Write about a problem, then write about a solution to the problem; Global Warming.

The world is confused . Summers are longer and more intense and winter envious of summer 's wrath , unleashes a fury that rivals the intensity of the heat . This is what global warming does . It confuses the world and now currently has also succeeded in confounding scientists . From a scientific point of view , global warming can be understood as a global environmental phenomenon which is characterized by an increase in the average temperature of the Earth 's near-surface air and oceans (Smith 18

The graph above clearly illustrates the change in global temperatures

br over the years . While there certainly is no consensus on how to best tackle this issue , there is certainly no doubt that global warming has a very detrimental effect on the environment as it causes rising sea levels and alters the amount and pattern of precipitation that a areas all over the world get (Gregory 22 . These environmental changes are also the projected causes of other ecological changes such as increases in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events which in turn creates changes in agricultural yields , glacier retreat , reduced summer stream flows , species extinctions and increases in the ranges of disease vectors (Choi 149

Based on the current scientific projections , the temperature of the world is expected to increase by 1 .1 to 6 .4 ?C (2 .0 to 11 .5 ?F ) between the years 1990 and 2100 . While most of the studies and projection models that have been utilized for these estimates cover the period up to the year 2100 , global temperature warming and sea level rise are expected to continue for more than a millennium even if no further greenhouse gases are released after this date (Haigh 322 . This is due to the melting of the polar ice caps which is estimated to continue due to the changes that have already occurred in the world 's temperature

The answer to this problem is a lot simpler in theory than it is in practice . Given the rate of economic growth of many of the developing countries and the shift of production to the lesser developed countries the implementation of any global protocols is easier to imagine than to implement (Torn 33 . Greenhouse gases , which are cited as one of the main causes of global warming , are most commonly emitted from the highly industrialized countries and the less developed countries which rely heavily on industrial machinery for production . The problem in this scenario is that by cutting back on the emission of greenhouse gases , a majority of the world 's production of most major goods will be affected The economic costs not to mention the technological impediments that preventing the shift to more environmentally friendly methods make the reduction of these greenhouse gases extremely difficult (Rudiman 153

There have been steps that have been taken to reduce the levels of greenhouse gases . In to address the situation of global warming many countries have participated in the world 's primary international agreement on combating global warming which is the Kyoto Protocol . An amendment to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC , the Kyoto Protocol binds signatory countries to reduce their emissions of CO2 and five other greenhouse gases . In the alternative it allows these countries to engage in emissions trading if they are able to maintain or increase emissions of these gases (Wigley 15

The problem with this protocol , however , is that it exempts developing countries from meeting emission standards in Kyoto (Choi 152 . Some of the countries that have been exluded from this list are China and India who are ranked as the second and third largest emitters of CO2 , behind the United States

It is clear therefore that even despite these actions much more work is needed in to address the problem . The implementation of international protocols and requiring countries to meet certain environmental standards is certainly a big step towards addressing this issue . More intergovernmental cooperation is also another prospective answer to this problem . The more developed countries should also take the lead in encouraging the shift away from more traditional methods of production towards more environmentally friendly methods through the award of grants and exchange of technology (Torn 34 . The creation of a body that is designed to not only specifically develop policies regarding this issue but also be given the power to enforce these policies will allow for the more efficient reduction of these greenhouse gases (Torn 41

It is unclear just how effective these policies may be but the fact that is clear is that in to address this issue , each and every person in the world must take part in reducing the emission of these greenhouse gases which is the main cause of this problem . Simple steps such as taking the public transport or walking instead of taking carbon monoxide emitting vehicles will go a long way . There are many things that people can do in to contribute to the improvement of the current environmental condition . It does not take a lot and it all starts with the awareness of the gravity of the situation

References

Choi , O . and A . Fisher (2003 "The Impacts of Socioeconomic Development and Climate Change on Severe Weather Catastrophe Losses : Mid-Atlantic Region (MAR ) and the U .S " Climate Change , vol . 58 pp . 149

Gregory , J . M R . J . Stouffer , S . C . B . Raper (2002-11-15 "An Observationally Based Estimate of the Climate Sensitivity (PDF Journal of Climate 15 (22 : 3117-21 . Retrieved on 2007-01-18

Haigh , Joanna D (2003-01-15 "The effects of solar variability on the Earth 's climate . Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A Mathematical , Physical and Engineering Sciences 361 (1802 : 91-111 DOI :10 .1098 /rsta .2002 .1111 . Retrieved on 2007-03-15

Lean , J .L , Y .M . Wang , and N .R . Sheeley (2002 "The effect of increasing solar activity on the Sun 's during multiple cycles : Implications for solar forcing of climate Geophys . Res . Lett . 29 (24 : 2224 . DOI :10 .1029 /2002GL015880

Revkin , Andrew C (2005 "Rise in Gases Unmatched by a History in Ancient Ice . New York Times (November 25 , 2005

Smith , Thomas M Reynolds , Richard W (2005-05-15 "A Global Merged Land-Air-Sea Surface Temperature Reconstruction Based on Historical Observations (1880-1997 . Journal of climate 18 (12 : 2021-2036 . ISSN 0894-8755 . Retrieved on 2007-03-14

Torn , Margaret John Harte (2006-05-26 "Missing feedbacks , asymmetric uncertainties , and the underestimation of future warming . Geophysical Research Letters 33 (10 . L10703 . Retrieved on 2007-03-04

Wigley , Tom "The Kyoto Protocol : CO2 , CH4 , and climate implications Geophys . Res . Lett . 25 (13 : 2285 . Retrieved on March 4 , 2007

William Ruddiman (2005-03 "How Did Humans First Alter Global Climate (PDF . March 2005 issue . Scientific American . Retrieved on 2007-03-05 GLOBAL WARMING Page PAGE 6 of NUMPAGES 6 ...