Global warming is a phenomenon which explains the slow and steady rise in the temperature of the earth’s atmosphere, and is also termed as the ‘green house effect’. The temperature of the earth is steadily rising, thereby affecting the climatic conditions of the earth, which are very likely to produce harmful and fatal effects such as floods, cyclones and tsunamis, all of which bring about devastation of life. There is a substantial co-relation between the global warming and the carbon dioxide. This essay seeks to investigate the effect and contribution of carbon dioxide to the phenomenon of global warming.
The burning of fossil fuels such as gasoline, propane and methane produces carbon dioxide as the end product. Caron dioxide is also produced by the many other human activities such as the use of heavy duty electronic machines including the air conditioner and the refrigerator. There are many other activities which aid the production of carbon dioxide in the air. The trees and plants take in and absorb the carbon dioxide present in the air during the process of photosynthesis. Human activities such as destruction of forests, have contributed heavily to the increase in the carbon dioxide present in the air.
The sun releases light energy in to the earth’s atmosphere while the earth releases heat energy into the atmosphere. The carbon dioxide present in the air does not absorb the energy form the sun, but does absorb some energy from the surface of the earth. When a single molecule of carbon dioxide absorbs heat energy, it gets energized and unbalanced. The molecule can regain its stability by the release of the gained energy which has been absorbed. Some of this energy is released into space while some of it comes back to the earth. Thus, while carbon dioxide absorbs the heat energy from the earth, it does not emit all of it, resulting in the green house effect.
Due to this excess imbalance of energy which is caused due to the excess carbon dioxide on the earth’s surface, global warming is caused. The rate of natural absorption of carbon dioxide by trees and plants is steadily decreasing due to the destruction of forests and farmlands. The imbalance is further augmented by the release of carbon dioxide due to the burning of fossil fuels, resulting in a greater proportion of carbon dioxide in the air. More carbon dioxide automatically results in the absorption of more heat which stays back on the earth’s surface, causing a substantial increase in the temperatures on the earth.
In the present conditions of global warming, there is a steady increase in the carbon dioxide. The phenomenon is triggered by the human activities of destruction of forests. This leaves more carbon dioxide in the air, which absorbs more heat energy. This energy remains in the form of carbon dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere, causing great harm in the form of melting of the ice caps which ultimately result in fatal dangers.
Thus we see that the role and impact of carbon dioxide in the phenomenon of global warming is immense. It is up to the humans to take concrete steps to slow or stop this effect. Individual measures such as reduction in fuel consumption can produce good results. The government should also take collective measures in seeking new ways of obtaining energy such as wind and solar energy. The devastating effects of global warming are now known to all and it is up to us to do something substantial about this deadly phenomenon.