Global Warming Truth
There is one undeniable global warming truth - the planet is warming up and this has certain consequences. What is global warming? What causes it? What are the effects? How can we stop it? This article will try to provide you with the answers. Global warming refers to the observations that the atmosphere near the Earth's surface is warming. This temperature increase is one of the many types of climate changes that our planet is currently going through. But why should we care about a temperature increase of just 0.7°C for one hundred years. Although, this might seem like a small problem, this is not the case.
The effects of global warming are increased climate extremes and anomalies. That's why in the past years, we are observing more hurricanes, draughts, forest fires, heavy rain and floods. As Al Gore points out in his Oscar-winning movie 'Inconvenient Truth', when the climate gets warmer, as it is right now, evaporation will increase due to warmer oceans. Because the world is a closed system this will cause heavier rainfall and more erosion, and in more vulnerable tropical areas (especially in Africa), desertification due to deforestation. Many scientists think that it could result in more extreme weather as global warming progresses. Another really disturbing global warming effect is the melting of the Arctic ice, which is about to completely disappear in 30 years. Right now it acts like a giant mirror keeping the earth cooler by reflecting about 90% of the sun heat. As the surrounding waters get warmer, the ice will melt even faster. The increased emission of CO2, based on fossil fuels results in an altered climate and thinned ozone layer. The seasons have shifted and changed; there is an increased probability for storms, floods; the weather is unpredictable in the long run; hot and cold "waves" succeed each other. What is the main cause for global warming? The answer is short - human activities. The world population is over 6 billion and we are not only consuming all the resources on the planet, but we are causing enormous amount of pollution. All of our transportation system is driven by gasoline, which results in a staggering amounts of CO2 being released. And if our population continues to grow with the current rate, things can only get worse. Despite the claims that the oceans will in the future ensure world's food, the catch of fish is at its limiting capacity (approx. 90 million tons yearly) and cannot be raised in the future. In recent years world's fishing regions have been operated to (or even beyond) their capacity. |