Intensity of Climate Changes Articles | Global Warming

By: J.Morgan

It really doesn’t matter if you believe in global warming, the fact of this matter is that lately weather events have been intense and extreme.  Nothing is called a weather condition anymore.  It is “severe” or “record-setting” or even assigned an intensity number like “category 5" for serious hurricanes.

All of these changes are attributed to the warming that has occurred as the result of greenhouse gases, emitted in various ways by humankind, and trapped in the atmosphere where these gases already exist in the correct amount.

Adding gases to the ones already there causes a “greenhouse effect” that warms the earth’s surface continuously rather than in cycles as was naturally intended.  So, now that we’ve managed to overload the atmosphere, it is imperative that we all do at least one thing that is environmentally friendly.


Global Warming and Climate Change

The terms "global warming" and "climate change" are so often used interchangeably that their individual meanings have become blurred. Global warming will naturally occur over thousands of years, thus producing the alternating heat waves and ice ages.

Global warming is the affect that excessive amounts of carbon, released into the atmosphere, has upon the surface of the earth.  The ground becomes warmer and so does the ocean water.  Ocean warmth influences the severity of storms that form over the water.

This warming trend also influences weather patterns occurring over land. Some of the earth’s areas may become deserts, rivers could evaporate and the flora and fauna in lush, wet, green areas could cease to thrive. All of this activity constitutes climate change, that has accelerated over the past several decades.


History of Warming and Changes

Our planet has experienced cycles of warming and cooling throughout its history.  Events that indicated the cycles included ice ages and transformations or adaptations of the inhabitants of this planet.  Historically, natural factors were responsible for these cyclic changes. Volcanic eruptions, orbital corrections and solar energy have all played a part in changing the climate of our Earth.  These were all natural occurrences and the impact was slow and spread over centuries.


The Industrial Revolution and the lifestyle changes that it brought to America also managed to compromise the quality of air we breathe and the composition of the atmosphere above us.  The human capacity for invention fueled the Industrial Revolution.  It was minor items at first, nothing that would change the environment that we depended upon so much.  Ben Franklin and his kite, Thomas Edison and his light bulb and inventor Joseph Henry with his electric telegraph were innocent enough.

Everything changed when Henry Ford developed the assembly line technique and Andrew Carnegie built steel factories in Pittsburgh, PA industrial area.  Coal mines and manufacturing plants were nearby and they made chemicals and electrical equipment for use in the steel factories.  The products that these manufacturers produced were the catalysts of the “carbon footprint”.


Return to Normalcy

It will take a global effort to return the atmosphere to its normal composition.  Scientists think it can be done if each person makes an effort to change at least one habit that is affecting the environment.  One person doing one thing can turn this habit into an epidemic of many people doing something to help erase our “carbon footprint” from the planet.  There are many things one person can do, but here is one do-able list:

<     Stop using disposable eating utensils, plates and cups.  There’s nothing wrong with the real thing.

<     Do your banking online.  Eliminate the use of deposit and withdrawal slips.

<     Change to paperless billing as much as possible.

<     Get off as many junk mail lists as possible.

<     Walk when possible - leave the car at home.

<     Investigate the possibility of purchasing the “Smart Car” when you are ready to buy a different vehicle.

<     Use only items that have the recycled symbol on the packaging.

<     Recycle as many bottles and cans as you possibly can and create a savings account for the change that is generated.

You probably could think of many other things that would be effective and beneficial.  Share your thoughts with others and watch your newfound habit spread.  It only takes one person to start a major movement.  A commitment to clean and healthy living is all it takes to make a difference.