuel-
fired power plants use natural gas, petroleum, coal or any form of solid, liquid, or
gaseous fuel derived from such material for the purpose of generating
electricity.(EPA.GOV)
Health effects of carbon pollution
Unchecked carbon pollution leads to long-lasting changes in our climate, such as:
Rising global temperatures
Rising sea level
Changes in weather and precipitation patterns
Changes in ecosystems, habitats and species diversity
These changes threaten America's health and welfare for current and future generations.
Public health risks include:
More heat waves and drought
Worsening smog (also called ground-level ozone pollution)
Increasing the intensity of extreme events, like hurricanes, extreme precipitation
and flooding
Increasing the range of ticks and mosquitoes, which can spread disease such as
Lyme disease and West Nile virus
Our most vulnerable citizens, including children, older adults, people with heart or lung
disease and people living in poverty may be most at risk from the health impacts of
climate change. (EPA.GOV)
And Lastly, Some information that I found from WIKIPEDIA.ORG has also been helpful in
understanding what global warming is, and the toll it is taking on us environmentally.
Human influence has been detected in warming of the atmosphere and the ocean, in
changes in the global water cycle, in reductions in snow and ice, in global mean sea level
rise, and in changes in some climate extremes. This evidence for human influence has
grown since AR4. It is extremely likely (95-100%) that human influence has been the
dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century. - IPCC AR5 WG1
Summary for Policymakers
[12](WIKIPEDIA)

I think it is pretty clear after all this information that global warming is a problem. So we have
all the facts, what can we do about it?
What is being done?
The facts of global warming are stacking up against us. It may feel hopeless like nothing will
change even if we try. The thing is that we have to try! And there are efforts being made to
make changes to our environment that could possibly help significantly.
First, here is a diagram of the future projections of global warming over the next 100 years given
by WIKIPEDIA.ORG


SOURCE: WIKEPEDIA.ORG

Also, I have provided a youtube video on the Clean Air Act explaining what is being done.

Causes health issues along with environmental issues. (Clean Air ACT)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=GCSQqzfy6TA

The EPA is making huge strides in getting government support in moving forward with the Clean Air Act
which will force industrial companies to regulate the amount of greenhouse gasses they are emitting
into the air. This is something that environmentalist have been working on for quite some time, that
they believe will really help the climate and clean up the air in the United States.
The quotes below are pulled from an article by Juliet Eilperin who writes for the Wasington post. The
article was written on Tuesday March 24, 2009. The article was pulled from EPA.GOV.
EPA Presses Obama To Regulate Warming Under Clean Air Act
-Last month, Howard Frumkin, who directs the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's
National Center for Environmental Health, testified before a Senate committee that the CDC
"considers climate change a serious public health concern" that could accelerate illnesses and
deaths stemming from heat waves, air pollution, and food- and water-borne illnesses.
(Washington Post)
-Under that law, EPA's conclusion -- that such emissions are pollutants that endanger the
public's health and welfare -- could trigger a broad regulatory process affecting much of the U.S.
economy as well as the nation's future environmental trajectory (Washington Post)
-Daniel J. Weiss, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank, said
the EPA's proposal would allow the administration to tackle climate change if Congress does not
limit carbon emissions through legislation. He added that even if the EPA were forced to
regulate greenhouse gases, it would target emissions from coal-fired power plants and then
vehicles -- which combined account for about half of the nation's global-warming pollution --
before requiring smaller operations to apply for new emissions permits. (Washington Post)
The EPA is making countless efforts to get the government, and everyone for that matter to take Global
Warming seriously. The Clean Air Act is just one way the we can combat Global Warming. We all need
to do our part to get educated, and take a stand against Global Warming. It is my hope that we can all
find out how to do this by visiting the websites I researched and learning more.





Websites used
EPA.GOV http://www2.epa.gov/carbon-pollution-standards/learn-about-carbon-pollution-power-
plants#wha
WASHINGTON POST http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-
dyn/content/article/2009/03/23/AR2009032301068.html?hpid=topnews
NASA.GOV http://climate.nasa.gov/key_indicators/#globalTemp
EDF.ORG http://www.edf.org/human-activity-causing-global-warming
WIKIPEDIA.ORG http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming