Human Causes of Global Warming
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Introduction
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According to the Environmental Defense Fund, approximately 400,000 square miles of arctic ice has melted over the last 30 years. This is probably largely due to the impact of global warming. Global warming is a slowly increasing temperature in the earth's atmosphere. This happens when greenhouse gasses are released and start trapping heat in the atmosphere. This causes climates to change all over the world. There are many believed causes of global warming. Most of them are considered to be related to human activity.
Power Plants
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Power plants are a key contributor to the effects of global warming. Power plants that gain their electricity through the burning of fossil fuel (such as coal plants) are especially to blame for this problem. This is largely because once the fossil fuel is burned to create energy, it releases carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is one of the leading factors in global warming.
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Cars
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Cars, and really any other form of transportation that uses fuel to operate, are also human causes of global warming. As the fuel is burned in the engine, the bi-product is the same as in power plants: carbon dioxide. Cars are fingered as a cause of global warming more than other forms of transportation because of their inefficiency compared to mass transit.
Fertilizer
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Fertilizer is another common human cause of global warming. As the population grows, there is a greater need for food. One of the main tools for large scale farmers is fertilizer. As farm fields increase, so does the use of fertilizer. Fertilizer naturally emits the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide, which is also dangerous to the environment and a key player in global warming.
Deforestation
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Deforestation affects global warming in two ways. First, during mass cutting, many trees are burned in the process. This releases large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Trees are also largely responsible for helping to absorb carbon and release oxygen. The more trees that are lost, especially in temperate forest zones, the less carbon dioxide that is recycled into oxygen.
Methane
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Methane is the second largest contributor to global warming behind carbon dioxide. Rice fields, cattle farms, and fossil fuel production are all leading human causes of methane released into the atmosphere.
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Resources
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