Term Paper on "Kyoto Treaty Addresses the Problem With Increasing"

Term Paper 5 pages (1404 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Kyoto Treaty addresses the problem with increasing worldwide emissions by the burning of fossil fuels. By slowing and stopping the upward trend in greenhouse gas emissions that started in industrialized countries 150 years ago, the Kyoto Treaty hopes to move the world toward preventing dangerous interference with the climate system. Countries that have accepted the Kyoto Treaty has committed to reducing their emissions of six key greenhouse gases by at least 5%. These six gases are hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), sulphur hexafluoride (SF6), carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N20). The three most important gas emissions that need to be reduced immediately are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N20). Although chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, are responsible for depleting the ozone layer, this gas is controlled by an earlier environmental protection Treaty, the Montreal Protocol. The United States has yet to agree to the Kyoto Treaty. The European Union and other countries ratified the Kyoto Treaty in late May 2002.

According to the National Academy of Sciences, the Earth's surface temperature has risen by about 1 degree Fahrenheit in the past century. Warming has been even greater during the past two decades. Researchers suggest that most of the warming over the last 50 years is due to human activities. Human activities have altered the chemical composition of the atmosphere through the buildup of greenhouse gases, mostly carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. These gases cause heat to be trapped in the atmosphere, which causes global warming

Atmosphere Changes

The Arctic is warming rapidly, with the loss of polar ice projected to accelerate global warming, according to a four-year scientific study of the region conducted by an international team of 300 scientists. About half the summer sea ice in the Arctic is projected to melt by the end of this century, along with much of the Greenland Ice Sheet. The study also confirms that the warming is human-caused, through heat-trapping emissions from the burning of fossil fuels. The United States is the largest world contributor of those emissions, and has yet to enact limits. It is clear that pollution that causes global warming to prevent dangerous changes in the climate must be reduced, however the United States as not agreed to the Kyoto Treaty.

The impacts of global warming on the Arctic region and the globe are projected to increase substantially in the years to come. Some additional evidence of global warming includes:

In Alaska, Western Canada, and Eastern Russia average winter temperatures have increased as much as 4°F to 7°F in the past 50 years, and are projected to rise 7°F to 14°F over the next 100 years.

Polar sea ice during the summer is projected to decline by 50% by the end of this century with some models showing near-complete disappearance of summer sea ice. This is very likely to have devastating consequences for polar bears, ice-living seals, and local people for whom these animals are a primary food source.

Warming over Greenland will lead to substantial melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet, contributing to global sea-level rise at an increasing rate. Greenland's ice sheets contain enough water to eventually raise sea level by about 23 feet.

Worldwide temperature measurements, carefully screened for instrumental and measurement artifacts, such as effects of urbanization, have been used to estimate that global mean annual surface temperatures have increased between 0.3 [degrees] C. And 0.7 [degrees] C. during the last 150 years.

Studies of tree rings and glaciers show that warming during the twentieth century is greater than any seen in the last 400 to 600 years and perhaps the last 1,200 to 1,500 years.

Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide have increased nearly 30%, methane concentrations have more than doubled, and nitrous oxide concentrations have risen by about 15%. These increases have enhanced the heat-trapping capability of the earth's atmosphere. Scientists generally believe that the combustion of fossil fuels and other human activities are the primary reason for the increased concentration of carbon dioxide. Fossil fuels burned to run cars and trucks, heat homes and businesses, and power factories are responsible for about 98% of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions, 24% of methane emissions,… READ MORE

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