ENVS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

ENVS - Essay Example Shifts in the major aspects of the climate have been monitored over time and include amount of energy produced by the sun, variations in the earth’s orbit, patterns of ocean circulations and wide-reaching disruptions caused by meteor impacts and volcano eruptions. These shifts have led to trapping of heat in the atmosphere of the earth causing destruction of the ozone layer and ecosystems. To some extent, these shifts that typically occur in extremity have resulted in migration to already populated areas. This in turn causes land degradation, as the population over relies on agriculture and uses trees as sources of energy. This also boosts the greenhouse effects, as carbon-rich soils are destroyed leading to a release of carbon into the atmosphere. Causes Cutting trees is a major contributor of global warming in that it is because of trees that a substantial amount of carbon dioxide in the environment is absorbed and in turn converted to oxygen. Academic studies have shown tha t trees in tropical zones absorb about 18% of all the carbon dioxide produced by human activities from burning fossil fuels. This exemplary study shows how global warming is directly related to cutting of trees, as without trees there is an increase in the buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere leading to an increase in temperature globally by creating a blanket that prevents the escape of heat. With this in mind, these trees ensure that there is a balance in the atmospheric temperature by moderating the amount of carbon dioxide available in the air (Richardson). In addition, cutting trees has severe consequences that contribute directly to global warming through a complex series of events. This is because cutting of trees, also known as deforestation is part of the reason why there is climate change through the effects of loss of moisture from the ground and trees and into the environment causing it to be dry. This change in the water cycle leads to desertification, in which c ase forests die without having to cut the trees in the forest, but trees cut elsewhere (Oak). This is to mean that there is more carbon dioxide than the remaining trees and forests can handle leading to a high buildup of carbon dioxide and increased temperatures. The above events relate to the mountains in that the high temperatures affect the mountains due to the presence of water stored on the ice caps as snow. The high temperatures melt the snowcaps leading to an increased rate of discharge in the water stored in the mountains causing the retention of water in then mountain to be low (Benniston 4). This works hand in hand with the forest found around mountains in that they act as water catchment areas, where cutting of trees accelerates global warming, and causes the flow of water from the icecaps to be a lot faster than how it should when there are trees to compensate for the high amount of carbon produced by human activities. Air pollution also has profound effects in the relat ionship between global warming and the influence air pollution on mountains and forests. This is because air pollution occurs in many ways that affect all living things, especially plants, where the trees found in forests are part. With this is in mind, pollution of the air emanating from