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Topic: Global warming

What is global warming?

Global Warming is the increase of Earth’ average surface temperature due to effect of Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide emissions from
burning fossil fuels from deforestation which trap heat that would otherwise escape from earth . It is also known as climate change.

What is the cause of global warming?

Global warming is caused by rising levels of heat-trapping gases, known as greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Greenhouse
gases retain the radiant energy (heat) provided to the earth by the sun in a process known as greenhouse effect. Greenhouse gases
occur naturally, and without them, the planet would be too cold to sustain life. As we burn fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural
gas for energy or cut down and burn forest to create pastures and plantations, carbon accumulates and overloads our atmosphere.
Certain waste management and agricultural practices aggravate the problem by realizing other potent global warming gases, such
as methane and nitrous oxide.

What is the cause of the rising levels of greenhouse gases?

Since the beginning industrial revolution in the mid-1700s, human activities have added more and more of these gases into the
atmosphere. Instances of such activities are:

 Burning of fossil fuel such as coal , coil, oil, and natural gas
 Deforestation : cutting down of trees without replacing them
 Burning of rubbish

As examples of greenhouse gases we can mention:

 Carbon monoxide
 Water vapor
 Carbon dioxide
 Methane
 Nitrous oxide

With more greenhouse gases in the mix, the atmosphere acts like a thickening blanket and traps more heat.

What are the effects of global warming?

 The melting of the polar ice caps


 Rise in ocean levels and flooding coastal areas

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 Unpredictable weather patterns
 Wide spread of tropical diseases such as malaria, and yellow fever. Tropical diseases are favoured by hot weather
conditions.
 Extension of animals such as the polar bear
 Interruption in agricultural production: tropical farmlands in some parts of Africa may become further impoverished.

Controlling global warming

Global warming cannot be entirely prevented due to advances in transportation, industry and technology. However it can be
controlled by government policies and development strategies around the world. These may include:

 Reducing emissions of greenhouse gases by switching away from fossil- fuel energy sources:
 Nuclear power
 Solar power
 Wind power
 Hydrogen fuel cells

Reforestation: planting more trees to convert atmospheric carbon dioxide into oxygen. During photosynthesis,
trees and other plants absorb carbon dioxide and give off oxygen. They are an integral part of the natural
atmospheric exchange cycle here on Earth, but there are too few of them to fully counter the increases in carbon
dioxide caused by automobile traffic, manufacturing and other human activities. A single tree will absorb
approximately one ton of carbon dioxide during its lifetime.

Let us retain that Global Warming is the increase of Earth’ average surface temperature due to effect of Greenhouse gases such
as carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels from deforestation which trap heat that would otherwise escape from earth.
This is a type of greenhouse effect.

The most significant greenhouse gas is actually water vapor, not something produced directly by Humankind in significant
amounts. However, even slight increases in atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide ( C0 2) can cause a substantial increase in
temperature. Human beings have increased the C02 concentration in the atmosphere by about thirty percent, which is an
extremely significant increase. It is believed that human beings are responsible for this because the increase is almost perfectly
correlated with increases in fossil fuel combustion.

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