Global Warming points

Time is running out to prevent "irreversible and dangerous impacts" of climate

change, a major UN report has warned.The world is on course to experience severe
and pervasive effects of global warming unless it urgently cuts its greenhouse gas
emissions.
Global emissions must fall by at least 40 per cent by 2050 and be cut to zero by the
end of the century, the report from the UN's Inter government Panel on Climate
Change warns.The longer government delay action on climate change, the more
expensive it will become to tackle it.
Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general, said the report showed massive and urgent
and immediate action was required.
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Flooding, dangerous heat waves, ill health and violent conflicts are among the likely
risks if temperatures exceed 2C above pre-industrial levels.
But there is "little time before the window of opportunity to stay within 2C of
warming closes", Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the IPCC, said.
Failure to take further action to limit greenhouse gas emissions will be more likely
than not to result in warming in excess of 4C above pre-industrial levels by 2100,
the report warns.
The risks associated with temperatures at or above 4C include substantial species
extinction, global and regional food insecurity, consequential constraints on
common human activities, and limited potential for adaptation in some cases.
Launching the report in Copenhagen, Mr Pachauri said: "The scientific case for
prioritizing action on climate change is clearer than ever. "To keep a good chance of
staying below 2C, and at manageable costs, our emissions should drop by 40 to 70
per cent globally between 2010 and 2050, falling to zero or below by 2100.
"We have that opportunity, and the choice is in our hands. Cutting emissions to
keep warming within 2C would be likely to require some 80 per cent of the worlds
electricity to be generated from low-carbon sources such as nuclear reactors or

wind farms by 2050, up from about 30 per cent today, the report said. By 2100
fossil fuel power generation would be almost entirely phased out unless power
plants were fitted with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology to bury
carbon dioxide emissions in the ground. Despite fears over the costs of green
energy, Mr. Ban said it was a myth that tackling climate change would cost
heavily and said the IPCCs reports made clear that inaction will cost much, much
more.Science has spoken, there is no ambiguity in their message. Leaders must
act, time is not on our side, he said.
The report, which has been agreed line-by-line by international government officials
at a summit in Copenhagen over the past week, is intended to provide the clearest
and most concise summary yet of the widely-agreed scientific evidence on climate
change.
It is a "synthesis" document bringing together the conclusions of three major IPCC
studies issued over the past year into the science, impacts and ways of tackling
climate change.
It is designed to act as a guide for policymakers ahead of a year of intense political
negotiations on how to tackle climate change, culminating in a crunch summit in
Paris next year where an international deal on curbing emissions is due to be
signed. Despite the IPCCs stark warnings, there is widespread agreement from
climate change activists, sceptics and, privately, UK Government officials, that the
summit in Paris is unlikely to achieve a legally-binding deal that will curb warming to
the 2C level.
Global Warming Facts
The consumption of fossil fuels in last few decades has contributed much to the
degradation of our environment. Global warming, climate change, extinction of
wildlife species, depletion of ozone layer, and increase in air pollution are few of the
problems from which our environment is suffering. It may be quite a task for anyone
to find some solid global warming facts to alarm for some action. Here are plenty of
them, right on your platter.
What is Global Warming?
Global warming is the increase of earths average surface temperature due to the
effect of greenhouse gases. These greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and
methane absorb heat that would otherwise escape from earth. Global warming has
emerged has one of the most biggest environmental issue in the two decades.
According to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports, the earths
temperature has increased by 0.8 degrees Celsius over the past century. More than
half of this increase has happened in the last 25 years. It seems that the
temperature is rising at a rate faster than ever before. Human activities like burning

of fossil fuels, deforestation, industrialization and pollution are considered as few of

the factors responsible for global warming.
Global_warming_facts : 35 facts on global warming. Fact 1: Global warming is the
result of increase in the earths average surface temperature due to greenhouse
gases like carbon dioxide and methane. These gases are required for the presence
of human life on earth. However, global warming is happening due to overemittance of these gases.
Fact 2: Emissions like carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and other greenhouses gases
will remain in the atmosphere for many years making impossible to eliminate global
warming for several decades.
Fact 3: According to IPCC 2007 report, sea levels will rise by 7-23 inches by the end
of this century due to global warming. Fact 4: Since 1880, the average
temperature has risen by 1.4-Fahrenheit degrees.
Fact 5: The last two decades of the 20th century have been hottest in the last 400
years, according to climate studies. Fact 6: The Arctic is one of the worst places to
be effected by global warming.
Fact 7: According to the multinational Arctic Climate Impact Assessment report
compiled between 2000 and 2004, the average temperature in Alaska, Western
Canada and Russia have risen at twice the global average. Fact 8: The Arctic ice is
melting rapidly. By 2040 the region is expected to have a completely ice free
summer, or even earlier.Fact 9: The Montana Glacier National Park has only 25
glaciers instead of 150 that were there in the year 1910.
Fact 10: Due to global warming and pollution, coral reefs are suffering the worst
bleaching with the highest dying record since 1980. Fact 11: Global warming that is
causing extreme weather changes has shown it implications in the way of forest
fires, heat waves and severe tropical storms throughout the world. Fact 12: There
has been a tremendous increase of water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane nitrous
oxide and especially greenhouse gases due to polluting substances emitted as a
result of industrialization, pollution, deforestation.
Fact 13: Humans are emitting more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, faster than
the absorbing rates of plants and the oceans. Fact 14: Sea levels have risen about
7 inches in the in the last 100 years, which is more than the previous 2000 years
combined. The rising sea levels due to global warming could threaten the lives of
people living along the coastal areas.Fact 15: Around 100 million people live with 3
feet of sea level and many cities of the world are located near such vulnerable
coastal areas.
Fact 16: Melting of glaciers will cause sea levels to rise on one hand and water
shortages in areas that depend on natural sources of water.

Fact 17: More than 1 million species have become extinct due to disappearing
habitats, ecosystems acidic oceans all caused due to global warming.
Fact 18: The global warming will completely alter the oceans conveyer belt which
will cause a mini ice age in the Europe.
Fact 19: Increasing temperatures will release more greenhouse gases, unlock
methane, and cause more evaporation of water.
Fact 20: 200o-2009 has been the hottest decade periods of the earth.
Fact 21: The rate at which carbon dioxide is being dumped in to the environment is
1000 tons per second until the 2011 records.
Fact 22: The carbon dioxide levels in the 20th century have been highest in 650,000
years. Till 1950, the levels rose by 11% and recently the levels have risen by 40%.
Fact 23: Due to industrial revolution, the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas
started on a massive scale. This not only increased greenhouse gases but was also
responsible for large scale deaths due to asthma and other respiratory diseases.
Fact 24: Human activities release around 37 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide per
year.
Fact 25: Since the industrial revolution in 1700, the level of carbon dioxide on earth
has increased by 34%.
Fact 26: By year 2100, the average temperature will rise by 5.8 degrees as a result
of global warming.
Fact 27: Each year of the 21st century ranks amongst 14 hottest years since 1880.
Fact 28: In the last 30 years, the average consumption of fossil fuel by United States
has been 80%. Fossil fuels are the most dangerous contributors to global warming.
Fact 29: Between 2000-2100, the heat related deaths will rise by 150,000.
Fact 30: Global warming is causing the colder areas of the world to become more
hot, thereby becoming more vulnerable to diseases.
Fact 31: A failure in preventing global warming can cause a major economic collapse
causing 20% of global domestic output to fix.
Fact 32: Droughts, hurricanes, wildfires, extinction on endangered species, melting
of polar ice caps, storms are few of the effects of global warming.
Fact 33: The NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) proposed the Clean Air Act
to cut power plant emissions by 26 percent in the next 7 years.

Fact 34: The heat trapping gases have been increasing in the atmosphere at an
alarming rate. The presence of large number of these gases has resulted in
enhanced greenhouse effect. Heat waves caused by global warming is responsible
for many heat related illness and deaths.
Fact 35: Global warming can lead to massive food and water shortages and has a
life threatening impact on the wildlife.
If these figures do not startle, then it will be extremely difficult to prevent the world
from collapsing from global warming. Many schools, organizations, government
bodies etc are making efforts to encourage people to take steps that would prevent
them from taking any action that would lead to global warming. The most important
consideration however is to feel for the problem and to be fully awakened to the
situation.
Unless the critical issue of global warming does not hit every person on earth, it will
be very difficult to prevent the world from burning due to global warming in the near
future. Global Warming: News, Facts, Causes & Effects
Global warming is the term used to describe a gradual increase in the average
temperature of the Earth's atmosphere and its oceans, a change that is believed to
be permanently changing the Earths climate. There is great debate among many
people, and sometimes in the news, on whether global warming is real (some call it
a hoax). But climate scientists looking at the data and facts agree the planet is
warming. While many view the effects of global warming to be more substantial and
more rapidly occurring than others do, the scientific consensus on climatic changes
related to global warming is that the average temperature of the Earth has risen
between 0.4 and 0.8 C over the past 100 years. The increased volumes of carbon
dioxide and other greenhouse gases released by the burning of fossil fuels, land
clearing, agriculture, and other human activities, are believed to be the primary
sources of the global warming that has occurred over the past 50 years. Scientists
from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate carrying out global warming research
have recently predicted that average global temperatures could increase between
1.4 and 5.8 C by the year 2100. Changes resulting from global warming may
include rising sea levels due to the melting of the polar ice caps, as well as an
increase in occurrence and severity of storms and other severe weather events.
Despite the oft-repeated claims of global cooperation and responsibility on climate
change, there is some evidence global warming will create winners and losers. And
for those nations that are less affected, particularly developed nations, altruism
may not be enough to motivate a global climate response. Some nations may
simply be unwilling to share the scientific and technological breakthroughs that
might aid the nations struggling with a changing climate, even though some of the
"winners" accelerated global warming with their energy-intensive lifestyles.

Global warming is expected to have far-reaching, long-lasting and, in many cases,

devastating consequences for planet Earth. For some years, global warming, the
gradual heating of Earth's surface, oceans and atmosphere, was a topic of heated
debate in the scientific community. Today, the overwhelming consensus of
researchers is that global warming is real and is caused by human activity, primarily
the burning of fossil fuels that pump carbon dioxide (CO2), methane and other
greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
A major report released Sept. 27, 2013, by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) stated that scientists are more certain than ever of the link between
human activities and global warming. More than 197 international scientific
organizations agree that global warming is real and has been caused by human
action.
Additionally, global warming is having a measurable effect on the planet right now,
in a variety of ways. "We can observe this happening in real time in many places.
Ice is melting in both polar ice caps and mountain glaciers. Lakes around the world,
including Lake Superior, are warming rapidly in some cases faster than the
surrounding environment. Animals are changing migration patterns and plants are
changing the dates of activity (e.g., leaf-flush in spring to fall in autumn is longer),"
Josef Werne, an associate professor in the department of geology and planetary
science at the University of Pittsburgh, told Live Science. Here is an in-depth look at
these changes and more. Increase in average temperatures and temperature
extremes
One of the most immediate and obvious effects of global warming is the increase in
temperatures around the world. The average global temperature has increased by
about 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit (0.8 degrees Celsius) over the past 100 years,
according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Since recordkeeping began in 1895, the hottest year on record for the 48
contiguous U.S. states was 2012. Worldwide, 2012 was also the 10th-warmest year
on record, according to NOAA. And nine of the warmest years on record have
occurred since 2000. According to NOAA, 2013 tied with 2003 as the fourth warmest
year globally since 1880. In 2014, some cities in the United States had the warmest
summers on record, according to Scientific American. A report by the World
Meteorological Organization released July 3, 2014, said that deaths from heat
increased by more than 2,000 percent over the previous decade.

Extreme

weather events
Extreme weather is an effect of global warming. While experiencing some of the
hottest summers on record, much of the United States also has been experiencing
colder than normal winters.Changes in climate can cause the jet stream to migrate
south, bringing with it cold, Arctic air. This is why some states can have a sudden
cold snap or colder than normal winter, even during the long-term trend of global

warming, Werne explained. "Climate is by definition the long-term average of

weather, over many years. One cold (or warm) year or season has little to do with
overall climate. It is when those cold (or warm) years become more and more
regular that we start to recognize it as a change in climate rather than simply an
anomalous year of weather," he said.
Global warming may also lead to extreme weather other than cold or heat
extremes. For example, hurricane formations will change. Though this is still a
subject of active scientific research, current computer models of the atmosphere
indicate that hurricanes are more likely to become less frequent on a global basis,
though the hurricanes that do form may be more intense.
"And even if they become less frequent globally, hurricanes could still become more
frequent in some particular areas," said atmospheric scientist Adam Sobel, author of
"Storm Surge: Hurricane Sandy, Our Changing Climate, and Extreme Weather of the
Past and Future" (HarperWave, 2014). "Additionally, scientists are confident that
hurricanes will become more intense due to climate change." This is because
hurricanes get their energy from the temperature difference between the warm
tropical ocean and the cold upper atmosphere. Global warming increases that
temperature difference.
"Since the most damage by far comes from the most intense hurricanes such as
typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines in 2013 this means that hurricanes could
become overall more destructive," said Sobel, a Columbia University professor in
the departments of Earth and Environmental Sciences, and Applied Physics and
Applied Mathematics.
Lightening is another weather feature that is being affected by global warming.
According to a 2014 study, a 50 percent increase in the number of lightning strikes
within the United States is expected by 2100 if global temperatures continue to rise.
The researchers of the study found a 12 percent increase in lightning activity for
every 1.8 degree F (1 degree C) of warming in the atmosphere.
The U.S. Climate Extremes Index (CEI) was established in 1996 to track extreme
weather events. The number of extreme weather events that are among the most
unusual in the historical record, according to the CEI, has been rising over the last
four decades.

Scientists project that extreme weather events, such as heat waves, droughts,
blizzards and rainstorms will continue to occur more often and with greater intensity
due to global warming, according to Climate Central. Climate models forecast that
global warming will cause climate patterns worldwide to experience significant
changes. These changes will likely include major shifts in wind patterns, annual
precipitation and seasonal temperatures variations.

In addition, because high levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are likely to
remain high for many years, these changes are expected to last for several decades
or longer, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In the
northeastern United States, for example, climate change is likely to bring increased
annual rainfall, while in the Pacific Northwest, summer rainfall is expected to
decrease. Greenland, glaciers, Nasa ice bridge, Greenland ice sheet
Pin It IceBridge project sciencist Michael Studinger calls this photo a textbook
example of a receding glacier, one that's shrinking in size. The dark, arc-shaped
piles are terminal and lateral moraines, jumbled rock piles left behind as the glacier
recedes. A small, frozen lake sits at the left-hand terminus of the glacier. Taken in
Thomsen Land, northeast Greenland.
Since 1970, the area of snow cover in the United States has steadily decreased,
according to the EPA, and the average temperature of permafrost (soil that's at or
below freezing temperature) has grown warmer.
One of the most dramatic effects of global warming is the reduction in Arctic sea
ice: In 2012, scientists saw the smallest amount of Arctic ice cover ever recorded.
Most analyses project that, within a matter of years, the Arctic Sea will be
completely ice-free during the summer months.
Glacial retreat, too, is an obvious effect of global warming. Only 25 glaciers bigger
than 25 acres are now found in Montana's Glacier National Park, where about 150
glaciers were once found, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. A similar trend is
seen in glacial areas worldwide.
Sea levels and ocean acidification
As ice melts, the ocean levels rise. In 2014, the World Meteorological Organization
reported that sea level rise accelerated .12 inches (3 millimeters) per year on
average worldwide. This is around double the average annual rise of .07 in (1.6 mm)
in the 20th century.
Melting polar ice in the Arctic and Antarctic region, coupled with melting ice sheets
and glaciers across Greenland, North America, South America, Europe and Asia, are
expected to raise sea levels significantly. And humans are mostly to blame: In the
IPCC report released on Sept. 27, 2013, climate scientists said they are at least 95
percent certain that humans are to blame for warming oceans, rapidly melting ice
and rising sea levels, changes that have been observed since the 1950s.
Global sea levels have risen about 8 inches since 1870, according to the EPA, and
the rate of increase is expected to accelerate in the coming years. If current trends
continue, many coastal areas, where roughly half of the Earth's human population
lives, will be inundated. Researchers project that by 2100, average sea levels will
be 2.3 feet (.7 meters) higher in New York City, 2.9 feet (.88 m) higher at Hampton

Roads, Va., and 3.5 feet (1.06 m) higher at Galveston, Texas, the EPA reports.
According to an IPCC report, if greenhouse gas emissions remain unchecked, sea
levels could rise by as much as 3 feet (0.9 meters) by 2100. That estimate is an
increase from the estimated 0.9 to 2.7 feet (0.3 to 0.8 meters) that was predicted in
the 2007 IPCC report for future sea level rise.
Sea level isn't the only thing changing for the oceans due to global warming. As
levels of CO2 increase, the oceans absorb some of that gas, which increases the
acidity of seawater. Werne explains it this way: "When you dissolved CO2 in water,
you get carbonic acid. This is the same exact thing that happens in cans of soda.
When you pop the top on a can of Dr Pepper, the pH is 2 quite acidic."
Since the Industrial Revolution began in the early 1700s, the acidity of the oceans
has increased about 25 percent, according to the EPA. "This is a problem in the
oceans in large part because many marine organisms make shells out of calcium
carbonate (think corals, oysters), and their shells dissolve in acid solution," said
Werne. "So as we add more and more CO2 to the ocean, it gets more and more
acidic, dissolving more and more shells of sea creatures. It goes without saying that
this is not good for their health."
If current ocean acidification trends continue, coral reefs are expected to become
increasingly rare in areas where they are now common, including most U.S. waters,
the EPA reports.
Plants and animals: The effects of global warming on the Earth's ecosystems are
expected to be profound and widespread. Many species of plants and animals are
already moving their range northward or to higher altitudes as a result of warming
temperatures, according to a report from the National Academy of Sciences.
"They are not just moving north, they are moving from the equator toward the
poles. They are quite simply following the range of comfortable temperatures, which
is migrating to the poles as the global average temperature warms," Werne said.
Ultimately, he said, this becomes a problem when the rate of climate change
velocity (how fast a region changes put into a spatial term) is faster than the rate
that many organisms can migrate. Because of this, many animals may not be able
to compete in the new climate regime and may go extinct.
Additionally, migratory birds and insects are now arriving in their summer feeding
and nesting grounds several days or weeks earlier than they did in the 20th
century, according to the EPA.
Warmer temperatures will also expand the range of many disease-causing
pathogens that were once confined to tropical and subtropical areas, killing off plant
and animal species that formerly were protected from disease.These and other
effects of global warming, if left unchecked, will likely contribute to the
disappearance of up to one-half of Earth's plants and one-third of animals from their

current range by 2080, according to a 2013 report in the journal Nature Climate
Change.
Social effects: As dramatic as the effects of climate change are expected to be on
the natural world, the projected changes to human society may be even more
devastating.
Agricultural systems will likely be dealt a crippling blow. Though growing seasons in
some areas will expand, the combined impacts of drought, severe weather, lack of
snowmelt, greater number and diversity of pests, lower groundwater tables and a
loss of arable land could cause severe crop failures and livestock shortages
worldwide.
North Carolina State University also notes that carbon dioxide is affecting plant
growth. Though CO2 can increase the growth of plants, the plants may become less
nutritious.
In addition to less nutritious food, the effect of global warming on human health is
also expected to be serious. The American Medical Association has reported an
increase in mosquito-borne diseases like malaria and dengue fever, as well as a rise
in cases of chronic conditions like asthma, are already occurring, most likely as a
direct result of global warming.
This loss of food security may, in turn, create havoc in international food markets
and could spark famines, food riots, political instability and civil unrest worldwide,
according to a number of analyses from sources as diverse as the U.S Department
of Defense, the Center for American Progress and the Woodrow Wilson International
Center for Scholars.
Many of these expected effects are the result of exhaustive scientific research and
climate models, and the fact that most of them are already being observed gives
additional credibility to the projected effects of global warming and climate change.
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has covered everything from Ebola to androids while writing health, science and
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certifications from Oklahoma State University. Alina's goal in life is to try as many
experiences as possible. To date, she has been a volunteer firefighter, a dispatcher,
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Latest On Effects of Global Warming: This Behind the Scenes article was
provided to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights in partnership with the
National Science Foundation.
Cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae because of their color, have
endured for more than 2.5 billion years, providing ample time to adapt to changes
in the Earth's biosphere. They live in water where a diet heavy in nitrogen and
phosphorus, combined with global warming, can prompt them to produce slimy
toxic blooms that make the water unfit for drinking, agriculture and recreation.
"Human activities have dramatically increased nitrogen and phosphorus inputs into
many rivers and lakes, causing algal blooms that threaten economic and
recreational uses of those waters," says Hans Paerl, professor of marine and
environmental sciences at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Institute of
Marine Sciences. "This nutrient over-enrichment in freshwater has led to a global
proliferation of cyanobacterial blooms which foul the water, disrupt food webs,
reduce oxygen, and produce metabolites toxic to fish, zooplankton, cattle, domestic
pets and humans.''
What Is Global Warming? Global warming is the gradual heating of Earth's
surface, oceans and atmosphere. Scientists have documented the rise in average
temperatures worldwide since the late 1800s. Earth's average temperature has
risen by 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit (0.8 degrees Celsius) over the past century,
according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Temperatures are
projected to rise another 2 to 11.5 degrees F (1.133 to 6.42 degrees C) over the
next 100 years.
Most of the leading scientific organizations in the world acknowledge the existence
of global warming as fact, according to a NASA report. Furthermore, 97 percent of
climate scientists agree that the rate of global warming trends the planet is now
experiencing is not a natural occurrence, but is primarily the result of human
activity. That consensus was made clear in a major climate report released Sept. 27,
2013, by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). In that report,
climate scientists indicated they are more certain than ever of the link between
human activities and global warming.

The greenhouse effect: Global warming begins with the greenhouse effect,
which is caused by the interaction between Earth's atmosphere and incoming
radiation from the sun. "The basic physics of the greenhouse effect were figured out
more than a hundred years ago by a smart guy using only pencil and paper (Svante

Arrhenius in 1896)," Josef Werne, an associate professor in the department of

geology and planetary science at the University of Pittsburgh, told Live Science.

Solar radiation passes through the atmosphere to the surface of Earth, where it is
absorbed and then radiated upward as heat. Gases in Earth's atmosphere absorb
about 90 percent of this heat and radiate it back to the surface, which is warmed to
a life-supporting average of 59 F (15 C). This very helpful process is called the
greenhouse effect.

Greenhouse gases: Human-caused global warming occurs when human activity

introduces too much of certain types of gas into the atmosphere. More of this gas
equals more warming. The atmospheric gases primarily responsible for the
greenhouse effect are known as "greenhouse gases" and include water vapor,
carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O). The most prevalent
greenhouse gas is CO2.
Some atmospheric CO2 is natural. For example, before the Industrial Revolution,
there were about 280 parts per million (ppm) of CO2 in the atmosphere, and during
most of the past 800,000 years, CO2 fluctuated between about 180 ppm during ice
ages and 280 ppm during interglacial warm periods. Since the Industrial Revolution,
though, the amount of CO2 has dramatically increased. Currently, the increase is
100 times faster than that when the last ice age ended, according to the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
In May 2013, scientists reported measuring atmospheric carbon dioxide levels as
high as 400 ppm. Levels of CO2 haven't been that high since the Pliocene Epoch,
which was between 3 million and 5 million years ago, according to the Scripps
Institution of Oceanography.
In 2012, CO2 accounted for about 82 percent of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions,
according to the EPA. "We know through high-accuracy instrumental measurements
that there is an unprecedented increase in CO2 in the atmosphere. We know that
CO2 absorbs infrared radiation [heat] and the global mean temperature is
increasing," Keith Peterman, a professor of chemistry at York College of
Pennsylvania, and his research partner, Gregory Foy, an associate professor of
chemistry at York College of Pennsylvania, told Live Science in a joint email
message.
CO2 makes its way into the atmosphere through a variety of routes. Burning fossil
fuels, for example, releases CO2. Deforestation is also a large contributor to
excessive CO2 in the atmosphere. In fact, deforestation is the second largest
anthropogenic (human-made) source of carbon dioxide, according to research

published by Duke University. When trees are killed, they release the carbon they
have stored for photosynthesis. According to the 2010 Global Forest Resources
Assessment, deforestation releases nearly a billion tons of carbon into the
atmosphere per year.
But fossil fuel combustion is the number one anthropogenic source of carbon
dioxide. The EPA lists this source as the cause of 32 percent of total U.S. CO2
emissions and 27 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2012.
Methane is the second most common greenhouse gas, but it is much more
destructive. In 2012, the gas accounted for about 9 percent of all U.S. greenhouse
gas emissions, according to the EPA. There may be less methane in the atmosphere,
but this gas is much more efficient at trapping radiation. The EPA reports that
methane has 20 times more impact on climate change over a 100-year period.
Methane can come from many natural sources, but humans cause a large portion of
methane emissions through mining, the use of natural gas, the mass raising of
livestock and the use of landfills, according to the Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas
Emissions and Sinks report from 1990 to 2012. In fact, according to the EPA,
humans are responsible for more than 60 percent of methane emissions.

Effects of global warming;

The effects of global warming are already

visible in many areas of the world. For example, in Montana's Glacier National Park,
where about 150 glaciers were once located, only 25 glaciers larger than 25 acres
remain, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). A commonly accepted
guideline for identifying a glacier a body of snow and ice that moves is that the
object must be about 101,000 square meters or about 25 acres in size. Below this
size, the ice is generally stagnant and does not move, unless it is on a steep slope.
Scientists have expressed confidence that climate change will make hurricanes
more intense, as well; the unusually strong hurricanes that have formed over the
past few years give evidence for this. "We are confident not just because models
predict hurricane intensification, but because we understand the reasons why they
do and can explain those reasons in terms of what we know about how hurricanes
work today," said atmospheric scientist Adam Sobel, author of "Storm Surge:
Hurricane Sandy, Our Changing Climate, and Extreme Weather of the Past and
Future" (HarperWave, 2014).
Sobel, a Columbia University professor in the departments of Earth and
Environmental Sciences, and Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, explained
that hurricanes get their energy from the temperature difference between the warm
tropical ocean and the cold upper atmosphere. Global warming increases that
temperature difference.
Temperatures are getting more intense, as well. North America reached record highs
in 2012, making it the hottest year since record keeping began in 1895. Scientists

also recorded the second greatest number of temperature extremes (unusual highs
and lows) in 2012. According to NOAA, 2013 tied with 2003 as the fourth warmest
year globally since 1880, which is when the first year of global-temperature
recording began.
In recent years, record-breaking cold weather has made some wonder if global
warming is actually happening. "First, we need to understand the difference
between 'weather' and 'climate,'" said Peterman and Foy. Weather is atmospheric
activity over a short time period, like a cold winter snap or a hot spell. Climate is the
"average weather," meaning the sum of weather events averaged over decades,
centuries or even thousands of years.
Global warming is related to climate and is a global phenomenon. Even though
there are regional cold snaps (weather), the average global temperature (climate)
continues to increase even during different regions' winter months, the two
scientists went on to explain. Surprisingly, global warming can actually cause
unusually cold weather. One of the key atmospheric features of climate is that it is
affected by warming in air circulation patterns, including the jet stream, which is like
a river of wind high above in the atmosphere. "If you perturb the jet stream in the
right way, it migrates south, bringing with it cold, Arctic air," Werne said. "This is
precisely why you can get a cold snap in the short term, and also why a given
winter in North America might be colder than average, even during a long-term
trend of global warming."Quick facts about global warming :According to
NASA:
Carbon dioxide levels are at 399.2 ppm as of November 2014. The global
temperature has risen 14 F (7.8 C) since 1880.The global Arctic ice minimum (the
extent of sea ice in warm months) is decreasing by 13.3 percent each decade.Land
ice is decreasing by 258 billion tons (234 million kilotons) each year. Due to melting
ice, the sea level has risen by 0.12 inches (3.17 millimeters) per year

How to address global warming : A growing number of business leaders,

government officials and private citizens are concerned about global warming and
its implications, and are proposing steps to reverse the trend. Many scientists say
that reversal is not possible and that certain types of destruction, such as the
melting of the polar ice caps, have already gone past the point of no return. Others
say that the planet Earth has the ability to heal itself. This takes time, though.
"While some argue that 'the Earth will heal itself,' the natural processes for
removing this human-caused CO2 from the atmosphere work on the timescale of
hundreds of thousands to millions of years," Werne said. "So, yes, the Earth will heal
itself, but not in time for our cultural institutions to be preserved as they are.
Therefore, in our own self-interests, we must act in one way or another to deal with
the changes in climate we are causing." There are many steps humans can take to
lessen the effects of global warming. NASA is committed to a two-pronged

approach: Reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and stabilizing the levels of

these gases in the atmosphere
Adapting to the climate change already happening. Decreasing the rate at which
fossil fuels are burned is critical to that effort. Development of clean energy,
including solar, wind and geothermal energy, has immense potential to reduce the
amount of coal and oil burned in powering electrical generating plants, NASA said.
More-sustainable transportation options, such as mass transit and alt-fuel vehicles,
will also reduce the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. (The Union of
Concerned Scientists estimates that about 25 percent of energy-related CO2
emissions in the United States come from passenger vehicles.)
Even individual efforts, such as lowering thermostats in winter and using energyefficient light bulbs, can help to address global warming. But most climate
researchers also stress the immediate need for large-scale, international policies to
address the complex causes and effects of global warming.