BULACAN STATE UNIVERSITY
Guinhawa, City of Malolos, Bulacan 3000
Science Technology & Society.
STS 101 – Climate Change Essay Paper.
College of Information & Communication Technology.
Section 1O – Group 2
Essay Paper by:
BULURAN, Leo-Aslee B.
Climate change in the world can be caused by various activities. When climate change occurs;
temperatures can increase a dramatically. When temperature rises, many different changes can occur on
Earth. For example, it can result in more floods, droughts, or intense rain, as well as more frequent and
severe heat waves. Oceans and glaciers have also experienced some changes: oceans are warming and
becoming more acidic, glaciers are melting, and sea levels are rising. As these changes frequently occur
in future decades, they will likely present challenges to our society and environment.
During the past century, human activities have released large amounts of carbon dioxide and other
greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Most of the gases come from burning fossil fuels to produce
energy. Greenhouse gases are like a blanket around the Earth, trapping energy in the atmosphere and
causing it to warm. This is called the greenhouse effect and it is natural and necessary to support life on
earth. However, while greenhouse gases buildup, the climate changes and result in dangerous effects to
human health and ecosystems. People have adapted to the stable climate we have enjoyed since the last
ice age which ended several thousand years ago. A warmer climate can bring changes that can affect our
water supplies, agriculture, power and transportation systems, the natural environment, and even our own
health and safety. There are some climate changes that are unavoidable and nothing can be done about it.
For example, carbon dioxide can stay in the atmosphere for nearly a century, so Earth will continue to
warm in the future.
Global warming has really taken effect in the world over the last century. It is the unusually rapid increase
in the Earth’s average surface temperature over the past century primarily due to the greenhouse gases
released as people burn fossil fuels. Global warming is due to the enhancing greenhouse gases emission
and build-up in the Earth’s environment. The gases that have an influence on the atmosphere are water
vapor, carbon dioxide, dinitrogen-oxide, and methane. Almost 30 percent of incoming sunlight is
reflected back into space by bright surfaces like clouds and ice. In the other 70 percent, most is absorbed
by the land and ocean, and the rest is absorbed by the atmosphere. The absorbed solar energy heats our
planet. This absorption and radiation of heat by the atmosphere is beneficial for life on Earth. Today, the
atmosphere contains more greenhouse gas molecules, so more of the infrared energy emitted by the
surface ends up being absorbed by the atmosphere. By increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases,
we are making Earth’s atmosphere a more efficient greenhouse. Climate has cooled and warmed
throughout the Earth history for various reasons. Rapid warming like we see today is unusual in the
history of our planet. Some of the factors that have an effect on climate, like volcanic eruptions and
changes in the amount of solar energy, are natural. Climate can change if there is a change in the amount
of solar energy that gets to the Earth. Volcano eruptions can really affect climate, because when it erupts
it spews out more than just lava and ash. Volcanoes release tiny particles made of sulfur dioxide into the
atmosphere. These particles get into the stratosphere and reflect solar radiation back out to space. There
are many different ways that plants, animals, and other life on our planet can affect climate. Some can
produce greenhouse gases that trap heat and aid global warming through the greenhouse effect. Carbon
dioxide is taken out of the atmosphere by plants as they make their food by photosynthesis. During the
night, plants release some carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere. Methane is made while farm animals,
such as cattle and sheep digest their food. Cars and trucks can effect climate by releasing carbon dioxide
when fossil fuels are burned to power them. When wildfires occur, carbon dioxide is released into the
atmosphere.
In conclusion, we need to take part and try to stop global warming and other effects on climate change. If
the earth’s temperatures continue to rise in the future, living things on earth would become extinct due to
the high temperatures. If humans contribute to control global warming, this world would be cooler and the
high temperatures we currently have would decrease. If everybody as one take stand and try to end most
of the climate changes that are occurring, this world would be a safer place to live on.
