This essay clarifies several parts: how human activity influences the climate change, the role of human activity, the impact of natural events. Human activity that is most likely to have a strong impact on the climate change is the burning of the fossil fuels and deforestation. An example of this is the carbon dioxide emissions. A recent report (UNEPWMO, 2004, P10) stated, a great number of carbon dioxide emissions are the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, oil and natural gas which used for transportation, manufacture, industrial uses as well as electricity generation. Owing to the development of industry and the use of fossil fuels, the amount of carbon dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere has produced and the average global temperature seems to have risen.
Car exhaust causes pollution such as carbon dioxide which is caused from the burning of fuel. This is a major issue for our environment but an even larger issue in urbanized areas. These areas have millions of cars on the road everyday producing a massive amount of air pollutions to one congested area. This is one leaning factor to Global Warming. With urbanization comes expansion when this happens cities must make more roads, buildings, roads and homes to accommodate its population.
This essay will show the reason why we need renewable energies and two solutions to use them effectively. There are three main problems with the use of fossil fuels. Firstly, although they are the main sources for world energy supply，they are also the main cause of man-made climate change resulting from the CO2 emissions produced. The global carbon budget has shown that 87 percent of all human-produced carbon dioxide emissions come from the burning of fossil fuels like coal, natural gas and oil (Le Quéré, 1107-1157). The consequence of climate change is serious.
The effects of gasoline engines have taken its toll on the environment. They contribute heavily to the current pollution of the air that we breathe. The emissions from gasoline cars help to produce greenhouse gases. As stated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency greenhouse gases are gases that trap heat within Earth’s atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is one of the main elements which trap heat.
“The increase in the mean temperature of the earth due to excessive emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrogen.” ( Green) These extra gases are making it hard for heat to escape the Earth’s atmosphere resulting in warmer temperatures. Here is a model of the Greenhouse Effect retrieved from http://epa.gov/climatechange/kids/greenhouse.html. Ethical Issues on Global Warming There are many causes of Global Warming to include Carbon Dioxide from power plants, cars, airplanes, and from buildings. “In 2002 about 40% of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions stem from the burning of fossil fuels for the purpose of electricity generation.”(Ayres) 93% of electricity generations is produced by coal. 33% of the carbon dioxide comes from vehicles.
The main polluter in the world is nowadays the industry. Among other detrimental things, industries use lots of fossil fuels as oil, gas and coal which are the main sources of pollution. The industry has been the one who pollutes the most. There are many industries around the world that using the fossil fuels are making too much smoke that pollutes the environment because of the emission of gases and harmful substances on the air. Those gases can spread locally or at big distances contaminating big areas.
Unfortunately, the activity of burning or combusting fossil fuels releases various kinds of hazardous substances and pollutants which eventually leads to changes in the environment; such as climate change, global warming, and changes in environmental health. Let us start with the change in climate or climate change. For over the past 150 years, the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal and oil have caused the concentrations of heat-trapping "greenhouse gases" to increase significantly in our atmosphere. These gases prevent heat from escaping to space, somewhat like the glass panels of a greenhouse. It would change our climate, but it would not bring us close to the level of uninhabitable Venus.
As a result of man made activities such as the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation, the amounts of all of these gases in our atmosphere has greatly increased. Forests are extremely vital as they assist in naturally removing carbon dioxide and other polluting gases from the air. The concentration of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere has increased by over 30% within the past two centuries and levels of methane have doubled. In cities, many human activities have contributed to the amount of air pollution we have. There are two main sources of air pollution: anthropogenic sources (human activity) and natural sources.
Natural emission sources of SO2 and NOx include volcanic eruptions and lightening, however unfortunately, there are numerous man-made activities that produce far greater quantities of these gases, such as, the combustion of fossil fuels, industrial manufacturing processes and automobile exhausts. It is estimated that in the atmosphere two thirds of SO2 and one fourth of NOx molecules come from electric power generators alone. Impacts of acid rain: • Soil: Acidification of soil results in K+, Mg+ and Ca+ leaching out of solution, causing nutrient deficiency and loss of soil fertility. • Vegetation: Acid rain causes anatomical alterations in the leaves of tropical trees leaving them venerable to disease. • Aquatic ecosystems: Acid rain makes water bodies, such as streams, rivers and lakes, acidic.
Major sources of nitrogen oxide include fuel combustion in power plants and automobiles and processes used in chemical plants. Nitrogen oxide is formed when