GLOBAL WARMING

an increase in the earth's average atmospheric temperature thatcauses corresponding ch

anges in climate and that may result from thegreenhouse effect.
-Global warming refers to the increased temperature of Earth's surface, including land, water and
near-surface air.
-Global Warming is the increase of Earth's average surface temperature due to effect of greenhouse
gases, such as carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels or from deforestation, which trap
heat that would otherwise escape from Earth. This is a type of greenhouse effect.
What are the Greenhouse Gases?
The most significant greenhouse gas is actually water vapor, not something produced directly by
humankind in significant amounts. However, even slight increases in atmospheric levels of carbon
dioxide (CO2) can cause a substantial increase in temperature.
Why is this? There are two reasons: First, although the concentrations of these gases are not nearly
as large as that of oxygen and nitrogen (the main constituents of the atmosphere), neither oxygen
or nitrogen are greenhouse gases. This is because neither has more than two atoms per molecule
(i.e. their molecular forms are O2 and N2, respectively), and so they lack the internal vibrational
modes that molecules with more than two atoms have. Both water and CO2, for example, have
these "internal vibrational modes", and these vibrational modes can absorb and reradiate infrared
radiation, which causes the greenhouse effect.
Causes:
Global warming is caused by excessive quantities of greenhouse gases emitted into Earth's nearsurface atmosphere. Greenhouse gases are both man-made and occur naturally, and include a
number of gases, including:

carbon dioxide

methane

nitrous oxide

chlorofluorocarbons

water vapor
The effects of global warming are both consequential and widespread, and will
continue to be catastrophic. "Global warming is well recognized by scientists around
the world as a serious public health and environmental concern," observed the
American Lung Assocation.

Rising sea levels, which lead to flooding and displacement and death of
possibly millions of people.
Global warming will continue to affect Earth through increased ocean levels which
cause flooding, as well as altered weather patterns. Mankind will be negatively
affected in a number of vital ways.

Global Warming Effects on Mankind

Among the direct effects on mankind of global warming are:

Homeless refugees displaced by flooding, hurricanes and drought.

Increased hunger due to food shortages because of loss of farmable land

Spread of diseases, such as malaria and lyme disease, due to the migration
of disease-carrying insects with warmer, wetter weather and more standing
bodies of water in the northern hemisphere.

Global warmming is cuased by greenhouse gases, which occur both naturally

and are directly and indirectly generated by mankind.

While optimal amounts of greenhouse gases are necessary for Earth to be

habitable, a profusion of greenhouse gases create disturbances in weather and storm
patterns that can be catastropic.
Greenhouse Effect
-The phenomenon whereby the earth's atmosphere traps solar radiation, caused by thepresence in the at
mosphere of gases such as carbon dioxide, water vapor, and methanethat allow incoming sunlight to pas
s through but absorb heat radiated back from theearth's surface.
-The greenhouse effect is a process by which thermal radiation from a planetary surface is absorbed by
atmosphericgreenhouse gases, and is re-radiated in all directions. Since part of this re-radiation is back
towards the surface and the lower atmosphere, it results in an elevation of the average surface temperature
above what it would be in the absence of the gases.[1][2]
The greenhouse effect occurs when certain gases in the atmosphere (the air around the Earth)
entrap infrared radiation. This effect makes the planet warmer, in the same way a greenhouse keeps its
inside temperature warmer.

The greenhouse effect is caused by greenhouse gases; the most important greenhouse gases in Earth's
atmosphere are:water vapor, carbon dioxide, and methane. When there is more greenhouse gas in the air,
the air holds more heat. This is why more greenhouse gases cause global warming.