Running Head: GLOBAL WARMING 1 GLOBAL WARMING 8 Global Societal Problem Student’s Name Course Title Insructor’s Name Date of Submission Introduction Global warming is a problem that is affecting everybody all over the world. Its affects are felt in all parts of the world. It is a term that has been used to describe the gradual increase in the average temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere as well as its oceans. Global warming is permanently changing the Earth’s climate and if nothing is done to prevent it then the planet Earth with someday become inhabitable. Surprisingly, there are people who do not think that global warming is real because they have not witnessed its effect but various scientists agree that its effects are real. In order to control or prevent further occurrence of global warming, its main cause which is carbon dioxide should be reduced to the minimum in the atmosphere. Background Information Global warming occurs when carbon dioxide or CO2 and other trace gases like methane, chlorofluorocarbons, nitrous oxide and other pollutants collect in the atmosphere and absorb solar radiation that reflects back after bouncing off the surface of the earth. The gases form a “blanket-like” layer that prevents solar radiation from escaping into space (McMillan, 2016). The gases have the capacity to last for years or even centuries in the atmosphere trapping the solar radiation heat hence making the planet earth hotter than it should be. The greatest cause of global warming is carbon dioxide that is usually released when fossil fuels are burnt such as coal, emission from exhaust pipes of motor vehicles, and excessive cutting of trees. Before the industrial revolution that paved way to large scale use of coal, carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere were as a result of natural factors such as volcanic eruption and variation in the solar energy (aip.gov). However, the contribution of the natural factors to global warming was very minimal compared to anthropogenic factors later on. The large scale contribution of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases may have begun when a British ironmonger Thomas Newcomen invented the first and widely used steam engine that led to Industrial Revolution and wide scale use of coal (bbc.com). Coal burning is one of the major contributors of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. In 1824, French scientist explained that if the planet Earth did not have an atmosphere then its temperatures would be much lower. In 1861, John Tyndall a physicist indicated that water vapor and certain gases create the greenhouse effect (bbc.com). In 1896, Svante Arrhenius, a Swedish scientist was the first to claim that the burning of fossil fuel may result in enhanced global warming. He proposed that there was a relationship between atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration and temper ...

1. Running Head: GLOBAL WARMING 1
GLOBAL WARMING
8
Global Societal Problem
Student’s Name
Course Title
Insructor’s Name
Date of Submission
Introduction
Global warming is a problem that is affecting everybody all
over the world. Its affects are felt in all parts of the world. It is
a term that has been used to describe the gradual increase in the
average temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere as well as its
oceans. Global warming is permanently changing the Earth’s
climate and if nothing is done to prevent it then the planet Earth
with someday become inhabitable. Surprisingly, there are
people who do not think that global warming is real because
they have not witnessed its effect but various scientists agree
that its effects are real. In order to control or prevent further
occurrence of global warming, its main cause which is carbon
dioxide should be reduced to the minimum in the atmosphere.
Background Information

2. Global warming occurs when carbon dioxide or CO2 and other
trace gases like methane, chlorofluorocarbons, nitrous oxide and
other pollutants collect in the atmosphere and absorb solar
radiation that reflects back after bouncing off the surface of the
earth. The gases form a “blanket-like” layer that prevents solar
radiation from escaping into space (McMillan, 2016). The gases
have the capacity to last for years or even centuries in the
atmosphere trapping the solar radiation heat hence making the
planet earth hotter than it should be. The greatest cause of
global warming is carbon dioxide that is usually released when
fossil fuels are burnt such as coal, emission from exhaust pipes
of motor vehicles, and excessive cutting of trees.
Before the industrial revolution that paved way to large scale
use of coal, carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (GHG)
in the atmosphere were as a result of natural factors such as
volcanic eruption and variation in the solar energy (aip.gov).
However, the contribution of the natural factors to global
warming was very minimal compared to anthropogenic factors
later on. The large scale contribution of carbon dioxide and
other greenhouse gases may have begun when a British
ironmonger Thomas Newcomen invented the first and widely
used steam engine that led to Industrial Revolution and wide
scale use of coal (bbc.com). Coal burning is one of the major
contributors of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
In 1824, French scientist explained that if the planet Earth did
not have an atmosphere then its temperatures would be much
lower. In 1861, John Tyndall a physicist indicated that water
vapor and certain gases create the greenhouse effect (bbc.com).
In 1896, Svante Arrhenius, a Swedish scientist was the first to
claim that the burning of fossil fuel may result in enhanced
global warming. He proposed that there was a relationship
between atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration and
temperature (Enzler, 2016). According to Arrhenius, the average
surface temperature of the planet Earth was 150C because of the
absorption capacity of water vapor and carbondioxide. This was
called the natural greenhouse effect. But Arrhenius suggested

3. that if the concentration of carbon dioxide doubled then the
Earth’s temperature would increase by 50C. Arrhenius and
Thomas Chamberlin calculated that human activities could
warm the earth by adding CO2 to the atmosphere. The
discoveries of Arrhenius and Chamberlin were later forgotten
and people at that time thought that human activities were
insignificant compared to natural forces like solar activity and
circulation of the oceans.
Many people also believed that the oceans were great carbon
sink that would automatically counter the pollution of the
atmosphere. In the 1940s, the development of the infrared
spectroscopy for measuring long-wave radiation led scientists to
find out that water vapor absorbed different types of radiation
than carbon dioxide. In 1955, Gilbert Plass conclude that adding
more CO2in the atmosphere would trap infrared radiation that is
supposed to escape to space hence warming the Earth. In early
1960s, Charles Keeling produced concentration curvesfor
atmospheric CO2inAntarctica and Mauna Loa which is now one
of the major icons of global warming. In the 1980s, the global
annual mean temperature started to rise leading people to
question the” theory of an upcoming new ice age” (Enzler,
2016). In1988, people finally acknowledged that the Earth was
warmer than it was since 1880. The greenhouse effect theory
came into existence and United Nations Environmental
Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization
founded the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC).
Discussion
Eradication of global warming can only be done through
reduction of carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere
(Union of Concerned Scientists). CO2isthe leading cause of
global warming in addition to other greenhouse gases. During
the 2015 Paris climate change summit, 195 countries signed a
historic agreement to reduce their emission of CO2 as part of
the goal to reduce future warming of the planet Earth below
20C. This was a step towards a right direction. However, each

4. and every person can make a little contribution that will make a
big difference in the future. According to the deputy director of
the National Resource Defense Council (NRDC) Clean Power
Plan Imitative, Aliya Haq change can only occur when people
take action. Everybody has to be part of the change.
Carbon dioxide is the main contributor to global warming
produced when fossil fuel like coal and oil is burnt for energy
to power industrial processes, produce electricity for homes and
other lightening needs and energy for cars. If less fossil fuel is
burnt by adopting alternative sources of energy, then global
warming can be curbed. According to Haq, the greatest weapon
to curb global warming is talking to people about its impact. If
people are aware of the dangers of global warming, they can
spread the information to their family members, friends and
other people. The spreading and talking can be done through the
social media or by voicing personal concerns to elected officials
(McMillan, 2016). This only means that an individual cares
about the warming of planet Earth. Additionally, when such
messages of concern reach elected leaders like Congress, they
can feel compelled to enact laws that would limit carbon
emissions and require polluters of the atmosphere with CO2to
pay for their emission with as an aim of discouraging them to
emit CO2.
Secondly, individuals can contribute to reduced global warming
by powering their houses with renewable energy like wind and
solar. The chosen renewable energy generation company should
be certified by the Green-e Energy, an organization that verifies
renewable energy options. Individuals should also invest in
energy-efficiency appliances and products that have since their
implementation in 1987 kept 2.3 billion tons of CO2out of the
atmosphere. This is the same amount of CO2 pollution from
almost 440 million cars (Denchak, 2016). Additionally, people
can use fuel-efficient vehicles such as gas-smart cars like
hybrids and full electric vehicles that save fuel as well as
money.
Individuals can also reduce the amount of CO2 in the

5. atmosphere by walking to work or moving closer to work.
Transportation is the second leading source of GHG emission in
the United States. Alternatively, people can use mass
transportation like buses or trains and cycle or walk to work
(Nature America, Inc.). In addition, Carbon sequestration can be
used to reduce the amount of Carbon dioxide (CO2) emission
into the atmosphere. CO2 can be captured from the atmosphere
or from human activities such as from large-scale power plants
that produce CO2. The captured CO2 is put in long-term
storage or sequestration usually by injecting it underground
(epa.gov). Furthermore, research has shown that when forests
and agricultural lands are managed, CO2 concentration can be
sequestered (national geographic.com). Forests use up carbon
dioxide in the atmosphere in the synthesis of food. If forest
cover is increased and managed then forests will help reduce the
amount of CO2 in the atmosphere leading to reduced global
warming (Union of Concerned Scientists).
According to Rogelj, et al., (2013), the target of keeping global
warming below 2 0C has resulted to international debate on
climate debate which has made the scientific community to
publish various studies that estimate the cost of attaining such a
target. But this is still a challenge because there is little
integration of scientific knowledge across all disciplines.
Additionally, the climate modelling community has spent many
years in understanding the geophysical response of the Earth to
greenhouse gases. The geophysical response has resulted to
uncertaininty in cost estimates. Rogelj et al., (2013) bridge the
gap between the two research communities and came up with a
distribution of the costs associated with limiting global
temperateure by taking into account four uncertainities;
technological, geophysical, political and social. They found out
that political choices that delay mitigation have the largets
effect on cost-risk distribution. This was followed by
geophysical uncertainities, social factors such as future energy
demands, and technological uncertainities that influnce future
GHGs mitigation options.

6. However, according to the studies of Peters et al., (2013),
delays in global warming mitigation is making it difficult to
reduce global temperature by 2 0C. The studies show that
Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) used by
research community to develop CO2scenarios needs to be
decreased for the temperatures to reduce by 2 0C in the future.
The studies indicate how difficult it will be to reduce the global
temperature by 2 0C because of delayed responses in CO2
emmision as a result of technical, political, and social systems.
They suggest that if large and immediate mitigation efforts are
not put in place then goal of reducing global temperature by 2
0C will not be attained.
Thirdly, some of global warming mitigation strategies like the
use of large scale biogas digesters to save the use of fossil fuels
or burning firewood, has been shown to increase a greehouse
gas lik methane to th atmosphere (Bruun eta l., 2014). Bruun is
a scientits from the Department of Plant and Environmenntal
Sciences, University of Copenhagen. They showed that biogas
digesters are poorly managed during use leading to the release
of methane to the atmosphere. This is very dangerous because
methane has 25 times greater global warming effect than carbon
dioxide. They suggested that governments should come up with
strict requirements on biogas digetser maintenance and handling
before incentives are made. Additionally, legislations should be
introduced for the installtion of small-scale biogas digesters.
In conclusion, global warming can be reduced by reducing the
amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Everybody has a
part to play in the reduction of global warming. No single
country can stop global warming. Additionally, waiting for a
single solution to emerge from global negotiations and treaties
will not solve global warming problem. This is because various
nations have not come to agreement on the acceptable CO2
emission. Individuals can contribute to reduction of CO2 in the
atmosphere by using erenewable energy like wind and solar,
invest in energy-efficiency appliances, and use alternative
means of transport that does not involve burning of fossil fuels

7. like cycling and walking.
References
Bruun, S., Jensen, L. S., & Sommer, S. (2014). Small-scale
household biogas digesters: An option for global warming
mitigation or a potential climate bomb?. Renewable and
Sustainable Energy Reviews, 33, 736-741.
Enzler, S. (2016).History of the greenhouse effect and global
warming. (2016). Lenntech.com. Retrieved 23 October 2016,
from http://www.lenntech.com/greenhouse-effect/global-
warming-history.htm
Introduction - Summary. (2016). Aip.org. Retrieved 23 October
2016, from https://www.aip.org/history/climate/summary.htm
McMillan, A. (2016). Global Warming 101. NRDC. Retrieved
23 October 2016, from https://www.nrdc.org/stories/global-
warming-101
National Geographic,. (2016). Global Warming
Solution
s, Stop Global Warming - National Geographic. National
Geographic. Retrieved 23 October 2016, from
http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-
warming/gw-solutions/
Peters, G. P., Andrew, R. M., Boden, T., Canadell, J. G., Ciais,
P., Le Quéré, C., ... & Wilson, C. (2013). The challenge to keep
global warming below 2 C. Nature Climate Change, 3(1), 4-6.
Rogelj, J., McCollum, D. L., Reisinger, A., Meinshausen, M., &
Riahi, K. (2013). Probabilistic cost estimates for climate change

8. mitigation. Nature, 493(7430), 79-83.
Union of Concerned Scientists,. (2016). Global Warming