Global Warming and Human Actions Research Paper

Global Warming and Human Actions - Research Paper Example The sun releases energy to the atmosphere in form of radiations and some scientists argue that approximately a third of the energy released by the sun to the earth are reflected to the space upon hitting the earth’s surface (Houghton, 1997). The remaining portion of solar energy released to the earth is absorbed by the oceans and land. Consequently, the surface of the earth gets heated and becomes warm, emitting infrared rations, which are considered as long-wave. The greenhouse gases in the atmosphere tap part of the long-wave radiations, leading to the warming of the atmosphere. The gases that naturally occur as greenhouse gases consist of methane, nitrous oxide, ozone, water vapor, and carbon dioxide. Together, these gases form a natural greenhouse, which increasingly warms the Earth (Maslin, 2006). Scientists have hypothesized and are increasingly researching on the contribution of the solar energy output’s variation and its possible cause in increasing the earthâ⠂¬â„¢s temperature (Harding, n.d). However, there is an increased consensus on the role played by human beings in increasing the problem of global warming. Scientific researchers have concluded increasingly that global warming is fundamentally linked to the rising level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, mainly methane, and carbon dioxide, as a result of fossil fuel combustion, farming, deforestation, and industrial activities by human beings. This paper critically analyzes whether global warming is due to human actions or not and if there is a possibility of the human race taking actions to stop the effects of global warming or not. Is Global Warming Due Do Human Actions? Global Warming Not Because of the Human Actions The question whether the actions of human beings contribute towards global warming has long been a debate by the scientists with others refuting the assertion whereas others acknowledge it as a fact. Guy Callender, in 1938, established that the trends in global w arming contributed to the 10% rise in the level of atmospheric carbon dioxide as a result of combustion of fossil fuels. However, some scientists threw away the suggested findings of Callender arguing that large amounts of carbon dioxide gas that humans emit are dissolved safely in oceans. Later, Roger Revelle, and Hans Suess dispelled this school of thought by discovering that there was a complex chemical buffering system preventing the sea water from absorbing large volumes of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Since then, the potential of humans contributing to global warming was raised (Harding, n.d). Human beings should not be blamed for the ever-increasing levels of global warming. The increase in atmospheric temperatures may be attributed to the more vigorous solar energy’s output. A section of scientists researching on the causes of global warming have postulated that the solar activity have increased rapidly over the past decades as well as the amount of carbon dioxide from the volcanic emissions, and this may have potentially contributed to the increased amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere leading to a rise in global warming (Harding, n.d). According to the theory on solar variation, scientists assert that the sun is continually gaining strength and as a result it is as the strongest point as compared to the past years. The increased amount of radiation from the sun is therefore hypothesized as the contributing factor toward the increasing global warming phenomenon. The amount of radiant energy that the sun emits