Emily Trusty

Professor Cassel

English Composition II

May 3, 2020

Global Warming and its Effect on the World

Global warming is one of the most controversial topics being discussed by many

today. Global warming is a gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earth's

atmosphere. I have found there is a lot of research that explains how global warming is

causing great damage to the earth and its environment. Studies also show how life and

animals are also being affected by this. Global warming has emerged as one of the

biggest environmental issues in the last two decades and I feel that more people need

to take this more seriously and do things to lessen its effects.

Earth's climate has changed throughout history. In the last 650,000 years, there

have been seven cycles of glacial advance and retreat (climate.NASA.gov). This means

that glaciers grow and shrink. The glaciers shrink due to global warming and grow due

to precipitation. “​In Montana's Glacier National Park the ​number of glaciers have

declined​ to fewer than 30 from more than 150 in 1910” (​nationalgeographic.com​).​ The

figure below shows how the mass of glaciers has been decreasing due to global

warming.
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Figure 1 Illustration: World Glacier Monitoring Service

The ice from the glaciers is melting which causes the sea levels to increase. “Global sea

levels are ​rising 0.13 inches (3.2 millimeters) a year​” (​nationalgeographic.com​). ​Not only

that, but the oceans are warming up due to the increase in CO2 gasses. On the top 700

meters of the ocean, about 2,300 feet shows that it has been warmed more than 0.4

degrees Fahrenheit since 1969. Thats 0.0078 degrees the ocean is rising per year. It

may not seem like a lot now, but in the far future that can cause great damage.
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Some causes of global warming are since the 18th century we began to build

more factories, cars and power stations that have been slowly putting more and more

CO2 into the atmosphere. Every time we burn coal, gas, or oil we increase the amount

of gasses and add to global warming. In addition forests which absorb CO2 have been

cut down all over the world. With fewer trees more CO2 goes into the atmosphere. Also,

our world population has increased from one billion in 1800, to almost seven billion now.

More people equals more CO2. A warming earth disturbs weather, people, animals and

much more. Excessive emissions are leading to global warming. “If emission

entitlements could be clearly defined and all countries could emit subject only to their

quotas, each country’s emissions behaviour would change and the limitations on global

emissions would not be topped.” (​Garnaut, Ross, et al)

Scientists are detecting a strong link between the planet's warming and its

weather patterns. The dangerous effects of heat waves including death occur as a

result of temperature and humidity. Higher temperatures also boosts evaporation which

dries out soil in the summer and causes droughts. In addition evaporation puts more

moisture into the atmosphere causing hurricanes. Lastly, the increase in snowfall may

also be linked to climate change because there is more moisture in the air because of

the increasing amount of evaporation due to the heat. (Climate.NASA.gov)

Exposure to health hazards related to climate change affects different people in

different communities to different degrees. With climate change the frequency, severity,
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and location are changing. Climate change can affect human health because the same

greenhouse emissions that cause global warming can lead to respiratory disease in

adults and children. “Air pollution kills and estimates 7 million people worldwide every

year” (un.org). By trapping heat in our planet carbon emissions also damage the human

body and mind in other ways, such as heat stroke.

Not only is global warming hurting the earth, it is hurting the animals also. It is

impacting polar bears in the Arctic and sea turtles in Africa (worldwildlife.org). In the

Artic it is having an even bigger effect becasue t​he heat is ​melting glaciers​ and effecting

precipitation patterns​ which are causing animals to have to go elsewhere to find food

(global warming effects). “Since 1906, ​the global average surface temperature has

increased by more than 1.6 degrees​ Fahrenheit (0.9 degrees Celsius)—​even more​ in

sensitive polar regions” ​ (nationalgeographic.com​). Additionally, there has been a study

that indicates how “53% of monarch butterflies have decreased in Mexico due to global

warming”. The climate change has alos affected the turtles nesting sites by altering the

sand temperatures making it too hot to walk on. Because of the heat, it is impcacting teh

turtles mating and producing of eggs, which will ultimately result in a decrease of the

numbers of sea turtles (worldwildlife.org). Figure 2 below shows the picture of a polar

bear and explains the impact that global warming may have on these bears. “Climate

change is impacting flora and fauna across the Arctic. Although scientists don't know

specifically what killed this individual polar bear, experts warn that many of the bears
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are having trouble finding food as the sea ice they historically relied on thins and melts

earlier” (​nationalgeographic.com).

​ hotograph by Christina Mittermeier, Nat Geo Image Collection”

The effects of global warming is being seen already in places such as Mozambi.

Over the past 20 years, Mozambi has an increase in droughts, flooding, and storms.

These increases have hurt the countries economy. Additionally, warmer temperatures,

changes in precipitation and more extreme weather events are projected for the

countries future. “These climate stresses may exacerbate both climate and nonclimate

stresses and affect development objectives, such as food security, natural resources

management, public health, and economic growth.” (​Artur, Luís, and Dorothea Hilhorst).

Because of these extreme changes, the country is having to work at developing early
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warning systems to warn thier people and figuring out how to keep the economy strong

(​Artur, Luís, and Dorothea Hilhorst)​.

Global warming has made such a big impact on society, there is even a movie

about it. This movie is called “Before the Flood” and it is a documentary that follows

actor Leonardo Dicaprios movement to five different continents to gian more of an

understanding of climate change, and its impact on the world. In this film Leonardo talks

with many different scientists and political leaders about this subject. “He also discovers

a calculated dis-information campaign orchestrated by powerful special interests

working to confuse the public about the urgency of the growing climate crisis”

(beforetheflood.com).

“Global warming can also have long term effects if it is not controlled. If it

continues at its current rate, Sea levels are expected to rise between 10 to 32 inches or

higher by the end of the century” ​(​nationalgeographic.com​)​. In addition, hurricanes and

other storms are expected to become strong and floods and droughts more frequent.

“Large parts of the U.S., for example, face a higher risk of decades-long

"​megadroughts​" by 2100” (​nationalgeographic.com​). In addition, if the warming is not

contained, less freshwater will be available since glaciers “store about three-quarters of

the world’s freshwater” (​nationalgeographic.com​). Lastly, because ecosystems will

continue to change some animals will move farther north and some animals, such as

polar bears, could become extinct (​nationalgeographic.com​).

So what is our world doing to help slow down global warming? The World Wide

Fund for Nature (WWF) was set up to urgently trying find ways to help. For example “in

October 2012, the WWF began a four year project to conserve a snow leopard habitat”

(worldwildlife.org). The organization promoted water security and helped communities

prepare for climate change impacts in Central Asia. Additionally, the WWF is asking for

cities to transition toward 100% renewable energy and implement easy measures to

improve air quality, protect water supplies and reduce urban flooding (worldwildlife.org).

In Paris, in response to global warming nearly “200 nations adopted a climate

agreement at the COP21 summit that will aim to limit our planets average global

temperature rise to less than 2 degrees celcius”. Also, at this same meeting in Paris, the

worlds leading scientific organizations also made statements publicly that endorses how

humans are most likely the cause of the past centurys global warming trends

(climate.nasa.gov).

What can we do as individuals to help with this crisis? We can do many things

such as “replace regular incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs, which

consume 70% less energy and lasts longer” (davidsuzuki.org). Additionally other ideas

include: driving less or carpooling, reducing, reusing and recycling, using solar energy,

using less hot water, turning off the lights, and even planting a tree. Eating is another

way to reduce climate change. How so, you might ask? “Eating more meat-free meals

and also growing your own food and not wasting it” (davidsuzuki.org) believe it or not is
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a way to help with global warming. There are many ways to help with global warming,

but these are a few that don’t take that are not to extreme and take little effort.

In the above paragraph, it is mentioned that reduce, reuse, recycle is a way to

help reduce global warming. Reducing is important because 230 million tons of garbage

is created in the U.S. each year (​www.pbs.org​). Reusing is important because one

ceramic coffee mug saves enough energy to produce 500 paper cups. Lastly, recycle is

important because there are 79 million tons of materials diverted from landfills and

incinerators. Lauren Singer, a New York resident has done this in a big way and she

managed to fit four years of trash she produced into a single mason jar

(nationalgeographic.com). This is an extreme example, but if we all put in just a little

effort it could make a big difference. In conclusion, there are things that we can all do to

help with this important cause, little or big.

Even with the evidence that is outlined above, there are some people that think

climate change is not real and is “fake science” (Trusty). Those who deny it exists have

a few key reasons for their disbelief. One key reason that some do not believe is

because they say scientists can not come to a mutual agreement on what causes global

warming. Some studies dispute that it occurs because of human intervention such as

pollution and ​claim that that statement that 97% of scientists agree on the cause of

global warming is inaccurate (procon.org).​ ​One report states that over 1,000 scientists

disagreed that humans are primarily responsible for global climate change. When
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looking at research from 11,944 studies it was found that only 3,974 of scientists had a

point of view on the causes of global warming. Of those that expressed a point of view

on the causes, “just 64 (1.6%) said humans are the main cause.” (procon.org).

​Another key reason that some do not believe in global warming, is because the

average world temperature has remained consistent for several decades and small

fluctions are not significant. “​Earth’s climate has always warmed and cooled, and the

20th century rise in global temperature is within the bounds of natural temperature

fluctuations over the past 3,000 years.”​(procon.org). Even though the planet has

warmed 1-1.4 degrees, many say that this is soo tiny and is not a significant increase

and that it is not the first time we have seen the slight increases. “A study published in

Boreas​ found that summer temperatures during the Roman Empire and Medieval

periods were "consistently higher" than temperatures during the 20th century.”

(procon.org)

In conclusion, global warming is a major issue for the world and has many

negative side effects such as the impact on the earth, people, and animals around us.

As you can see from the studies I discussed above, I believe there is a tremendous

amount of evidence of global warming that should not be ignored. I feel that since global

warming is moving at slow rate people dont really give it that much attention. But we

should be trying to stop it as soon as we can before it gets too out of control. The

government and individuals are currently taking action to fight this challenge but it is
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going to take everyone working there hardest to beat it. There are many things called

out in this paper that we can all do to help with this very serious issue. “There is still

time to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, if we take strong action now”.

(Unfccc.int)
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Work Cited:

Abraham, John. “Glacier Loss Is Accelerating Because of Global Warming | John Abraham.”

The Guardian​, Guardian News and Media, 18 Apr. 2018,

www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2018/apr/18/

glacier-loss-is-accelerating-because-of-global-warming.

Artur, Luís, and Dorothea Hilhorst. “Climate Change Adaptation in Mozambique.” ​The
Social and Behavioural Aspects of Climate Change,​ Aug. 2017, pp. 114–129.,
doi:10.4324/9781351278768-7.

“Climate Change Evidence: How Do We Know?” ​NASA​, NASA, 30 Dec. 2019,

“Effects of Climate Change.” ​WWF​, World Wildlife Fund,

www.worldwildlife.org/threats/effects-of-climate-change.

“GARBAGE DREAMS | Recycling Tips | Independent Lens.” ​PBS​, Public Broadcasting

Service, www.pbs.org/independentlens/garbage-dreams/recycling.html.

Garnaut, Ross, et al. ​Chinas New Place in a World in Crisis: Economic Geopolitical and
Environmental Dimensions.​ ANU E Press, 2009.

“Global Warming Effects.” ​Global Warming and Climate Change Effects: Information
and Facts​, 4 Feb. 2019,
www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/global-warming-effect
s/.
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“Pros & Cons - ProCon.org.” ​Climate Change,​ climatechange.procon.org/.

Stevens, Fisher. “Before the Flood.” : Appian Way Productions, RatPac-Dune

“Stressing Air Pollution Kills 7 Million People Annually, Secretary-General Urges

Governments to Build Green Economy, in Message for World

Environment Day | Meetings Coverage and Press Releases.” ​United

Nations​, United Nations, www.un.org/press/en/2019/sgsm19607.doc.htm.

“Top 10 Things You Can Do about Climate Change.” ​David Suzuki Foundation,​

davidsuzuki.org/what-you-can-do/top-10-ways-can-stop-climate-change/.

Trusty, Don. “Personal interview on Global Warming Crisis.” 11 Apr. 2020.