The greenhouse effect is the process of how the sun’s heat warms the earth and eventually the atmosphere. The sun’s radiation is called short wave radiation, or insolation. This is absorbed by the earth’s surface, but does not actually warm the air. The air is warmed by long wave radiation, which is reflected back from the ground. It is trapped in the atmosphere by the clouds.
This shows what the greenhouse gases are. The vast majority of the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is Carbon dioxide, which makes up 56% of these gases. Carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels and trees, making the deforestation of the rainforests another cause of global warming. Methane, ozone and Halocarbons are also high, together making up 38.1% of the greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. Methane is caused by the production and transport of fossil fuels, and also comes from livestock and organic things decaying. The other greenhouse gases mainly come from agricultural and industrial activities, as well as from fossil fuels again.
This graph shows the increase in Carbon dioxide and temperature over the past millennium. Between 1000 and 1900 both undulated but never got too high or low. But from 1900 onwards the Carbon dioxide temperature soared higher, and as it did so the temperature went up with it. This shows that global warming has been caused by the increase of Greenhouse gases, and also shows that these gases are increasing rapidly. This is coming from human waste and burning more than anything else. This tells us that global warming is going to increase unless we stop releasing these greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
The rise of sea levels is another pressing problem caused by global warming. As sea levels rise, areas of the low lying countries could become flooded, with Netherlands and Belgium two of the most under thereat. Islands like the Maldives are also under threat of becoming completely submerged by the sea.
So why is this happening? As you can see from the chart, most of it is down to ice melting. The glaciers and the ice sheet at the poles are slowly melting, and the ice turns into water. The ice turns into water, which takes up more space than ice, and the sea has to take on more water. Ice loss from Greenland and Iceland could have a similar effect. “Thermal expansion” is the fact that as water heats, it expands. This means that as the water get hotter, it will take up more space, having the same effect: The sea levels rise.
Not all animals and plants can adapt to a rapid rise in heat. Those that need the ice, like penguins and polar bears, are likely to lose their habitat and eventually their lives. What’s more, as the small animals and plants die out, their predators will starve and die themselves. Some of the most at risk from climate change are the quiver tree, (Picture1), adelie penguins, coral, and koalas (picture2). These won’t be the first to go either. The golden toad (Picture3) went extinct in 1989, mainly due to climate change .
Despite all of the problems and dangers, there are some benefits to global warming. As the ice melts, shipping in Canada’s Northwest passage could become easier. The ice has retreated by 40% in recent years, which opens up a quicker and cheaper way of trade for countries including Britain. By 2050 it is thought that ships will be able to go straight through the passage without any ice protection, saving up to $200,000 per ship.
It will also let colder regions of the world like Siberia grow crops. These areas have also been hampered by their lack of development previously. As they warm, these problems could lessen and they could become a more useful part of the world than they are currently.
