Saturday, August 24, 2019

Climate Change, Global Warming, Renewable and Nuclear Energy Essay

Climate Change, Global Warming, Renewable and Nuclear Energy - Essay Example However, the recently experienced variation particularly in the rise of global temperatures is arguably not as a result of natural variation alone but also the contribution of human activities. These activities are responsible for the heightened Carbon Dioxide levels and other heat trapping gases. Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and other Green House Gases (GHGs) such as Methane (CH4), and Nitrous Oxide (N20), contribute to global warming through their green house effect. These gases trap and retain the heat reflected from the earth’s surfaces, hence leading to extreme temperature rise (Turk & Bensel, 2011). The U.S. National Climatic Data Center indicates that global temperatures have been on the rise for the past three centuries. The last century saw an average rise in global temperatures of about 1.58 F with the Arctic warming twice as much (Turk & Bensel, 2011). The past 50 years data on severe temperatures have indicated a significant rise in temperatures; in other words, frosts, cold days and nights were less whereas heat waves, hot days and nights were more prevalent (Turk & Bensel, 2011). Also, this warming has not been attributed to the earth alone but also the oceans which have for the past years absorbed most of the heat present in the atmosphere. As a result, the oceans temperatures have increased significantly too. With time, this heat (from the oceans) will be released back to the atmosphere and this might result in further atmospheric warming. Currently, vast research suggests that global warming is ever increasing due to the high concentration of green house gases within the atmosphere. The green house effect is experienced widely. In fact, scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies have established that there is a lot of absorption of sun’s energy than its emission. Hence, this imbalance is the chief cause of the green house effect (Pewclimate, 2011). The U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) produced a report in 2009 regarding the status of impacts of climate change in the U.S. According to it, human activities have greatly contributed to the rise in the concentration of the three main green house gases: Methane, Carbon Dioxide and Nitrous Oxide. Indeed, from the pre-industrial period these gases have increased in astonishing percentages. Carbon Dioxide has increased by 40 percent; Methane by 148 percent and Nitrous Oxide by 18 percent (Harding, 2007). Predictions indicate that with th e current rate in increase of global temperature, 2050 will be devastating as the global average temperatures will exceed to almost 280 C. This will result in sudden and irreversible changes such as loss of the Amazon forest, vast melting of the Greenland cap, and release of Carbon dioxide from the soils (Turk & Bensel, 2011). Worse still, it is feared that smoke, hazes and specks emitted from the fossil fuel and vegetation could be currently mitigating global warming by acting as a cover which could be averting solar energy back to space. The current trend of cleaning up air pollution will eradicate this â€Å"global dimming effect† resulting in future increases in average global temperatures by almost 100 C (Turk & Bensel, 2011). Renewable Energy Recently, there has been a major concern to switch from using fossil fuels to the renewable forms of energy. However, to achieve this, we should take note of two things. First, there should be intensive research so as to offer alte rnative sources of energy in order to cut down on the prices of energies. Second, there is need for the energy prices to depict their true value; in other words, these prices should reflect hidden costs such as the environmental costs which are linked to the

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