There are many environmental problems facing the whole world. The global warming is one of the most critical issues that needs to be studied. So what’s the global warming? The global warming is an increase in the average temperature of the earth’s atmosphere. In particular, global warming is caused by natural causes and manmade causes. One natural cause is the release of methane gas from the arctic tundra and wet lands. Methane is a dangerous gas to our environment that keeps the heat in the atmosphere. The second cause is the change in the climate cycle each 40,000 years. On the other hand there are some manmade causes and they are the most harmful to our planet; one of them is the pollution. Burning fossil fuel is one cause of pollution. In addition, increasing population leads to global warming. How? More population means more transportation which needs more burning of fossil fuel. Also population needs more food which means more agriculture and as a result it means more manure. Furthermore the balance between CO2 and O2 is affected as a result of population increase.(http://www.causesofglobalwarming.net/the_causes.html)
So what are the consequences of the global warming? We can divide them into recent and future consequences. In terms of recent time effects, the global average sea level has risen because of the increase in ocean heat content and the decrease in snow covered areas .We personally cannot notice this because the rise is happening slowly; for example from 1880 to 2000 the sea level rose only 20 cm (see the graph). Also it affects plants and animals. "Birds are laying eggs earlier than usual, plants are flowering earlier and mammals are breaking hibernation sooner."
In future, it is expected that the level of global warming will increase and will accelerate the rise of sea level and as a result affect islands and coastal regions. In addition the change in the climate will cause extinction of some plants and animal species because some species cannot adapt to a new climate. However, it will be a chance for other species to come to live. Water resources will be also affected because global warming will dry up some water resources. Some underground water will be salt because of the increase in sea level. Not only this, but it will affect also the society. How? There will be hot weather related diseases. Floods and storms will increase and some poor people cannot cope with this. http://www.causesofglobalwarming.net/the_effects.html
How can we face the global warming or at least how can we reduce its effects? I think we cannot prevent global warming totally, but together we can do something useful. For example we must take some political actions to improve energy efficiency and vehicle fuel economy so less energy has to be produced. There is also a process called carbon sequestration which means storing the carbon dioxide emitted from fossil fuels underground so less CO2 will be in the atmosphere. In addition corporations and organizations (NGOs) can play an important role by educating people about the global warming and supporting research about this issue. We as individuals can also do something by having arable farming increase agriculture. In addition, we can take some action to reduce pollution by using hydro cars and using buses instead of cars. http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/gw-solutions.html
As we see, global warming is a serious issue that is affecting us harmfully and expected effects are more dangerous. We can not stop it but we may reduce its consequences. I believe that our role is important but the most important role is related to local and national government because they have the authority to make decisions and force laws to save our environment.
Bibliography
National Geographic Society ( 2010 ). Global Warming Solutions. Retrieved 25-12-2010 from http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/gw-solutions.html
National Geographic Society ( 2010 ). The Effects of Global Warming Retrieved 25-12-2010 from http://www.causesofglobalwarming.net/the_effects.html
causesofglobalwarming.net (2010). The Causes of Global Warming Retrieved 25-12-2010 from http://www.causesofglobalwarming.net/the_causes.html
Wikipedia (2009). Current sea level rise Retrieved 25-12-2010 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Recent_Sea_Level_Rise.png
