What Does Global Warming Mean? Articles | Global Warming

By: Darren Williger

We get word of plenty of buzz in the mass medium regarding global warming and how it could cause harm to our future; however, have you any idea what it is, how is it caused and why we need to be concerned about it? Below is a brief summary to assist you become familiar with global warming.

The expression global warming concerns the process of our planet’s temperature increasing with the passage of time. The earth’s temperature has risen by 1 degree F in the last hundred years and scientists are of the opinion that it will keep on rising. Even a small shift in our planet’s temperature can have an enormous effect on the planet life. This could lead to changes in animals, plants, and certainly humans also.

It is thought that we as individuals are performing things to help to increase global warming. If there is some truth in this, then we can perform certain things to help put an end to it or else decrease the impact of global warming on the earth. So how does a warmer earth pose a threat anyway? Although it may not appear like something dramatic, a rise in climatic temperature can in fact result in:

• Change in the pattern of rainfall
• Increase in sea level
• Impact on animal life and plant life

The outcome also can directly have an effect on humans. If there is a sufficient climatic change, it could upset the whole balance of the world. When we discuss global warming, we’ll gather a great deal relating to the greenhouse effect. Hence, what exactly is it and what is meant by it?

The Greenhouse Effect

Well, the greenhouse effect pertains to the increase in the planet’s temperature which occurs when particular atmospheric gases capture the sun’s energy, causing the earth to become warmer. These gases are nitrous oxide, methane, water vapor, carbon dioxide, etc. In the absence of these gases, the heat returns once again to the earth’s atmosphere and is released into space. If there were no gases, the earth’s average temperature may be over 60 degrees Fahrenheit colder than its current temperature.

These gases operate just as greenhouses do, and this is the reason we call it the “greenhouse effect”. But, if we are discharging excessive amounts or several gases, it could lead to greatly warming our earth which can also cause problems. Now this global warming as it’s referred to could ultimately make our earth to become excessively warm and lead to grave problems and adversely affect the earth’s balance.

You can be a direct contributor to this greenhouse effect every time you use appliances or products that discharge greenhouse gases into earth’s atmosphere.