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Marisa Summers Mr. Facchin College Prep English December 19, 2014 Global Warming, Fact or Fiction? Growing up, I never really thought about global warming, except when it was mentioned on the worldwide news. I remember passing through the living room, hearing about the rising temperatures and problems it was causing. I would quickly become worried thinking, “What is happening to our planet?” Aside from that, it was never an issue that crossed my mind; it wasn’t affecting me, so I could care less. As I grow older, I am hearing more and more about global warming. With the changes in the weather, it’s hard not to be confronted with it. There’s not much we can do to prevent it without knowing the causes of it. What are the causes of global warming? The viewpoints of what is causing global warming vary from scientific outlooks to religious perspectives. Some believe that the human race is the cause of global warming. I have also heard some say that global warming is to be expected, according to their religion. It is clear that global warming is indeed happening. The cause is unclear. Personally, I haven’t noticed any drastic signs of global warming. It is said that the temperatures are rising, but it does not seem very significant. I often wonder, at what point will these climate changes become extreme? It has caused a variation in the earth’s normal patterns, but when will it become unbearable? If this controversial issue gets out of hand, I can only imagine that these rising temperatures will cause animals to die out, food supplies to decrease, and human population to decline. Summers 2 Climate changes on earth seem to be happening very gradually. There hasn’t been a rapid or sudden change in the climate, the temperatures rise fairly slowly. So my question is, is global warming as serious as people make it seem to be? Global warming has recently started to look like a big issue. Believe it or not, changes in the climate have been going on for awhile. It started long before humans came along. Although global warming has been happening before the existence of humans, scientists believe the human race has sped up the progress of it (http://www.life123.com/). Before deciding how serious this subject is, we must know what it is. So what is global warming? Global warming is the heating of the earth’s atmosphere. Naturally, the sun heats the earth’s atmosphere and this heat reradiates back into space. Gases called greenhouse gases get trapped in the earth’s atmosphere, warming the ground, air, oceans, and clouds. The main greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide but there are more, some of which have been created by humans. The earth goes through natural warming and cooling periods, but has been going through an abnormal trend of warming. Scientists believe this has a lot to do with global warming (Berne). The trapping of these greenhouse gases causes a discernible problem: rising temperatures. Global warming generates many problems and changes but this is the most obvious problem of them all. The evidence of these rising temperatures has been recorded and it is noted that the 2001-2010 decade was the warmest since 1880 when records first started (http://www.climatehotmap.org/). The climate changes that have manifested on the planet seem to have a domino effect. One problem leads to another. With rising temperatures comes melting glaciers and with melting glaciers comes rising sea levels. High temperatures make glaciers melt faster and eventually Summers 3 disappear. Climate changes not only affect the earth, but also the living species on the earth. The melting of glaciers and ice caps has a negative impact on its inhabitants. Polar bears are predicted to go extinct if this event continues. They have been drowning because of the long distances they have to swim to get to ice floes (http://www.nrdc.org). During the Arctic ice melt of 2011, a female polar bear swam for nine days across the Beaufort Sea without stopping. It cost the polar bear 22 percent of her weight and her cub. Polar bears rarely spend time on land, except during the summer and during this time they do not eat much. The summers are extending and the bay takes longer to freeze up causing the bears to go longer without food (http://www.nwf.org). The polar bear is just one example of the many species that are being affected by global warming. Melting glaciers, rising sea levels, and dying polar bears, it all may seem irrelevant to us. A closer look at climate changes has opened my eyes; global warming will impact humans as well as animals. The melting of glaciers is far out of my reach, but the weather in my area is not. Rainy days, they make everyone happy, right? Of course not, I personally feel down on rainy days. With increased temperatures comes increased precipitation. Generally, the wetter places become wetter. The drier places get even drier. This creates the problems of flooding and droughts. The warming of the earth results in more heat waves (http://www.climatecommunication.org). Heat waves can be harmful to a human’s health. In severe heat a human can go through heat exhaustion or worse, a heat stroke. Each year there are 688 deaths related to extreme heat (CDC). Overheating can have a negative influence on the nervous system, circulatory system, and the organs (http://www.scientificamerican.com). Human’s health can decline not only through the overheating that comes with climate change, but also through infectious diseases. Warmer temperatures make it easier for diseases to Summers 4 spread. Diseases like the West Nile, Lyme, and Dengue fever are spread through insects which thrive in heat. Longer periods of heat give these insects more time to reproduce and even spread malignant diseases (http://www.nrdc.org). Believe it or not, global warming can contribute to dietary deficiency. Food productivity is at risk because of the climate changes. Droughts are causing crops and livestock to reduce their yields. The increased rainfall in some areas causes a delay in harvesting because of the flooding (http://www.climatehotmap.org). The population of people is always growing. It is becoming harder for food production to keep up with its demand. Food prices are constantly rising along with the temperatures. The warmer temperatures may not be a completely bad thing though. In fact, in some places the warmer weather could elongate the harvesting season as long as an adequate amount of water is present. Typically, the negative impacts outweigh the positive and global warming is not very beneficial in this aspect. Yes, they are many problems that have risen because of global warming. It makes it difficult to see what positive things come from climate changes. People are so stuck on the idea that global warming is a terrible controversy that we never hear about how it actually can be beneficial. As mentioned before, the growing season can be lengthened because of the heat. It also creates more usable land for growing crops. Warmer temperatures make land more agriculture-friendly. There is more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere; humans can’t use it but plants love it. This is good for the plant-eating animal species. Oil is a natural resource that is very limited. Scientists have found that the Arctic has a great amount of oil which would have been close to impossible without the melting of some of the ice in the Arctic. No one seems to appreciate the heat now, but what about during those long cold winters? Heat bills can become extremely high in the winter. So, maybe a warmer winter wouldn’t be so bad. Just as there are Summers 5 diseases that spread quickly in heat, there are cold-weather diseases that are just as fatal, like the flu which kills many each year. The winter-time can be dangerous from snow and ice. Roads become slick and many accidents occur. A warmer winter could eliminate this problem. Lastly, some people just enjoy the warmer weather (http://listosaur.com). Before doing any research, I thought that global warming was happening at an unrecognizable speed. Scientists have recorded that rate of global warming is actually increasing and temperatures have risen 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit around the world since 1880. I always knew global warming existed, but I wasn’t aware of how much the earth is affected by it. The problems caused by global warming are like a never-ending list. Some of these problems are more important to us than others. I didn’t even realize how climate changes are impacting the earth we live on. Without becoming educated on global warming, or any other subject for that matter, it is hard to judge what is going on. After learning so much about this topic, in the future, I believe global warming will get worse. The thoughts on what is causing global warming vary, and whether or not it can be prevented is still undetermined. Not only is global warming as serious as people make it seem to be, but it is even more serious than people make it seem to be and in my opinion hasn’t gained enough attention. Summers 6 Works Cited Berne, Emma Carlson. Global Warming and Climate Change. San Diego, CA: ReferencePoint, 2008. Print. "Climate Change Threatens Health: Infectious Diseases." NRDC:. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2014. "Consequences of Global Warming." Consequences of Global Warming. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Dec. 2014. "Global Warming Effects on Air Temperature." Global Warming Effects on Air Temperature. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Dec. 2014. "Global Warming Fast Facts." National Geographic. National Geographic Society, n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2014. "Global Warming and Polar Bears." Global Warming and Polar Bears. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2014. "Global Warming Is Already Affecting Weather." Climate Communication. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2014. Global Weirdness: Severe Storms, Deadly Heat Waves, Relentless Drought, Rising Seas, and the Weather of the Future. New York: Pantheon, 2012. Print Hertsgaard, Mark. Hot: Living through the next Fifty Years on Earth. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011. Print. "How Should a Christian View Global Warming?" GotQuestions.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Dec. 2014. "How Does a Heat Wave Affect the Human Body?" Scientific American Global RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Dec. 2014. "Top 10 Possible Benefits Of Global Warming." Listosaur Hungry for Knowledge. N.p., 06 Mar. 2011. Web. 19 Dec. 2014. "When Did Global Warming Start." Life123. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Dec. 2014.