GLoBaL WaRmInG: 02/01/2009

Hi.... this is first time I write something in the blog. but, for efss I try my best. I'm so weak in English and I think Mr.Zul also smile when he read what I wrote. K, let's we go to the causes of global warming

.The first causes of global warming is due to Greenhouse effect. Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere act like a miror and reflect back yo the Earth a part of the heat radiation, which would otherwise be lost to space. . The higher concentration of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide in atmosphere, the more heat energy is being reflected back to the Earth. The emission of carbon dioxide into the environment mainly from burning of fossil fuels (oil, gas, petrol, kerosene)
The second causes is due to by the Human Activities. Human activities increase can make greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide and other pollutions result from burning of coal to produce electricity. Electricity generated at power plants is carried by power lines to user.
Next, is due from the burning of gasoline by automobiles releases carbon dioxide and other type of air pollution such as open burning.that contribute to global climate change. pollution created by human activities is particularly evident around the world's largest cities such as Mexico, Beijing, London.
Nature causes, such as, wolcanoes and solarvariation .

El-N of the world.ino, a set of charges in the weather system near the coast of northern Peru and Ecuador that happens every few years, causing the surface of the pacific ocean there to become warmer and having severe effect on the weather in many part.

Ok.. that all for this time. I hope you all must got some information about causes of global warming. See you all next time... Bye..

The windows of a greenhouse play the same role as the gases in the atmosphere, keeping some of the heat inside the greenhouseThe Earth is wrapped in a blanket of air called the 'atmosphere', which is made up of several layers of gases. The sun is much hotter than the Earth and it gives off rays of heat (radiation) that travel through the atmosphere and reach the Earth. The rays of the sun warm the Earth, and heat from the Earth then travels back into the atmosphere. The gases in the atmosphere stop some of the heat from escaping into space. These gases are called greenhouse gases and the natural process between the sun, the atmosphere and the Earth is called the 'Greenhouse Effect', because it works the same way as a greenhouse.

With more heat trapped on Earth, the planet will become warmer, which means the weather all over Earth will change. For example, summers will get hotter, and winters too. This may seem a good idea, but the conditions we are living in are perfect for life, and a large rise in temperature could be terrible for us and for any other living thing on Earth.

The effects of global warming on the environment and human life are numerous and varied.

THE NATURAL GREENHOUSE EFFECT

The atmosphere has a number of gases, often in tiny amounts, which trap the heat given out by the Earth.To make sure that the Earth's temperature remains constant, the balance of these gases in the atmosphere must not be upset

The GREENHOUSE GASES are very important and are mainly:

· water vapour
occurs naturally in the atmosphere.

· carbon dioxide
produced naturally when people and animals breathe. Plants and trees absorb carbon dioxide to live. Volcanoes also produce this gas. Carbon dioxide is not the same as carbon monoxide.

· methane
comes from cattle as they digest their food. The gas also comes from fields where rice is grown in paddy fields.

· nitrous oxide
when plants die and rot, nitrous oxide is produced.

· ozone
occurs naturally in the atmosphere.

The Weather

Global warming may be responsible in part for some trends in natural disasters such as extreme weather.

Increasing temperature is likely to lead to increasing precipitation but the effects on storms are less clear. Extratropical storms partly depend on the temperature gradient, which is predicted to weaken in the northern hemisphere as the polar region warms more than the rest of the hemisphere. Storm strength leading to extreme weather is increasing, such as the power dissipation index of hurricane intensity. Hurricane power dissipation is highly correlated with temperature, reflecting global warming

In Britain, winter and summer temperatures will increase and the weather will be warmer. In winter it may also rain more but in summer it may become drier.

In other parts of the world, the effects will be different, some places will become drier and others will be wetter. Although most areas will be warmer, some areas will become cooler. There may be many storms, floods and drought, but we do not know which areas of the world will be affected.

All over the world, these weather changes will affect the kind of crop that can be grown. Plants, animals and even people may find it difficult to survive in different conditions.

Sea Levels

Higher temperatures will make the water of the seas and oceans expand. When many people think of global warming, their first concern is the possible rise of sea levels. With a large number of the world's cities in coastal areas, this is a significant problem. There are two major causes of rising sea levels. First, extra water is produced when ice melts. Ice melting in the Antarctic and Greenland will flow into the sea. All over the world, sea levels may rise, perhaps by as much as 20 to 40 cm, by the beginning of the next century. Secondly, the natural expansion of sea water as it becomes warmer. The range of sea ice around both poles continues to shrink, as it melts. Even with the level of greenhouse gases present today, the earth may warm enough in the next 50 years or so to completely melt the sea ice located on the poles

Higher sea levels will threaten the low-lying coastal areas of the world, such as the Netherlands and Bangladesh. Throughout the world, millions of people and areas of land will be at danger from flooding. Many people will have to leave their homes and large areas of farmland will be ruined because of floods. In Britain, East Anglia and the Thames estuary will be at risk from the rising sea.

Economic and Social

Most of the effects of anthropogenic global warming won’t be good. And these effects spell one thing for the countries of the world: economic consequences. Hurricanes cause do billions of dollars in damage, diseases cost money to treat and control and conflicts exacerbate.

Global warming is big business. Some economists argue that a warmer climate could benefit certain crops and the farming communities. However, property insurers are predicting that worsening storms caused by global warming could eventually bankrupt the insurance industry. Insurance companies are now trying to form strategic alliances, and pool resources which could cover severe economic loss from climatic changes.

Many estimates of aggregate net economic benefits and costs from climate change across the globe have been published. One metric, the social cost of carbon (SCC), expressed in terms of future net benefits and costs that are discounted to the present, has been estimated. Peer-reviewed estimates of the SCC for 2005 have an average value of US$43 per tonne of carbon (tC) (i.e., US$12 per tonne of carbon dioxide) but the range around this mean is large. For example, in a survey of 100 estimates, the values ran from US$-10 per tonne of carbon (US$-3 per tonne of carbon dioxide) up to US$350/tC (US$95 per tonne of carbon dioxide.)

In addition, the costs to implement a worldwide plan to cut the production of CO2 and other gases which contribute to global warming would cost approximately 3 percent of the World's total GDP. However, there is a dispute whether the industrialized world should be responsible for the main economic contributions to clean up this planet. It is important to realize that many less industrialized nations are unable to afford actions to prevent an increase in CO2, and the fact that they have no incentive to reduce the carbon emissions that cause the "greenhouse" effect. Several less industrialized nations argue that the developed world was allowed to use of the nature in creating welfare, and that it is now morally right for them to do the same.

Ecosystems

Unchecked global warming could affect most terrestrial ecoregions. Increasing global temperature means that ecosystems will change; some species are being forced out of their habitats (possibly to extinction) because of changing conditions, while others are flourishing. Secondary effects of global warming, such as lessened snow cover, rising sea levels, and weather changes, may influence not only human activities but also the ecosystem. The global temperatures predicted for the coming centuries may trigger a new ‘mass extinction event’, where over 50 per cent of animal and plant species would be wiped out.

Many of the species at risk are Arctic and Antarctic fauna such as polar bearsand emperor penguins^.. In the Arctic, the waters of Hudson Bay are ice-free for three weeks longer than they were thirty years ago, affecting polar bears, which prefer to hunt on sea ice. Species that rely on cold weather conditions such as gyrfalcons, and snowy owls that prey on lemmings that use the cold winter to their advantage may be hit hard.

Many species of freshwater and saltwater plants and animals are dependent on glacier-fed waters to ensure a cold water habitat that they have adapted to. Some species of freshwater fish need cold water to survive and to reproduce, and this is especially true with Salmon and Cutthroat trout. Reduced glacier runoff can lead to insufficient stream flow to allow these species to thrive. Ocean krill, a cornerstone species, prefer cold water and are the primary food source for aquatic mammals such as the Blue whale. Alterations to the ocean currents, due to increased freshwater inputs from glacier melt, and the potential alterations to thermohaline circulation of the worlds oceans, may affect existing fisheries upon which humans depend as well.

Many animals and plants may not be able to cope with these changes and could die. This could cause the loss of some animal and plant species in certain areas of the world or everywhere on Earth.

Forest

The huge dead forests provide a fire risk. Even many healthy forests appear to face an increased risk of forest fires because of warming climates. The 10-year average of boreal forest burned in North America, after several decades of around 10,000 km² (2.5 million acres), has increased steadily since 1970 to more than 28,000 km² (7 million acres) annually.^[153]. Though this change may be due in part to changes in forest management practices, in the western U. S., since 1986, longer, warmer summers have resulted in a fourfold increase of major wildfires and a sixfold increase in the area of forest burned, compared to the period from 1970 to 1986. A similar increase in wildfire activity has been reported in Canada from 1920 to 1999.^[154]

Forest fires in Indonesia have dramatically increased since 1997 as well. These fires are often actively started to clear forest for agriculture. They can set fire to the large peat bogs in the region and the CO₂ released by these peat bog fires has been estimated, in an average year, to be 15% of the quantity of CO₂ produced by fossil fuel combustion.

Health

The most direct effect of climate change on humans might be the impacts of hotter temperatures themselves. Extreme high temperatures increase the number of people who die on a given day for many reasons: people with heart problems are vulnerable because one's cardiovascular system must work harder to keep the body cool during hot weather, heat exhaustion, and some respiratory problems increase. Global warming could mean more cardiovascular diseases, doctors warn. Higher air temperature also increase the concentration of ozone at ground level. In the lower atmosphere, ozone is a harmful pollutant. It damages lung tissues and causes problems for people with asthma and other lung diseases. In the United States, more than 1000 people die from the cold each year, while twice that number die from the heat.

Global warming may extend the favourable zones for vectors conveying infectious disease such as dengue feverand malaria. In poorer countries, this may simply lead to higher incidence of such diseases. In richer countries, where such diseases have been eliminated or kept in check by vaccination, draining swamps and using pesticides, the consequences may be felt more in economic than health terms.