In the United States we face a lot of issues ranging from social problems to environmental controversies. An issue that has been researched for decades is Global Warming. Throughout the years, scientists have watched for patterns and potential clues that would hint to the main causes of this potential crisis, concluding that greenhouse gasses emitted by humans have a substantial impact on the changes in climate. There have been many obvious ways that these gases have begun to destroy our environment, and it could rapidly increase in the future if there is not something done. Although there are many different beliefs regarding this issue, we need to make changes to the way we are living otherwise we could seriously regret it down the road (environment.nationalgeographic.com).
In some cases, global warming is not the only contributing factor known to have an affect on the climate changes. Volcanic eruptions are known to release particles that cool down the Earths surface. These changes,however, only last a couple years. With the increasing number of Carbon Dioxide emissions, global warming has proved to be a more serious danger and could cause longer lasting climate problems. This being said, we have started ways to look more closely at the data that has been gathered by scientists around the world in hopes to find a reasonable solution.
To organize and observe data that has been gathered on global warming the United Nations has formed a group called the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Every few years, hundreds of scientists come together to discuss their findings and write a report based on the different facts they have researched. It has been discovered that a variety of greenhouse gasses such as fossil fuels from cars, factories and electric power plants have all been a major production of these gasses. According to a book called Hot Topic by Gabrielle Walker and Sir David King states that, globally, nine billion tons of C02 per year have been used by buildings alone (Hot Topic, pg.97). Further research concludes that Carbon dioxide has been the main factor creating a problem with the fluctuating changes in climate. Other gases include methane emitted from landfills as well as agriculture, and nitrous oxide released from fertilizers. The problem with these gases is that they have the ability to capture and trap heat (environment.nationalgeographic.com). This phenomenon is called the “greenhouse effect”. “Since 1990, yearly emissions have gone up by about 6 billion metric tons of "carbon dioxide equivalent" worldwide, more than a 20 percent increase (environment.nationalgeographic.com).”
This theory, regardless of the different opinions, has been proven to have many different affects on our environment. It has been recorded that the global temperature has gone up by one degree (environment.nationalgeographic.com). Although this change seems insignificant, greenhouse gases are increasing and continue to release into the air, causing the climate to rapidly change. Glaciers in polar areas are beginning to melt, and precipitation patterns are constantly changing affecting the migration of animals. Sea levels are expected to rise, hurricanes and other storms are predicted to become stronger causing floods and droughts, fresh water will become less available, and ecosystems will change causing destruction to the natural habitats of many animal species (environment.nationalgeographic.com). These are the main problems that have been predicted to come from global warming, which in turn could eventually affect all forms of life in many ways.
On the other hand, global warming is but one of the many issues that the United States let alone the world are facing. Other problems such as politics, economics, and sociology all create obstacles while scientists look for solutions to stabilize climate. With this in mind, scientists have agreed that a main goal is to regulate the amount of