GLOBAL WARMING

what is global warming?
Global warming is the observed and projected increases in the average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans. The Earth's average temperature rose about 0.6° Celsius (1.1° Fahrenheit) in the 20th century.
Cause of global warming
Almost 100% of the observed temperature increase over the last 50 years has been due to the increase in the atmosphere of greenhouse gas concentrations like water vapour, carbon dioxide (CO2), methane and ozone. Greenhouse gases are those gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect (see below). The largest contributing source of greenhouse gas is the burning of fossil fuels leading to the emission of carbon dioxide.
The greenhouse effect
When sunlight reaches Earth's surface some is absorbed and warms the earth and most of the rest is radiated back to the atmosphere at a longer wavelength than the sun light. Some of these longer wavelengths are absorbed by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere before they are lost to space. The absorption of this longwave radiant energy warms the atmosphere. These greenhouse gases act like a mirror and reflect back to the Earth some of the heat energy which would otherwise be lost to space. The reflecting back of heat energy by the atmosphere is called the "greenhouse effect".
The major natural greenhouse gases are water vapor, which causes about 36-70% of the greenhouse effect on Earth (not including clouds); carbon dioxide CO2, which causes 9-26%; methane, which causes 4-9%, and ozone, which causes 3-7%. It is not possible to state that a certain gas causes a certain percentage of the greenhouse effect, because the influences of the various gases are not additive. Other greenhouse gases include, but are not limited to, nitrous oxide, sulfur hexafluoride, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and chlorofluorocarbons.
Global warming causes by greenhouse effect
Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (see above) act like a mirror and reflect back to the Earth a part of the heat radiation, which would otherwise be lost to space. The higher the concentration of green house gases like carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the more heat energy is being reflected back to the Earth. The emission of carbon dioxide into the environment mainly from burning of fossil fuels (oil, gas, petrol, kerosene, etc.) has been increased dramatically over the past 50 years.
The increase of greenhouse gas concentration (mainly carbon dioxide) led to a substantial warming of the earth and the sea, called global warming. In other words: The increase in the man-made emission of greenhouse gases is the cause for global warming.

Effects of global warming
There are two major effects of global warming:
 Increase of temperature on the earth by about 3° to 5° C (34° to 41° Fahrenheit) by the year 2100.
 2) Rise of sea levels by at least 25 meters (82 feet) by the year 2100.
Increasing global temperatures are causing a broad range of changes. Sea levels are rising due to thermal expansion of the ocean, in addition to melting of land ice. Amounts and patterns of precipitation are changing. The total annual power of hurricanes has already increased markedly since 1975 because their average intensity and average duration have increased (in addition, there has been a high correlation of hurricane power with tropical sea-surface temperature).
Changes in temperature and precipitation patterns increase the frequency, duration, and intensity of other extreme weather events, such as floods, droughts, heat waves, and tornadoes. Other effects of global warming include higher or lower agricultural yields, further glacial retreat, reduced summer stream flows, species extinctions. As a further effect of global warming, diseases like malaria are returning into areas where they have been extinguished earlier.
Although global warming is affecting the number and magnitude of these events, it is difficult to connect specific events to global warming. Although most studies focus on the period up to 2100, warming is expected to continue past then because carbon dioxide (chemical symbol CO2) has an estimated atmospheric lifetime of 50 to 200 years. For a summary of the predictions for the future increase in temperature up to 2100.
Proposed Global Warming Preventative Measures
If human activities are causing global warming, it must be possible for humans to stop those harmful activities. Currently, efforts to curb global warming are dismally weak. The famous Kyoto protocol is little more than an empty gesture, setting its aims so low as to be almost meaningless. Also, most environmental activists spend most of their time pleading for individual action such as using fuel-efficient cars and energy-efficient appliances, riding a bike, planting a tree, etc. Of course, these activities do reduce emissions, but in themselves they have little significant. In terms of trying to provide a good example, these individual measures may be admirable, but the only real solutions to greenhouse gas emissions lie in drastic changes.
Fossil fuel use must be phased out and replaced with renewable, non-polluting energy sources. Chemicals such as aerosols, CFCs, halons, etc must stop being produced altogether. Massive deforestation and pollution of crucial carbon sinks, such as the rainforests and oceans, must be halted, and if possible, reversed. The implications of this are certainly dramatic. Many things currently taken for granted will have to be altered, though preventing global warming does not necessarily mean sacrificing comfort and freedom. It may be bad for the energy and automobile companies, but for the masses, there is little which could be more of a threat to comfort and freedom than environmental catastrophe.
Unfortunately, it is easy to say what needs to be done, but difficult to do it. Control of the forces listed above is not directly in our hands. These things must be changed indirectly, by writing letters to newspapers and government officials, backing that up with demonstrations, boycotts, spreading of
education to others, etc. Worldwide demands for clean energy, clean transportation, and clean industry, as well as protection of vital carbon sinks, must be made. Specific solutions will not be listed here, simply because simple solutions are not available for this problem. As has been stated, global warming is an extremely complex issue, and therefore, requires an extremely complex solution, not only in terms of individual responsibility, but in international corporate and state practices as well. Sweeping reform of wasteful and polluting practices is the only way to make a difference.
Those who deny the threat of global warming, or at least see it as far-off and relatively manageable, scoff at such drastic measures, but for those who believe there is even a remote chance of global warming reaching catastrophic levels, these drastic measures are truly the only way of being sure the current trends are halted.