Effects of Climate Change and Our Sacrifice
Climate Change: Our Sacrifice
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Part of our sacrifice includes reducing pollution, buying energy-efficient appliances, using energy-saving light bulbs, adding insulation to a house, recycling materials, opting to live near work, and walking or commuting by public transportation.
Climate change is defined as “a change in the statistical properties of the climate system when considered over long periods of time, regardless of cause” (“Climate change,” n.d.). Specifically caused by human activity, climate change has become synonymous with anthropogenic or human-caused global warming.
Global warming and climate change refer to “measurable increases in the average temperature of Earth’s atmosphere, oceans, and landmasses” (Mastrandrea, 2009). The Earth is observed to be undergoing a period of rapid warming fundamentally caused by increasing levels of heat-trapping gases, called greenhouse gases, in the atmosphere.
Causes of climate change
When a fraction of sun’s long-wave infrared radiation remains trapped in earth’s atmosphere, it is soaked up by some atmospheric gases which act somewhat like the glass in a greenhouse, and are thus known as greenhouse gases. The greenhouse effect refers to the process through which the greenhouse gases retain the radiant energy or heat provided to Earth by the Sun. Since the start of the Industrial Revolution (mid-1700s), human activities such as burning of fossil fuels (like coal, oil, and natural gas) have perpetually added more of these gases into the atmosphere, and so it acts like a thickening blanket and traps more heat.
Some greenhouse gases are caused by human activities. Common forms include water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone, and some types of synthetic chemicals.
Effects of Climate Change
Global warming affects weather, glacial ice, sea levels, agriculture, plants and animals (wildlife), and even human life. Probable effects of the global warming include more frequent extreme weather events including more intense and frequent heat waves, longer and more intense droughts, more severe storms and hurricanes, heavier rainfall, and denser snowfall. Places will be generally warmer and more humid as a result of more water evaporating from the seas.
Swelling of the sea complicates life in coastal regions and many islands as it causes flooding and erosion of cliffs, beaches, and dunes. Global warming may tremendously reduce agricultural production in some parts of the world. Many living organisms will also find it hard to escape from or adjust to the consequences of global warming.
Effects relevant to humans include the loss of habitat from flooding and the threat to food security due to declining crop yields. More people begin to get sick or die from more frequent and intense heat wave and heat stress. Tropical diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever, and encephalitis are anticipated to widen their range as mosquitoes and other animal hosts transfer to areas previously too cold for them. Cases of allergies and respiratory diseases will also rise as warmer air with pollutants, mold spores, and pollens grows more in the environment.
Addressing Global Warming: Our Sacrifice
Controlling global warming demands radical changes in industry, energy production, transportation, development strategies, and government policies around the globe. It fundamentally requires reducing emissions of greenhouse gases, a strategy called ‘greenhouse gas mitigation.’
This includes keeping carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere by depositing it or its carbon component somewhere else, a method known as carbon sequestration or carbon capture; reducing the consumption of fossil fuels; international Agreements; and cooperation by local governments, private enterprises, households, and individuals.
Households and individuals, too, can take measures to curtail their own emissions. Some steps include reducing pollution, buying energy-efficient appliances, using energy-saving light bulbs, adding insulation to a house, recycling materials, opting to live near work, and walking or commuting by public transportation … continue reading
Related: Climate Change: Causes, Effects, and Solutions
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