Global Warming

Global warming can be defined as an increase in the average temperature of the Earth, including the surface air and oceans. As per studies conducted, it has been stated that the Earth's temperature has increased by about 1 degree Fahrenheit in the last 100 years. his rise in

temperature was profound during the industrial revolution, when emission of carbon dio!ide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere increased. "f this statistics continue in the coming future, then the weather pattern of the Earth will not be the same as it is today. 1. Causes of Global Warming he causes of global warming can be discussed under two categories, namely, the natural causes and the man#made causes. $atural causes encompasses e!ploding of sunspots, solar output variations, volcanic eruptions and changes in the Earth's orbit. %onsidering these natural causes, many scientists are of the opinion that the Earth will have to e!perience global warming, even without the influence of industrial and human activities. here is no doubt that greenhouse gases occur naturally and are responsible for warming the Earth to sustain life &greenhouse effect'. (owever, e!cess amount of G(G has adverse effects) human activities li*e burning of fossil fuels contribute a lot to global warming. +hile burning fossil fuels, carbon dio!ide, o,one and other gases are released, which in turn, traps the solar energy, leading to an increase in temperature. -ower plants generate the highest G(G, while automobiles ran* second. Another man#made cause of global warming is deforestation) with a decline in the number of trees, the amount of carbon dio!ide getting absorbed will be less. 2. Effects of Global Warming As more heat is trapped by the greenhouse gases, the overall effect of global warming is climatic change, which is evident from the melting of glaciers, rising of sea level, changing pattern of precipitation and drying of cloud forests. Eventually, the potential ris*s of global warming includes species e!tinction, disturbed food webs, coastal flooding, shrin*age of rainforests, increased drought, e!treme weather conditions, increased disease vectors and change in crop yields. +ith these potential threats, there have been many issues regarding the responsibilities that should be ta*en up against global warming.

A ma.or impact on global warming is the signing of /yoto -rotocol, an environmental treaty, on 0ecember 11, 1112 by many nations. he main ob.ective of /yoto protocol is to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases &G(G', particularly carbon dio!ide, methane, nitrous o!ide and sulfur he!afluoride. 3nder this protocol, the developed industriali,ed nations agreed to reduce the G(G by 4.5 percent in comparison to the emission of 1110. An effective way of reducing G(G is to ma*e the public aware about the pros and cons of global warming. -ublic should be encouraged to use renewable energy sources and conserve energy as much as possible. 6ore sophisticated technologies should be developed so as to ma*e cleaner cars and a better way to generate electricity. 7nly then, we will be able to minimi,e global warming and at the same time, save energy for future generations.