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Global Warming

I . Introduction

Global Warming is an issue that concerns almost everybody worldwide : it is the primary cause for the erratic and sometimes devastating weather that is experienced around the world . Global warming is causing the rise in sea level which in turn causes the flooding of coastal areas and areas with low elevation . Is global warming really happening today Scientists with the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP ) believe it is so

It is indisputable that there has been a rise in

the concentration of greenhouse gases (GHG ) in the atmosphere during the last century , which scientists think may be one of the causes of global warming

II . Discussion

A . Global Warming and doomsday

Will global warming spell doom for our world ? Scientists believe this to be so "Much depends on what actions we take now and in the coming years " Meteorologist Jagadish Shukla of the University of Maryland found out that deforestation would cause rainfall in the Amazon River to decline by more than 26 percent from the current 2 .5 m . to about 1 .8 m a year

At the same time , the burning of fossil fuels , particularly coal and oil , produces sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides which are hazardous to the atmosphere . Findings show that a single smokestack may produce as much as 500 tons of sulfur dioxide a day . When these gases combine with oxygen and moisture , sulfuric acid and nitric acid is formed . The rain will carry the acids to the ground (acid rain ) which may cause the depletion of calcium and magnesium in the soil , elements needed by plants for the formation of chlorophyll and wood , or it may cause the release of aluminum in the soil , which are poisonous and can kill the roots of trees (Carwardine , 2000

According to Dr . Sadik , UN population fund 's director , said that the more people increased pressure on already stressed lands , forests and water supplies . Other sources of climatic change were attributed to some forms of gases such as nitrous oxide , methane and chlorofluorocarbons (CFC 's

Nitrous oxide or "laughing gas ' is a colorless gas with a sweet taste and odor that is used as an anaesthetic in minor surgery that H2O is responsible for about 6 percent of the human contributes to greenhouse warming . Methane or "cow gas " on the other hand , makes up about 18 percent of human contributions to greenhouse effect . Cattle , sheep goats , and other cud-chewing animals give off methane , in burps and flatulence as they digest . CFCs was discovered by Thomas Widgley Jr , a chemist working at the Frigidaire Division of General Motors , used as coolants in refrigerators and air conditioners and aerosol propellants in spray cans , medical sterilizers , cleaning solvents for electronic components and raw materials for making plastic foams such as coffee cups . CFCs are estimated to account for 14 percent of global warming Experts said that what is happening right now is not a matter of adding a few degrees to the average temperature of a community . A rise of this magnitude may cause life , for without the environment , creatures on earth cannot survive (Davidson , 2003

B . Recommendations

a ) Recycling and Reuse of Solid Wastes

Solid wastes are now viewed as a potential resource which must be recovered and reused whenever possible . Since disposal forest resources are rapidly being depleted , recycling solid wastes offer a solution to both

Consider the element phosphorus . Mined from phosphate ores , it is manufactured into fertilizers . It enters the plant tissues and we obtain it when we eat plant as vegetable . This is later excreted and joins the sewage system . The sewage system sludge can be used directly as fertilizer or soil conditioner

b ) Conserving our Forests

Every now and then we receive alarming news about our forests being denuded . Big logging concessionaires indiscriminately cut down trees without undertaking reforestation measures

III . Conclusion

Of all issues affecting humanity , climate change is the most pervasive and truly global , posing a very real and serious threat to our environment . Climate change is the alteration of the pattern of global climate that may be due to human activity that alters the composition of the atmosphere

If present day emissions of greenhouse gases continue , it is estimated that the rate of increase in global mean temperatures will reach about 0 .3o C per decade . This will mean a likely increase of 1o C above the present level by the year 2025 , and 3o C before the end of the next century

Reference

Carwardine , Mark (2000 . The WWF Environment Handbook . London : Macdonald Optima . Attractively illustrated handbook for the general reader

Davidson , Joan (2003 . How Green is your City ? Pioneering Approaches to Environmental Action . London : Bedford Square Press . Guide to community action for urban renewal PAGE

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