Global Warming

Global Warming

Global Warming

Global warming could raise average temperatures as much as 10 degrees in Ohio by the end of this century, causing a rise in heat-related deaths and reducing crop yields if the world does not dramatically cut its dependence on fossil fuels, according to a study. The study, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, contemplated the consequences of two distinct paths the industrialized world could take in response to a changing climate: maintaining its current reliance on coal, oil and gas, or massively investing in new technologies and alternative energy sources. Burning fossil fuels adds carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, which increases global temperatures by trapping more of the sun's heat. If the world continues to release high levels of heat-trapping gases, Ohio's average statewide temperature is likely to raise 7 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the century, the study concluded. On the other hand, if nations undertake large-scale reductions which the scientists conceded would require major economic and behavioral changes, temperatures are still likely to rise 4 to 6 degrees by 2100, the study found.

I think that global warming is a moral matter to a certain extent. It is up to everyone if they want to recycle and help our planet or not. Morally I feel that it is everyone's responsibility to do their part to help out in whatever way they can. Scientists know for certain that a greenhouse effect exists, that even without industrial emissions a naturally occurring blanket of carbon dioxide and other gases helps trap solar radiation. Without that blanket, the planet would be a frozen wasteland. But as greenhouse gases continue to build in the atmosphere, the blanket thickens. There are people that will argue that the Earth itself has spiked higher levels of carbon dioxide way before humans were around, and that it is not our carbon footprint that is doing the really bad damage now. Then you...