Is Global Warming an Issue?

Global warming is a progressive increase of the earth’s mean temperature. This phenomenon is believed to be connected to an increase in greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere. Greenhouse gasses are gasses are gasses in our atmosphere that take in and release radiation. These greenhouse gases are tied into the Greenhouse effect. The Greenhouse effect is a term used to describe how the earth’s temperature is maintained at a certain degree. The most abundant or most common greenhouse gases are ozone, methane, carbon dioxide, water vapor, and nitrous oxide.

These gases absorb and release the radiation that is given off from the earth’s exterior, the atmosphere, and even from clouds. These gases also absorb energy from the sun and emit a certain amount which causes the earth to not overheat and it also stops the earth from becoming too cold. To clear things up, the atmospheric gases absorb some of the sun’s radiation in order to prevent excess amounts of radiation from rapidly heating the earth. The atmospheric gases then absorb the radiation being reflected from the earth’s surface in order to stop the earth from rapidly cooling. Global warming constantly brings up the question, are humans to blame for global warming?

While global warming does seem like a topic that is well know, there is still a lot to learn about how the earth’s temperature is maintained. As with any other issue, there are people that have opposing views about global warming. Based on my personal observations, I made an inference that there are more people who believe that global warming is a problem that needs to be addressed immediately as opposed to people who believe that global warming isn’t a crisis and is not occurring at all. There is no definite answers that prove global warming’s existence but there are plenty of articles that give facts showing that global warming is real and is being caused by humans. On the other hand, there are articles that show how the earth goes through natural changes that aren’t related to the creatures that inhabit it.

One valid article on Reuters: Environment News gives reason to believe that global warming is a serious issue that needs to be taken care of immediately. According to meteorologists, the chance of seeing snowfall during the winter in certain parts of the northern hemisphere will decrease and will probably continue to decrease into 2100. “The probability of snow on the ground at Christmas is already lower than it was even 50 years ago but it will become an even greater rarity many places by the latter half of the century,” is a quote that was said by Friedrich-Wilhelm Gerstengarber who is one of the climate researchers who functions at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. Although it may not seem like a lot, the world’s temperature has increased 0.7 degrees Celsius in comparison to 100 years ago and is expected to increase even more. These facts can be related to the fact that the release of toxic gases has skyrocketed by 70% in the past 40 years. Another interesting fact is that the U.S National Snow and Ice Data Center has evidence that in the northern hemisphere, the amount of snowfall has decreased anywhere from 2 million to 36 million sq kilometers. Are humans to blame for this decrease of snow? Global warming is occurring on every continent; especially in the most secluded one, Antarctica.