Global Warming And Climate Change: What Is Climate Change?

Decent Essays
What is Climate Change?

“The planet 's climate has constantly been changing over geological time.” The average global temperature currently remains around 15 Degrees Celsius. However, this figure has constantly been a subject to change in the past. Climate change threatens the world’s economy, climate and population “it is clear that coal, oil and gas will play a significant part in meeting the world’s energy needs for the foreseeable future, and we need to find ways to reduce their emissions” (HM Government). The current span of global warming seems to be much more rapid than before. Scientists are concerned that this natural process “is being overtaken by a rapid anthropogenic (human-induced) warming that has serious implications for the stability of the planet 's climate” (BBC NEWS, 2015). Kevin Trenberth once claimed that “global warming is contributing to an increased
…show more content…
The data below from NASA’s GRACE satellites provide evidence that the land ice sheets are decreasing heavily. There is sufficient evidence in the graphs to prove that “the continent of Antarctica has been losing around 134 gigatons of ice per year since 2002” ,as shown in figure 8, and the Greenland ice sheets have been losing “an estimated 287 gigatons per year” as shown in figure 9 (GRACE Satellite Data) (NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, 2016). The polar ice caps help keep the earth at a nice average temperature however the melting of polar ice caps increases the rate of global warming. The limited solar energy paves the way for cold temperatures and very little precipitation (rain or snow) which helps maintain the polar ice-caps. The ice caps hold more than 75 percent of the earths’ fresh water. They melt directly into the ocean causing the volume of water to rise and it forces seas to move higher and closer to land. This puts many places such as the Republic of Maldives in figure 7 at the risk of

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    Imagine a barren wasteland, incapable of supporting the growth of any form of life and overpopulated with more people than it could sustain: this is the future of the earth. But, this is not just another scene from a sci-fi film of a population that has expedited their vital resources, but the reality for the “over 7 billion people” who populate the home we call earth (Hardaway 4). A considerable amount of blame is placed on global warming which is an “increase in the temperature of the lower atmosphere“; however, global warming has not garnered enough acceptance from some political officials and skeptics due to the term’s ambiguity (“global warming”). Global warming is often confused with climate change and although these terms sound alike…

    • 1270 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    Global Warming In Canada

    • 2001 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Global warming. This topic or word has probably come up so many times over the past few months, maybe in daily conversations, on the media, at school or even at the workplace, and most of the time, it’s not always good things we hear. This might be true in some cases, especially considering the fact that from 1948 to 2013, the average annual temperature of Canada has increased by 1.6 degree Celsius (StatCan, n.d.). Resulting, in a much more rapid rate of melting at the northern ice caps. For instance, the Meighen Ice Cap has lost 11% since 1960, around 35% of which was lost after 2005.…

    • 2001 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Ice caps are slowly diminishing around the world because of numerous problems. First of all, when the ice caps thaw seasonally then rebuild, they are no longer rebuilding back, because there is less snowfall and more heat, as shown in Figure C. When ice caps melt, sea levels rise which can disturb the migration pattern of animals, alter ecosystems, and make people move out of their homes because of flooding. it can also threaten many islands and coastal cities. An estimate by NASA is that polar ice caps shrink 9% every ten years, based on photos that they have taken. Another prediction is that oceans can rise between 2.5 and 6.5 feet every year.…

    • 298 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Ulrich Beck is a German sociologist and professor (until 2009) at Ludwig-Maximilian 's University in Munich Germany. Now Beck teaches at Munich University and the London School of Economics. He was born in Stolp, Germany in 1944. At Munich University where Beck studied many different majors he eventually attained a Dr. of Philosophy and then worked at the university as a sociologist. He was elected to the Convention and Executive Board of the German Society for Sociology, and he received many international awards and honors, and his works are being translated into about 35 different languages.…

    • 1404 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The words climate change invoke disagreement and debate, especially when addressing the arguments of Steffen et al. and Idso et al. Steffen et al. argue that variations in CO2 levels, caused by industrialization, are significant enough to create a new epoch called the anthropocene. Meanwhile, Idso et al.…

    • 1499 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Global warming has become a controversial issue over the past few years. Many people have different opinion with relating to this topic. Some believe this is real others consider this to be a myth. I believe global warming is real because we have experience changes in the weather. For example, we have seen how there’s more hurricanes, earthquakes, and droughts over the current year than before.…

    • 726 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Antarctica contains the world’s highest ice sheet. Evidence of climate change can be found throughout the world including in the Antarctic. While Antarctic and global climate have continued to change over years, it is the rate of climate change is still growing. Glaciers are melting in every section of the world, which put many people at risk. Those risks include flooding, droughts, and a lack of clean drinking water.…

    • 1094 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Glaciers are components of the earth’s nature and according to the National Snow and Ice Data Centre; they are highly sensitive to changes in temperature arising from climate change. The center has observed through photo evidence that glaciers all over the world have been decreasing and also some glaciers, ice caps and ice shelves have disappeared completely in the last century. Many more are decreasing at an alarming rate, such that in a matter of years if appropriate measures are not taken, they will be gone. Scientists have identified the cause of this glacier retreat as human activities that increase greenhouse gas emissions, such as coal burning and use of fossil fuels for transportation and industry (“National Snow and Ice Data Center” np).…

    • 882 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Ice Caps Essay

    • 1002 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The water from the melting ice caps causes ocean levels to rise and over the years it has risen little by little inch by inch. The rising oceans causes flooding in coastal cities and factory’s displacing people from their homes and jobs. Not only is the ocean rising but marshes and coastal plains have seen an increase of water rising. Places far away from ice caps are affected by this too “In Bangladesh over one million people have been displaced due to rising rivers and seas” (Hohensee). This also affects shipping having chunks of ice in the ocean from the caps preventing ships from easily getting from one place to another.…

    • 1002 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    the biggest impact of climate change is the melting of glaciers; because of the high temperatures glaciers are melting and raising sea levels. The problem behind this is the lower regain are being submerge in water, pulse the glaciers themselves holds 70% of freshwater and if they melt it mighty mass with how ocean currents operates. (Transition between main points: the raise of temperature has affected many natural wildlife and the...) III. the environment has also been effected by the changes that causes global warming, with the glaciers melting Antarctic ecosystem is in disarray. A.…

    • 700 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Butterfly Theory Essay

    • 865 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The history of climate change has been a study of science since 1960. We can accurately determine the global climate change with our advancing technological equipment, and our methods of gathering data from ancient ice in the Arctic. We have scientist that take measurements of the amount of carbon dioxide that was in our atmosphere in many points of history. A ice sample that they believed to be around the years 1850-1870 was measured, they found the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in the sample to be about two hundred and ninety parts per million, as well as a mean global temperature to be 13.6°C (The Discovery of Global Warming).…

    • 865 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Scientists from the past that predicted effects to occur from climate change are now happening today: loss of sea ice, increased sea level rise and longer and more intense heat waves (Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet). The global sea level rose about 17 centimeters in the last century and the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have decreased in size (Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet). According to the World Bank’s vice president, Rachel Kyte, people don’t have time to lose (Koch). Kyte is really pushing for a major action to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions (a collection of all heat retaining gases) and in her recent report the planet could reach temperatures 4 degrees higher as early as 2060 if governments don’t meet their promises to fight climate change (Koch). Greenhouse gas emissions caused by human activities have increased by 5 percent from 1990 to 2012, however, they gone down since 2005 by 10 percent (EPA).…

    • 1348 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Global warming has been a widely talked about subject for many years. Although it has become such a controversial topic, it is indisputable that there has been a change in the climate in recent history and continues to do so. Over the past one hundred and thirty- five years that data has been collected, copious amounts of climatologists have piloted research and investigations that proves global warming is an ongoing threat to Earth as a result of humans negligence. Furthermore, there is a mounting body of evidence to prove that the cause behind global warming is man-made. Despite the growing evidence, a number of scientists still believe the current changes in the climate a part of a natural global cycle.…

    • 1223 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The subject of climate change has been hotly debated over the past decade. It is now obvious that the climate is changing and that it is more than likely going to cause problems in the future. The amount of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere has considerably increased since the Industrial Revolution. As fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas, and crude oil are burned, carbon dioxide is discharged into the atmosphere where it is trapped. This is called the greenhouse effect and although essential to the survival of all life on Earth, this process has gotten out of hand recently.…

    • 1076 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Over the past century, global warming has become a major concern to environmentalist and people worldwide. The warming of Earth’s atmosphere and land have started to make itself present to many. In 2016, Earth’s global surface temperature is approximated to rise 1.3 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels (Le Page,1). Throughout the last century, it’s become evident to what has led to the increase in the warming of Earth.…

    • 1200 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays