Global Warming Theory

“The theory of human activity (fossil fuel burning) being a direct cause of global warming is based on the assumption that atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration is directly related to global warming. Is this assumption valid?”

Global warming is brought about by the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect Gasses in the troposphere cause the greenhouse effect. There is a correlation between the temperature of the earth and the concentration of carbon dioxide in the troposphere, however, correlation does not infer causality.

The earth receives energy from the sun in numerous wavelengths. About 40% of this radiation is long wave-length radiation(the infra red spectrum), Carbon dioxide gas consists of small molecules whose bonds vibrate with

Methane, water vapor, carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide are all greenhouse gasses. Carbon dioxide is, however, the greenhouse gas with the greatest increasing atmospheric volume. This is a direct result of human activities such as deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels. These two factors play huge roles in the functioning in modern society thus they can not simply be boycotted, thus if an effort is taken to reduce carbon dioxide output it will be extremely cost intensive as there have been no effective alternative means of harnessing energy than that of burning fossil fuels, therefore it will require great research and great funding. For this reason the global community needs to isolate factors that influence global warming other than the greenhouse effect of carbon dioxide in order to ensure an effective intervention can take place.

The study of ‘proxy’ data such as the analysis tree ring samples and ocean cores suggests that in the earth’s history a medieval warming period in which the temperature of the earth was approximately 1.7 degrees Fahrenheit higher than today. After this period the earth began to cool which was thus know as the little ice age this continued from roughly 1607 to 1814. During these times CO2 due to human activity were deemed negligible. This therefore proves that global temperature fluctuations are influenced by a variety of

Ocean levels are predicted to rise by 18 to 59 centimeters by the end of this century, which is alarming as if the sea level continue to rise at such many coastal cities will submerged thus resulting in mass migration hence over populating many regions. Floods and droughts are predicted to be more common with increased severity. Hurricanes are predicted to become powerful and more frequent therefore could result in the economic strain in susceptible regions. Malaria carrying mosquitos are predicted to flourish under such conditions thus resulting in the increased spreading of the disease. Many delicate ecosystems will be put out of balance due to climate change brought about by global warming thus the prediction of mass species extinction. Therefore it is clear that an intervention needs to occur before these predicted effects become apparent.

It is evident that the assumption describing the direct relationship between carbon dioxide and global warming is valid and backed up by reliable evidence, however, indications suggest that a variety of other factors influence global warming hence a global intervention towards the reduction of carbon emissions as well as a global intervention towards the further study of manipulating natural factors that influence global warming need to be under