Natural Disasters and Climate Change

Global warming is the gradual increase of temperature in the world’s atmosphere. It is often caused by high levels of carbon dioxide and other pollutants. It may also be increased by fossil fuels and agriculture causing many severe consequences, such as: species extinction, reduced forest and coral reefs, drought increases in Africa, severe flooding in Asia, threats to small islands because of ocean levels rising, and severe weather in hurricane zones. Our society today is destroying the climate. Every time we drive our vehicles just to get out of the house for fun or because we forget and have to make a double run, when we run our electric too long, wasting water, burning our trash, especially plastics, and just not taking proper care of our environment.

These are all very common ways that we are contributing to global warming. Global Warming is occurring without any ideas of a full on frontal stop by Americans, and because we, the people of Earth, are practically unconscious of the destruction we are inflicting on our environment, and if we keep progressing at the rate which we are today. Soon we will no longer have the necessary atmosphere needed to survive because it will be overloaded with heat entrapped carbon dioxide; thereby threatening the climate with many grievous consequences.

Global warming is caused by the emissions of greenhouse gases that have been released over millions and millions of years causing the Earth’s climate to fluctuate. The climate is fluctuating so much as to where ice sheets are melting and disappearing. (Caldeira) Global warming is not just a myth, a fairy tale, or just a scientific theory. Global warming is something that is actually occurring in our world all the time every day. A study has shown that ninety-seven percent of Americans cause and add to global warming. Over the past two hundred years the rise of greenhouse gases has increased the rate at which ice sheets and snow caps are melting. The melting of ice sheets and snow caps will return to the oceans and result in higher sea levels. Over the past nine hundred years, data of tree rings, ice cores, coral reefs and other direct measurements have been taken and made to conduct various studies on the subject of climate change at hand. (Prothero) The most obvious results are the temperature (result is); the temperature is increased in such a tangible way. The studies conducted were primarily so they would have it written down on paper, for proof. Since the 20th century the earth’s mean temperature has increased by about 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit. Everyone knew of the changes. The changes in temperature could be felt, and they were. The temperature was starting to make people realize that there was a change occurring and they needed to make a change themselves. The affect people have on the world is a grand one, yet most do not know or even understand this. Most people do not care or ever think of it, assuming that the Earth will self-sustain itself. This cannot be assumed or even true due to our unhealthy habits. Our selfish habits prevent the world from its self-preservation and it eventually it will not be able to withstand and soon it will be destroyed if we cannot make a change; a change that will happen quickly and work effectively.

How many people in the United States are truly aware of global warming? If people are aware of global warming, why are they continuing life as if it is not occurring? Do they not care enough to do anything, do they think they cannot help, or do they just think it is not their problem or responsibility? It is every American’s responsibility as a U.S. citizen, and all other residents of our planet, to take care of themselves and to do that they would need a properly functioning Earth to live on. Therefore, the Earth is a part of their life and is a big part of their health. How could people believe that they can live a long, normal, and healthy life when their planet is unhealthy and being destroyed? All areas are being affected by global warming; all with different results yet all have the one most common result, the destruction of Earth. There is a very high possibility of seeing the following consequences soon: certain species extinctions, reduced forests, rainforest and coral reefs, high scares of drought increases in Africa, severe flooding to occur in Asia, threats to smaller islands from rising ocean levels, and severe weather in main hurricane zones. Many species are to be affected by global warming, not just humans. Various insects will have to evolve according to the climate change to be able to live. Also, coral reefs will eventually disintegrate altogether and cause a rapid decline in sea life populations. We are slowly killing the creatures on this Earth and endangering ourselves in the process. If a change does not occur soon, then we will eventually be unable to restore our environment to its regular smoothly working self, which will lead to the slow destruction to Earth.

The weather is an abiotic factor that is greatly influenced by global warming. The weather is very susceptible to climate change and it is changing, not so much as a rapid change but more of a gradual difference. In the article, Carbon Capture and Storage: an Effective way to Mitigate Global Warming,? by Caldeira, there is a possible solution to try to help prevent global warming from excelling at the current rate. The article suggest that the use of fossil fuels being burned at the current rate will cause to large of emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, greatly adding to global warming. This buildup of greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide will create a negative impact on the atmosphere of Earth. The article also tells of a process that is supposed to decrease the buildup of greenhouse gases. The process would be known as a capture and store method. In this method it is just as it sounds. The emitted carbon dioxide would be captured and stored to keep it from building up in the atmosphere and causing a huge bulge of pollution. The study was conducted and the conclusions was that for there to be more understandings of the study, more experiments would need to be conducted. There were some findings helpful but not helpful enough for us to decide if it would be worth the large amounts of funds needed to spend to try and conduct the process for an actual outcome. Another article talks of a possible solution to help prevent and slowdown global warming. In the article, The Climate Footprint: a Practical Tool to Address Climate Change, by Janse T., and P. Wiers, talk about greenhouse gases and how they are posing threats to the Earth’s climate change. The water sectors– such as damns– are already experiencing many complications. Many water barriers are being added to so they can withstand the threats of floods and also to help with droughts. Though water companies mainly have our best interests in mind, they are also adding to global warming. A water company will cause around two to five percent of global greenhouse gas emissions a year that will play a role in the ongoing climate change. Adding to water barriers is a very practical idea and possible tool used to make quick analysis of greenhouses gas emissions. It can and will helps improve options and priorities. There are all sorts of experiments that have been conducted that were supposed to help prevent or slow down global warming. Not all experiments were one hundred percent successful, most experiments were absolute failures with no future in improvements to our environment, yet others were very thought through and helpful to the environmental problems. Some of the experiments could only help a little, but that little bit that the experiment helped is just another day saved and another day that we can add to our lives. There are other solutions that us citizens can do, such as purchasing low emmsion cars, and using a more clean alternative energies such as biofuel, tidal power, and even solar power.

The worst part of global warming is the fact that there are so many people in this country, in our world and on our planet that could make a real impact. Even the smallest tasks can all come together and work towards an even bigger impact. The scary and horrifying truth is that we are creating a rough and destructed environment for our future generations to live in, to try and restore it and to cope with. It is not right and it is not fair. Why would we do this to our planet? We need to treat the environment right. We need to stop the steadily occurring destruction and polluting and really start understanding and recognizing the problem at hand. We need to do this as a society before it is completely irreversible and we have no more control. The environment will eventually reach its breaking point and while global warming is occurring we need to fix the problem. It is not going to just go away; the Earth cannot and will not withstand all of the pressure it is under as of right now. If a viable solution is not found soon Earth will become a place unbearable to live. Furthermore, Earth will become a place unsuitable to live with no hope of being able to rebuild the only Earth we have ever known. This poem sums up just about everything about global warming without getting into the confusing art of poetry. The poem is a very obvious poem that states the basics of global warming in a nonchalant way. The poem is from an article called A Vision of The Lead American Delegate at The Kyoto Conference on Global Warming (Poem).”” Written by Calvin Trillin.

A Vision of the Lead American Delegate at the Kyoto Conference on Global Warming.

The delegates from other countries say The Earth is getting warmer every day. Kyoto, they presumably vote, Is now a place where no one needs a coat. And so it might well anger or perplex When gore, arriving bundled in his -Tex, Remarks he finds cool breezes after dark a Reminder that he’s glad he brought a parka.

Works Cited

Burney, Jennifer A., Charles F. Kennel, and David G. Victor. “”Getting Serious About the New Realities of Global Climate Change.”” Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists 69.4 (2013): 49-57. Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.

Caldeira, Ken. “”The Great Climate Experiment.”” Scientific American 307.3 (2012): 78-83. Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.

Carey, John. Global Warming: Faster Than Expected? Scientific American 307.5 (2012): 50-55. Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.

Fowler, Thomas B. “”The Global Warming Conundrum.”” Modern Age 54.1-4 (2012): 40-62. Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.

Janse, T., and P. Wiers. “”The Climate Footprint: A Practical Tool to Address Climate Change.”” Water Science & Technology 56.4 (2007): 157-163. Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.

Krebs, Martha. Lessons of Climate Change, Stories of Solutions. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists 67.1 (2011): 60-63. Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.

Prothero, Donald R. How We Know Global Warming Is Real And Human Caused. Skeptic 17.2 (2012): 14-22. Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.

Singh, Udayan. Carbon and Storage: An Effective Way to Mitigate Global Warming. Current Science 105.7 (2013): 914-922 Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.

Trillin, Calvin. “”A Vision of the Lead American Delegate at the Kyoto Conference on Global Warming (Poem).”” Nation 265.21 (1997): 6. Academic Search Complete. Web. 9 Dec. 2013.

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