Evan Stallard Stallard 1

English Composition II
Mrs. Carter
10/25/2020

Literature Review

Global warming is a huge problem in our society. There are two main opinions one can

have on the topic of global warming. One is to say that the main cause of global warming is

man-made and we need to stop it before drastic changes to the Earth happen. The other side of

the argument is that most of the Earth’s global warming is natural and there isn’t much we can

do to help stop it. My argument is that global warming is mostly man-made and we need to do

everything we can to stop it. After diving deeper into the topic, I have found out how bad global

warming really is.

Two points can be agreed upon by both sides. One of these points is: global warming will

continue to go on, even if we try to prevent it. It is caused by particles in the air to absorb heat

from sunlight after it reflects off the Earth’s surface. This is known as the Greenhouse Effect.

One of the main particles that absorb heat and cause the Greenhouse effect is water vapor. Water

vapor absorbs heat, which ends up causing more rain, which eventually makes more water vapor.

This makes global warming hard to prevent.

The second point that can be agreed upon by both sides is: ​Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)

are a direct contributor to global warming. CFCs are a completely man-made compound used in

the production of aerosol cans, ​blowing agents for foams and packing materials, as solvents, and

as refrigerants. One let out into the environment, CFCs float up into the stratosphere and are

broken apart by radiation. The chlorine in CFCs then reacts with the ozone layer and destroys it.

The ozone layer blocks harmful ultraviolet light from the sun which would heat up our earth
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even more. Without the ozone layer, the DNA from both plants and animals will be damaged.

This will cause many plants to die.

Another key particle in the cause of global warming is Carbon dioxide. Carbon Dioxide

levels have gone up significantly in the last several hundred years and it is clearly caused by

human activity. In the past 650,000 years, the atmospheric CO2 levels have not risen over 300

ppm (parts per million). In 1958 the atmospheric level of CO2 was 317 ppm. Now, it is about

415 ppm. This evidence clearly shows that these CO2 levels would be nearly impossible without

human activity such as deforestation, burning fossil fuels, and more. (Pros and Cons of Climate

Change)

On the other hand, some scientists believe that warming happens before changes in CO2

admissions. Their evidence is that over the last four climatic cycles, (240,000 years) global

warming has occurred before increases of CO2 levels in the atmosphere. Another piece of

evidence used is that around 450 million years ago, CO2 levels were five times higher than what

they are now and the Earth was cooling down, not warming up. (Pros and Cons of Climate

Change)

Another contributor to climate change is Nitrous oxide. Nitrous oxide is in used soil

cultivation practices, especially the use of commercial and organic fertilizers, fossil fuel

combustion, nitric acid production, and biomass burning (NASA). Nitrous oxide is incredibly

good at trapping heat, as it can trap 300 times more than Carbon Dioxide can. Because Nitrous

oxide use has only been used in recent times, this shows the humans are causing a lot of climate

change.

The rebuttal to the above claim is that the Earth is still in its normal range of up or down

5 degrees Fahrenheit, so it doesn't impact the Earth that much. There was also a Harvard study
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that concluded “many records reveal that the 20th century is probably not the warmest nor a

uniquely extreme climatic period of the last millennium”. This is not a good rebuttal because it

doesn’t argue anything back. It kind of just says that the warming is okay because it’s not super

unusual.

The final main contributor to global warming is methane. Methane is also very good at

trapping heat, as it can trap 84 times the amount of heat Carbon Dioxide can. It is a greenhouse

gas that is produced both naturally and man-made. Methane is naturally made by ​the anaerobic

bacterial decomposition of vegetable matter under water. Man-made methane emissions come

from rice cultivation, livestock manure, and fossil fuels. Since methane is emitted into the

atmosphere from fossil fuels, one can conclude that because of the increased use of fossil fuels,

the amount of methane in the atmosphere has gone up. Also, when permafrost melts, it releases

methane. Since methane causes global warming, this makes an infinite cycle of methane being

released into the atmosphere until there is no more permafrost.

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Works Cited

“The Causes of Climate Change.” ​NASA​, NASA, 18 Aug. 2020, climate.nasa.gov/causes/.

“Pros & Cons - ProCon.org.” ​Climate Change​, 11 June 2020, climatechange.procon.org/.

“Footnotes & Sources - Climate Change - ProCon.org.” ​Climate Change​, 6 May 2020,

climatechange.procon.org/additional-resources/footnotes-sources/.
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