Are Human Activities Contributing to Climate Change Research Paper

Are Human Activities Contributing to Climate Change - Research Paper Example Since then, man has been moving forward in terms of technological advancement but overlooking the damages it is causing to the Earth’s atmosphere. The greenhouse gases, which occur naturally, absorb the thermal infrared and warm the Earth’s temperature by 63 degrees Fahrenheit. This whole process is known as the Greenhouse Effect. The main greenhouse gases that are present in the Earth’s atmosphere are carbon dioxide, water vapour, methane, nitrous oxide and the ozone. (Maslin, 2007) Carbon dioxide and other green house gases such as methane are added to the earth’s atmosphere by the burning of fossil fuels. Previously, the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere were in balance but today, human activities are releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere at an increasingly high level. The earth’s vegetation has not been able to take in and absorb the excess of carbon dioxide and thus, the atmospheric level of CO2 has increased. Fossil fuels are burnt to create energy for humans in the form of heat, electricity and gas. Apart from making our lives easier, it has also emitted enough carbon dioxide into the atmosphere to cause climate changes. Through the Earth’s natural cycle, large amounts of carbon dioxide are released in and out of the atmosphere annually and so the CO2 levels remained in balance throughout. However; scientists have confirmed that human activities add around 7 billion tonnes of CO2 into the earth’s atmosphere which ends up upsetting the balance. According to research, the trees and the oceans only absorb half of the carbon dioxide present in the atmosphere. The remainder stays in our environment for as long as 100 years. Carbon dioxide is created from fossil fuels through the form of heat and gas. It is also released in natural processes like decay of organic matter. Apart from that, trees release CO2 into the atmosphere but due to deforestation, the absorption of this gas has