Download Global Warming

Global Warming
By Renata Kecskes
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but
the one most responsive to change”
-Charles Darwin
One of the most vigorously debated topics on Earth is the issue of climate change. A wide range of
intellectuals and environmentalists are speculating on the future of mankind. Scientists report that
this phenomenon will increasingly lead to catastrophic natural disasters, such as more frequent and
intense droughts, floods, and hurricanes, rising sea levels, and more disease outbreaks.
But what is global warming? How is global warming affecting our lives on Earth? What can we do
here in the Cayman Islands far away from the busy city life to keep our home as healthy and green
as it was 50 years ago? Perhaps the Island is not as over populated as New York or Tokyo but let’s
face the truth: Cayman is getting more and more developed, bringing up the need for some urgent
changes in our everyday and in our household.
What is the greenhouse effect?
The greenhouse effect helps to regulate the temperature of our planet. It is essential for life on
Earth and is one of Earth’s natural processes. Without a natural greenhouse effect, the temperature
of the Earth would be around zero degrees F (-18C) instead of its present 57 degrees F (14C).
So the concern is not with the fact that we have a greenhouse effect, but whether human activities
are leading to an enhancement of the greenhouse effect by the emission of greenhouse gases
through fossil fuel combustion and deforestation.
Gases that trap heat in the atmosphere are called greenhouse gases. Some greenhouse gases such as
carbon dioxide occur naturally and are emitted to the atmosphere through natural processes and
human activities. Other greenhouse gases (e.g. fluorinated gases) are created and emitted solely
through human activities. Nearly 50% of the carbon dioxide that humans have pumped into the
atmosphere over the last 200 years has been absorbed by the sea.
Is the climate warming?
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change states that the temperature rise over the 100-year
period from 1906-2005 was 0.74 C. For the last 50 years, the linear warming trend has been 0.13 C
per decade. The global temperature changes are not uniform over the globe because of the force of
nature and human activity. (e.g. in certain places the Antarctic peninsula has warmed by 2.5 C in
the past 5 decades, meanwhile East Antarctic has not significantly warmed). 7 of the 8 warmest
years on record have occurred since 2001 and the 10 warmest years have all occurred since
1995.