Global warming Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

Global warming - Essay Example Researchers have warned that if the global warming effect is not contained, then life will be virtually impossible in the next three decades to come. As a result, urgent action to mitigate the global warming effect is in the offing. This discourse explores the global warming as an environmental issue in light of the situation, consequences, and solution. The paper will conclude by providing recommendations for the world leaders. Table of Contents Table of Contents 3 Introduction 4 Situation 4 Effects of Global Warming 6 Solution 7 Conclusion and Recommendation 7 References 8 Global Warming Introduction Stoyles, Pentland, and Demant (2003) argue that climate change is one of the most disturbing environmental problems facing the world today. Environmentalists have shown that no planet or country is spared of the devastating effects of climate change. The climate change has mainly been blamed on the global warming effects. Maslin (2007) noted that the change in climate being witnessed i n the world today is attributed to the excessive emissions of greenhouse gases that cause global warming. Scientists have shown that greenhouse gases produced from fossil fuels once released to the atmosphere blocks the ozone layer thereby resulting in global warming (Maslin 2007). The impacts of global warming are a big problem to the world today. ... Situation The world is suffering from the devastating effects of climate change. The problem is attributed to global warming that has seen the planet’s average temperatures warm up at an alarming rate. Several studies indicate that the last two decades have been the hottest in four millennia. The global warming problem has resulted in extreme weather patterns, including strong tropical storms, wildfires, prolonged drought, rising sea levels and heat waves just to name but a few (Natural Resources Defense Council, 2012). In fact, the global warming menace has made prediction of weather patterns extremely difficult for weathermen today. According to Ploutz (2011), the level of greenhouse, emissions have increased by at least 70% between 1970 and 2004 due to human activities. This huge increase in pollutants has caused a very big problem to the planet’s natural temperatures. The level of carbon dioxide emissions, for example, has increased by over 80% during the same perio d. Union of Concerned Scientists (2013) noted that the society is emitting more carbon into the atmosphere more than oceans and plants can absorb. According to Shah, the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is currently about 385 parts per million (PPM) and keeps increasing by about 2 PPM annually due to the excessive burning of fossil fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas and burning of forests (Ploutz, 2011). The point of no return, according to experts is 450-500 PPM. This implies that we are left by only about three decades before it becomes extremely difficult to breathe natural air. Despite the fact that this may sound a long time, so many people will still be alive by that time. Another report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2007 projected