Global Warming Causes

 

Thanks for opening this page. You may have come here after asking the question “what is causing global warming?” If that’s the case, you’ve come to the right place. You’re about to read how deforestation is one of the biggest causes of global warming. The World Carfree Network (WCN) made a comment that drew the importance of trees to millions of people across the world. It is a global warming fact that the amount of trees cut down every year increase the earth’s temperature more than all the fumes given off by all the world’s trucks and cars combined. Now that’s a scary thought. Cars and trucks account for 14% of carbon emissions on the planet, while deforestation accounts for 15% or more.

 

The main issue has to do with carbon dioxide emissions. Trees, through photosynthesis, prevent huge amounts of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere. Take away the trees and carbon emissions sky rocket. If cutting down forests was limited to one part of the globe, it may be containable. The fact that it is worldwide increases the seriousness of the situation. Just to give you an idea of the extent of the problem, imagine for one moment a football field. Now multiply that mental picture by 25. Forests the size of 25 football fields are being lost every minute! That means that by the time you have finished reading this article, trees covering more than 120 football fields would have disappeared. Global deforestation is just that – it's happening on every continent - it impacts the planet and every person on it.

 

You may have heard of the term greenhouse gasses (GHG). They are gasses that trap heat in the atmosphere. They both absorb radiation and emit radiation and it’s because of these gasses that global warming is sometimes referred to as the “Greenhouse Effect.” Greenhouse gasses are Carbon Dioxide (CO2), methane, nitrous oxide and fluorinated gasses. In 2012, CO2 accounted for 82% of greenhouse gasses emitted in the United States. Most of that gas entered the atmosphere as a result of the burning of fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal. It is also a by-product of solid waste and wood products.  

 

There is a chain of events called the biological carbon cycle. Part of this cycle involves trees and plants absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere and reducing its heating effect in the atmosphere. By this you may begin to understand why deforestation is so devastating to the environment. A crucial part of the carbon cycle is being obliterated in great volumes all over the world. Too much carbon dioxide and global warming go hand in hand.  

 

All that needs to be done to reduce the devastation of this, is to plant more trees. While you may not be able to control what is being done in the Amazon rainforests or in the tropical forests of Africa, you are able to control what goes on in your own back yard.

Each of us can do something. If everyone plants just 10 trees a year, we can turn the health of this planet around. There is power in numbers.

 

Sources:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/deforestation-and-global-warming/

http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/gases.html