Global Warming

Paragraph 1 - Introduction

The advancement of technology has brought many convenience and benefits into our lives. Gone were the days when the older generations are needed to walk hundreds and hundreds of miles just to reach a destination and feel very tired and exhausted in the end. During this modern age, we can reach the destination in a very short time and without much energy wasted too. But as we become more dependent to technology, we often abuse it. The rate of factories and automobile being built has increased drastically throughout the years. This has lead to a very worrying problem that is seriously affecting our planet lately; this problem is known as Global Warming. Global warming as its name states is a global phenomenon with a number of effects that is happening in the global level. (D’Silva 2007). Global warming is poses a great threat to our personal lives and also to our world. More and more problems that are happening around us are mainly because of global warming. Our earth is not the same place anymore compared to decades ago, it is now slowly dying and this is a very serious issue that all of us should pay attention to.

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Paragraph 2 – Causes

Global warming can be caused by many factors, some which may be of natural causes, and some may be of man-made. Natural causes for global warming include the exploding sun spots which cause unbearable heat and the drastic rise in temperature. The change in orbit which the earth takes, the movement to or from the sun is also one of the reasons why global warming has occurred. Lastly, one of the major reasons for naturally caused global warming is because of large volcanic eruptions on the earth, the eruptions release many poisonous and harmful gases which is not healthy for living things and the earth. Other than that, it also destroys plants and living things. Due to lava being hot, the rise in temperature occurs after volcanic eruptions. (Watson 2007). Natural factors affecting global warming is at a small scale, but man-made or human factors affecting the climate are very severe and serious, it contributes most to the sudden change in temperature and the strange and weird things that are happening around our earth. The excessive use of power and energy has been one of the major culprits for global warming. The constant and out-of-control burning of fossil fuels and natural gasses such as petroleum, diesel to power our automobiles and machines, methane and butane for burning and cooking and many other more. However, recent scientific studies show that various human activities release greenhouse gases. Big, advanced and modern cities are developing into industrialization at a very fast pace, therefore, more factories, roads and highways and more vehicles are needed to facilitate production in order for the city to improve. With all these, the rate of gases such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide will increase at a very high rate and this eventually causes the rise in temperature.

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Paragraph 3 – Causes (Continued)

Other than that, one of the contributing factors includes the change of lands used. In order for a nation to feed its country or the world, it is important for it to produce many agricultural products such as wheat, rice, vegetables and many more. Here, humans usually replace lands such as jungles and forests and turn them into agricultural lands either by burning the forests, cutting them down or by other means for economic activities. They also turn the forests into lands that are capable of natural vegetations with the use of asphalts and concretes. These practices indirectly affect and changes the way the surface of the earth reflects sunlight and also affects how the surface releases heat. It also affects the rate of regional evaporation, runoff and the pattern of rainfall which occurs monthly and yearly. The changes of land causes effect to the global carbon cycle and land changes can also be termed as deforestation as it destroys the forests and jungles. All of these processes affect the balance of nature either directly or indirectly in many ways. (McKitrick 2007). Other that, global warming is also caused by the excessive use of aerosol products and gasses such as aerosol based spray paints, aerosol based insecticide and many other more. Though one spray may not cause much damage, but imagine one million people using aerosol based products, think of what will happen to our planet. The use of air-conditioning and machines that produce CFC (Chlorofluorocarbon) gasses can be harmful and do much damage to our planet as well. Another culprit of global warming is open-air burning; the open-air burning of rubbish and garbage too creates excessive amounts of carbon dioxide and other dangerous gasses. The cutting and logging of trees also affects global warming in a big way. Trees and plants help to convert carbon dioxide into oxygen which in another way helps to cool the earth and to supply fresh air to living things. By chopping down the trees, the temperature of the planet will increase and may cause extreme heat. With the

3 explosion of population and with the expansion of geographical areas, trees have been chopped down indiscriminately and widely. Trees are being chopped down to make way for homes, business premises and parking lots; we tend to lose more environmental resources and assets. (Mail 2008).

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Paragraph 4 - Effects

As its name states, Global warming, means warming the world in a global level. What are the effects of global warming? Effects of global warming happen in a very wide scope. Firstly, the beautiful and magnificent icebergs and ice glaciers in the Arctic and Alaska will start to melt and dissolve into the sea. This indirectly raises the average water level of the earth and thus causes major floods and natural disasters. Take for example; Hurricane Katrina which has destroyed many homes and taken away many lives in New Orleans is caused by the melting of ice glaciers and the imbalance of the sea level in the planet. (Mathias 2007). Other than that, global warming too causes the degrading of the ozone layer due to the extreme heat and dangerous gasses produced by factories, cars and chemicals. Various diseases such as malaria can be caused by global warming. This is because the rise in temperature encourages the breeding of different types of mosquitoes. (DeGaborik 2007). Other than that, global warming can cause heat strokes and heat exhaustions to cardiovascular problem patients. High temperature too causes the concentration of ozone to lower the atmosphere which carries many harmful pollutants which can cause respiratory disease such as asthma.

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Paragraph 5 - Solutions

There are many easy ways which we can take to stop and to reduce the dangers of global warming. Take for example; we can reduce the use of household appliances which releases CFC gasses (Refrigerators and air conditioners). Other than that, trees that are being chopped down should be planted back as trees help convert carbon dioxide into oxygen which in another way helps to cool the planet. We should also schedule periodic maintenance for our vehicles so that it won’t emit as much pollutants compared to ill-maintained vehicles. (Pakhare 2008). We should also learn to car pool in order to save on fuel and to lower the rate of cars which emits greenhouse gasses to the atmosphere.

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Paragraph 6 - Why some people still believe global warming s not a real threat?

Though global warming pose a serious threat to our society and planet, many still believe that it is not dangerous and most don’t take this issue very seriously. This is mostly because they are not informed of the dangers cause by global warming to their surroundings. These people should be informed so that they can take precautions and measure to cut down the seriousness of global warming. There are also people who are selfish; these people prefer to drive their own car to work or shopping instead of taking public transportation. They feel it is very inconvenient that is why they prefer to drive by their own. However, they need to be educated on the effects of global warming towards the earth.

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Paragraph 7 – Conclusion As we can see, global warming doesn’t bring any benefits but it brings countless negative side effects and threats. Mother earth is getting sicker each and every day. We should start to do something in order to stop global warming. As they usually say “Prevention is better than cure”. As citizens of this planet, we should do something and take some measures to save our earth from further destruction and damage. We should maintain and care for it, not only for us, but also for our next generation and the other generations to come.

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Reference:

D’Silva, R. 2007. The Effects and Consequences of Global Warming. Retrieved 1 June 2008, from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/effects-consequences-global-warming.html

DeGaborik, A. 2007. Mosquito Borne Diseases: The Dangerous Link between Mosquitoes and Global Warming. Retrieved 2 June 2008, fromhttp://www.buzzle.com/articles/mosquito-borne-diseases-the-dangerous-link-between-mosquitoes-and-global-warming.html

Mail, R. 2008. Rehabilitating the city’s green lung. Retrieved 2 June 2008, from http://www.theborneopost.com/?p=35302

Mathias, K. 2007. Global Warming and Melting Glaciers. Retrieved 2 June 2008, from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/global-warming-and-melting-glaciers.html

McKitrick, R. 2007. Global Warming Data Affected By Land-Use Change, Study Says. Retrieved 1 June 2008, from http://www.uoguelph.ca/news/2007/12/global_warming.html

Pakhare, J. 2008. How to Stop Global Warming? Retrieved 3 June 2008, from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/how-to-stop-global-warming.html

Watson, R. 2007. The Natural Causes of Global Warming. Retrieved 1 June 2008, from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/300649/the_natural_causes_of_global_warming.html