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Avery Bish

Professor Hunter

English Composition II

7 February 2020

Global Warming and The Earth

Earth is a beautiful planet. Out of the billions

of planets in the universe, the human population

gets to live on the one with beautiful mountains,

rolling rivers, amazing sunsets, and so much more.

Earth offers so much to our species, but it is on the

edge of a crisis. Global warming is an issue that

puts the Earth in danger. The greenhouse effect is

causing global warming and results in climate

change. There are steps to be taken as a

population and as individuals to combat this global emergency.

The definition of global warming is Earth’s climate heating over a long period of time

(“Overview”, 4). While global warming has not been observed for hundreds of years, ideas of

global warming have been around for a long time. Opinions and views date back to as late as

ancient Greeks, who believed it was possible for humans to change temperature and climate. In

the 1890s, people even began to accept the idea of a warmer Earth with warmer temperatures and

better climates. Over time, this view has changed from welcoming to terrifying. In the 1970s,

people began to become scared, but for a different kind of temperature change. People actually
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thought that the Earth would go into global cooling due to pollutants in the air. Global warming

became an actual concern in the early 1980s when there was a spike in global temperatures

(“Climate Change History”, 2-35). Global warming and climate change now threaten how

humans live on a daily basis. Rising temperatures may cause droughts, wildfires, flooding, and

more issues that will have to be dealt with over time.

The greenhouse effect is the main cause of global warming. NASA scientists state that the

greenhouse effect is “warming that results when the atmosphere traps heat radiating from Earth

toward space” (“The Causes of Climate Change”, 1). Certain gases tend to absorb heat in the

atmosphere. These gases include nitrous oxide, methane, and carbon dioxide (“The Causes of

Climate Change”, 3). As these gases absorb heat leaving the atmosphere, the global temperature

rises (“The Causes of Climate Change”). While a portion of these greenhouse gases are produced

and released naturally by vegetation, volcanoes, etc., humans are the primary cause for their higher

concentration in the atmosphere.

Nitrous oxide and methane are both two very important greenhouse gases when it comes to

global warming. Many industrial and agricultural activities produce nitrous oxide (“Global

Warming and Climate Change”, 7). Examples of these activities include using organic fertilizers,

fossil fuel combustion, nitric acid production, and burning biomass (“Global Warming and Climate

Change”, 7). Methane is another concerning greenhouse gas. The concentration of methane in the

atmosphere grows with the production of fossil fuels, landfills, and livestock (“Global Warming

and Climate Change”). Research done by Robert Goodland, a retired environmental advisor, and

Jeff Anhand, an environmental advisor, states that “37 percent of human-induced methane comes

from livestock” and that livestock methane made up 11.6 percent of greenhouse gases worldwide
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(“Livestock”). Livestock is a leading contributor to global warming with how much methane they

produce from breathing, land use, and manure (“Livestock”). While nitrous oxide and methane

contribute a lot to global warming, the most problematic greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide.

Carbon dioxide makes up a small portion of the atmosphere, but it plays a very important

role when it comes to global warming. Vegetation on Earth naturally releases over two billion

metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year, human activities add an extra seven

billion metric tons, increasing the annual total by 350 percent (“Global Warming and Climate

Change”, 6). These human activities include deforestation, industrial processes, and most

importantly, the burning of fossil fuels. A study done by NASA says that carbon dioxide levels in

the atmosphere are the highest they have been in 650,000 years (“Global Climate Change”). 

Carbon dioxide makes up a small portion of Earth’s atmosphere, but it is one of the leading

greenhouse gases.

It is important to look at what global warming is doing to the Earth in order to understand

how large of an issue it actually is. The main effect of global warming is climate change. Climate

change and global warming are often used interchangeably, but they actually mean very different

things. Climate change is defined as “long-term change in the average weather patterns that have

come to define Earth’s local, regional and global climates” (“Overview: Weather, Global Warming

and Climate Change”, 5). Global warming is strictly the rise of Earth’s global temperatures, which

leads to climate change.

There are many examples of climate change that can be seen all over the Earth. One huge

part of the world where climate change is observed is Antarctica. With global warming increasing

global temperatures, it causes ice in the arctic to melt. NASA scientists have found that Antarctica’s
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mass decreases by 127 gigatonnes per year (“Global Climate Change”). This mass decrease is also

seen on the north end of the world. Greenland’s mass has been rapidly decreasing over the years at

a rate of 256 gigatonnes per year, about double the amount seen annually in Antarctica (“Global

Climate Change”). As the ice melts, the water has to go somewhere. That somewhere is into the

ocean. As the water from melting glaciers and ice sheets flows into the oceans, ocean levels rise.

A study conducted by NASA shows that ocean levels rise 3.3 millimeters per year (“Global

Climate Change”). The rise in ocean levels is also due to the expansion of water as it heats up

(“Global Climate Change”). Rising ocean levels pose a threat to coastal towns who may become

flooded within the next few decades and the rising temperature of ocean waters could lead to more

severe hurricanes in the future (“Global Warming and Climate Change”, 11-12). Though many

observations of climate change are seen through the melting and heating of water in the ocean,

there are effects that are seen on mainland as well.

Climate change threatens humans, animals, and vegetation living on the mainland. Intense

heat may cause droughts, frequent heat waves, and wildfires (“Global Warming and Climate

Change”, 11). All of these heat effects have even worse effects that would impact the human

population in devastating ways. More frequent heat waves may cause an increase in heat-related

deaths and wildfires have the potential to impact the habitats of animals and homes of families

(“Global Warming and Climate Change”, 13). Droughts, along with farmlands that are too wet,

would lead to the loss of farmland and could potentially result in famine around the world (“Global

Warming and Climate Change”, 13). Climate change can be seen all over the world in wet and dry

forms, making no one safe from global warming. Even though global warming is a rapidly
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worsening problem, there are steps people can take to protect themselves and others from the

consequences.

As the threat of global warming and climate change increase, the human race must do

something to counteract the issue. In order to prepare for incoming consequences and to avoid

additional harmful results, people will need to work together and as individuals to make a change.

NASA scientists suggest that the two categories to focus on are adaptation and mitigation

(“Responding to Climate Change”, 3). In order to combat global warming and climate change,

communities and countries will have to focus on mitigation and adaptation while individuals make

changes in their everyday lives to benefit the Earth.

Mitigation is defined as trying to stabilize the concentration of greenhouse gases in the

atmosphere and lessening the amount of greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere (“Responding

to Climate Change”, 3). Examples of mitigation would be reducing the use of fossil fuels or

enhancing forests and oceans (“Responding to Climate Change”, 3). The goals of mitigation is to

“reduce human interference with the climate system” and to stabilize greenhouse gas levels in order

for ecosystems on earth to adapt (“Responding to Climate Change”, 4). While mitigation is

focused on the ecosystems being able to adapt to a new climate, adaptation is focused on humans

adapting to present or future climate change (“Responding to Climate Change”, 4).

Adaptation consists of preparing for possibly harmful effects of climate change, as well as

making the most of potential benefits (“Responding to Climate Change”, 5). This type of response

would fall mainly on cities and smaller communities who know what specific problems they are to

deal with involving climate change. It would also involve farms taking advantage of longer

growing seasons and larger crop yields in certain areas (“Responding to Climate Change”, 5).
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Mitigation and adaptation are both strategies that cannot be completed by everyday citizens.

Instead of focusing on the larger strategies that would be handled by governments and cities,

individuals should focus on smaller, more manageable tasks they can complete to help fight against

global warming and climate change.

There are many strategies people can apply to their everyday lives in order to help the

Earth. One of the simplest of these strategies is to reduce water waste (“How You Can Stop”, 9).

This consists of turning off the water while brushing your teeth, taking shorter showers, etc. By

reducing water waste, you save energy: The same energy that comes from fossil fuels, which

contribute to global warming and climate change (“How You Can Stop”, 9). Another simple

change to make is to actually eat food bought for the home (“How You Can Stop”, 10). By

wasting less food, you conserve more energy (“How You Can Stop”, 10). Ten percent of U.S.

energy goes into food production, and forty percent of the food produced ends up in landfills

(“How You Can Stop”, 10). In addition to eating all food bought, cutting down on the amount of

animal products helps as well. Since livestock contributes to a large portion of greenhouse gases,

cutting down on animal products results in less livestock being needed and less greenhouse gases

being put into the atmosphere every year (“How You Can Stop”, 10). There are also some larger

changes people can make in their lives in order to help fight against global warming and climate

change.

A lot of big changes people can make in their lives involve their means of transportation.

Transportation makes up 28.9 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. alone (“Sources of

Greenhouse Gas Emissions”, 3). These greenhouse gases come from the petroleum-based fuel

used to power most cars (“Sources of Greenhouse Gas Emissions”, 3). A change people could
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make would be to start driving fuel-efficient cars. Starting to drive fuel-efficient cars, such as

hybrids or fully electric cars, would not only help cut automotive emissions in half, but also save

Americans about $80 billion in gas each year (“How You Can Stop”, 13). Another decision

people can make in their lives to help against global warming is choosing to live in areas that are

walkable or that have quality public transportation (“How You Can Stop”, 15). By living in these

locations, it cuts down on driving overall, since there are many other means of transportation.

People can also choose to switch to more eco-friendly means of energy, such as solar power, wind

power, etc. Doing so would cut down on the amount of fossil fuels used to power homes across

the world and subsequently cut down on greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere (“Our

planet is warming”, 13).

Because the negative effects global warming and climate change are having on Earth are

escalating quickly, it is

important that something is

done to help the Earth soon.

Even though there are things

people can do to help slow

global warming, the Earth’s

temperature would still rise if

we stopped emitting greenhouse gases all together (“Is It Too Late to Prevent Climate Change?”,

1). With that being said, it is still important that action is taken to slow global warming because it

quickly affects Earth in many ways. One example is sea levels rising. If global temperatures keep

rising at the same rate, one billion people will be impacted by rising ocean levels by 2050 (“Our
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planet is warming.”, 6). Coastal areas and islands would be hit hardest and many families would

have to relocate to survive. More people would also be exposed to extreme heat waves more

often. If the global temperature is allowed to rise two degrees celsius, 2.7 billion people will be

affected every 5 years by frequent and severe heat waves (“Our planet is warming.”, 9). If global

warming can be slowed through collaboration throughout individuals, communities, and

governments, these catastrophes and many others may be avoided.

People may say that the primary cause of global warming is the sun. A recent scientific

study claims that the sun’s natural cycle is a main cause of global warming on Earth. The study

says that global warming is caused due to the Earth and Sun becoming closer together because of

how the Sun and Earth move naturally (Vaughan, 1). This article was quickly squashed as a myth

by the science community. Ken Rice from the University of Edinburgh says “”The claim that we

will see warming in the coming centuries because the sun will move closer to the Earth as it moves

around the solar system barycentre is very simply wrong’” and that the study contains elementary

level mistakes (Vaughan, 5). With this article quickly being squashed by scientists, it would be

logical to think that the sun is not a major cause of global warming. But, people still are under the

impression that the sun is to blame when it comes to global concern.

NASA conducted a study to see how global warming and the sun’s temperatures have

changed over the years. While NASA addresses that the Sun can affect the global climate, it is not

responsible for global warming (“Is The Sun Causing Global Warming?”, 1). Changes in Earth’s

orbit around the sun have been responsible for the coming of Ice Ages in the past, but global

warming has been too rapid to be linked to the Earth’s orbit (“Is The Sun Causing Global

Warming?”,1). There are two major red flags NASA observed that clearly showed that the sun is
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not a cause of global warming. The first was seen by looking at the amount of energy hitting the

top layer of Earth’s atmosphere. As global temperature has risen, the amount of energy hitting the

top layer of the atmosphere from the sun has not increased (“Is The Sun Causing Global

Warming?”, 2). The second reason NASA had to believe that the sun does not contribute to global

warming was that if global warming was caused by the sun, there should be higher temperatures in

every layer of the atmosphere (“Is The Sun Causing Global Warming?”, 3). In reality, there are

higher temperatures near the center of the Earth and cooler temperatures in the stratosphere (“Is

The Sun Causing Global Warming?”, 3). This difference in temperatures shows NASA scientists

that global warming is indeed not caused by the sun, but instead by the greenhouse effect, as

previously thought.

The greenhouse effect has been responsible for global warming and global warming causes

climate change. People all over the world can work as individuals or collaborate to help fight

against global warming. A buildup of greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere have trapped heat

inside and caused global temperatures to rise. This global warming then results in climate change,

which causes ocean levels to rise, glaciers to melt, more frequent droughts, etc. Action needs to be

taken to work towards a healthier planet in the near future. Within a matter of years, Earth as

known could be destroyed. Coastal cities could be flooded, cities could become famished, and

many could die from intense heat waves. It is important that the need for action and change is

understood by people all over the world. Today’s generations do not want their children,

grandchildren, and so forth living in a world ruined by themselves. If action is not taken soon

against global warming and climate change, Earth as known could be lost. Out of the eight planets
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in this solar system, the best one is being destroyed. Beautiful mountains, rolling rivers, and

amazing sunsets could soon be replaced by melted glaciers, flooded cities, and intense heat waves.
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