Polar ice caps melting
According to NASA & The Natural Resources Defense Council, more than 20% of the polar ice cap has melted away since 1979. The melting appears to be accelerating. 19 of the 20 hottest years on record have occurred since the 1980s. The North and South poles feel these global warming effects most acutely – this is reflected in the melting of the polar ice caps and the rapid crumbling of the glaciers.

Sea Level Rising
Once such a thaw begins other factors keep it going. As the bright white ice caps melt, they no longer reflect the same degree of the sun’s energy. Polar ice is very reflective – 90% of the light that strikes it is bounced back into space. Ocean water is the exact opposite. When sunlight hits it, it absorbs 90% of the energy that it receives causing the water to retain more heat. This causes more rapid melting of the ice caps and the global sea level begins to rise. Scientists call this effect a feedback loop.

Sea-level rise is not the only side effect of the feedback loop. Ocean waters have warmed more than a degree since 1970. This warmer water and sea-level rise also leads to more violent weather including more typhoons and hurricanes. This is just one of the many reasons to keep a close eye on the global sea level and the polar ice caps.

As global warming effects continue, further changes in the climate will occur that will severely alter some iconic landscapes, regional economies and traditional ways of life.

In reality, the greenhouse effect is more complex. Greenhouse gases do not form a physical blanket-like barrier, and energy is transferred several ways. The greenhouse gas effect moderates our planet’s temperature; for example, without greenhouse gasses, temperature on the moon can rise 250°C between dawn and lunar noon.

The two greatest greenhouse gases by volume are water vapor and CO₂, carbon dioxide. The amount of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere varies widely with temperature, altitude and latitude, but on average water vapor accounts for about 70% and CO₂ between 4-8%. Other gases such as methane and ozone account for very small amounts.

Carbon Emissions
CO₂ is the most controversial of the greenhouse emissions. It gets complicated because increases in CO₂ will improve the efficiency of water use in many food crops and can make trees grow faster. Obviously, in an area with a lot of vegetation, changing the amount of CO₂ will affect the amount of water vapor. Although carbon emissions are also caused by plant and animal respiration, biological decay, and volcanic eruptions, regulations focus almost entirely on the burning of fuels.

The Political Atmosphere
The UNFCCC, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, has called for reducing greenhouse gases and is especially targeting carbon emissions from fossil fuels. A carbon footprint is an estimate of the total set of greenhouse gas emissions of an individual or group. Because these numbers are in dispute, the politics associated with the greenhouse effect can easily become as heated as the sun’s energy.

Greenhouse Effect through carbon dioxide gases

The sun’s energy is primarily composed of light waves that have a wavelength of less than 4000 billionths of an inch. This heat and energy rains down on the earth, providing warmth. The earth holds a certain amount of this heat, but also reflects some of it back into the atmosphere at wavelengths longer than 4000 billionth’s of an inch. In the atmosphere, carbon dioxide gas along with other greenhouse gases absorbs these longer wavelengths of light, preventing excess heat from escaping back into space. This process heats up the planet.

Controlling CO2 emissions

Beginning with the Industrial Revolution, as man discovered ways to produce fuel out of carbon based materials like oil and gas, emissions of CO2 have steadily increased. Many people fear that with the carbon dioxide atmosphere levels rising, the Earth is on the brink of sliding into a runaway greenhouse scenario similar to Earth’s sister planet Venus. In order to combat global warming, many countries have made promises to reduce emissions of CO2 in order to reduce carbon dioxide atmosphere levels in an attempt to slow down global warming. Countries are now investing in clean, renewable energy sources such as nuclear, solar, and wind power as well as subsidizing the research and marketing of alternatively fueled cars like hybrids and hydrogen powered vehicles.

Stop Greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide!

Carbon dioxide CO2 levels are at their highest levels since historical records have been kept, while global mean temperatures are also at a high, indicating that there is a correlation between the two. In order to stop or slow down a global catastrophe from occurring as temperatures rise and destroy ecosystems, countries and individuals are making great strides to control the emissions of carbon dioxide gas and other greenhouse gases.

United Nations says: temperatures will rise

The United Nations says that the earth has already warmed by more than 0.6 degrees centigrade over the last century, and that even at the lowest predicted levels of warming, temperatures will rise by more than double that over the next hundred years. While precise climate change facts are hard to pin down, many people around the world say they can see that mother earth is already feeling the impact.

Extinction follows Climate Change

As polar ice caps melt, sea levels are rising and will continue to do so, inundating lowlands and destroying cooler habitats around the planet. Meanwhile, patterns of precipitation are expected to change, with some areas getting far wetter while others become drier – leading to the extinction of plants and creatures unable to cope with their changing circumstances. The United Nations (UN) predicts that up to a quarter of all mammals and more than one in ten birds could become extinct over the next few decades – a huge loss to the diverse population of mother earth.

We have to take action to safe Mother Earth

As for humans, climate scientists say we too will suffer, as fiercer storms and more flooding hit coastal areas – a potential disaster for the billions who live there. We’ll also face an increasing shortage of drinking water, as the seas rise, flooding freshwater supplies. Global warming could severely disrupt food supplies, as previously fertile lands dry out or are flooded. What’s more, scientists warn, warmer temperatures will help diseases such as malaria spread, with potentially devastating effects. While the accuracy of many such climate change facts may be hard to test, scientists and campaigners say their warnings are a call for all of us to take action.