Gudzikowski, Nikolas: Global Warming & Your Carbon Footprint
- Page ID
- 95445
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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.
Carbon Footprint: How we can help
Have you noticed that each summer in California has gotten progressively hotter? Some people may argue that this is a natural upswing in temperatures. Scientists, on the other hand, say that these changes in temperature are anything but natural. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has reported that the amount of carbon dioxide found in Earth’s atmosphere in the year of 2014 has exceeded 400 ppm. This is the first time it has been over 400 ppm in a million years. (J.P). The amount of carbon dioxide found in the atmosphere is one of the most significant contributing aspects to earth’s rising global temperature.
Earth’s rising temperature is due to the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is a complicated naturally occurring phenomenon; it is the reason that earth is undergoing global warming. The four main greenhouse gases are: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and sulfur hexafluoride (Team). Earth’s atmosphere absorbs these four gases in order to help trap heat. The over abundance of these gases is where the issue of global warming arises. Even though there are four gases that contribute to global warming, the two most effective at trapping heat are carbon dioxide and methane. These two gases are similar in that they both have carbon atoms (Yang). Usually carbon can be cycled out of our environment via the carbon cycle. The carbon cycle is when carbon is transferred between organisms. However since there has been mass deforestations there are not enough plants to take in the carbon.
The huge upswing of carbon found in our atmosphere started around the industrial revolution when humans started burning fossil fuels. For this reason, scientists point to the burning of fossil fuels as the biggest contributor to global warming. The amount of CO2 in our atmosphere also hurts the ocean. The ocean and atmosphere continually exchange CO2; but since there is so much CO2 in the atmosphere the ocean will keep taking in more CO2 than needed. Since CO2 is an acidic, the more that is absorbed into the ocean the more acidic the ocean will become; slowly killing off coral reefs and other marine organisms (Team).
My family and I are reasonable contributors to global warming. The average U.S household around the same size as mine contributes 84.8 tons of CO2 per year. My family’s carbon footprint is 80.6 tons. While this is below average, we have been taking strides to lower it even more. Starting this summer I began walking to school rather than driving. We also bought solar panels this year to lower the amount of electricity we use. However, I exceed the U.S average in air travel. I fly back and forth from Hawaii to California four or five times a year. I plan on lowering this considerably next year, as it is very detrimental to the environment.
Works Cited
J.P. “Why Scientists Are (Almost) Certain That Climate Change Is Man-Made.” The Economist , 2 Nov. 2014, doi:http://chemconnections.org/Global%20...0Economist.pdf.
Team, ESRL Web. “ESRL Global Monitoring Division - Global Greenhouse Gas Reference Network.” NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory, 1 Oct. 2005, www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/basics.html.
Yang, James. “Short Answers to HardQuestions About Climate Change.” New York Times, doi:http://chemconnections.org/Global%20...rk%20Times.pdf.
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