Seven Castles

Global Warming

                                      

August 15, 2006

 

The Earth's atmosphere, a thin blanket of gases, protects the planet from the harshest of the Sun's ultraviolet radiation. The atmosphere, by trapping the Earth's warmth, keeps rivers and oceans from freezing. Carbon dioxide and water vapor are the most important gases in creating the insulating or "greenhouse effect" of the atmosphere. Without the natural greenhouse effect, the global average temperature would drop precipitously 33 degrees from its current 15°C to -18°C and the Earth would become an ice planet. It is certain that we would all be lost.

 

However, too many greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere could increase the greenhouse effect. This could result in an increase in mean global temperatures as well as changes in precipitation patterns.

 

For decades, human factories and cars have spewed billions of tons of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere, and the climate has begun to show some signs of warming. Although local temperatures fluctuate naturally, over the past 50 years the average global temperature has increased at the fastest rate in recorded history. The trend is accelerating and is on the brink of a point of no return.

 

Global warming is a great threat to our planet and already causing damage in many parts of the world, including the inundation of low-lying islands due to rising sea levels, increased frequency of severe storms, and the retreat of glaciers and icecaps. Alarm bells are sounding all over our planet, taking these phenomena as harbingers of greater disasters to come, which will create millions of climate refugees.

 

Global warming has been the subject of intense debate and concern for many scientists, policy-makers, and citizens. 

 

【作者: zhangliping】【访问统计:】【2006年08月15日 星期二 05:48】【 加入博采】【打印】