What is global warming.And how it is effecting our environment.?

Answer 1

It's a good question and I'm glad you asked. Others have asked recently, so I'll give it another try here. It's worth discussing.

All major scientific organizations, such as the National Academy of Science, now believe that not only is global warming real, but humankind is a major contributing factor. Here's a quote from New Scientist (link below):

"Climate change is with us. A decade ago, it was conjecture. Now the future is unfolding before our eyes. Canada's Inuit see it in disappearing Arctic ice and permafrost. The shantytown dwellers of Latin America and Southern Asia see it in lethal storms and floods. Europeans see it in disappearing glaciers, forest fires and fatal heat waves.

"Scientists see it in tree rings, ancient coral and bubbles trapped in ice cores. These reveal that the world has not been as warm as it is now for a millennium or more. The three warmest years on record have all occurred since 1998; 19 of the warmest 20 since 1980. And Earth has probably never warmed as fast as in the past 30 years - a period when natural influences on global temperatures, such as solar cycles and volcanoes should have cooled us down. Studies of the thermal inertia of the oceans suggest that there is more warming in the pipeline.

"Climatologists reporting for the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) say we are seeing global warming caused by human activities and there are growing fears of feedbacks that will accelerate this warming."

If you study the wealth of information available, it's clear that scientists have factored in climate cycles, other causes of warming, etc. Even those considerations can't alone explain the accelerating rate of warming in recent years.

The effects on our environment in many cases are currently felt in the "extremes"--hottest temperatures, dramatic changes at the extreme latitudes, number of and severity of hurricanes. Some of it is subtle, or hidden--the devastation of coral reefs, seemingly modest changes in ocean temperatures and currents. These are driving changes that gradually become harder to reverse.

Even if you are not convinced about the human contribution to global warming, would it hurt the environment if we thought about reducing the amount of greenhouse gases we are dumping into the atmosphere? It might even be good for the economy!

The links below are really good sources, like the National Academy of Science and the Environmental Protection Agency. Why not give them a try?

Answer 2

The earth has gases int eh atmosphere like co2 co and even water vapor which reflect heat energy. What happens is after the suns's heat energy gets to the surface of the planet it trys to bounce back into space but some of it cannot. This amount is added to the heat continuing to come in from the sun. Eventually it is theorized that this will heat the planet and we will all die. There are two problems with this theory. First is that it implies that the heating by the greenhouse effect is the only thing going on, perhaps there is an equalimbrium point at which the heat reflected will not be higher than the heat that gets out since hotter items radiate more heat. We just don't know. The second thing is that they can't even predict what will happen in the weather by the end of the month. How can they possibly predict that we will have more storms by the end of the century. They already had to revise downward twice their predictions for the number of hurricanes and named storms in the atlantic this hurrican season.

Answer 3

There's no such thing as global warming. In the 70's they believed in global cooling and they thought they we would be in an ice age right now. You know how they had Hurricane Katrina last year? If global warming would be happening then there would have been a storm worse than Hurricane Katrina this year. It's suppose to be happening every year than why not this year. Due to research they actually found out that the polar icecaps were actually warm in the pass. I dont remember the source but it was from www.rushlimbaugh.com.

Answer 4

It a worldwide phenomena, where due to increase in Carbon-di Oxide, from fossil fuels, Factories etc, Which pollute the air and due to the ozone layer form a cover across the world,like a blanket.
And when sun's rays enter the earth they are bounced back but due to this blanket,are held in the earth's atmosphere.
Thus, a gradual increase in the temperature across the World.
And when the temperature increases it melts the Ice Caps , Create a weird atmospheric conditions(heavy rains, tornadoes, tsunamis etc).

Answer 5

Global warming is the observed increase in the average temperature of the Earth's atmosphere and oceans in recent decades.

The Earth's average near-surface atmospheric temperature rose 0.6 ± 0.2 °Celsius (1.1 ± 0.4 °Fahrenheit) in the 20th century. The prevailing scientific opinion on climate change is that "most of the warming observed over the last 50 years is attributable to human activities".

The increased amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases (GHGs) are the primary causes of the human-induced component of warming. They are released by the burning of fossil fuels, land clearing and agriculture, etc. and lead to an increase in the greenhouse effect. The first speculation that a greenhouse effect might occur was by the chemist Arrhenius in 1897, although it did not become a topic of popular debate until some 90 years later.

The measure of the response to increased GHGs, and other anthropogenic and natural climate forcings is climate sensitivity. It is found by observational and model studies. This sensitivity is usually expressed in terms of the temperature response expected from a doubling of CO2 in the atmosphere. The current literature estimates sensitivity in the range 1.5–4.5 °C (2.7–8.1 °F). Models referenced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) project that global temperatures may increase by between 1.4 and 5.8 °C (2.5 to 10.5 °F) between 1990 and 2100. The uncertainty in this range results from both the difficulty of estimating the volume of future greenhouse gas emissions and uncertainty about climate sensitivity.

An increase in global temperatures can in turn cause other changes, including a rising sea level and changes in the amount and pattern of precipitation. These changes may increase the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, such as floods, droughts, heat waves, hurricanes, and tornados. Other consequences include higher or lower agricultural yields, glacier retreat, reduced summer streamflows, species extinctions and increases in the ranges of disease vectors. Warming is expected to affect the number and magnitude of these events; however, it is difficult to connect particular events to global warming. Although most studies focus on the period up to 2100, warming (and sea level rise due to thermal expansion) is expected to continue past then, since CO2 has an estimated 50 to 200 year long average atmospheric lifetime .

Only a small minority of climate scientists discount the role that humanity's actions have played in recent warming. However, the uncertainty is more significant regarding how much climate change should be expected in the future, and there is a hotly contested political and public debate over what, if anything, should be done to reduce or reverse future warming, and how to deal with the predicted consequences.

The term 'global warming' is a specific case of the more general term 'climate change' (which can also refer to 'global cooling', such as occurs during ice ages). In principle, 'global warming' is neutral as to the causes, but in common usage, 'global warming' generally implies a human influence. However, the UNFCCC uses 'climate change' for human-caused change, and 'climate variability' for other changes . Some organizations use the term 'anthropogenic climate change' for human-induced changes

Answer 6

In the recent past a number of respondents to similar questions have tried to put the blame on global warming on increased solar activity and volcanoes emitting CO2. In fact the contributions of increased solar activity and volcanoes has been assessed and is minor compared with man's activities.

http://solar-center.stanford.edu/sun-on-earth/glob-warm.html
http://volcano.und.edu/vwdocs/frequent_questions/grp6/question1375.html

Answer 7

Global warming is the heating up of the earth's layer due to the increase in the carbon-dioxide level due to the depletion of the ozone layer.

Answer 8

global warming is cause by emission of car4bon dioxide,burning of fossi fuels and clearing of foreststhe gases released from the earth remains in the atmosphere for centuries and decades.
if this pross continues ie.global warming,We can expect extreme drought and heat,rising in sea level, higher trophical stroms etc.
WE can't avoid the consequence of global warming, but commiting to action today can help to ensura our children and grand childrens inherit a healthy worldfull oppertunity.
i can give you ten personel solutions,
1.reduce the usage of cars, bikes and fossil fuel using vehicles.
2.choose clean power electricity(solar energy etc.)
3.replacement of home appliances from electrical to sime machine
4.unplug your refrigrator.
5.use less voltage bulbs
6.use less fuels
7.plant a tree.
8.create awareness about global warming.

Answer 9

Global warming is the dramatic and devastating event of the global temperature going up 0.1 degrees.
The environment I see has not changed at all.