a reAction paper

1. A REACTION PAPER
IN
GLOBAL WARMING
SUBMITTED BY:
ANDREI DYON PAGSOLINGAN
SUBMITTED TO:
MR. MHARWIN ESTABILLO

3. GLOBAL WARMING
 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
CAUSES
 Global warming is primarily a problem of too much carbon dioxide
(CO2) in the atmosphere—which acts as a blanket, trapping heat
and warming the planet. As we burn fossil fuels like coal, oil and
natural gas for energy or cut down and burn forests to create
pastures and plantations, carbon accumulates and overloads our
atmosphere. Certain waste management and agricultural practices
aggravate the problem by releasing other potent global warming
gases, such as methane and nitrous oxide.
 The build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere during the 20th
century has resulted from the growing use of energy and expansion
of the global economy. Over the century, industrial activity grew
40-fold, and the emissions of gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2)
and sulfur dioxide (SO2) grew 10-fold.
 The amount of CO2 in the air increased from some 280 parts per
million by volume (ppmv) at the beginning of the century to 383
ppmv at the end of 2007. The amount of CO2 varies within each
year as the result of the annual cycles of photosynthesis and
oxidation (see graph). Of the other greenhouse gases, methane
(CH4), which is formed by anaerobic decomposition of organic
matter, rose from a preindustrial atmospheric concentration of
around 700 parts per billionby volume (ppbv) to about 1 789 ppbv

4. by 2007. Other important greenhouse gases include the oxides of
nitrogen, notably nitrous oxide (NO2) and halocarbons, including
the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and other chlorine and bromine
containing compounds.
 Atmospheric aerosols are able to alter climate in two important
ways. First, they scatter and absorb solar and infrared radiation and,
second, they may change the microphysical and chemical properties
of clouds and possibly their lifetime and extent. The scattering of
solar radiation acts to cool the planet, while absorption of solar
radiation by aerosols warms the air directly instead of allowing
sunlight to be absorbed by the surface of the Earth.
 The human contribution to the amount of aerosols in the atmosphere
takes many forms. Dust is a bi product of agriculture. Biomass
burning produces a combination of organic droplets and soot
particles. Industrial processes produce a wide variety of aerosols
depending on what is being burned or produced in the
manufacturing process. In addition, exhaust emissions from
transport generate a rich cocktail of pollutants that are either
aerosols from the outset, or are converted by chemical reactions in
the atmosphere to form aerosols.

5.  This picture shows that deforestation by human causes Global
Warming.

7.  Smoke from factories may contaminate the fresh air which causes the
Ozone Layer to destroy.

9. REACTION
The many malpractices of human being such as deforestation,
greenhouse gasses, smoke coming from factories, smoke belching from
vehicle, chlorofluorocarbon or CFC’s from aerosols, refrigerators, hair spray
or spray net, air freshener, air condition etc.
Global warming is a myth when in reference to humans putting enough greenhouse
gasses into the atmosphere to drastically change our climate.
First, a single volcanic eruption puts more greenhouse gasses into the air than all
the humans on Earth combined. (look it up)
Secondly, the Earth constantly goes through cooling and warming phases. Our
orbit around the Sun is not a perfect sphere. There are times when the Earth is
closer to the sun than others.
Third, just like a spinning top, the Earth's axis wobbles as the planet spins.
Roughly ever 20,000 years we're dipped into an ice age because of this (and
warming trends for the same reason)
Fourth, if greenhouse gasses were accumulating, there would be an increase in
cloud cover. Increased cloud cover blocks the Sun's rays, keeping us temperate.
Fifth, if an increase in CO2 continues to happen, all the world's vegetation would
grow larger and more dense. Plants use CO2 as fuel and spit out pure oxygen as a
bi product, thus balancing our atmosphere.
A warming trend is a bit scary, and it does happen, but not because of us. Core
samples always reveal suddenwarming and cooling trends.

10. Cause and effect for global warming
Cause of global warming
Almost 100% of the observed temperature increase over the
last 50 years has been due to the increase in the atmosphere
of greenhouse gas concentrations like water vapour, carbon
dioxide (CO2), methane and ozone. Greenhouse gases are
those gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect (see
below). The largest contributing source of greenhouse gas is
the burning of fossil fuels leading to the emission of carbon
dioxide.
The greenhouse effect
When sunlight reaches Earth's surface some is absorbed and
warms the earth and most of the rest is radiated back to the
atmosphere at a longer wavelength than the sun light. Some
of these longer wavelengths are absorbed by greenhouse
gases in the atmosphere before they are lost to space. The
absorption of this long wave radiant energy warms the
atmosphere. These greenhouse gases act like a mirror and
reflect back to the Earth some of the heat energy which
would otherwise be lost to space. The reflecting back of heat
energy by the atmosphere is called the "greenhouse effect".
The major natural greenhouse gases are water vapor, which
causes about 36-70% of the greenhouse effect on Earth (not
including clouds); carbon dioxide CO2, which causes 9-26%;
methane, which causes 4-9%, and ozone, which causes 3-
7%. It is not possible to state that a certain gas causes a
certain percentage of the greenhouse effect, because the
influences of the various gases are not additive. Other
greenhouse gases include, but are not limited to, nitrous
oxide, sulfur hexafluoride, hydrofluorocarbon,
perfluorocarbons and chlorofluorocarbons.

11. RECOMMENDATION
1. Direct the Environmental Protection Agency to allow California to require
car makers to reduce emissions from cars sold in the state. Current EPA
administrator Stephen L. Johnson has ignored his staff’s advice in denying
California a waiver to implement its Clean Cars program, requiring it to
instead defer to less stringent national standards. At Obama’s direction, the
new administrator he has nominated, Lisa Jackson, can allow California–plus
the 16 additional states eager to adopt its program–to bring the bloated
automakers to heel. “He can do this right away,” explains Roland Hwang,
vehicle policy analyst at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). “In
fact, the courts are expecting Obama to do just that.” Expect a lot of moaning
and groaning from the beleaguered automakers; producing cleaner vehicles
should be a condition of their loan arrangements.
2. Tell the EPA to declare carbon dioxide a pollutant under the Clean Air
Act. In 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Massachusetts vs. EPA that
the Clean Air Act gives the EPA the authority to do just that. “Obama should
make the ‘endangerment finding’ under the Clean Air Act the first step
toward establishing a regime to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions from power
plants and other major sources,” declares Daniel Weiss, senior fellow and
director of climate strategy at the Center for American Progress (hose
president and CEO, John Podesta, directs the Obama transition team). Adds
NRDC’s Hwang, it’s “a slam dunk.”
3. Propose a cap-and-trade plan on global warming. Persuading Congress to
quickly move on a program mandating–at bottom–a 20-to-35 percent
reduction of greenhouse gases from 1990 levels by 2020 would be a good
start, as would reductions of 80 percent of 1990 levels by 2050. But it is
important that targets in 2030 and 2040 be set and met to reach, in 2050, a
goal of 80 percent reduction from 1990 levels.Otherwise it’s all theory. “It is
critical to be on the right trajectory,” says Hwang. Whatever program we
adopt “should require emitters to buy pollution allowances in an auction,”
adds Weiss, rather than giving them away (which would amount to massive
corporate welfare and institute a lobbying stampede the likes of which has
never been seen before).

12. 4. Smartly apportion billions as part of an economic stimulus and recovery
package. Of the hundreds of billions of dollars of “shovel-ready”
infrastructure fortification in states and cities, more than 90 percent is
scheduled for more highways—what adds NRDC’s Hwang calls “a whole
bunch of bridges to nowhere.” Obama has already called for new economic
stimulus, but spending money on the right thing should be a hallmark of an
administration truly devoted to change. “He can tell Congress that he wants a
massive portion of the package’s funds to go toward further build out of rail
and mass transit projects,” argues Lovass. “We have to graduate from
remedial-class public transportation system.”
5. Make the White House as a case study in green living. If change begins at
home, it’s time to green 1600 Pennsylvania. Ever since the Reagan
administration reversedthe conservation policies of the Carter administration,
going so far to take the solar panels off the White House, 1600 Pennsylvania
has been a crappy example of a environmentally-conscious home and
workplace. Conservation is the low-hanging fruit of reducing one’s carbon
footprint; by incentivizing low consumption, California has kept its energy
use almost constant while doubling in population over the last 30 years.
Obama can kick-start awareness with high-profile actions like putting those
panels back up and hiring a White House chef specializing in organic cuisine.
“Obama should illustrate that conservation is a personal virtue and very much
an American value,” suggests Tad Fettig, director of the PBS series e2:
economies of being environmentally conscious.
6. Stimulate smart agriculture. Factory farming is another criminally
underrated threat to the planet, releasing methane, which is 21 times more
powerful a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, in addition to CO2 and other
toxic effluvia. The administration could start by privileging subsidization
based on sequestration rather than yield. “If it costs money to emit carbon,”
says Jill Richardson, agriculture journalist and founder of the alt-food blog
La Via Locavore, “then why not compensate those who can sequester
carbon?”

13. REFERENCES
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/10-global-warming-policy-
recommendations.html#ixzz3QaPlvkeY
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/GlobalWarming/page2.ph
p
http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-
warming/
http://www.climatehotmap.org/about/global-warming-causes.html
timeforchange.org/cause-and-effect-for-global-warming