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Casual Analysis Essay
Causes of Climate Change and more Essays (university) Financial Accounting in PDF only on Docsity! C455 Casual Analysis Essay Causes of Climate Change Western Governors University C455: English Composition I- Task 3 Causes of Climate Change Climate change has been a major environmental problem caused by anthropogenic or human-induced and natural factors. It is also a human social, and economic problem that has always been happening on earth, as seen in the geological record, and it is now causing a great concern globally. Climate change has been defined as long-term shifts in weather patterns and temperatures (Un.org, 2021). This has been happening since the mid-1800s, but it is now a prevalent issue that needs to be addressed urgently. Over the last two centuries, since the industrial revolution, human activities have been the major drivers of climate change mainly because of burning fossil fuels such as oil, gas, and coal, increases in agricultural activities, deforestation, and consumerism. Human activities have been increasing the emission of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which in return absorb the heat radiation, causing more heat retention and then raising the surface temperatures (usgs.gov, n.d). Anthropogenic Causes Greenhouse Gases Concentration Human beings have been increasingly influencing the earth’s temperature and climate through farming livestock, cutting down trees, and burning fossil fuels. These human activities add huge amounts of greenhouse gasses, increasing global warming and the greenhouse effect. These activities emit greenhouse gasses, mainly carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases (Stern & Kaufmann, 2014). When these gasses are emitted into the atmosphere, they block the heat from escaping because they act as glass and stop it from escaping back into space. When these gases remain in the atmosphere for extended periods, they cause changes in the climate. The gases are not responsive to the changes in temperature, which is the greenhouse effect. Carbon dioxide from human activities is a major contributor to global warming. There was a 48% increase in CO2 concentration in the atmosphere than the levels there before 1750, which is the pre-industrial period. Human activities that produce CO2 include the burning of fossil fuels, for instance, when used to generate electricity globally. Their worldwide use leads to high CO2 emissions (Epa.gov, 2021). The second-largest source of CO2 emission is vehicles used by people for business or leisure reasons. Fossil fuels have carbon which, when burnt to produce energy, is released in the form of CO2 into the atmosphere. Fossil fuels are used to generate electricity, power industry machines, and power cars (Hegerl et al., 2019). The world has been experiencing rapid increases in human population, which implies increases in the use of fossil fuels and CO2 emissions. Another gas that is produced through human activities is methane, and it accounts for sixteen percent of the greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere (Epa.gov, 2021). This gas is mainly emitted by the agriculture and petroleum industries. Agricultural activities that produce methane include rice cultivation, manure management, and the digestive systems of grazing animals such as cows and sheep. Methane is more active than carbon dioxide, and it is perceived to the thirty times more powerful than CO2 as a greenhouse gas (Hegerl et al., 2019). With increased consumption, the levels of waste have also increased, leading to huge landfills, and as the waste decomposes, the accumulation levels of methane rise. Nitrous oxide is another gas produced through human activities and contributes to greenhouse gases. The use of fertilizer that contains nitrogen increases nitrous oxide emissions (Epa.gov, 2021). Other causes include biomass burning, production of nitric acid, and combustion of fossil fuel. Industrial applications and home appliances like refrigerators
