In this blog post, we will look at global warming from various angles to see whether it is the result of human activity or one of the Earth’s natural climate changes.
The word global warming is a familiar word that you can easily hear around you. It literally means the phenomenon of the Earth’s temperature rising. This word has been around for less than 100 years. In fact, the temperature of the Earth has been changing throughout its history. In fact, there were times when the temperature was much higher than it is now. Global warming has become a hot topic recently because it is caused by humans. Currently, global warming generally refers to the phenomenon of the temperature rising rapidly due to greenhouse gases and other factors in recent years. This global warming has emerged as a representative problem of modern society, highlighting the problems of indiscriminate use of fossil fuels and environmental pollution.
Historically, global warming did not receive much attention until the Cold War. However, after the Cold War, with the development of computers and observation equipment, the fact that the cause of global warming was carbon dioxide generated by humans became known, and it began to receive attention. The cause was identified through the research of many scholars, and efforts were made to solve it. In the 1980s, international response organizations such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) were formed. And in 1997, specific international treaties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, such as the Kyoto Protocol, were signed.
The greenhouse effect caused by greenhouse gases is the biggest cause of global warming. The greenhouse effect is basically a phenomenon that occurs because greenhouse gases reduce the emission of heat. Greenhouse gases have the property of passing through radiation with short wavelengths coming from the sun and absorbing long wavelengths emitted from the earth. Because of this property, the Earth receives incoming heat and absorbs outgoing heat, some of which is emitted and some of which remains in the atmosphere. When the amount of greenhouse gases is constant, the temperature remains constant in equilibrium. However, when the amount of greenhouse gases increases, the amount of heat absorbed changes, causing the overall temperature to rise. Ultimately, it appears that global warming has occurred due to the increase in the amount of greenhouse gases currently in the atmosphere, which has raised the temperature of the entire planet. In addition to the greenhouse effect, scientists have suggested various other causes, such as solar radiation.
Among the current greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide is known to be the main cause of global warming. It is believed that this carbon dioxide was mainly generated during the combustion of fossil fuels, which were used in large quantities after the Industrial Revolution. In recent years, the destruction of forests and desertification, as well as these fossil fuels, have also been contributing factors to the increase in the proportion of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. In addition to carbon dioxide, freon gas, which was widely used as a refrigerant in refrigerators in the 1990s, and methane from cattle excrement are also believed to have significantly increased the greenhouse effect and accelerated global warming.
Global warming is a major problem because of the changes it causes to the Earth. Many problems, such as the decline of glaciers and rising sea levels, are believed to be caused by global warming. Rising sea levels are a very serious problem because they can submerge shallow areas and islands. In addition, the overall rise in temperature prevents plants and animals from adapting, resulting in the destruction of ecosystems and an increase in the number of endangered species. The recent warming of temperate regions into subtropical regions shows that the Earth’s temperature is rising very quickly and the situation is serious. In addition, scholars have recently attributed extreme weather events, such as the frequent occurrence of powerful typhoons, to the increase in evaporation from the sea due to global warming.
Global efforts are underway to address these issues. The most basic solution is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which are pointed out as the root problem. To this end, many companies and countries are developing eco-friendly products and focusing on the development of new and renewable energy, and are also making efforts to protect natural environments such as forests. A carbon emissions trading system is emerging as a specific solution. A carbon emissions trading system is a system that allows the emission of carbon that causes the greenhouse effect to be priced and traded economically. In other words, it is a method of reducing carbon emissions using economic logic. In addition, various methods are being proposed, such as introducing a full life cycle assessment that evaluates all processes from system creation to processing, to more accurately reduce carbon emissions.
The aforementioned are generally known as global warming. However, there are also sides to the issue that continue to be debated. Many of the claims about global warming are exaggerated, and there are many scholars who argue that humans have contributed very little to it. They argue that there have been periods in recorded history when temperatures were higher than they are now, and that the rise in temperature in the history of the Earth is due to other global phenomena, not greenhouse gases. These scholars acknowledge that the Earth’s temperature is rising, but say that the information on the causes and consequences is unreliable, exaggerated, or incorrect. They see these distortions as a means to political or economic ends and criticize these actions.
In addition to these scholars who claim extreme distortions, there is also debate among other scholars about the exact situation of global warming. A specific example of this is the Greenland ice sheet. In 2004, the BBC reported that the rate at which the Greenland ice sheet was melting was increasing every year, and that it was thinning by 10 meters each year. In 2005, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the United States made a similar claim. This was taken for granted because the media around the world had been emphasizing the fact that glaciers were melting. However, the European Space Agency (ESA) later made the claim that “the Greenland ice sheet is repeating its fluctuations, and the ice volume in the central part of Greenland is actually increasing.” The claims of the two official organizations are completely different. This controversy has yet to be resolved.
There are countless other research results and debates on global warming. The scenarios and other related information often change as more and more reports are published, and the results vary greatly. This is related to chaos theory, because even the slightest change in input can lead to a significant change in the outcome. This is a problem in global issues because there are so many variables, and it is why there is constant debate. Therefore, it is difficult to respond to global warming.
From another perspective, there are also those who argue that the view that many of the current extreme weather events are the result of global warming is very dangerous. These scholars argue that extreme weather events are related to temperature differences, and global warming is not related to temperature differences because the overall temperature is rising. Therefore, they argue that global warming cannot be the cause of extreme weather events. They point out that there are other causes of these extreme weather events, and that attributing all causes globally to global warming will cause major problems.
There are many other debates about global warming. In fact, these debates are natural because the global theory itself is complex and difficult to predict, like the diffusion of gases. However, it is clear that the Earth’s temperature is rising at a rapid rate. And it is true that glaciers are melting and sea levels are rising as a result. While we cannot come to a complete conclusion about the causes or solutions, it seems most important to respond with the best options available.
