What Is Global Warming?

In all the encyclopedias and schoolbooks that deal with science, biology, the environment and natural resources, global warming is one term that describes exactly what is happening. The globe (planet Earth) is getting warmer in amounts that are measurable. Testing the oceans and the air near the surface of the Earth shows that the average temperature has increased by a small amount in the last 100 years.

The fact that the overall temperature near the earth and on the earth is rising is not as much in doubt as is the cause. Some studies indicate that human activity has caused an increase in gases high in the atmosphere. This increase, according to these studies, has trapped warmer air close to the surface.

Those who follow this line of thinking point to the massive burning of fossil fuels as one major contributor to the concentration of gases in the atmosphere. They also believe that large-scale removal of vegetation (trees) leads to higher concentrations of carbon dioxide.

Temperature increases prior to the middle of the 20th century may have been caused by natural phenomena as radiation from the sun and active volcanoes. After mid-century, the causes are more likely to be human activity as described earlier. A large number of scientific organizations, science academies and independent researchers follow this basic line of thinking.

Studies that include projections for the near and distant future show that the temperature could rise much more in the next 100 years. Some figures show that this increase could be 10 times as much as during the 20th century or even more. Scientists involved in the various studies have written that estimates vary considerably depending on climate and human activity at different points on Earth. One concern involves the long period of time it takes for carbon dioxide to “disappear” from the equations.

If the overall temperature of the globe and the surrounding air increases by one degree or more, sea levels could increase to the point that living things are in peril. The warming could melt ice at the poles, glaciers in the northern and southern climes could melt more quickly and the resulting water could “flood” the oceans. Major changes in temperature might also cause more extreme weather changes on an annual basis or even a monthly basis. Some animals and plants could disappear if they aren’t able to adjust and survive. Farming could be seriously affected because of the sensitivity of crop plants and farm animals.

The large subject of global warming has become a political and social controversy in the last few decades. There are dozens of opinions on what should be done and what can be done. Those who see global warming in its most negative light urge significant reduction of auto, coal and industrial emissions as well as new processes that might even reverse the warming process. As mentioned earlier, some studies show the Earth has become one degree warmer in the last century. But others say this is a small change compared to the five or six degrees of change that could occur in the next century.

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