Global warming Submitted to sir musawir khan

IHSAN ULLAH Roll No 11 ENGLISH

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Contents Global warming ........................................................................................................................... 2

What is the definition of anthropogenic climate change? ................................................... 2

What do you mean by global warming? ................................................................................... 2

What is global warming and climate change? ....................................................................... 2

What is the theory of global warming? .................................................................................... 2

Causes of Global warming. ........................................................................................................ 2

Water vapor. ................................................................................................................................. 3

Carbon dioxide (CO2). ............................................................................................................... 3

Methane. ....................................................................................................................................... 3

Nitrous oxide. ............................................................................................................................... 3

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). ................................................................................................... 3

The role of human activity ......................................................................................................... 4

Solar irradiance ........................................................................................................................... 4

Solutions to Global Warming ................................................................................................... 5

Boosting energy efficiency: ........................................................................................................ 5

Greening transportation: ........................................................................................................... 5

Revving up renewables: .............................................................................................................. 5

Managing forests and agriculture: ........................................................................................... 6

Exploring nuclear: ...................................................................................................................... 6

Ensuring sustainable development: ......................................................................................... 6

Adapting to changes already underway: .................................................................................. 6

Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 7

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Global warming Global warming is the term used to describe a gradual increase in the average temperature of the

Earth's atmosphere and its oceans, a change that is believed to be permanently changing the Earth's

climate.

Global warming is a major atmospheric issue all over the world. Our earth’s surface becoming hot

day by day by trapping the sun’s heat and rise in the level of atmospheric carbon dioxide. The bad

effects of it increasing day by day and causing major problems to the living of human being. It has

become one of the subjects of big social issues which need social awareness to a great level. People

should know its meaning, causes, effects and solutions to solve it immediately. People should

come forth together and try to solve it in order to save life on the earth.

Global warming is a gradual process of heating of earth’s surface and whole environment including

oceans, ice caps, etc. The global rise in atmospheric temperature has been clearly noticed in the

recent years. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, in the past century there is

increase in the earth’s surface average temperature by around 1.4 degree Fahrenheit (means 0.8

degrees Celsius). It has also been estimated that global temperature may increase by another 2 to

11.5 degrees F in the next century.

What is the definition of anthropogenic climate change? The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported in 2014 that scientists were more

than 95% certain that most of global warming is caused by increasing concentrations of greenhouse

gases and other human (anthropogenic) activities.

What do you mean by global warming? Global Warming is the increase of Earth's average surface temperature due to effect of greenhouse

gases, such as carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels or from deforestation, which

trap heat that would otherwise escape from Earth.

What is global warming and climate change? Global warming and climate change refer to an increase in average global temperatures. Natural

events and human activities are believed to be contributing to an increase in average global

temperatures. This is caused primarily by increases in “greenhouse” gases such as Carbon Dioxide

(CO2).

What is the theory of global warming? Greenhouse gases in the troposphere trap some of the infrared rays reflecting heat back down to

the surface. The AGW theory suggests that increased CO2 concentration in the atmosphere, caused

by humans, is raising global temperatures.

Causes of Global warming. Most climate scientists agree the main cause of the current global warming trend is human

expansion of the "greenhouse effect"1 — warming that results when the atmosphere traps heat

radiating from Earth toward space.

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Certain gases in the atmosphere block heat from escaping. Long-lived gases that remain semi-

permanently in the atmosphere and do not respond physically or chemically to changes in

temperature are described as "forcing" climate change. Gases, such as water vapor, which respond

physically or chemically to changes in temperature are seen as "feedbacks."

Gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect include

Water vapor. The most abundant greenhouse gas, but importantly, it acts as a feedback to the climate. Water

vapor increases as the Earth's atmosphere warms, but so does the possibility of clouds and

precipitation, making these some of the most important feedback mechanisms to the greenhouse

effect.

Carbon dioxide (CO2). A minor but very important component of the atmosphere, carbon dioxide is released through

natural processes such as respiration and volcano eruptions and through human activities such as

deforestation, land use changes, and burning fossil fuels. Humans have increased atmospheric CO2

concentration by a third since the Industrial Revolution began. This is the most important long-

lived "forcing" of climate change.

Methane. A hydrocarbon gas produced both through natural sources and human activities, including the

decomposition of wastes in landfills, agriculture, and especially rice cultivation, as well as

ruminant digestion and manure management associated with domestic livestock. On a molecule-

for-molecule basis, methane is a far more active greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, but also one

which is much less abundant in the atmosphere.

Nitrous oxide. A powerful greenhouse gas produced by soil cultivation practices, especially the use of

commercial and organic fertilizers, fossil fuel combustion, nitric acid production, and biomass

burning.

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). Synthetic compounds entirely of industrial origin used in a number of applications, but now largely

regulated in production and release to the atmosphere by international agreement for their ability

to contribute to destruction of the ozone layer. They are also greenhouse gases.

On Earth, human activities are changing the natural greenhouse. Over the last century the

burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil has increased the concentration of atmospheric

carbon dioxide (CO2). This happens because the coal or oil burning process combines

carbon with oxygen in the air to make CO2. To a lesser extent, the clearing of land for

agriculture, industry, and other human activities have increased concentrations of

greenhouse gases.

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The consequences of changing the natural atmospheric greenhouse are difficult to predict, but

certain effects seem likely:

On average, Earth will become warmer. Some regions may welcome warmer temperatures, but

others may not.

Warmer conditions will probably lead to more evaporation and precipitation overall, but individual

regions will vary, some becoming wetter and others dryer.

A stronger greenhouse effect will warm the oceans and partially melt glaciers and other ice,

increasing sea level. Ocean water also will expand if it warms, contributing further to sea level

rise.

Meanwhile, some crops and other plants may respond favorably to increased atmospheric CO2,

growing more vigorously and using water more efficiently. At the same time, higher temperatures

and shifting climate patterns may change the areas where crops grow best and affect the makeup

of natural plant communities.

The role of human activity In its Fourth Assessment Report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a group of 1,300

independent scientific experts from countries all over the world under the auspices of the United

Nations, concluded there's a more than 90 percent probability that human activities over the past

50 years have warmed our planet.

The industrial activities that our modern civilization depends upon have raised atmospheric carbon

dioxide levels from 280 parts per million to 400 parts per million in the last 150 years. The panel

also concluded there's a better than 90 percent probability that human-produced greenhouse gases

such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide have caused much of the observed increase in

Earth's temperatures over the past 50 years.

They said the rate of increase in global warming due to these gases is very likely to be

unprecedented within the past 10,000 years or more.

Solar irradiance It's reasonable to assume that changes in the sun's energy output would cause the climate to change,

since the sun is the fundamental source of energy that drives our climate system.

Indeed, studies show that solar variability has played a role in past climate changes. For example,

a decrease in solar activity is thought to have triggered the Little Ice Age between approximately

1650 and 1850, when Greenland was largely cut off by ice from 1410 to the 1720s and glaciers

advanced in the Alps.

But several lines of evidence show that current global warming cannot be explained by changes in

energy from the sun:

Since 1750, the average amount of energy coming from the sun either remained constant or

increased slightly.

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If the warming were caused by a more active sun, then scientists would expect to see warmer

temperatures in all layers of the atmosphere. Instead, they have observed a cooling in the upper

atmosphere, and a warming at the surface and in the lower parts of the atmosphere. That's because

greenhouse gases are trapping heat in the lower atmosphere.

Climate models that include solar irradiance changes can’t reproduce the observed temperature

trend over the past century or more without including a rise in greenhouse gases.

Solutions to Global Warming Many awareness programs and programs to reduce global warming have been run and

implemented by the government agencies, business leaders, private sectors, NGOs, etc. Some of

the damages through global warming cannot be returned by the solution (like melting of ice caps).

However, we should not get back and try everyone’s best to reduce the effects of global warming

by reducing the human causes of global warming. We should try to reduce the emissions of

greenhouse gases to the atmosphere and adopt some climate changes which are already happening

for years. Instead of using electrical energy we should try using clean energy or energy produced

by solar system, wind and geothermal. Reducing the level of coal and oil burning, use of

transportation means, use of electrical devices, etc. may reduce the global warming to a great level

There is no single solution to global warming, which is primarily a problem of too much heat-

trapping carbon dioxide (CO2), methane and nitrous oxide in the atmosphere. The technologies

and approaches outlined below are all needed to bring down the emissions of these gases by at

least 80 percent by mid-century. To see how they are best deployed in each region of the world,

use the menu at left.

Boosting energy efficiency: The energy used to power, heat, and cool our homes, businesses, and industries is the single largest

contributor to global warming. Energy efficiency technologies allow us to use less energy to get

the same—or higher—level of production, service, and comfort. This approach has vast potential

to save both energy and money, and can be deployed quickly.

Greening transportation: The transportation sector's emissions have increased at a faster rate than any other energy-using

sector over the past decade. A variety of solutions are at hand, including improving efficiency

(miles per gallon) in all modes of transport, switching to low-carbon fuels, and reducing vehicle

miles traveled through smart growth and more efficient mass transportation systems.

Revving up renewables: Renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, geothermal and bioenergy are available around the

world. Multiple studies have shown that renewable energy has the technical potential to meet the

vast majority of our energy needs. Renewable technologies can be deployed quickly, are

increasingly cost-effective, and create jobs while reducing pollution.

Phasing out fossil fuel electricity: Dramatically reducing our use of fossil fuels—especially

carbon-intensive coal—is essential to tackle climate change. There are many ways to begin this

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process. Key action steps include: not building any new coal-burning power plants, initiating a

phased shutdown of coal plants starting with the oldest and dirtiest, and capturing and storing

carbon emissions from power plants. While it may sound like science fiction, the technology exists

to store carbon emissions underground. The technology has not been deployed on a large scale or

proven to be safe and permanent, but it has been demonstrated in other contexts such as oil and

natural gas recovery. Demonstration projects to test the viability and costs of this technology for

power plant emissions are worth pursuing.

Managing forests and agriculture: Taken together, tropical deforestation and emissions from agriculture represent nearly 30 percent

of the world's heat-trapping emissions. We can fight global warming by reducing emissions from

deforestation and forest degradation and by making our food production practices more

sustainable.

Exploring nuclear: Because nuclear power results in few global warming emissions, an increased share of nuclear

power in the energy mix could help reduce global warming—but nuclear technology poses serious

threats to our security and, as the accident at the Fukushima Diaichi plant in Japan illustrates to

our health and the environment as well. The question remains: can the safety, proliferation, waste

disposal, and cost barriers of nuclear power be overcome?

Developing and deploying new low-carbon and zero-carbon technologies: Research into and

development of the next generation of low-carbon technologies will be critical to deep mid-century

reductions in global emissions. Current research on battery technology, new materials for solar

cells, harnessing energy from novel sources like bacteria and algae, and other innovative areas

could provide important breakthroughs.

Ensuring sustainable development: The countries of the world—from the most to the least developed—vary dramatically in their

contributions to the problem of climate change and in their responsibilities and capacities to

confront it. A successful global compact on climate change must include financial assistance from

richer countries to poorer countries to help make the transition to low-carbon development

pathways and to help adapt to the impacts of climate change.

Adapting to changes already underway: As the Climate Hot Map demonstrates, the impacts of a warming world are already being felt by

people around the globe. If climate change continues unchecked, these impacts are almost certain

to get worse. From sea level rise to heat waves, from extreme weather to disease outbreaks, each

unique challenge requires locally-suitable solutions to prepare for and respond to the impacts of

global warming. Unfortunately, those who will be hit hardest and first by the impacts of a changing

climate are likely to be the poor and vulnerable, especially those in the least developed countries.

Developed countries must take a leadership role in providing financial and technical help for

adaptation.

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Conclusion The ‘Conclusion’ confirms that global warming is the major challenge for our global society. There

is very little doubt that global warming will change our climate in the next century. So what are

the solutions to global warming? First, there must be an international political solution. Second,

funding for developing cheap and clean energy production must be increased, as all economic

development is based on increasing energy usage. We must not pin all our hopes on global politics

and clean energy technology, so we must prepare for the worst and adapt. If implemented now, a

lot of the costs and damage that could be caused by changing climate can be mitigated.