Global Warming – What Can We Do to help? Part 2
What is the greenhouse effect and how does it impact on surface temperature?
The earth receives heat from the sun. The earth loses heat by reflecting it back into the atmosphere. The atmosphere contains a mixture of gases that trap heat and keep the earth’s surface warm. This is similar to the mechanism that keeps the inside of a garden greenhouse warmer than the outside. These greenhouse gases are vital for life on earth. If they did not exist it is likely that earth would be too cold to sustain life. However, too much of a good thing can have bad consequences. As a result of our energy intensive lifestyles and the burning of vast quantities of fossil fuels the levels of greenhouse gases have been increasing rapidly which magnifies the greenhouse effect and traps more and more heat close to the earth’s surface. Greenhouse gases are primarily Water vapor, Carbon Dioxide, Methane, Nitrous Oxide and Ozone.
What are the consequences of global warming?
As the earth becomes hotter all year round the incidence of droughts and wildfires will increase. There is already evidence of this in effect. Many US cities have recorded their hottest ever temperatures within the last 3 decades and vast areas worldwide are drought affected and subject to horrific wildfires.
Warmer water in the oceans feeds energy into more and more powerful storms and dangerous hurricanes. The warmer seas also result in melting of glaciers and ice caps that in turn cause higher sea levels and flooding of coastal communities. Many small island nations in the Pacific face the prospect of becoming totally submerged in the very near future.
Spread of insect borne diseases such as malaria- Areas which were previously inhospitable to hosts of these diseases such as mosquitoes become breeding grounds as temperatures change. This could lead to the spread of tropical diseases to more temperate areas.
Changes in climate will also push many species of animals and plants to extinction as they struggle to survive in their changing environments.
As with most debates there are the naysayers, predominant among them is the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, the only scientific society that rejects the conclusion that global warming is a threat.
However, if the 30 other scientific societies and academies who support the findings of global warming are to be believed, the consequences are obviously serious if not downright frightening! So what’s being done to control it?
Governments around the world have undertaken programs to cut back the level of emissions of greenhouse gases. For instance in the US the government has a strategy in place to reduce emissions by 18% over the 10 year period 2002 to 2012. To this end the Environmental Protection Agency has implemented many initiatives to encourage the reduction of emissions by various industries and other stakeholders.
However, this is not a responsibility that rests exclusively with government or regulatory bodies. Every individual contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and therefore has an obligation to help cut back.