Causes of Global Warming

There are numerous causes of global warming, and scientists typically divide those causes into two primary groups: natural causes and man-made causes. While humans can do little to eradicate natural causes, it is possible to reduce or eliminate man-made causes.

Global warming is the increase in average temperature of the oceans and atmosphere, both observed and predicted. The surface temperature of Earth depends on a balance of incoming and outgoing heat. When outgoing heat, or energy, exceeds incoming energy, an ice age occurs. Global warming results when incoming energy levels are greater than outgoing energy levels.

Global warming can potentially affect every aspect of life on Earth. Higher average temperatures will cause changes in plant and crop life, which can decrease worldwide food supplies. Warmer polar winters will result in melting sea ice, which will cause a rise in sea level. Warmer temperatures will also increase evaporation from large water bodies, which in turn will increase cloud formation and rainfall amounts. Other potential effects of global warming include more frequent hurricanes and higher rates of some diseases, such as malaria.

Natural causes have been contributing to global warming since before recorded history. Most experts do not believe that natural causes alone are substantial enough to result in the climate changes currently taking place on the planet.

Increased solar activity changes the Earth's solar radiation levels, thereby causing short-term warming cycles. Sunspots are dark patches on the sun's surface that block hot solar plasma. Although this blocking action might appear to reduce solar radiation, the opposite is true. Surrounding sunspots are bright patches known as faculae. These patches give off greater than normal radiation, and they are more powerful than the darker, cooler patches. This means that the total average energy over a 30-day solar rotation increases.

An estimated 50 tons of carbon are frozen in the tundra. Warmer global temperatures are causing the arctic tundra to begin emitting carbon dioxide. As the average temperature on Earth continues to rise due to global warming, increased carbon emissions will reach the atmosphere, resulting in a cycle that will significantly affect the planet.

Permafrost, which is solid, frozen soil, constitutes about 25 percent of the land area in the Northern Hemisphere. Until recently, permafrost has locked carbon and methane beneath the surface of the planet. In some areas, permafrost is now emitting carbon, which could potentially accelerate the greenhouse effect and global warming.

Water vapor is increasing in the atmosphere due to carbon dioxide-induced warming. Approximately two-thirds of the heat trapped by greenhouses gases is contained in water vapor, and as the average temperature on the planet continues to rise, the amount of water vapor rises in turn.

Most man-made causes of global warming result from an increase in greenhouse gases, which are gases that trap or absorb infrared radiation emitted from the planet.

Carbon dioxide is the most significant cause of global warming, and most carbon dioxide emissions result from the burning of fossil fuels. Each time a fossil fuel burns, carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere increase. Carbon dioxide absorbs infrared energy emitted from the earth, preventing it from returning to space.

• Electricity Production: Electricity generation through the burning of fossil fuels accounts for 40 percent of carbon dioxide emissions in the United States. Coal is the largest producer of carbon dioxide emissions, giving off nearly twice as much carbon per energy unit as natural gas.
• Automobiles: Carbon emissions from the burning of gasoline to power cars, trucks, and other methods of transportation is one of the leading global warming causes in the United States. Pollution created by cars and light trucks accounts for nearly one-third of American carbon emission, and emissions of carbon dioxide from airplanes is responsible for an additional 3.5 percent of global warming.

All living plants are capable of storing carbon, but as the number of plants on the planet declines, the amount of carbon dioxide free to build up in the atmosphere increases. Moreover, decaying plants give off stored carbon, thereby releasing a large abundance of carbon into the air during the clearing of forests or grasslands for building purposes.

Hydro-chlorofluorocarbons and chlorofluorocarbons are used in refrigeration. While these gases occur in lower atmospheric concentrations than carbon dioxide, they are substantially more potent.

Each time humans add fertilizer to soil, nitrogen oxide escapes into the atmosphere. Nitrogen oxides trap 300 times more heat per volume than carbon dioxide, making fertilizer use in farming one of the leading causes of global warming.

Mining oil and coal allows methane, a greenhouse gas, to escape from the earth. Any time the soil is disturbed, stored gases make their way into the environment.

As the population on Earth increases, food and housing demands also increase. Manure from cattle, a primary food source worldwide, contributes to methane gas levels. The cutting down of forests to make room for housing and other buildings accounts for as much as 12 percent of carbon emissions.

Scientists have spent several decades studying global warming in an attempt to predict what changes will occur in the future and determine how man can slow or stop these changes from taking place.

Unfortunately, no one can directly stop the natural contributors to global warming. By taking steps to reduce your carbon footprint, you can help prevent global warming by decreasing the environmentally devastating effects of man-made causes.

• Ways to Prevent Global Warming
• 50 Specific Actions of Green Living
• Examples of Sustainable Development

• United States Recycling Statistics
• Types of Pollution
• Air Pollution Statistics
• Effects of Water Pollution
• Advantages and Disadvantages of Biofuels

• Effects of Water Pollution
• Using Solar Power to Decrease Global Warming
• Effects of Global Warming on the Earth
• Category:Environmental Issues
• What is Global Warming