Climate Change

Human Activity and Climate Change

Crystal Miller

Grantham University

Intro to Environmental Science

GS104

Douglas Burns

July 14, 2013

Human Activity and Climate Change

I agree. Over the past century, human activities have released large amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The majority of greenhouse gases come from burning fossil fuels to produce energy, although deforestation, industrial processes and some agricultural practices also emit gases into the atmosphere. The greenhouse gases act like a blanket around Earth, trapping energy in the atmosphere and causing it to warm. This phenomenon is called the greenhouse effect and is natural and necessary to support life on Earth. The buildup of greenhouse gases can change Earth’s climate and result in dangerous effects to human health and welfare to ecosystems. ("Disadvantages," 2011, p. 1)

Human activity also effects climate through changes in the number and physical properties of tiny particles (aerosols) suspended in the atmosphere and through changes in the land surface. Aerosols arise from dust, sea salt, and air pollution. They absorb and redirect radiation emitted by the sun and Earth. They also modify the ability of clouds to reflect sunlight and to form precipitation. ("Climate change," n.d., p. 1)

Most greenhouse gases are extremely effective at absorbing heat escaping from the Earth and keeping it trapped. It takes only small amounts of these gases to significantly change the properties of the atmosphere. Other natural causes of climate change include variations in ocean currents (which can alter the distribution of heat and precipitation) and large eruptions of volcanoes (which can sporadically increase the concentration of atmosphere particles, blocking out more sunlight). However they do not explain the warming that we have observed over the last half century.

Greenhouse gases come from a variety of human activities, including burning fossil fuels for...