Global warming and climate change

I ve nothing to post about, but I want to.
So here goes. This is an essay I wrote today.


Global warming is the thought foremost on everybody’s mind these days. We hear so much about the possible effects of global warming and about how it could impact our everyday lives. Before we go into the effects of global warming, it is important to understand what the term means. Global warming is the general heating of the biosphere, which includes the troposphere, hydrosphere and the atmosphere. This is a very broad definition . It can be better and more specifically defined as the increase in the average measured temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans since the mid-20th century, and its projected continuation. Increase in greenhouse effect accounts for most, if not all, of the increase in temperature.
What is the greenhouse effect?
The green house effect is a phenomenon first described by Joseph Fourier in 1824 and first investigated quantitatively by Svante Arrhenius in 1896. We all know the earth’s atmosphere consists of many gases including carbon dioxide, water vapour, methane and ozone. These gases, carbon dioxide, water vapour, methane and ozone are classified as “greenhouse gases”. They perform a special function. They trap the incident radiations from the sun, thereby heating the earth. This is called the greenhouse effect and this is what keeps the earth warm enough to sustain life.
How has the greenhouse effect increased?
Humans have traditionally burnt hydrocarbons in the form of fossil fuels to satisfy their energy needs. These needs were limited until the 18th century, that is, before the industrial rev. Following the dawn of the industrial era, energy needs increased exponentially. Naturally, we burnt more and more fuel. Since hydrocarbons are basically carbon compounds their combustion leads to the emission of carbon dioxide. The other greenhouse gas associated with fossil fuels is methane which is given out when fossil fuels are extracted. The atmospheric concentrations of CO2 and methane have increased by 31% and 149% respectively since the beginning of the industrial revolution, leading to a substantial increase in the greenhouse effect. The other way in which we have increased the amount of greenhouse gases is by deforestation. Forests are natural sinks for carbon dioxide and their destruction has led to an increase in the carbon dioxide levels.
What are the effects of global warming?
Global warming has many disastrous consequences. The most prominent is the rise in sea levels. Rise in sea levels could inundate many coastal areas and completely submerge islands such as the Maldives. Global warming can also cause melting of the polar ice shelves. In addition to this global warming is touted to be cause of the El nino effect. It has also been linked to the increase in the number of cyclones, floods, droughts in many parts of the world. According to the IPCC (Intergovernmental panel on climate change) global warming could also affect the ocean currents which in turn could cause massive loss in biodiversity and global economic distress.
Most of us know about the possible effects of global warming yet we don’t do anything about it. We live in the present without sparing a moment to think about the future. What we learn from history is that we do not learn from history. Our ancestors warned us against disturbing nature’s balance but we still continue to do so. The human race is galloping towards its doom. We can do nothing but pray to the almighty that the realization dawns upon us. Lets us hope that human ingenuity and innovation triumphs over this impending cataclyscm.