Greenhouse Gases: The Cause Of Global Warming

Greenhouse Gases are types of gases that take heat escaping from the atmosphere and send it back to Earth. According to NASA, the Earth’s average temperature would be approximately 0 degrees Fahrenheit—as opposed to today’s average 60 degrees Fahrenheit—without the naturally occurring Greenhouse Gases. This is because of the Greenhouse Effect. Gases like Carbon Dioxide and Methane are able to take heat and emit it back towards the Earth, thus giving them the name “Greenhouse Gas” (“What are greenhouse gases?”). The heat given from these gases can last for hundreds of years, making it sometimes unpredictable as it spreads around the world. These changes have “both positive and negative effects on people, society, and the environment—including

Dr. Aaron Bernstein expresses his side on the matter well. Bernstein is a doctor at Children’s Hospital, a teacher at Harvard, and the Acting Associate Director of the medical school’s Center for Health and the Global Environment. His research shows that there was a spike in the percentage of GHGs in the atmosphere around the time of the Industrial Revolution. Bernstein states that the temperature does not need to rise by much for there to be drastic changes to the environment. Thanks to the Greenhouse Effect, this can lead to “rising sea levels, population displacement, disruption to the food supply, flooding, and an increase in infectious diseases” (Feldscher). Not all scientists can agree on what causes Global Warming, but Bernstein expresses his side well. His research shows that there was a spike in the percentage of GHGs in the atmosphere around the time of the Industrial Revolution (Feldscher). Rising sea levels, rising Temperatures, and an increase in precipitation are considered the three most popular dangers of Climate Change. The Harvard Professor says that they “have the greatest impact on human health”. Rising sea levels, for example, can poison people’s drinking water with salt water, making it unable to be drunk (Feldscher). Rising global temperatures can can cause Heat Waves, which are another risk to humans. Droughts, less crops, and wildfires can also come from this. Wildfires cause deforestation. Without a large number of trees to take in Carbon Dioxide, the number of GHGs in the atmosphere increases. This starts the cycle all over again, but much worse than the last (Feldscher). Rising temperatures can also introduce more rain, due to the fact that warmer atmospheres hold more moisture. The spring flooding in the midwest, for example, flooded 130,000 acres in missouri and destroyed more than 100 homes. This was because the Army Corps of