Running Head: GLOBAL WARMING AND ENERGY USAGE

Renewable Alternative Fuels

Jessica Barbosa
University of Texas at El Paso

GLOBAL WARMING AND ENERGY USAGE

Abstract
The issue of global warming have been around for a long time, as well as the search for
the solution to solve the problem. The causes of the problem are both natural and human caused.
The natural causes for climate change are things related to a change in the earths rotation,
change in the solar orbit or volcanic activity. The human caused pollution that affect the climate
change are the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere due to the use of combust5ion
of fossil fuels to generate energy needed to make mass production of products. The different
solutions proposed also rule out biofuels because of their harmful effects and unnecessary waste
created. Overall it is preferable to make use of the wind, water and sun to produce renewable
energy that can be efficient, environmentally friendly and that meets the needs of society.

The climate change and global warming are issues that affect not only the society but also
all the species of fauna and flora that exists in earth. These issues are result of various factors,

GLOBAL WARMING AND ENERGY USAGE

human and natural. The mean of the global temperature is rising, which might have drastic
consequences in the life of the society. This gradual rise on earths temperature is due to the
greenhouse gases and some natural causes. Scientists, some environmentalists and some
authorities in the field of energy have been studying for years a way of solving this critical
problem. They are trying to come up with a solution that is sustainable and environmentally
friendly. This paper will talk about the causes, effects and possible solutions to solve the problem
of global warming, and about how energy usage can be part of the problem or solution.
Causes of global warming
There are many factors that together contribute to the global warming. According to the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA, n.d), those factors can be divided into two categories,
natural causes and human activity. Studies made by scientist record that Earths climate changes
by itself due to changes in the Earths orbit, changes in solar activity and volcanic eruptions
(EPA, n.d). The second category given by the EPA are human activities. This has been the factor
that is responsible for the climate change and global warming since the era of industrial
revolution (EPA, n.d). The combustion of fossil fuels is the largest human activity that affect the
climate. It releases billions of tons of greenhouse gases that makes the earths greenhouse effect
worse than what it would be without human intervention. These fossil fuels also have a big role
in the global air pollution and energy dependency. Since the industrial era, there was a forty
percent increase on the levels of carbon emission, which was mainly caused by the combustion
of fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas (bulletin of atomic scientists, 69 (4)). The need of
fossil fuels combustion to create energy came from the increase in the global population. This

GLOBAL WARMING AND ENERGY USAGE

increase in the global population resulted in the need of increasing the goods and services
provided. The increase in production turned into mass production of a lot of goods to meet the
consumers demands. The process of production requires the use of energy, which requires fossil
fuel combustion, which releases harmful gases to the atmosphere aggravating in this way the
global warming and accelerating the climate change process. Another human activity that
requires energy usage is transportation, not only the production of mobile transportation but also
its every day usage. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (n.d), transportation is
the source of more than half of the polluting gases emitted to the atmosphere. The emission of
harmful gases aggravated with the increase popularity of individual transportation like cars.
A human activity that is responsible for eighteen percent of the global greenhouse gases
and sixty-five percent of all the human related emission of nitrous oxide, a harmful greenhouse
gas, is the sector of agriculture and livestock (Livestock, Environment and Development, 2015).
This sector is also responsible for the thirty-five percent of methane emission. The methane
originated from the animals digestive process, is a very harmful gas that contributes enormously
to the greenhouse effect, which is part of the global warming (Livestock, Environment and
Development, 2015). The increase of emissions in this sector also relates back to the increase in
the population and the need to do mass production in the cattle to support the demand for more
food.
Effects of global warming

GLOBAL WARMING AND ENERGY USAGE

The effects of global warming are various, from how it affects the nature and
environment, to how it affects every living thing part of that environment. The infographic shows
that the global warming have been causing problems like heat waves, coastal flooding, extreme
precipitation events, severe
droughts, hurricanes and
tornadoes. That data retrieved from
the EPA (The US. Environmental
Protection Agency) gives an
insight into some of the effects of
climate change and global
warming. These reported natural
disaster are caused by the fact that earths climate is changing at a faster pace than usual, causing
it to react, disrupting in this way the climate and weather. Another possible effect of the global
warming are its effects on the species that live on earth. For example in some areas there are
predicted insect outbreaks and acidic rains in others (Global Climate Change: Effects, n.d.).
These things would have not happened if the climate was not as disrupted as it is, and if they did
it would be in a smaller proportions and would probably take longer time to happen.
Different solutions to solve the energy and global warming problem
Climate change is a big problem in the society and there are different groups that are
trying to solve the problem from different angles and perspective, with different solutions. In the
article Meeting the worlds energy needs entirely with wind, water, and solar power Delucchi

GLOBAL WARMING AND ENERGY USAGE

and and Jacobson, from the bulletin of atomic scientists, answer the problem with a proposal for
a change to wind, water and solar energy. They explain that the best solution to the problem is
renewable sources because of how harmful nuclear power energy is to the health of the people
that are exposed to it. In this article Jacobson stated that the use of fossil fuels and bioenergy are
not the most viable way of solving the energy problems with less waste disposal and more
environmental friendly.
In conclusion, there are many causes to the current climate change, natural and human
activity that makes it dangerous for the sustainability of the species. The consequences resultant
from the emission of greenhouse effects are extremely dangerous not only for the life the society
is used to, but also for all the species of flora and fauna part of the earths environment. Even
though the problems caused by the climate change are immense, there are so many many
possible solutions to solve the issue.

GLOBAL WARMING AND ENERGY USAGE

References
Causes of Climate Change. (n.d.). Retrieved June 17, 2015.
Delucchi, M. (n.d.). Meeting the worlds energy needs entirely with wind, water, and solar
power.
Global Climate Change: Effects. (n.d.).
Global_fossil_carbon_emissions_google_chart
Infographic: Extreme Weather and Climate Change. (n.d.)
Rapid Assessment on Biofuels and the Environment: Overview and Key Findings. (n.d.)
TEDTalks: Rob Hopkins--Transition to a World without Oil [Motion picture]. (2009). TED.