Causes And Consequences Of Global Warming - Ijlbpr
Int. J. LifeSc. Bt & Pharm. Res. 2012Anjali Goel and Ranjana Bhatt, 2012ISSN 2250-3137 www.ijlbpr.comVol.1, Issue. 1, January 2012 2012 IJLBPR. All Rights ReservedReview ArticleCAUSES AND CONSEQUENCESOF GLOBAL WARMINGAnjali Goel1 and Ranjana Bhatt2**Corresponding Author: Ranjana Bhatt, ranjanabhatt83@gmail.comGlobal warming is melting glaciers in every region of the world, putting millions of people at riskfrom floods, droughts and lack of drinking water. It is a complex issue full of uncertainties andcontroversies. This article discusses amongst cause of global warming and consequences ofglobal warming on the environment.Keywords:Global warming, Greenhouse gas, Global environment, Atmosphere.the natural balance will be upset. It takes millionsof years for fossil fuels to form but only a fewminutes for them to burn, releasing largequantities of CO 2 into the air. In the pastfluctuations in CO2 levels have been explainedby natural causes such as volcanic eruptions andthe number of phytoplankton in the sea. Thereare currently several other theories about globalwarming such as positive and negative feedbacksystems of ocean currents and the position ofthe Earth in space.INTRODUCTIONGlobal warming is a very large area of scientificuncertainty. There are literally thousands ofscientists working around the world. What will theclimate be like in 50 or 100 years time? No onecan know for certain. However, there are real fearsthat rapid climate change will have a dramaticimpact on life on earth. Over the last 10,000 yearsthe earth has experienced a very stable climateand life has adapted to it. Recently, however, theearth has seen an increase in temperaturechange and many scientists now believe that thereis a direct link between this warming andemissions of greenhouse gases such as carbondioxide (CO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) causedby human activities. In the past the greenhousegases were in balance. It is feared that, at thepresent rate of increase of greenhouse gases,The real problem for the scientist is that climatechange is very difficult to predict. Theenvironmental community rightly recognizesglobal warming as one of the gratest threats tothe planet. Global temperatures are already higherthan they have ever been in at least the pastmillennium, and the increase is accelerating even1Department of Chemistry, Kanya Gurukul Mahavidyalaya, Gurukul Kangri University, Haridwar, India.2Department of Chemistry, Kanya Gurukul Mahavidyalaya, Gurukul Kangri University, Haridwar, India.27
Int. J. LifeSc. Bt & Pharm. Res. 2012Anjali Goel and Ranjana Bhatt, 2012one of the most potent natural sources of carbondioxide. Every year it adds about 25 million tonsof carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. The entireregion around the volcano is, therefore, enrichedin carbon dioxide (Rajni Johar Chhatwal, 2009).faster than scientists had predicted. Theexpected consequences include coastal flooding,increases in extreme weather, spreading disease,and mass extinctions.Global warming poses one of the most seriousthreats to the global environment ever faced inhuman history. Global warming will not only befelt many decades from now—it is alreadyhappening and its impacts are clearly visible. TheChemistry of the atmosphere is changing due toemission of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides,and volatile organic compounds, among otherspecies, in addition to the changes in thegreenhouse gases (Climate Change; and NoamMohr, 2005).ARE HUMANS CAUSING IT?Humans have been emitting extra greenhousegases, which are the result of burning fossil fuels(like coal, oil and gas). In the next 100 years, CO2produced by man will cause a lot more warming,from as low as three degrees C to as high as 8or 10 degrees C. Human-caused global warming may havealready doubled the chance of “killer” heatwaves like the one that scorched Europe inJuly–August 2003. Strong evidence indicatesthat the summer was the hottest in Europe inat least the past 500 years (Luterbacher et al.,2004).CAUSES OF GLOBAL WARMINGThe causes of global warming may be natural ormay be caused by human interference.Natural Causes The UHI (Urban Heat Island) is enhanced byhuman activities within the urban environment.Pollution has a warming effect on a city, inaddition to the heat released by industrialprocesses, household heating and car use.As cities grow, the UHI effect becomesstronger, creating an artificial warming.Atmospheric Carbon DioxideCarbon dioxide is commonly known as thegreenhouse gas. It is responsible for about halfof the atmospheric heat retained by trace gasesand also for 50% of the greenhouse effect.Methane (CH4) is 20-30 times more effective thanCO 2 in trapping heat. The potential of agreenhouse gas to cause greenhouse warmingis expressed by “Global Warming Potential”(GWP). The rate and duration of the warming ofthe 20th century is larger than any other time duringthe last 1,000 years. The 1990s are likely to havebeen the warmest decade of the millennium inthe Northern Hemisphere, and 1998 is likely tohave been the warmest year (Houghton et al.,2001). CFCs (Chloro Floro Carbons) are believed tobe responsible for 24% of the humancontribution to greenhouse gases. They alsodeplete ozone in the stratosphere. Most of the observed increase in globalaverage temperatures since the mid-20thcentury is very likely due to the observedincrease in anthropogenic GHG (green housegas) concentrations.Volcanic Eruptions The idea that humans are causing the worldto heat up and risking disaster by doing so hasa powerful hold on the public perception. It isMount Etna, an active but at present a relativelysubdued volcano in Sicily, is a case in point. It is28
Int. J. LifeSc. Bt & Pharm. Res. 2012Anjali Goel and Ranjana Bhatt, 2012reinforced by media reporting which findsverification for it in every weather event. It isbeing taught to school children as scientifictruth. Dr. Gray offers a rebuttal to thiswidespread perception (Vincent Gray, 2001).per decade (Sun and Hansen, 2003).CONSEQUENCES OF GLOBALWARMING The effects of global warming have taken itsrole on people, animals, birds and habitat. Infact no continent has been spared. Humanity may have only a narrow window oftime left, perhaps a decade or so, to begin thelong process of stabilizing greenhouse gasconcentrations at a level that can avertdevastating and irreversible impacts fromclimate change. At Antarctica, shrinking sea ice has reducedthe population of the Adelie penguin by 33% in25 years. In Canadian Arctic, the Peary cariboupopulation has decreased due to heavy rainfallfrom 24,000 in 1961 to 1100 in 1997.WHAT ARE THE REALISTICCURRENT ESTIMATES OFFUTURE WARMING? Developing countries are twice as at risk toclimate change as industrialized countries,and small islands states are thrice as at risk,according to a group of UN scientists. U.S isthe fourth country in the world responsible forCO2 emission.Figure 1 shows variation in the temperature from1995 to 2005. James Hansen of NASA (the fatherof greenhouse theory) and Richard Lindzen ofMIT (the most renowned climatologist in the world)agree that, even if nothing is done to restrictgreenhouse gases, the world will only see aglobal temperature increase of about 1 C in thenext 50-100 years. Hansen and his colleagues“predicted additional warming in the next 50 yearsof 0.5 0.2 C, a warming rate of 0.1 0.04 C Estimates drawn from reports by theIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Changes(IPCC) projects increase in average globaltemperatures ranging from 1.4 0C to 5.8 0Cby the year 2100.Figure 1: Variations in the Temperature from 1995 to 200529
Int. J. LifeSc. Bt & Pharm. Res. 2012Anjali Goel and Ranjana Bhatt, 2012shortage, desertification of vast areas whichwere hitherto fertile and productive lands, croppattern change and reduced agricultural yieldsshortage of food, growth in micro-organismsand spread of diseases, etc. A slight rise in temperature even by 1 0C, canhave adverse effect on the Sea levels. Thissea level rise would threaten coastal cities(Calcutta, Mumbai, Chennai, etc.) and some60-odd island nations such as Maldives,Bangladesh, etc. Anil Kumar De and ArnabKumar De (2008) In the United States, Chicago experienced oneof the worst weather-related disasters in Illinoishistory when a heat wave resulted in 525deaths during a 5-day period in July of 1995(Kunkel et al., 1996). Global warming increases the desert. Itincreases temperature in North America,South Africa, Mexico, India and other countries.Changes of hurricanes, cyclones and floodswill be more which will damage the lagoons,estuaries and coral reefs. Global warming maycause extinction of more than one millionspecies of animals and plants by 2050 AD.The two American data sets (red and green inFigure 2) have 2005 as their warmest year. While2006 and 2007 were cooler than 2005 in all threedata sets, two such cooler years is much tooshort a time to conclude that the clear warmingtrend over the second half of the 20th Century hasstopped or reversed. Figure 2 shows many setsof three consecutive years with a short-livedcooling trend that is reversed soon afterwards. Change in climate can also bring several otherproblems, such as Drying of surface waterbodies, fall in ground water table, serious waterFigure 2: Three time series of globally-averaged annual mean temperatureanomalies in degrees Celsius, together with their 11-year unweighted moving averagesNote: The blue (circles) data (1850-2007) from the Hadley Centre (British) are calculated withrespect to the 1961-1990 base period. The red (diamonds) data (1880-2007) from NASA GISS are calculated with respect to the1951-1980 base period. The green (squares) data (1880-2007) from NOAA NCDC are calculated with respect to the1901-2000 base period. The latter two sets of data have been offset in the vertical direction by increments of 0.5 Cfor visual clarity. An averaging period of about 10 years or more is necessary in these timeseries to remove most of the year-to-year variation in the annual data.30
Int. J. LifeSc. Bt & Pharm. Res. 2012Anjali Goel and Ranjana Bhatt, 2012The British data set has 1998 as its warmestyear (blue in Figure 2). Is the ten years from 1998to 2007 long enough to establish a cooling trend?We have noted that ten years is about theminimum averaging time to remove the year-toyear variations in these global temperature datasets, so ten years might be just enough to revealany downturn in the underlying trend. However,there hasn’t actually been a cooling over thedecade 1998-2007 (see Figure 2). In all three datasets, the linear trend over 1998-2007 is upward(i.e., one of warming), even if the warming is weakerin the British data set than in the American datasets (Fawcett Robert and Jones David, 2008).arrogance and in our desire to play god, we mighthave forgotten that there is a universal forcegoverning all life, including us.REFERENCES1.Anil Kumar De and Arnab Kumar De (2008),Environmental Education, Vol. 02, p. 32.2.Climate Change, RSC, Report on Climate, 2.3.Fawcett Robert and Jones David (2008),National Climate Centre, Australian Bureauof Meteorology Melbourne.4.Houghton J T, Ding Y, Griggs D J, Noguer M,Vander Linden PJ, Dai X, Maskell K andJohnson C A (2001), The Scientific Basis:Contributions of Working Group I to the ThirdAssessment Report of the IntergovernmentalCONCLUSIONBesides all the scientific data available with usshowing the trend of global cooling, we mustunderstand that the nature is unpredictable in itsbehavior and can come before us in a randommanner violating the depicted trend, so the humanbeing should be ever ready to tackle this problemor to face the consequences .Thus a newresearch trend should be initiated and promotedwhich can absorb the surrounding heat in a largeamount to cause cooling. Further, the messageof this study is a simple one: Global warming is aserious problem that will not solve itself. Countriesshould take cooperative steps to slow globalwarming. There is no case for delay. The mostfruitful and effective approach is for countries toput a harmonized price, perhaps a steep price,on greenhouse gas emissions, primarily thoseof carbon dioxide resulting from the combustionof fossil fuels. While other measures mightusefully support this policy, placing a nearuniversal and harmonized price or tax on carbonis a necessary, and perhaps a sufficient condition,for reducing the future threat of global warming.But it does draw our attention to the fact thatnature takes its own course. Somewhere in ourPanel on Climate, Cambridge UniversityPress, Vol. 01, No. 35, p. 881.5.Kunkel K E, Changnon B C Reinke andArritt R W (1996), Bulletin of theAmerican Meteorological Society, Vol. 77,pp. 1507-1518.6.Luterbacher J, Dietrich D, Xoplaki E,Grosjean M and Wanner H (2004),“European Seasonal and AnnualTemperature Variability, Trends andExtremes Since 1500, Science, Vol. 303,pp. 1499-1503.7.Noam Mohr (2005), An Earth saveInternational Report, Vol. 2.8.Rajni Johar Chhatwal (2009), EnvironmentalSciences (A Systematic Approach), UDHPublishers, Vol. 01, p. 331.9.Sun S and Hansen J E (2003), Climate 16,pp. 2807-2826.10. Vincent Gray (2001), The Cause of GlobalWarming, Vol. 7, p. 4.31
controversies. This article discusses amongst cause of global warming and consequences of global warming on the environment. Keywords:Global warming, Greenhouse gas, Global environment, Atmosphere. *Corresponding Author: Ranjana Bhatt, ranjanabhatt83@gmail.com INTRODUCTION Global warming is a very large area of scientific uncertainty.
Chapter 2 Causes and Consequences of Urban Growth and Sprawl 2.1 Introduction An overall idea about urban growth and sprawl has been provided in Chap. 1. This chapter is aimed to list the causes and consequences of urban growth and sprawl. The causes that force growth in urban areas and the causes that are responsible for
Work Stressors: Causes, Consequences and Cures. . Obesity Hypertension DM Metabolic Syndrome . 5 Proximate Causes of CVD These traditional risk factors represent relatively proximate causes of CVD, each . – There are a # of identified causes – renal, adrenal, etc
CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES The mass coral bleaching events that have occurred throughout the tropics over the last decade have provided unprecedented opportunity, and motivation, to study this phenomenon.As a result,knowledge about the causes and consequences of coral bleaching has increased substantially in recent years.
iors. They explore the effects of no consequences and negative consequences; we examine the effects of pos itive consequences and negative consequences. They al lowed respondents only the opportunity to reprimand the salesperson or to choose the "no action" option; we add to these options the alternative of rewarding the sales
Table 2 summarizes the root causes identified by the railway safety expert for three representative accidents. These accidents have been chosen among the 20 others because of the involvement of the human and the organisation in the main causes of the accidents. As a result of the expert review, root causes have been sorted into three main causes'
Logical consequences are not used to threaten or intimidate a child. Logical consequences should not be used if the child does not understand the options and is not able to make a decision about the action to choose. If used appropriately, logical consequences should result in rapid change
Understanding Financial strong Crises: /strong Causes, strong /strong Consequences, and Policy Responses Stijn Claessens, M. Ayhan Kose, Luc Laeven, and Fabián Valencia By now, the tectonic damage left by the global financial crisis of 2007-09 has been well documented. World per capita output, which typically expands by about 2.2 percent annually, /p div class "b_factrow b_twofr" div class "b_vlist2col" ul li div strong File Size: /strong 278KB /div /li li div strong Author: /strong Stijn Claessens, M. Ayhan Kose, Luc Laeven, Fabián Valencia /div /li /ul ul li div strong Page Count: /strong 12 /div /li li div strong Publish Year: /strong 2013 /div /li /ul /div /div /div
However, the machining of these typically difficult-to-cut materials poses a challenge for conventional manufacturing technologies due to the high tool wear. Abrasive water jet (AWJ) machining is a promising alternative manufacturing technology for machining difficult-to-cut materials,
