Effects of global warming

Our planet Earth, nowadays has turned from being beautiful and stable to
being dirty and chaotic. What's the reason behind this you may ask? Well, I'm here
to tell you that it's because of GLOBAL WARMING. So, what causes global warming?
And what effects has global warming had on our planet? Lastly, can we prevent and
do anything to help reduce global warming?
Global warming occurs when carbon dioxide and other air pollutants collect in
the atmosphere and absorb sunlight radiation that has bounced off the earth's
surface. Normally this radiation would escape into space, but these pollutants,
which can last for years to centuries in the atmosphere, trap the heat and cause the
planet to get hotter. These pollutants, such as carbon monoxide and Sulphur
dioxide are greenhouse gases that absorb the solar heat rays and prevent them
from escaping the earth's surface. Methane gas also absorbs heat rays and is 20
times more powerful than carbon dioxide. A volcano eruption can release a
significant amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Humans also contributed
to the rising of temperatures such as industrial production, mining, and
deforestation are just some of the common human activities. These activities,
although may look normal, they play a huge role in the rise of temperature. As more
people are commonly doing this every day, the rate of the temperature is rising
more rapidly than scientists could even predict.
Now that we know what global warming is caused by, join us to take a look at
the effects that global warming has given to us. First of all, many of these effects
have made climate change more frequent and more intense, communities suffer
and death tolls rise. If we are unable to reduce our emissions, scientists believe that
this can lead to the deaths of more than 250,000 people around the globe every
year and force 100 million people into poverty by 2030 (According to the National
Resources Defense Council). Here are some of the effects that will happen if we do
not do something about it:
The temperature rise: this is obvious these days because you can notice it by
yourself. In the afternoon, if you stay in the sun for just a couple of minutes, you'll
start to feel that your skin is getting hotter and hotter. According to NASA, they
found out that the average temperature had increased by at least 1.1°C (1.9°F)
since 1880. Wildfires can start more easily and spread more quickly when
conditions are hotter.
More storms: changes in temperature cause changes in rainfall. The reason
for this is that warm air holds a lot of moisture. Indeed, warmer temperatures cause
more water to evaporate from the oceans, transferring water vapor into the
atmosphere. The result is more intense storms that bring heavier rains and snow.
Heavier rains can cause landslides and floods that make our lives much harder.
Rising oceans: as the temperature gets warmer, the icebergs start to melt as
well. This raises sea levels and threatens coastal and island communities causing
floods and damaging the buildings. The ocean also absorbs carbon dioxide, which
makes the oceans more acidic and endangers marine life.
Increased drought: water is becoming scarcer in more regions. Drought can
stir destructive sand and dust storms that can move billions of tons of sand across
continents. Deserts are expanding, reducing land for growing food. Many people
now face the threat of not having enough water regularly. People also get more
health risks as they inhale all of the sand that is spread throughout the place.
Not enough food: because of the temperature rise, the weather is now
becoming unstable and more extreme. This causes the crops to die or become less
productive since the extreme heat makes the soil less nutritious. As well as more
pests will come and eat the product. When there are changes in the weather
patterns, they also increase health risks. While it is not balanced, our body cannot
keep up with this and may be infected by other diseases or even death. As they do
not have enough nutrients in their body to adapt to the new change happening right
now.
Health risks: when the weather changes unevenly, some days can be hotter
than others, while some can be cold as well. These changes can cause diseases
such as skin cancer, heat exhaustion, asthma........etc. If it were in a worse scenario,
some people would even be led to death if not treated.
Loss of species: because of climate change, the animal's habitat begins to fall
apart and some animals in the tropical and Atlantic regions start to die. In the
tropical regions, rains start to pour down more heavily and the sun's radiation starts
to have a greater impact on those areas. Whereas in the Atlantic regions, many
species start to die because of the melting of the iceberg and the atmosphere starts
to get warmer. While some animals migrate throughout the season, many of them
lose track of where they should go because of weather changes, because of this,
many of these animals start to starve and lose hydration as they are looking for
their place to stay.
These are just some of the most important effects that I just mentioned but
there are still many more left. As you can see, these all contributed to the rise of
temperature, and who created them? Humans, although I am not blaming that it's
all our fault, however not many people realize how much of an impact they are
having on our planet. Sadly, some of us knew that what they were doing was bad,
but they just ignored it and kept on doing so. For the people who want to change
the world, you can't, but what you can do is you can prevent it from happening.
Here are some ways you can prevent global warming:
Reduce water waste: saving water reduces carbon pollution, too. That's
because it takes a lot of energy to pump, heat, and treat your water. So, take
shorter showers, turn off your tap when brushing your teeth, and switch to water-
efficient fixtures, about 100 million kilowatt-hours of electricity would be saved-
avoiding 80,000 tons of global warming pollution.
 Do not waste food-and compost leftovers: approximately 10 percent of
energy use goes into growing, processing, packaging, and shipping food-about 40
percent of which winds up in landfills. If you're wasting less food, you're saving on
energy consumption. As for the scraps you can't eat or the leftovers you don't get
to, collect them in a compost bin instead of sending them into landfills where they
can produce methane gas. When you recycle old food, you will get many benefits
from it like increasing the soil's nutrient level.
Drive a fuel-efficient vehicle: have you ever wondered where they get fuel? It
is by extracting from the bottom of the earth and burning them, this increases the
amount of carbon in the atmosphere. If we use vehicles that burn a lot of fuel in
each use, there would likely be a lot of pollution. Fully electric vehicles save fuel
and money. This can save $80 billion less pump each year.
Reduce, reuse, and recycle: everything around you can be recycled and
reused. Make sure to find ways to recycle the things around you because this can
have a big impact on us. As well as reusing things, going shopping second-hand can
help reduce the carbon that it takes to make it. Always find ways that you can
reduce the use of things as it will be as effective as any of the others shown.
In conclusion, much of what we are doing today can affect our lives in the
future. As I suggested above, do make sure to reconsider your actions because
everything has to start with you. These effects may be powerful, but if we join
forces and work together to prevent it from getting any worse, it may just be a good
start for our planet.