Rice 1 Bobbie Rice Swanson English Comp 1 Tuesdays A Growing Concern In the world today there are many

questions concerning pollution and its affect on the environment. Some people do not think humans have a big enough influence on the earth to harm it, but there are many people that completely disagree and think that our actions over the last hundred years are causing significant damage. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric administration humans have increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by 37% since the industrial revolution. Along with methane, carbon dioxide is the leading component in greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases are trapping heat from getting out of the worlds atmosphere. This is known as Global Warming. In the last hundred years, the worlds overall temperature has increased by one degree, causing the sea level to rise by six inches. This might not seem like a lot, but the effect it has had on the world is already significant. If the temperature continues to rise it will cause the sea level to rise, which would result in coastal flooding and submersion all over the world. Scientist estimate that during that during the twenty-first century the temperatures could rise by up to six degrees or more. These rapid changes in temperatures are causing melting glaciers, intensifying weather patterns and causing changes in precipitation. As the glaciers melt, they are releasing bacteria that as been frozen for thousands of years which is increasing the number of new types of diseases.

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Ice and snow are melting rapidly in the Arctic. In Alaska September of 2007, an area the size of Florida melted in six days. It is predicted by the National Snow and Ice Data Center that by the year 2030 the Arctic Ocean will be ice free, which has not happened on over one million years. Melting ice and glaciers are causing additional warming by what is called the Aldedo Effect. While snow and ice reflect 80-90% of the suns energy, oceans and dark soil only reflect 10-20%. As the ice and snow melt, more of the dark soil shows and doesnt reflect the sun as well. Global Warming is also having a dramatic affect on wildlife. Many animals are experiencing shrinking habitat, loss of food and expanding diseases. Animals are now trying to migrate to places that are unusual for their normal habitat. Some of the species being affected right now include polar bears, whales, walruses, seals, birds and fish. Tropical fish are starting to show up in waters they have never been found in before. Polar bears are drowning because their homes are melting beneath them. North Atlantic whale births are declining because their food source is dying due to warming waters and the calves are not surviving. There are many things that will be affected greatly by further Global Warming. People can make a difference by reducing the amount of carbon dioxide they release from using a lot of energy. Several things can be done to reduce energy starting with the way everyone lives and the choices they make. In many areas people can switch to energy that is generated by clean, renewable sources like wind and solar energy. Everyone could save energy and money by having their house properly insulated. Planting trees is also a good way to help lower carbon dioxide. One tree can absorb more than a ton of carbon dioxide in its lifetime.

Rice 3 Another thing everyone can do is to replace regular light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs. If everyone in the United States made this simple replacement, it would reduce carbon dioxide by ninety million pounds a year. Turning off electronic devices when done with them can also reduce the amount of energy used. In the present day 98% of scientists now believe in Global Warming. For the small portion of people that do not believe we have a harmful impact on our environment, their arguments against Global Warming vary. One of them is that scientist are inaccurate and global climate computer models are unable to predict the future. Another is that if Global Warming did occur, that it would actually be beneficial to us. With this theory comes the belief that the period of around 3,000-5,000 BC which is know as the Climatic Optimum, was even warmer and marked the time when man began its first civilizations. A different argument is that efforts to stop gas emissions would cost a lot and wouldnt stop the earths climate from changing. No one can agree that intensifying storms, species extinction or new diseases is in any way beneficial to our planet. It is kind of important that all of these problems starting happening in the earth, when people starting releasing mass amounts of greenhouse gases and pollution on to it. The earths well being should be a big concern for everyone now. If one thing in the planet goes out of balance, then it affects everything else. I believe Global Warming is something that the entire planet should work together to solve before the damage is to great.