Felt, Emma: Global Warming & Your Carbon Footprint
- Page ID
- 95444
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)Individual Essay Submission
Cut and paste your un-plagiarized essay of 250-500 words having 3 or more paragraphs into this private individual page below on or before midnight December 1st. Be sure to save your drafts off line and cut and paste the final version. Submissions will not be accepted after that time.
Once you have made a final submission, send Dr. R. an e-mail (rrusay@chemconnections.org) advising him that you have done so.
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Emma Felt
Professor Rusay
Chem 106
1 December, 2017
Global Warming
Global warming is the phenomenon in which the earth’s temperature steadily rises as a result of radiation entering and being retained in our atmosphere, with detrimental effects. Greenhouse gasses such as carbon dioxide, methane gas, nitrous oxide, and sulfur hexafloiride, which are found in our atmosphere’s make up, hold onto the radiation that enters the atmosphere in the form of sunlight. While many other gasses also contribute to global warming, many scientists focus on carbon. This is because carbon is abundant in our atmosphere, and sticks around longer than any other molecule.
How much carbon is really in our atmosphere? Currently, the measurement is 406.29 ppm with each ppm equating to 2.13 giggatonnes of carbon, making a grand total of 865.3977 giggatonnes of carbon or 1,907,875,346,300,000 pounds. Humans carbon footprint has grown at an astonishing rate in modern times. From 1901 to 2001, carbon ppm went from 300 to 370 with the majority of the increase happening in the latter 50 years. With the industrial revolution and the increase in burning of fossil fuels and other similar activities, the levels of carbon have risen alarmingly. Burning fossil fuels has been a big focus in the fight against global warming because it is the easiest factor for every day people to cut back on. With renewable energy like hydroelectricity, wind, and solar, its easier than ever to cut back your carbon footprint. Solar energy is among the most important forms of renewable energy because it is available and affordable for many families.
Carbon dioxide is also largely contribution to the acidification of our oceans. The excess CO₂ in our air is absorbed by the surface of our ocean. The rise in CO₂ levels results in excess hydrogen ions, and subsequently, a higher acidity in the water. The acidification of our oceans is resulting in the tragedy that we are currently seeing the in Great Barrier Reef around Australia, where many parts of the coral have been bleached, reaching as high as an 83 percent mortality rate. The ocean’s natural buffering system which is supposed to keep things like this from happening simply can’t keep up, and if it stops all together, it will result in the deaths of many species of both plants and animals in the oceans.
In my own household, we produce around 95.6 tons of CO₂ per year, which is 23.1 percent worse than households of similar size and income in my area. This can be contributed to vehicles with low gas mileage, high electricity use, and high food consumption. Some of the things my house could do to reduce this would be to buy a hybrid or electric vehicle, reduce travel, be more conscious of our electricity usage, and replace appliances with more energy efficient models. We have made conscious steps already such as installing new, more energy efficient windows throughout the house, and keeping our thermostat lower in the winter and higher in the summer.