GLOBAL WARMING
Global
warming is the unusually rapid increase in Earth’s average surface temperature
over the past century primarily due to the greenhouse gases released by people
burning fossil fuels.
In the United States, the burning of fossil fuels to make electricity is the largest source of heat-trapping pollution, producing about two billion tons of CO2 every year. Coal-burning power plants are by far the biggest polluters. The country’s second-largest source of carbon pollution is the transportation sector, which generates about 1.7 billion tons of CO2 emissions a year.
Curbing dangerous climate change requires very deep cuts in emissions, as well as the use of alternatives to fossil fuels worldwide. The good news is that we’ve started a turnaround: CO2 emissions in the United States actually decreased from 2005 to 2014, thanks in part to new, energy-efficient technology and the use of cleaner fuels. And scientists continue to develop new ways to modernize power plants, generate cleaner electricity, and burn less gasoline while we drive. The challenge is to be sure these solutions are put to use and widely adopted.
CAUSES OF GLOBLE WARMING
Power Plants
Forty percent of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions stem from electricity
production. Ninety-three percent of the electric industry emissions result from
burning coal. According to the EPA coal-fired power plants, municipal and
medical waste incineration account for two-thirds of U.S. mercury emissions.
Transportation
EPA reports state that thirty-three percent of U.S. emissions come from
the transportation of people and goods.
Farming
Industrial farming and ranching releases huge levels of methane and
carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Farming contributes forty percent of the
methane and twenty percent of the carbon dioxide to worldwide emissions.
Deforestation
Deforestation to use wood for building materials, paper and fuel
increases global warming in two ways -- the release of carbon dioxide during
the deforestation process and the reduction in the amount of carbon dioxide
that forests can capture.
Fertilizers
The use of nitrogen-rich fertilizers increases the amount of heat
cropland can store. Nitrogen oxides can trap up to 300 times more heat than
carbon dioxide. Sixty-two percent of nitrous oxide released comes from
agricultural byproducts..
Garbage
As trash breaks down in landfills, it releases methane and nitrous oxide
gases. Approximately eighteen percent of methane gas in the atmosphere comes
from waste disposal and treatment.
Volcanic Eruption
Volcanoes expel large quantities of carbon dioxide when they erupt.
Volcanoes have an overall small effect on global warming and an eruption causes
a short-term global cooling as ash in the air reflects greater amounts of solar
energy
EFFECTS OF GLOBLE WARNING
- Melting glaciers, early snowmelt, and severe droughts will cause more dramatic water shortages and increase the risk of wildfires in the American West.
- Rising sea levels will lead to coastal flooding on the Eastern Seaboard, especially in Florida, and in other areas such as the Gulf of Mexico.
- Forests, farms, and cities will face troublesome new pests, heat waves, heavy downpours, and increased flooding. All those factors will damage or destroy agriculture and fisheries.
- Disruption of habitats such as coral reefs and Alpine meadows could drive many plant and animal species to extinction.
- Allergies, asthma, and infectious disease outbreaks will become more common due to increased growth of pollen-producing ragweed, higher levels of air pollution, and the spread of conditions favorable to pathogens and mosquitoes.
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