Global warming is and has always been one of the most controversial topics to speak about. Global warming is a gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earth 's atmosphere, generally attributed to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide, CFCs, and other pollutants. In the 21st century, global warming has become the most important environmental issue that require every Earth 's citizen attention. Still, there are a lot of people do not believe this issue exists. We choose this topic because we think everyone should know about this issue and contribute to the process of solving it.
1 Global warming is not a new story. In fact, in 1827, a French mathematician proposed the theory of the Earth 's atmosphere capturing solar energy could raise the planet 's temperature (Newton). Today, scientists proved that global warming is caused by the greenhouse gas emission in the atmosphere produced by human 's activities such as the burning of fossil fuel and deforestation. This is the reason to explain why the Earth 's climate had undergone dramatic changes over its long history.
2 Climate change is already happening on Earth and affecting every Earth’s citizens. “Thus, we expect rising CO2 to bring more floods in some places and more droughts in others, with some places getting more of both. That might seem contradictory, but it 's not. And with more energy to drive hurricanes, the peak winds may increase, even if the number of storms drops” (Alley). Global warming is causing more hurricanes. Also, all those powerful hurricanes that happened in the last century have been link to global warming. "I found that there were monitoring stations along the eastern seaboard of the United States where they had recorded the daily tide levels all the way back to 1923. I have looked at every time there was a rapid change in sea level and I could see there was a close correlation between sudden changes in sea level and historical accounts of tropical storms," Dr Grinsted of the Niels Bohr Institute at Copenhagen University (Connor).
3 In addition, if the world 's average temperature keeps increasing, glaciers in the Arctic and Antarctica will melt, lead to the rising of the sea level, then all the countries, islands and cities that close to the sea level will disappear. Tuvalu, Paula, Kiribati, Bangladesh, Maldives and even Miami (Florida) could become drown and uninhabitable (Gerken). Currently, Tuvalu’s residents are forming the world’s first group of environmental refugees, moving to New Zealand since 1996.
4 Even though global warming is causing a lot of problems, our country, the United States, still hesitates about whether it is a right time to take action, or it is still too early. Many scientists and environmentalists believe that if the United States cut back the amount of greenhouse gas released by the country 's industry, it could make a huge different in term of the Earth 's climate in the next few decades. However, most industrial organizations and the federal government reject the idea, saying it will have a negative impact on the country 's economy.
Work Cited
Alley, Richard. "Why the Extreme Weather?." USA TODAY. 19 Apr 2012: A.9. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 27 Nov 2012..
Connor, Steve. "Global Warming Is 'Causing More Hurricanes '." The Independent. 16 Oct 2012: p. 19. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 27 Nov 2012.
Gerken, James. "Sea Level Rise Threatens Countries, Regions And Cities Around The World (PHOTOS)." The Huffington Post. 25 Aug. 2012. TheHuffingtonPost.com. 22 Nov. 2012
"Greenhouse gases." Issues: Understanding Controversy and Society. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 20 Nov. 2012
Johansen, Bruce E. "island nations and the rise of sea levels." Issues: Understanding Controversy and Society. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 20 Nov. 2012.
Newton, David E. "Global Warming: Outlook." Issues: Understanding Controversy and Society. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 20 Nov. 2012 .
Cited: Alley, Richard. "Why the Extreme Weather?." USA TODAY. 19 Apr 2012: A.9. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 27 Nov 2012.. Connor, Steve. "Global Warming Is 'Causing More Hurricanes '." The Independent. 16 Oct 2012: p. 19. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 27 Nov 2012. Gerken, James. "Sea Level Rise Threatens Countries, Regions And Cities Around The World (PHOTOS)." The Huffington Post. 25 Aug. 2012. TheHuffingtonPost.com. 22 Nov. 2012 "Greenhouse gases." Issues: Understanding Controversy and Society. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 20 Nov. 2012 Johansen, Bruce E. "island nations and the rise of sea levels." Issues: Understanding Controversy and Society. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 20 Nov. 2012. Newton, David E. "Global Warming: Outlook." Issues: Understanding Controversy and Society. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 20 Nov. 2012 .
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