Is It Just Me Getting Hot or Is It the World Getting Hot?

Is it hot here? Or is it the world getting hotter? Greenhouse gases are essential to the Earth because it is used to trap heat inside the atmosphere (Global Warming, 2008). With the appropriate amount of these gases, the Earth can be kept warm at the desire temperature for life. Without greenhouse gases, the Earth’s surface would be extremely cold where water will be frozen instantly. However, an excess of carbon dioxide will result an extreme temperature increase. For example, Venus, with 96.5% carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, can reach a temperature of 467 degree Celsius (Greenhouse Gases, 2008). Greenhouse gases can keep us warm; however, the excessive amount can cause a global climate change.

Greenhouse gases are naturally occurring gases. Water vapor, being the most abundant, is essential to life. Other greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. These gases occur naturally in the cycle of life—death. With our development of industry, humans have been releasing a lot of these greenhouses gases into the atmosphere (Global Warming, 2008). Burning fossil fuels gives off most carbon dioxide while cutting down trees eliminate the balance of life. Trees take up carbon dioxide during the day for their food source through a metabolic process called photosynthesis. Without the trees, we don’t seem to find the balance to create a zero net carbon dioxide production. With our current carbon dioxide concentration at 380 parts per million (ppm), we are 100 ppm higher than a 100 years ago (Greenhouse Gases, 2008). Drilling the one of the Arctic ice, we found the carbon dioxide level is the highest in the last 650,000 years (Global Warming, 2008).

There are many consequences if we don’t stop the damage of global warming through human activities. Some predictions predict the sea level will rise in some areas. Weather patterns will be changed dramatically. Some areas might experience extreme drought while others will experience torrential rain, causing floods. The yield of the crop will become unpredictable and food shortage. Also, with the increasing temperature, diseases carry organisms such as mosquitoes will spread disease (What is Greenhouse Effect, 2005).
Global climate change would also affect animals and its habitat. A good example is polar bears. On May 14, 2008, the United Sates Department of the Interior listed the polar bear as a threaten species under the Endangered Species Act. The increasing levels of greenhouse gas caused the annual sea ice in the Arctic to melt faster in the spring and forming it later in the autumn season. Polar bears, being sea ice hunters, are suffering to look for food to build up fat for the winter (Polar Bears, 2008).

You might find this surprising. Greenhouse gases do not degrade into something less harmful over time. To compare the different greenhouse gases, we will have to take a look at the term called Global Warming Potential (GWP). This is defined as the total impact over time of adding a unit of a greenhouse gas to the atmosphere (Global Warming Potential, 1997). Carbon dioxide, GWP of 1, is irrelatively low GWP compare to other greenhouse gases such as methane, 62 over 20 years, and tetrafluormethane of 5700 over a hundred years (Greenhouse Gases, 2008).

We cannot avoid global warming any longer. With the evidence right in front of us and the damaging facts about greenhouse gases, we need to come up with solutions to lower greenhouse gas emissions. The best way to do is to cut down our carbon footprint. Carbon footprint is a calculation of the total amount of greenhouse gases produced to directly and indirectly support human activities, usually expressed in equivalent tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) (Time for Change, 2008). What it means is that for all the daily activities such as driving, taking a shower, watching TV, and even eating a cheeseburger will have a carbon footprint calculation (Time for Change, 2008). Some of these calculations are quite surprising. For example, for each gallon of gasoline fuel consumed, 8.7 kg carbon dioxide is emitted. Each of the following below will contribute 1 kg of carbon dioxide.

• Travel by train of bus with a distance of 7 miles.
• Fly with a plane a distance of 2.2 km or 1.375 miles.
• Use your computer for 32 hours (60 Watt consumption assumed)
• Production of 5 plastic bags
• Production of 2 plastic bottles
• Eating a third of a cheeseburger

This carbon footprint is a demonstration of how we have so much impact in the greenhouse effect. There are many things we can do to lower our carbon footprint. We c can certainly cut down energy consumption, conserving resources, recycle, and do other things such as using renewable energy as our electricity source. We can certainly change our habits in our living to make this effort go without waste.

Work Cited:

We Can Solve it. 2008. Global warming. June, 21, 2008. http://www.wecansolveit.org/content/pages/60?source=YahooSearch&subsource=Yahoo_BrandedMonitor_1x1
Wikipedia. 2008. Greenhouse Gases. June 21, 2008. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_gas
About.com. 2008. What is Greenhouse Effect?. June 21, 2008. http://environment.about.com/od/globalwarming/a/greenhouse.htm
WWF. 2008. Polar Bears. June, 21, 2008. http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/finder/polarbear/item590.html?sc=AWY0807WCG00&searchen=google
Global Warming Potential. 2007. June 21, 2008. http://www.iitap.iastate.edu/gcp/gwpotential/gwpotential_lecture.html
Time for Change. 2008. What Is a Carbon Footprint?. June, 21, 2008. http://timeforchange.org/what-is-a-carbon-footprint-definition