The inconvenient truth: a look into global warming

    Today I watched The Inconvenient Truth a documentary about Al Gore and his fight against global warming. The main focus is a speech that Al Gore gives were he tells his argument. First he starts with the first image of the earth from the moon on the Apollo 8 mission. This image was significant because it is held responsible for staring the modern day environmental movement.  

 

   The earth is protected by small layer of gases called the atmosphere. This system that protects us is weak and small when compared to the earth. Carl Sagan describes the earth's atmosphere as a "coat of varnish on a glob" to emphasize how small it is. The atmosphere also keeps infrared radiation in when sunlight bounces off the earth keeping us warm. But if too much is trapped global temperatures will rise. Affecting the weather and melting the ice caps. These ice caps give fresh water to people. About 40% of people on this planet depend on the glacial melt for at least half their drinking water.

  

   We can study these glaciers to find the temperatures and compassion of the atmosphere throughout history. Using this data we can find a relationship between carbon dioxide and the temperature of the atmosphere that more C02 there is higher the temperature. The data also shows that the years 1991 to 2005 as of 2006 were the hottest years on record. This is a problem because the higher temperatures in the atmosphere raise the water temperatures in the ocean as well. Higher temperatures increase the wind velocity which causes more harmful and powerful storms. Lake Chad was once the a large lake that many got their drinking water from but now is almost dried up due to the rise temperatures and drought caused by global warming. 

  The rise in temperatures caused by global warming will melt the ice caps. The ice caps serve as mirrors that reflect 90% of the sun's radiation that hits it. When they melt the water will adsorbs most of this energy. Energy in the earth is redistributed by the ocean and wind currents. The ice melting could cause a sea level rise of 20ft which flood many coastal cities. 

  Civilization is on a direct course with the earth. The three factors that will cause this are technology, population and the resistance to change that many people have. Practices like causing forest fires which cause 30% of carbon emissions have not been stopped and are continuing to grow. The U.S is the country with the largest contributor to greenhouse gases and has the lowest gas mileage standards for automobiles as of 2006. The Kyoto protocol was created to reduce greenhouse gas emission but the U.S and Australia never agreed to it. Things like this show what is hurting the environment and why it is important to change this course we are on.