Thesis Bio - Sean

CORINTHIAN INSTITUTE OF CAVITE BARANGAY BUROL II, DASMARIÑAS, CAVITE

“WHAT ARE THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF GLOBAL WARMNG TO THE HUMAN RACE”

BY

GUADAÑA SEAN MIKAEL F., SERDEÑA JOHN JOSHUA, DEDASE CHANNLY, JANDA, ROJAN, LAYSICO CLARCK JASPER, SAMAIN WIJRANISA

16 OF FEBRUARY 2009

MS. MARY RACHELLEMYNE G. PIDOT

I

TABLE OF CONTENTS

II

I – INTRODUCTION Global warming is the increase in the average temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans since the mid-twentieth century and its projected continuation. Global surface temperature increased 0.74 ± 0.18 °C (1.33 ± 0.32 °F) during the 100 years ending in 2005. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes that most of the temperature increase since the midtwentieth century is "very likely" due to the increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations. Natural phenomena such as solar variation and volcanoes probably had a small warming effect from pre-industrial times to 1950 and a small cooling effect from 1950 onward. These basic conclusions have been endorsed by at least 30 scientific societies and academies of science including all of the national academies of science of the major industrialized countries. While a small minority have voiced disagreement with these findings, the overwhelming majority of scientists working on climate change agree with the IPCC's main conclusions. Climate model projections indicate that global surface temperature will likely rise a further 1.1 to 6.4 °C (2.0 to 11.5 °F) during the twenty-first century. The uncertainty in this estimate arises from use of differing estimates of future greenhouse gas emissions and from use of models with differing climate sensitivity. Some other uncertainties include how warming and related changes will vary from region to region around the globe. Although most studies focus on the period up to 2100, warming is expected to continue, even in the absence of new emissions, because of the large heat capacity of the oceans and the lifespan of CO2 in the atmosphere. Increasing global temperature will cause sea levels to rise and will change the amount and pattern of precipitation, likely including an expanse of the subtropical desert regions. Other likely effects include Arctic shrinkage and resulting Arctic methane release, shrinkage of the Amazon rainforest, increases in the intensity of extreme weather events, changes in agricultural yields, modifications of trade 1

routes, glacier retreat, species extinctions and changes in the ranges of disease vectors. Political and public debate continues regarding the appropriate response to global warming. The available options are mitigation to reduce further emissions; adaptation to reduce the damage caused by warming; and, more speculatively, geoengineering to reverse global warming. Most national governments have signed and ratified the Kyoto Protocol aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming)

II – STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The main problem of the thesis is what are the adverse effects of global warming to the people living around the globe, what are the effects to their mental and physical aspects, what are the diseases can be get from the gradual change in the average Earth temperature and the preventive measures to reduce the negative effects of global warming to the human race.

III – SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The significance of this research paper is to awaken people’s consciousness about the adverse effects of the global warming to all of us humans and also to formulate recommendations about the said topic.

2

IV SCOPE AND LIMITATION The research paper was made to study only the NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF GLOBAL WARMING TO HUMANS, as the title suggest the research paper only focuses what might happen to us humans in relation with global warming. Any statements in this research paper exceed this scope and limitation will be edited or removed for the assurance of accuracy and it will stick to the topic given. This research paper doesn’t include the other forms of organisms such as plants, other animals, micro organisms, etc.

V – RELATED LITERATURE

Earth (planet), third planet in distance from the Sun in the solar system, the only planet known to harbor life, and the “home” of human beings. From space Earth resembles a big blue marble with swirling white clouds floating above blue oceans. About 71 percent of Earth’s surface is covered by water, which is essential to life. The rest is land, mostly in the form of continents that rise above the oceans. Earth’s surface is surrounded by a layer of gases known as the atmosphere, which extends upward from the surface, slowly thinning out into space. Below the surface is a hot interior of rocky material and two core layers composed of the metals nickel and iron in solid and liquid form. Unlike the other planets, Earth has a unique set of characteristics ideally suited to supporting life as we know it. It is neither too hot, like Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun, nor too cold, like distant Mars and the even more distant outer planets —Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and the tiny dwarf planet Pluto. Earth’s atmosphere includes just the right amount of gases that trap heat from the Sun, resulting in a moderate climate suitable for water to exist in liquid form. The 3

atmosphere also helps block radiation from the Sun that would be harmful to life. Earth’s atmosphere distinguishes it from the planet Venus, which is otherwise much like Earth. Venus is about the same size and mass as Earth and is also neither too near nor too far from the Sun. But because Venus has too much heat-trapping carbon dioxide in its atmosphere, its surface is extremely hot—462°C (864°F)—hot enough to melt lead and too hot for life to exist. Although Earth is the only planet known to have life, scientists do not rule out the possibility that life may once have existed on other planets or their moons, or may exist today in primitive form. Mars, for example, has many features that resemble river channels, indicating that liquid water once flowed on its surface. If so, life may also have evolved there, and evidence for it may one day be found in fossil form. Water still exists on Mars, but it is frozen in polar ice caps, in permafrost, and possibly in rocks below the surface. (http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761569459/Earth_(planet).html) Global Warming or Climate Change, measurable increases in the average temperature of Earth’s atmosphere, oceans, and landmasses. Scientists believe Earth is currently facing a period of rapid warming brought on by rising levels of heat-trapping gases, known as greenhouse gases, in the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases retain the radiant energy (heat) provided to Earth by the Sun in a process known as the greenhouse effect. Greenhouse gases occur naturally, and without them the planet would be too cold to sustain life as we know it. Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the mid-1700s, however, human activities have added more and more of these gases into the atmosphere. For example, levels of carbon dioxide, a powerful greenhouse gas, have risen by 35 percent since 1750, largely from the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas. With more greenhouse gases in the mix, the atmosphere acts like a thickening blanket and traps more heat.

4

Earth has warmed and cooled many times since its formation about 4.6 billion years ago. Global climate changes were due to many factors, including massive volcanic eruptions, which increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere; changes in the intensity of energy emitted by the Sun; and variations in Earth’s position relative to the Sun, both in its orbit and in the inclination of its spin axis. Variations in Earth’s position, known as Milankovitch cycles, combine to produce cyclical changes in the global climate. These cycles are believed to be responsible for the repeated advance and retreat of glaciers and ice sheets during the Pleistocene Epoch (1.8 million to 11,500 years before present), when Earth went through fairly regular cycles of colder “glacial” periods (also known as ice ages) and warmer “interglacial” periods. Glacial periods occurred at roughly 100,000-year intervals. An interglacial period began about 10,000 years ago, when the last ice age came to an end. Prior to that ice age, an interglacial period occurred about 125,000 years ago. During interglacial periods, greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane naturally increase in the atmosphere from increased plant and animal life. But since 1750 greenhouse gases have increased dramatically to levels not seen in hundreds of thousands of years, due to the rapid growth of the human population combined with developments in technology and agriculture. Human activities now are a powerful factor influencing Earth’s dynamic climate. The ice of the polar regions furnishes clues to the makeup of Earth’s ancient atmosphere. Ice cores that scientists have bored from the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica provide natural records of both temperature and atmospheric greenhouse gases going back hundreds of thousands of years. Layers in these ice cores created by seasonal snowfall patterns allow scientists to determine the age of the ice in each core. By measuring tiny air bubbles trapped in the ice and properties of the ice itself, scientists can estimate the temperature and amount of greenhouse gases in Earth’s past atmosphere at the time each layer formed. Based 5

on this data, scientists know that greenhouse gases have now risen to levels higher than at any time in the last 650,000 years. Greenhouse gases are rising, and temperatures are following. Before the late 1800s, the average surface temperature of Earth was almost 15°C (59°F). Over the past 100 years, the average surface temperature has risen by about 0.7 Celsius degrees (1.3 Fahrenheit degrees), with most of the increase occurring since the 1970s. Scientists have linked even this amount of warming to numerous changes taking place around the world, including melting mountain glaciers and polar ice, rising sea level, more intense and longer droughts, more intense storms, more frequent heat waves, and changes in the life cycles of many plants and animals. Warming has been most dramatic in the Arctic, where temperatures have risen almost twice as much as the global average. Scientists project global warming to continue at a rate that is unprecedented in hundreds of thousands or even millions of years of Earth’s history. They predict considerably more warming in the 21st century, depending on the level of future greenhouse gas emissions. For a scenario (possible situation) assuming higher emissions—in which emissions continue to increase significantly during the century—scientists project further warming of 2.4 to 6.4 Celsius degrees (4.3 to 11.5 Fahrenheit degrees) by the year 2100. For a scenario assuming lower emissions—in which emissions grow slowly, peak around the year 2050, and then fall—scientists project further warming of 1.1 to 2.9 Celsius degrees (1.9 to 5.2 Fahrenheit degrees) by the year 2100. Melting polar ice and glaciers, as well as warming of the oceans, expands ocean volume and raises sea level, which will eventually flood some coastal regions and even entire islands. Patterns of rainfall are expected to change, with higher latitudes (closer to the poles) projected to receive more rainfall, and subtropical areas (such as the Mediterranean and southern Africa) projected to receive considerably less. Changes in temperature and precipitation patterns may damage 6

food crops, disrupting food production in some parts of the world. Plant and animal species will shift their ranges toward the poles or to higher elevations seeking cooler temperatures, and species that cannot do so may become extinct. Increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere also leads to increased ocean acidity, damaging ocean ecosystems. Human beings face global warming with a huge population at risk. The potential consequences are so great that many of the world’s leading scientists— and increasingly, politicians, business leaders, and other citizens—are calling for international cooperation and immediate action to counteract the problem. The energy that lights and warms Earth comes from the Sun. Short-wave radiation from the Sun, including visible light, penetrates the atmosphere and is absorbed by the surface, warming Earth. Earth’s surface, in turn, releases some of this heat as long-wave infrared radiation. Much of this long-wave infrared radiation makes it back out to space, but a portion remains trapped in Earth’s atmosphere, held in by certain atmospheric gases, including water vapor, carbon dioxide, and methane. Absorbing and reflecting heat radiated by Earth, these gases act somewhat like the glass in a greenhouse, and are thus known as greenhouse gases. Only greenhouse gases, which make up less than 1 percent of the atmosphere, offer the Earth any insulation. All life on Earth relies on the greenhouse effect—without it, the average surface temperature of the planet would be about -18°C (0°F) and ice would cover Earth from pole to pole. Effects to humans in a warmer world, scientists predict that more people will get sick or die from heat stress, due not only to hotter days but more importantly to warmer nights (giving the sufferers less relief). More frequent and intense heat waves will further contribute to this trend. At the same time, there will be some decreases in the number of cold-related deaths. Diseases such as malaria, now found in the tropics and transmitted by mosquitoes and other animal hosts, are 7

projected to widen their range as these animal hosts move into regions formerly too cold for them. Other tropical diseases may spread similarly, including dengue fever, yellow fever, and encephalitis. Scientists also project rising incidence of allergies and respiratory diseases as warmer air grows more charged with pollutants, mold spores, and pollens. (http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761567022/Global_Warming.html)

VI – MATERIALS AND PROCEEDURE

MATERIALS •

Hospital Records or just list of common diseases during summer

PROCEEDURE •

Get all the materials needed

•

Observe the records carefully

•

Write down notes

•

Tally the data

*The materials and procedure only shows that if global warming gets worse and those numbers will go sky high.

8

VII – RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Global warming is one of the worst thing will going to happen, without controlling it all humans will going to suffer the consequences of it. Tropical diseases will going to increase and became more dominant just like dengue and yellow fever and many worse scenarios. We must be awake and contribute in finding and executing the plans for greener and safer Earth.

VII – CONCLUSION

Therefore this research paper concludes that global warming may give diseases and effects on humans just like dengue fever, yellow fever and malaria, but there are preventive measures to lessen the impact first of all we must lessen the use of pollutants and plant trees or green plants to help in processing the excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere also by supporting advocacies for more greener Earth. IX – RECOMMENDATION

We recommend to all humans and all concerned agencies around the globe to find ways to lessen or totally block the Global Warming just imagine this all of us doesn’t want to go on a house that is so filthy. The crap is the greenhouse gases and we must clean it and support advocacies concerned on how are we going to lessen the impact of it.

9

X – AKNOWLEDGEMENT

We creators of this thesis want to give an ocean of thanks to:

•

Wikimedia Foundation’s Wikipedia the free encyclopedia for our introduction

•

Microsoft’s Encarta for the related literature.

•

Grolier for giving this research paper a squeeze of twist by helping in creating the some parts of the conclusion and statement of the problem

10