The Impact Global Warming Has On The Environment

Global warming is currently the world’s biggest issue. The increase in greenhouse gases is rapidly changing the face of the Earth. Greenhouse gases come from the burning of fossil fuels. These gases have been on the rise since the industrial revolution in the mid 17th century. This is when people began to make machines to help them work. Carbon dioxide (CO²) is the gas given off from the burning of fossil fuels. Carbon dioxide only makes up a small part of the atmosphere but is the main heat absorbing component. Most infra-red radiation from the sun was once bounced back into space. Now carbon dioxide absorbs a lot more of the sun’s energy. There is an estimated 150 000 deaths each year from global warming.

Global warming is on the rise and needs to be halted. We have to cut greenhouse gas emissions and use renewable energy sources like solar or wind. The burning of fossil fuels makes up to 40% of greenhouse gases. An average of 16 million tonnes of carbon dioxide is emitted into the atmosphere every 24 hours or approximately 11000 tonnes per second by humans worldwide.

Global warming is caused by greenhouse gases trapping in more of the sun’s heat. In the mid 17th century people began to invent machines to help them work. Most of the machines were steam powered and burned coal to produce the heat. When coal or any other fossil fuel is burnt it produces carbon dioxide. Fossil fuels are a non-renewable energy source. There is currently 10% more CO² in the atmosphere than there was 30 years ago. There are over 600 million motor vehicles in the world. In the next 30 years this figure is expected to double. Global warming is caused by the increasing amount of CO² in Earth’s atmosphere. Earth’s climate is being directly affected by human activity. CO² is released when fossil fuels are burnt. Records show that 11 of the last 12 years have been some of the hottest on earth. Carbon dioxide is a great conductor of heat, because of the increasing amount the earth is getting hotter.

Global warming is the average temperature on Earth increasing. The increasing temperature on Earth has lead to some of the polar ice melting. If polar ice continues to melt the sea level will rise and many coastal towns and cities will be flooded. According to NASA the polar ice caps are now melting at the rate of 9% per decade. Artic ice thickness has decreased 40% since the 1960’s. The number of category 4 and 5 cyclones and hurricanes has almost doubled in the last 30 years. There are also stronger and more frequent storms.