Climate Change By Christian Sosa

How global warming occurs The sun’s light waves are absorbed by the earth which heats it up to a sustainable, livable level, and the sun’s rays(such as ultraviolet light) are absorbed by the ozone, surace and clouds and are also reflected back out as infrared radiation through the albedo of clouds and snow/ice, the earth’s surface, and the ocean. Greenhouse gases (such as carbon dioxide) thicken the atmosphere causing more infrared radiation to be trapped inside the atmosphere which causes the earth to heat up due to more heat being trapped inside of the atmosphere.

How does global warming affect society Global warming has increased the amount of water evaporation that occurs and due to the warming the water is relocated which can cause a drought in one area while it causes a flood in another place. The warming of the earth also sucks out the water/moisture in the soil which can lead to the death of crops and plants which leads to less food for the population affected by the drought. In India, 2015, a heat wave killed 2,300 people with the temperature ranging from 95.5 degrees to 114 degrees fahrenheit with most of the victims consisting of casual laborers, the elderly, homeless people, and children who succumb to heatstroke and/or dehydration. Due to the warmer temperatures and warmer ocean temperatures stronger storms( such as hurricanes and tornadoes) have occurred more often such as katrina.

How does global warming affect the environment Due to the warmer winters, pest such as the hemlock woolly adelgid have been able to spread further and kill more hemlock trees by feeding on a the tree’s sap. Global warming has also negatively impacted the population of the pied flycatcher. because the caterpillars, that act as the hatchlings foodsource, peak abundance, compared to the 1980s, is now two weeks earlier than when the hatchlings hatch, there is less food for the hatchlings which has resulted in the population decreasing from 35,000-40,000 in 1990 to 29,500-33,800 in 2000. Due to the warmer climates, chances of forest fires have increased due to the drier conditions, the increase of lighting, and the longer fire seasons which result in habitat loss due to the fires being out of season or lasting to long, which can result in the loss of habitat for the animals in that area and the death of those animals.

How has global warming affected glaciers and water Due to the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the ocean will intake more co2 which will cause the ph of the ocean to decrease which will cause acidification and that will lead to coral not being able to absorb the calcium carbonate that they need to maintain their skeletons which lead to the the decrease of coral reefs and fish habitat. Due to the warmer waters and winters ice caps and glaciers have melted causing there to be less ice that acts as habitat for animals in the area and more melted ice which can increase the water levels which can end up flooding coast cities such as florida, netherlands, beijing, shanghai, etc. in glacier national park had 150 individual glaciers in 1850 but currently there is only 25 and by 2030 it is estimated all the glaciers there would melt. The increase in temperature has also resulted in the decrease of the larsen b ice shelf in antarctica from 1993 to march of 2002.

How have carbon dioxide levels increased In the past 650,000 years the carbon dioxide levels were below 300 parts per million but now, currently, the levels are over 300 ppm with the level at 409.65 ppm in 2017 which can cause a few problems for the climate due to there being more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere(such as climate change). The increase in the co2 is due to the use of fossil fuels being used more today than any time in the past.