The average temperature of the globe has risen more than 1 degree Fahrenheit since 1900 and the speed of warming has been almost three folds the century long average, since 1970. This increase in earth’s average temperature is called Global warming. More or less all specialists studying the climate record of the earth have the same opinion now that human actions, mainly the discharge of green house gases from smokestacks, vehicles, and burning forests, are perhaps the leading reasons driving the trend.

The major cause of global warming is the emission of green house gases like carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide etc. into the atmosphere. The major sources of carbon dioxide are the power plants. These power plants emit large amounts of carbon dioxide produced from burning of fossil fuels for the purpose of electricity generation. About twenty percent of carbon dioxide emitted in the atmosphere comes from burning of gasoline in the engines of the vehicles. This is true for most of the developed countries. Buildings, both commercial and residential represent a larger source of global warming pollution than cars and trucks.

Building of these structures requires a lot of fuel to be burnt which emits a large amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Methane is more than 20 times as effectual as CO2 at entrapping heat in the atmosphere. Methane is obtained from resources such as rice paddies, bovine flatulence, bacteria in bogs and fossil fuel manufacture. When fields are flooded, anaerobic situation build up and the organic matter in the soil decays, releasing methane to the atmosphere. The main sources of nitrous oxide include nylon and nitric acid production, cars with catalytic converters, the use of fertilizers in agriculture and the burning of organic matter. Another cause of global warming is deforestation that is caused by cutting and burning of forests for the purpose of residence and industrialization.

Scientists all over the world are making predictions about the ill effects of Global warming and connecting some of the events that have taken place in the past few decades as an alarm to global warming. The effect of global warming is increasing the average temperature of the earth. A rise in earth’s temperatures can in turn lead to other alterations in the ecology, including increasing sea levels and modifying the quantity and pattern of rainfall. These modifications may boost the occurrence and concentration of severe climate events, such as floods, famines, heat waves, tornados, and twisters. Other consequences may comprise of higher or lower agricultural outputs, glacier melting, lesser summer stream flows, genus extinctions and rise in the ranges of disease vectors. As an effect of global warming, species like the golden toad and harlequin frog of Costa Rica have already become extinct. There are number of species that have a threat of disappearing soon - as an effect of global warming. Also, new diseases have emerged lately. These diseases are occurring frequently due to the increase in earth’s average temperature since the bacteria can survive better in elevated temperatures and even multiply faster. The global warming is extending the distribution of mosquitoes due to the increase in humidity levels and their frequent growth in warmer atmosphere. Various diseases due to ebola, hanta and machupo virus are expected due to warmer climates. Marine life is also very sensitive to the increase in temperatures. The effect of global warming will definitely be seen on some species in the water. A survey was made in which the marine life reacted significantly to the changes in water temperatures. It is expected that many species will die off or become extinct due to the increase in the temperatures of the water, whereas various other species, which prefer warmer waters, will increase tremendously. Perhaps the most disturbing changes are expected in the coral reefs that are expected to die off as an effect of global warming. The global warming is expected to cause irreversible changes in the ecosystem and the behavior of animals.

A group of scientists have recently reported on the speedy rise in the discharge of carbon dioxide and methane release from frozen tundra in Siberia, now starting to melt because of human causes. The scientists tell us that the Tundra, in danger of melting, holds the threat of extra global warming pollution that is equivalent to the net amount that is already existing in the earth's atmosphere. Likewise, earlier another team of scientists reported that in a single year, Greenland witnessed 32 glacial earthquakes between 4.6 and 5.1 on the Richter scale. Each day brings yet new proof that we are now in front of a global emergency, a climate emergency - that needs instant action to decrease carbon dioxide emissions worldwide in order to turn down the earth's rising temperatures and avoid any catastrophe.

Many efforts are being made by various nations to cut down the rate of global warming. One such effort is the Kyoto agreement that has been made between various nations to reduce the emissions of various green house gases. Also, many nonprofit organizations are working for the cause.

Al Gore, the former vice president of United States has given various speeches to raise an awareness of global warming. He has warned people about the ill effects of Global warming and its remedies. He has produced a significantly acclaimed documentary movie called "An Inconvenient Truth" and written a book that archives his advice on the subject.

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