Introduction
Global warming is considered to be one of the most burning issues for consideration during a long period of time in many countries. This very phenomenon is characterized by considerable increasing of temperature that is caused by the use of fossil fuels and developing industrialization. Lots of scientists offer more and more own predictions as for global warming, the major reason that will influence this warming development, and the steps, which have to be taken to save our Earth.
Some of them believe that recycling and anti-smoking programs can be helpful, and some scientists predict that even if people stop emitting smokes and other harmful gases, the climate will hardly stabilize. There are so many factors, which influence global warming, and human activities are one of them. People use cars, buses, airplanes in order to move from one place to another. They truly believe that the point that they save time by such means will be justified.
They do not take into consideration that this air pollution, smoking, and any kind of garbage destroy our atmosphere and put human lives under a serious threat. Global warming will be always a captivating topic to discuss in order to prevent Earth’s destruction; there are always many problems, which cause global warming, and it is necessary to analyze each of them to achieve positive results and prevent dangers.
Discussion
Global Warming as It Is
Global warming is characterized by considerable increasing of temperature within the Earth surface and oceans. One of the first signs of global warming is changes, noticeable to ordinary people: winters become milder and milder, lots of glaciers start melting, and the level of seas starts rising (Silverstein et al, 2003, 6). The summer temperature changes as well, it becomes hotter, and it becomes hard for people to breathe.
Some people cannot still comprehend that their activities are crucially important for global warming and may bring it closer and closer. Greenhouse gases and numerous holes in the ozone layers are not the most dangerous problems, which people have to comprehend. This is why it is better to focus their attention on personal activities and on the harm, they do every day. People think about the ways of how to create one more plant or factory, how to buy a new car, or how to be saved from such heat and use a conditioner. Before take any step to achieve one of the above-mentioned purposes, it is necessary to realize how harmful they are in real.
Burning of coal and oil gives a birth to carbon dioxide (CO2), and this is a greenhouse gas that prevents heat escaping into space. Of course, trees and many other plants aim at removing all that greenhouse gas by means of photosynthesis, but still, one day, it may be not enough. Clearing of land causes reducing the movements of gas from our atmosphere and promote the spreading of CO2.
One of the biggest mistakes made by people is the idea that fires in forests may cause global warming. In fact, everything is quite the contrary. The writers from Science admit that global warming may certainly cause wildfires, but fires will hardly reinforce global warming (Science, 2006).
The more summer temperature is, the more causes for fires to disturb people more frequently. Some people may truly believe that water pollution is one more reason of global warming. It is wrong as well. Water pollution and global warming are connected to each other as two different types of threat for people. Each of them has no influence to each other: Pollution of drinking water has its negative influence on people’s health, the lack of water may cause the destructions of forests and other greenery of our planet.
However, these issues cannot influence global warming. However, there is one thing that may be a serious threat that may lead to global warming, and it is smoking. There are so many people, who smoke. More than 72% of people, who live in America, smoke cigarettes at a certain period of their lives. Even more 47% of men and 59% of women do not want to give up smoking or just fear because they may gain weight if they do give up (Logue, 255). They cannot even imagine that such mistake of them may lead to global warming and the destruction of our Earth.
History of Global Warming and Geological Perspective
The climate of the Earth changes day by day: certain changes within Earth coverage and temperature attract the attention of many scientists. In fact, the history of global warming is quite long, this is why it deserves attention, and numerous ideas of predictors have to be taken into consideration as well. Lots of scientists admit that great ice sheets covered our planet during a long period of time that was known as Ice Age; however, when the temperature increased considerably, this era came to its logical end (Kennedy, 47).
However, the climate did not change considerably till the middle of the 14th century: extreme cold was inherent to Iceland, Alaska, and Alps. In the middle of the 1980s, Jean Baptist Joseph Fourier noticed that the temperature of the Earth increased slowly, and offered the ideas of solar radiation to the public. He was also one of the first scientists, who described the greenhouse effect and told that it would keep this Earth warmer (Silverstein et al, 2009, 18).
Another significant scientists, who offered own ideas as for global warming and the danger of greenhouse effect, was Guy Stewart Callendar. He “examined the role of anthropogenic carbon dioxide in the climate warming experienced during the early decades of the twentieth century” (Fleming, 114).
This person was ready to prove that the greenhouse effect would negatively influence the atmosphere and bring negative outcomes for people. His ideas made other scientists started analyzing the issues, which may influence global temperature; and one of the first conclusions all the scientists came to was that human activity was considered to be the major cause of global warming.
Global warming may be also regarded as a natural geological process, this is why the geological perspective should be also taken into consideration while analyzing changes in climate and the increasing of the temperature. Such discipline as geology deals with the significant periods of time in order to analyze the changes within earth’s natural processes.
So, some geologists still believe that global warming is just another random fluctuation of climate. These geologists explain their positions by one simple fact – carbon dioxide cannot cause global warming. Actually, everything is quite opposite: because of the temperature’s increasing at the global level, the level of carbon dioxide also increases. Human activities cannot create so huge level of carbon dioxide, this is why global warming is a pure geological process, caused by natural changes, and, so that cannot be prevented.
Global Warming: The Ideas of How People Can Prevent It
Even taking into consideration the ideas that global warming cannot be caused by human activities, these very activities remain one of the most discussed issues. In fact, people have all chances to prevent global warming, however, the vast majority of them is just unaware of the necessary steps to take.
Actually, there are so many ways to stop all those harmful actions, which may cause global warming. First of all, people should think about recycling in order to clean up the planet they live on. Recycling is all about the processing of different used materials into new ones. Some people do not even guess how many products may be recycled: glass, plastic, and paper. By means of recycling, people provide themselves with one more chance to use good and reliable material and prevent Earth’s pollution.
It is not just one more strategy to make use of the already existed materials, it turns out to be more significant on the global level: industrial production has less negative effects on environment, and global warming has less reasons to develop. Waste, people do not care about, has rather considerable impact on the environment, and this impact is negative.
This is why when people recycle waste, they help their own environment and even save energy. There are also much more advantages of recycling: the prices on numerous goods may be decreased because they will be made of old, reused material; people should not spend too much time in order to produce the same material but spend it on inventing something new and more useful; and, finally, places for damage may be used to build new houses and other appropriate for living building so that less people can spend the nights outside.
People should know that they have so many chances to save own planet and prevent global warming independently. Of course, the steps, they have to take are rather serious and requires people’s time, desire, and patience. First of all, global warming may be caused by the use of fossil fuels. Nowadays, it is hard to imagine our live without cars: people prefer to save their time, travel, and use fast cars to entertain.
This is why the use of fuel increases day by day. Unfortunately, people cannot even guess how much fuel pollutes our Earth and causes global warming. Of course, it is impossible to ask all people stop using cars and other means of travel and start walking. This is why lots of scientists from different countries start thinking about the use of solar power to run cars. It takes certain time and energy, however, electric cars and the cars, which use solar power, may become a real way out for people. Nowadays, people get a wonderful chance to change fuel into solar power. Another trouble of our society is smoking.
As it was mentioned above, there are so many people, who smoke and cannot give up this habit. Some people, teenagers especially, admit that smoking has no effect on global warming. This is why it is necessary to underline the outcomes of smoking, which are perfectly noticeable and may be rather harmful for people and good for those, who are dreaming to see global warming. First, all those cigarette butts serve as the major reason of global warming, which are hard to recycle, this is why they usually disappear somewhere in the ground and start destroying the earth.
Secondly, it is hard to imagine how harmful smoke is, and how many people are smoking at the same period of time, and how they pollute our atmosphere. These two huge reasons should be taken into consideration, and those who do care about global warming and want to prevent it should think about the ways of how to help the others stop smoking.
Industrial revolution and technological development play a significant role in the life of every person. Plants, mines, and factories create new modern technologies for people; however, their work considerably pollutes the earth and air and also creates numerous factors for global warming.
Conclusion
In this paper, the major aspects of global warming have been discussed. This phenomenon is closely connected to temperature increasing and creates much danger for people. This is why people should think about the possible ways to prevent this process and save our earth. Such steps as recycling and reusing prevent pollution of the earth and help to concentrate on the ideas how it is possible to use the same material one again and think about the creation of numerous innovations to improve this world.
Human bad habits have negative impact as well both for people and for nature, this is why global warming may be postponed if people try to give up smoking. If people do not start taking into consideration what may cause global warming, they approach it much more sooner than it is expected.
Works Cited
“Forests Fires and Global Warming.” Science, 2006. 314 (5892), 1045.
Fleming, James, R. Historical Perspectives on Climate Change. Oxford University Press US, 2005.
Kennedy, Barbara, A. Inventing the Earth: Ideas on Landscape Development Since 1740. Wiley-Blackwell, 2006.
Logue, Alexandra, W. The Psychology of Eating and Drinking. Routledge, 2004.
Silverstein, Alvin, Silverstein, Virginia, B., and Nunn, Laura, S. Global Warming. Twenty-First Century Books, 2003.
Silverstein, Alvin, Silverstein, Virginia, B., and Nunn, Laura, S. Global Warming. Twenty-First Century Books, 2009.
Weart, Spencer, R. The Discovery of Global Warming. Harvard University Press, 2004.