Global problems

Global is the absorption of energy radiated from the Earth's surface by carbon dioxide and other gases in the atmosphere, causing the atmosphere to become warmer.

Each time we burn gasoline, oil, coal, or even natural gas, more carbon dioxide is added to the atmosphere. The greenhouse effect is what is causing the temperature on the Earth to rise, and creating many problems that will begin to take place in the coming decades.

All of these activities are unfavourably changing the composition of the biosphere and the Earth's heat balance. If we do not slow down our use of fossil fuels and stop destroying the forests, the world could become hotter than it has been in the past million years.

If carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases continue to spill into the atmosphere, global temperatures could rise 5 to 10 degrees by the middle of the next century. Some areas, particularly in the Northern Hemisphere, will dry out and a greater occurrence of forest fires will take place.

At the present rate of destruction, most of the rain forests will be gone by the middle of the century. This will allow man-made deserts to invade on once lush areas. Evaporation rates will also increase and water circulation patterns will change.

If the present arctic ice melting continues, the sea could rise as much as 2 meters by the middle of the next century. Large areas of coastal land would disappear.  The warming will rearrange entire biological communities and cause many species to become died out.

The greenhouse effect and global warming both correspond with each other. The green house effect is recalled as incoming solar radiation that passes through the Earth's atmosphere but prevents much of the outgoing infrared radiation from escaping into outer space. It causes the overheat of the air and as a result, we have the global warming effect.