Forgot Password?
Home arrow GreeniacsArticles arrow Global Warming arrow Global Warming Could it be from Natural Causes
Written by Lindsay Crowder   
Share |
Wednesday, 22 July 2009

Global Warming: Could it be from Natural Causes?

It is widely understood that global warming is happening. As defined, global warming is the increase in average temperature of the Earth’s surface air and ocean temperatures, and in the last century that temperature has increased by 1.4 ± .32 °F.1 Scientists predict that the rate will increase in the future, with an additional rise of 2.5 to 10.4 °F by 2100. The Earth has a natural cycle of warming and cooling, as seen during the Ice Age, but what exactly is causing the Earth to warm so quickly?

Many would argue that an abundance of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere due to human activity is consequently trapping more heat in our atmosphere. Others would argue that our Earth is going through a natural warming cycle and the rise in temperature is due to natural causes. However, most scientists would agree that global warming is a result of excess greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere like water vapor, carbon dioxide (CO2), methane and ozone. Although these gases can be attributed to human activity, they can also be released into our atmosphere by natural causes. Some of the arguments for global warming resulting from natural causes include:
  • The natural climate cycle of the Earth. The Earth goes through natural climate cycles, sometimes lasting up to 40,000 years. More recently, the global temperatures were relatively unchanged from 1880 to 1910, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. They rose till about 1945, cooled until about 1975 and have risen steadily to present day.2 Therefore, it is believed our Earth is experiencing a normal warming cycle.

  • Volcanic eruptions. Volcanoes can influence climate change is a few different ways. Some would argue that volcanic aerosols provide a catalyst for ozone depletion. Another factor is that when volcanic eruptions occur, they release carbon dioxide- a gas that is directly linked to global warming. Volcanoes also emit sulfur that combines with water vapor in the stratosphere to form dense clouds of tiny sulfuric acid droplets. These droplets take several years to settle out and they are capable to decreasing the troposphere temperatures because they absorb solar radiation and scatter it back to space.3

  • Sun spots. Sunspots are magnetic disturbances that appear as cooler, dark patches on the sun's surface. The number of spots cycles over time, reaching a peak every 11 years.4 Therefore, sunspots can alter the amount of energy Earth gets from the sun.

  • Water Vapor. It is one of the most abundant greenhouse gases and increasing water vapor leads to warmer temperatures, which causes more water vapor to be absorbed into the air. Warming and water absorption increase in a spiraling cycle. Water vapor feedback can also increase the warming effect of other greenhouse gases.

  • The Earth’s rotation. As the Earth spins, it does not achieve perfect rotation. It actually wobbles slightly, thus alternately exposing the northern and southern latitudes to more and less solar radiation. This wobble in the Earth's rotation has been causing changes in the temperature of the atmosphere for many millions of years.5
Aside from natural causes, global warming has been said to be caused by human activity like industrial processes, power stations, transportation fuels and pollution, agricultural byproducts, waste disposal and treatment, deforestation, etc. Regardless of whether it is caused by nature or human activity, scientists on both sides of the debate are working to explore the cause and effects of global warming. The effects could be devastating for planet Earth. Polar ice caps will continue melting causing rising sea levels, more endangered species, and an unbalanced ecosystem. An unbalanced ecosystem could have major economic consequences for agriculture and cause more droughts, heat waves, warmer waters, and more hurricanes. Again, these changes could be devastating for the future of our planet. We cannot control the natural cycle of the Earth, but we can control our impact on it. Even if human activity is not the direct cause of global warming, we still have a responsibility to take care of our planet.

Browse all Greeniacs Articles Browse all Greeniacs Guides        Browse all Greeniacs Articles
_______________________________________________________________________________

1 http://www.nasa.gov/worldbook/global_warming_worldbook.html.
2 http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/07/11/globalwarming.overview/index.html.
3 http://www.geology.sdsu.edu/how_volcanoes_work/climate_effects.html.
4 http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/09/060913-sunspots.html.
5 http://www.acoolerclimate.com/global-warming-natural-causes.html.




Add your comment
RSS comments

Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register.

Click here to Register.  Click here to login.
Last Updated ( Monday, 07 February 2011 )

SEARCH GREENIACS.COM

Green Facts

  • One recycled aluminum can will save enough energy to run a 100-watt bulb for 20 hours, a computer for 3 hours, or a TV for 2 hours.

  • Americans use 100 million tin and steel cans every day.

  • Nudge your thermostat up two degrees in the summer and down two degrees in the winter to prevent 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere.

  • Americans throw away more than 120 million cell phones each year, which contribute 60,000 tons of waste to landfills annually.

  • If every U.S. household turned the thermostat down by 10 degrees for seven hours each night during the cold months, and seven hours each weekday, it would prevent nearly gas emissions.

  • Recycling for one year at Stanford University saved the equivalent of 33,913 trees and the need for 636 tons of iron ore, coal, and limestone.

  • You’ll save two pounds of carbon for every 20 glass bottles that you recycle.

  • A tree that provides a home with shade from the sun can reduce the energy required to run the air conditioner and save an additional 200 to 2,000 pounds of carbon over its lifetime.

  • 77% of people who commute to work by car drive alone.

  • Washing your clothes in cold or warm instead of hot water saves 500 pounds of carbon dioxide a year, and drying your clothes on a clothesline six months out of the year would save another 700 pounds.

  • American workers spend an average of 47 hours per year commuting through rush hour traffic. This adds up to 23 billion gallons of gas wasted in traffic each year.

  • 82 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. come from burning fossil fuels.

  • Recycling aluminum saves 95% of the energy used to make the material from scratch.

  • For every 38,000 bills consumers pay online instead of by mail, 5,058 pounds of greenhouse gases are avoided and two tons of trees are preserved.

  • In the United States, automobiles produce over 20 percent of total carbon emissions. Walk or bike and you'll save one pound of carbon for every mile you travel.

  • Less than 1% of electricity in the United States is generated from solar power.

  • The World Health Organization estimates that 2 million people die prematurely worldwide every year due to air pollution.

  • Americans throw away enough aluminum to rebuild our entire commercial fleet of airplanes every 3 months

  • States with bottle deposit laws have 35-40% less litter by volume.

  • Due to tiger poaching, habitat destruction, and other human-tiger conflicts, tigers now number around 3,200—a decrease in population by about 70% from 100 years ago.

  • Recycling 1 million laptop computers can save the amount of energy used by 3,657 homes in the U.S. over the course of a year.

  • Rainforests are being cut down at the rate of 100 acres per minute.

  • Every week about 20 species of plants and animals become extinct.

  • You will save 100 pounds of carbon for each incandescent bulb that you replace with a compact fluorescent bulb (CFL), over the life of the bulb.

  • You will save 300 pounds of carbon dioxide for every 10,000 miles you drive if you always keep your car’s tires fully inflated.

  • A laptop consumes five times less electricity than a desktop computer.

  • A steel mill using recycled scrap reduces related water pollution, air pollution, and mining wastes by about 70%.

  • It takes 6,000,000 trees to make 1 year's worth of tissues for the world.

  • Bamboo absorbs 35% more carbon dioxide than equivalent stands of trees.

  • A single quart of motor oil, if disposed of improperly, can contaminate up to 2,000,000 gallons of fresh water.

  • Plastic bags and other plastic garbage thrown into the ocean kill as many as 1,000,000 sea creatures every year.

  • Refrigerators built in 1975 used 4 times more energy than current models.

  • Shaving 10 miles off of your weekly driving pattern can eliminate about 500 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions a year.

  • Current sea ice levels are at least 47% lower than they were in 1979.

  • Turning off the tap when brushing your teeth can save as much as 10 gallons a day per person.

  • Glass can be recycled over and over again without ever wearing down.

  • An aluminum can that is thrown away instead of recycled will still be a can 500 years from now!

  • Recycling 100 million cell phones can save enough energy to power 18,500 homes in the U.S. for a year.

  • In California homes, about 10% of energy usage is related to TVs, DVRs, cable and satellite boxes, and DVD players.