Physical geography

20 Apr. Global warming: In the contemporary age, global warming has become a very serious issue. The world has progressed a lot because of rapid industrialization, though it has had some extremely negative effects on the environment. This paper tends to explore factors that have caused global warming, gives evidence to prove that global warming is a problem, analyzes the impacts of global warming on the environment and proposes some measures that a common man can take to play his part in reducing global warming. Various natural processes have caused global warming. Increase in the content of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is the fundamental cause of global warming. For example, all animals and humans inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide and thus, replace atmospheric oxygen with carbon dioxide. Because of this natural process of respiration, all humans and animals are not only increasing the carbon dioxide content in the atmosphere, but also reducing the content of oxygen in the air. This is the natural process of respiration and there is no fault of animals or humans in this. Anthropogenic causes are the main contributors to global warming. Trees replace carbon dioxide with oxygen, but they are being readily cut down by humans. Also, as the population is growing, more and more vehicles are crowding the roads. Fuel that burns in them generates such greenhouse gases into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (NO). Increase in the content of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere directly increases global warming. Global warming is a real problem. This can be estimated from the enormous increase in the content of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that has occurred over the centuries. The following figure displays the rise in carbon emissions into the atmosphere since 1751. Emissions of carbon from 1751 to 2000 (Deem). From the figure, it can be seen how the emission of carbon has experienced a manifold increase since the industrial revolution. Natural gas and petroleum has been used extensively after the Second World War till today. Their burning directly emits carbon dioxide and increases global warming. Besides, the intensifying global warming can also be estimated from the rise in sea level that has occurred in the recent years. The impact it has on the environment speaks of the gravity of this problem. The temperature on Earth has increased. Summer are becoming unbearably hot. Glaciers are melting away and the life of animal species like polar bears is threatened. Rise in sea level is also the cause of hurricanes, cyclones and tsunamis that have blanketed the world recently. A common person can reduce his/her contribution to global warming by using bicycles instead of cars, making use of energy efficient products, and planting more trees. If every person plants one tree, number of trees on Earth will increase sufficiently to cause a considerable decrease in global warming. Bicycles are a good means of transport as they do not need fueling to be rode. Global warming has already caused the Earth enough harm and must be stopped from aggravating before it is too long. Works Cited: Deem, Rich. “ Global Warming: Will Human-Induced Climate Change Destroy the World?” 20 Jan. 2010. Web. 20 Apr. 2011. .