Unnoticed Causes Of The Global Warming

Global Warming Your name Your Institution of Affiliation March 26, 2018 Introduction Five years after its conception, the term Global Warming has been widely accepted all over the world, far from where it originated in the desks of Dr. Wallace Broecker, the scientist who discovered it (Conway, 2008). As we fully know, this phenomenon refers to the constant increase in Carbon Dioxide levels in the atmosphere, that traps heat from the sun and causes a worldwide shift in the overall weather patterns. However, despite being confirmed by most scientists and widely disseminated by almost every media channels in every part of the world, this is still one of the most misunderstood realities that a lot of us seem to deny. Some of us even go to the extent of asking rhetorical questions such as “If Global Warming is real, then why is it snowing in Canada?”. These false beliefs are then, some of the major reasons as to why we become too fixated on the idea that there’s nothing wrong happening with our climate. Nonetheless, based on the recent data provided by NASA, our Global temperature has risen by 1.8° F since 1980, our land ice melts by about 286 GigaTonnes per year, and the Sea Level continues to increase by about 3.2 mm per annum (NASA.gov, n.d.). While this might not seem alarming, take note that even the slightest change in temperature could spell a series of disasters from worldwide famine to extinction of species. Despite all of this, however, certain personalities (modern-day heroes) are still fighting and pushing for reforms to be able to curb this trajectory for the planet. In this article, the author would like to discuss the work of a scientist that, despite unnoticed by many, has shifted how proponents of green revolutions have viewed the world. Particularly, he believes that if not for the work of this hero, our perspective on Global Warming would have remained static, making our approaches futile. Unnoticed Causes of Global Warming One of the key personas that have helped us shape our approach to Global Warming research and mitigation is Dr. Wei Min Hao. Dr. Hao is a senior scientist at the United States Forest Service Missoula Fire Lab, whose main works are on atmospheric chemistry and greenhouse gas effects. Recently, he became one of the 13 members of the said laboratory who has received a Nobel Prize for their works on the issue (Cramer, 2007). What’s unique about his work is that, as compared to widespread ideas that tailpipes, smokestacks, and power producing plants, his is focused on a more latent cause that has to seem to go unnoticed – forest fires. While the effects of forest fires are much latent (since these happened in isolated places) the burning of grasslands, forests, and other forms of vegetation has released millions of tons of methane, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and other harmful gases, which in turn, contributes to the ability of greenhouse gases to trap more heat (Cramer, 2007). In addition to this, what is more, surprising is that as compared to other sources of pollution which are controllable (i.e. plants and residential burning of trash), forest fires could happen almost anywhere in the world where its pollutants could travel all around the world. Adding to this, Hao was able to find out that as thousands of acres of forests burn, the smoke that becomes dispersed contains high-levels of chlorinated compounds further depleting the Ozone layer. However, what’s remarkable is that Hao’s analysis did not only focus on the hard sciences of the issue, but also the socio-political conditions underlying it. As he compiled the data taken from the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) he discovered that most of the major intended forest fires occur at South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia, comprising 80% of the annual cases reported (Cramer, 2007). These forest fires are usually intended for small-scale farming and logging, however as some of them grow out of control, a combination of a dry season and the forest floor covered with dry leaves becomes a sure recipe for disaster. One of the most known cases of fo...