Causes And Consequences Of Global Warming

Introduction:

Today it is thought that global warming is a serious problem in our society. Scientist say that global warming has caused an abundance of serious matter like polar bear population decreased and extreme weather conditions. In this essay, global warming will be discussed and the cause and effects of it, as well as to what we can do to help prevent it. Ultimately, a conclusion will be raised answering the focus question, “Will global warming be the end of the human race?”

First Section:

Global Warming and its Causes

Global warming is an unnatural warmer of the earth. Global warming is when the average temperature of earth's atmosphere and oceans rise. It is often confused with the greenhouse effect, which is a different thing.

It is thought to have created a great deal of problems within today's society. One big effect of global warming is extreme weather conditions and more natural disasters. Scientific evidence has been shown that global warming is increasing the probability of droughts, hurricanes, heat waves, coastal flooding, and extreme precipitation.

Some areas of the world are receiving heavy rainfall. In 2007, extremely heavy rainfall caused floods across South Asia and over twenty million people were affected by the floods as well as 250 people were killed. Scientist believe that it is global warming that is causing more rainfall because warmer air can hold more moisture, which leads to more precipitation.

In contrast to areas around the world that are getting more floods, other areas are receiving much less rainfall than before. Since the 1970, droughts have become longer and more extreme. Droughts means that there will be less water supply for drinking, watering crops, and for generating hydropower with dams. Droughts are also really dangerous because they can cause serious wildfires. With drier conditions, the area is more prone to wildfires. Wildfires affect a lot of wildlife in the forests. It will destroy their habitat as well as trap them inside and kill them. Heat waves are also connected to droughts. Heat waves are really dangerous and caused more deaths annually than hurricanes, lightning,

Scientific research has been done to show that sea levels worldwide are rising at the rate of 3.5 millimeters per year since the 1990s. It is believed that the sea levels rise for two reasons. The first one being thermal expansion. As the water heats up, it expands. About half of the rise of sea level is due to thermal expansion. The other reason is the melting of ice glaciers and ice caps. In the summers, some of the ice melts off and is then balanced out with the snow in the winter. Lately, the higher temperatures have caused more melting of ice in the summers, creating an imbalance. There has also been later winters and earlier springs, so the waters doesn't have time to freeze back. As seen in Appendix C, sea levels have dramatically increased since the 1940s. Sea level rising could be very devastating because it puts thousands of coastal cities and even some islands at risk of being completely flooded. Higher sea levels mean more extreme and powerful storms that can completely wipe out everything. A lot of people living on the coast will be forced to move and relocate, which can create a lot of problems. Most predictions say that the sea level will continue to rise, and will probably accelerate. A recent study shows that sea levels could rise 1-2 meters by 2100, which is enough to nearly flood the whole of Bangladesh, a country of 156 million people. and if the whole Greenland ice sheet melts, sea levels will rise