Tag: sustainable

Is Global Warming a Threat? Rising Temperature

Article

October 11, 2022
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5 min
1 year
872 words

Tagged carbon dioxide, Earth, global warming, India, renewable

Is Global Warming a Threat? Rising Temperature

Global warming is the long-term warming of the planet’s overall temperature. Though warming trend has been going on for a long time, its pace has significantly increased in last hundred years.

Keywords: Global Warming, temperature, carbon dioxide, renewable, sustainable, earth, India

Global warming is the long-term warming of the planet’s overall temperature. Though warming trend has been going on for a long time, its pace has significantly increased in last hundred years.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), global temperature is likely to rise by about 1-3.5 Celsius by the year 2100. It has also been suggested that climate might warm by as much as 10 degrees Fahrenheit over the next 100 years. It has become a major threat to mankind.

INTRODUCTION

Global warming is a gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earth’s atmosphere generally attributed to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide, CFCs, and other pollutants.

It is the long-term heating of the Earth’s surface observed since the pre-industrial period (between 1850 and 1900) due to human activities.

WHY IS IT A THREAT?

Polluted air and steadily rising temperatures are linked to health effects ranging from increased heart attacks and strokes to the spread of infectious diseases and psychological trauma.
It is the cause of decreased harvests, increased floods, droughts, extreme weather events, desertification, and the displacement of hundreds of millions of people.
It will lead to the collapse of multiple population centres around the world.
It affects oceans and life in the oceans.
Because of global warming, crops do not grow, animals do not live and as a result, our food supply lessens and causes human extinction.
The rising sea levels caused by global warming will undoubtedly cause an ecological disaster.

CAUSES OF GLOBAL WARMING

DEFORESTATION: Forests are being depleted for many domestic and commercial purposes. This has led to an environmental imbalance, thereby giving rise to global warming.
VOLCANOES: The ash and smoke emitted during volcanic eruptions go out into the atmosphere and affect the climate.
USE OF VEHICLES: Vehicles burn fossil fuels which emit a large amount of carbon dioxide and other toxins into the atmosphere resulting in a temperature increase.
MELTING PERMAFROST: Permafrost is frozen soil that has environmental gases trapped in it for several years and is present below Earth’s surface. It is present in glaciers. As the permafrost melts, it releases the gases back into the atmosphere, increasing Earth’s temperature.
FOREST BLAZES: Forest blazes or forest fires emit a large amount of carbon-containing smoke. These gases are released into the atmosphere and increase the earth’s temperature resulting in global warming.
CHLOROFLUOROCARBON: With the excessive use of air conditioners and refrigerators, humans have been adding CFCs into the environment which affects the atmospheric ozone layer. The ozone layer protects the earth’s surface from the harmful ultraviolet rays emitted by the sun. The CFCs have led to ozone layer depletion making way for the ultraviolet rays, thereby increasing the earth’s temperature.
INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT: With the advent of industrialization, the temperature of the earth has been increasing rapidly. The harmful emissions from the factories add to the increasing temperature of the earth.
OVERPOPULATION: An increase in population means more people are breathing. This leads to an increase in the level of carbon dioxide, the primary gas causing global warming.

GLOBAL WARMING EFFECTS ON

Biodiversity: The increase in temperatures and the climate upheavals disturb the ecosystems, and modify the conditions and cycles of plant reproduction. The scarcity of resources and climate change are changing the life habits and migratory cycles of animals.
Oceans: Because of global warming, permafrost and ice are melting massively at the poles, increasing the sea level at a rate never known before. A large amount of CO2 captured by the oceans makes them more acidic, arousing serious questions about the adaptability of seashells or coral reefs.
Humans: It creates a scarcity of resources like food and energy. Rising sea levels and floods are causing population migration.
Weather: More droughts and heatwaves, more precipitation, more natural disasters like floods, hurricanes, storms and wildfires, frost-free season, etc.

PREVENTION OF GLOBAL WARMING

Renewable Energies: It can be prevented by replacing the use of fossil fuels with renewable energies such as solar, wind, biomass and geothermal.
Energy and Water Efficiency: Reducing the consumption of energy and water by using more efficient devices. Example: LED light bulbs, innovative shower systems) are less costly and are an effective way to prevent global warming.
Sustainable Transportation: Promoting public transportation, carpooling, and also electric and hydrogen mobility. It can help in reducing CO2 emissions and thus will fight global warming.
Sustainable Infrastructure: Encouraging better use of natural resources, stopping massive deforestation as well as making agriculture greener and more efficient.
Responsible Consumption and Recycling: Adopting responsible consumption habits is crucial. Be it regarding food (particularly meat), clothing, cosmetics or cleaning products.

CONCLUSION

The Earth is warming up at a steady pace. It is essential to develop a portfolio or mix of strategies that includes:

mitigation,
adaptation,
technological development (to enhance both adaptation and mitigation) and
research (on climate science, impacts, adaptation and mitigation).

The fight against climate change is a real opportunity to transition to a low-carbon society, creating jobs, innovation and social justice locally and internationally.

Author: Tanishka Ranjan

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What is Climate Change? Causes and Effects

Article

October 9, 2022
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6 min
1 year
1,187 word

Tagged Climate Change, Environment, global warming, greenhouse, sustainable

What is Climate Change? Causes and Effects

Climate change has become a global concern over the last few decades. These climatic changes affect life on the earth in various ways. These climatic changes are having various impacts on the ecosystem and ecology.

Keywords: Climate Change, environment, global warming, trees, sustainable, greenhouse, carbon

Climate change refers to the changes in Earth’s climate condition. It describes the changes in the atmosphere which have taken place over a period, ranging from decades to millions of years.

Difference between Global Warming and Climate Change

Climate change refers to the long-term changes in the climate that occur over decades, centuries or longer. These shifts may be natural, such as through variations in the solar cycle. But since the 1800s, human activities have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas.

Causes of Climate Change

1. Generating Power

Generating electricity and heat by burning fossil fuels causes a large chunk of global emissions. Most electricity is generated by burning coal, oil, or gas, which produces carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide – powerful greenhouse gasses that blanket the Earth and trap the sun’s heat.

2. Manufacturing Goods

Manufacturing industries produce emissions, to produce things like cement, iron, steel, electronics, plastics, clothes, and other goods. Mining and other industrial processes also release gases, as does the construction industry. Machines used in the manufacturing process often run on coal, oil, or gas; and some materials, like plastics, are made from chemicals sourced from fossil fuels.

3. Cutting Down Forests

Cutting down forests to create farms or pastures, or for other reasons, causes emissions, since trees, when they are cut, release the carbon they have been storing.

4. Using Transportation

Most cars, trucks, ships, and planes run on fossil fuels. That makes transportation a major contributor of greenhouse gases, especially carbon-dioxide emissions.

5. Producing Food

Producing food causes emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases in various ways, including deforestation and clearing of land for agriculture and grazing, digestion by cows and sheep, the production and use of fertilizers and manure for growing crops, and the use of energy to run farm equipment or fishing boats, usually with fossil fuels.

6. Powering Buildings

Globally, residential and commercial buildings consume over half of all electricity. As they continue to draw on coal, oil, and natural gas for heating and cooling, they emit significant quantities of greenhouse gas emissions.

7. Consuming too Much

A large chunk of global greenhouse gas emissions are linked to private households. Our lifestyles have a profound impact on our planet.

Effects of Climate Change

1. Hotter Temperatures

As greenhouse gas concentrations rise, so does the global surface temperature. Higher temperatures increase heat-related illnesses and make working outdoors difficult. Wildfires start easily and spread rapidly when conditions are hotter.

2. More severe Storms

Destructive storms have become more intense and more frequent in many regions. As temperatures rise, more moisture evaporates, which exacerbates extreme rainfall and flooding, causing more destructive storms. The frequency and extent of tropical storms is also affected by the warming ocean. Cyclones, hurricanes, and typhoons feed on warm waters at the ocean surface. Such storms often destroy homes and communities, causing deaths and huge economic losses.

3. Increased Drought

Climate change is changing water availability, making it scarcer in more regions. It is leading to an increased risk of agricultural droughts affecting crops, and ecological droughts increasing the vulnerability of ecosystems. Deserts are expanding, reducing land for growing food. Many people face the threat of not having enough water on a regular basis.

4. A Warming, Rising Ocean

The ocean soaks up most of the heat. As the ocean warms, its volume increases since water expands as it gets warmer. Melting ice sheets also cause sea levels to rise, threatening coastal and island communities. In addition, the ocean absorbs carbon dioxide, keeping it from the atmosphere. But more carbon dioxide makes the ocean more acidic, which endangers marine life and coral reefs.

5. Loss of Species

Climate change poses risks to the survival of species on land and in the ocean. These risks increase as temperatures climb.

6. Not Enough Food

Changes in the climate and increases in extreme weather events are among the reasons behind a global rise in hunger and poor nutrition. Fisheries, crops, and livestock may be destroyed or become less productive.

7. More Health Risks

Climate change is the single biggest health threat facing humanity. Changing weather patterns are expanding diseases, and extreme weather events increase deaths and make it difficult for health care systems to keep up.

8. Poverty and Displacement

Climate change increases the factors that put and keep people in poverty. Floods may sweep away urban slums, destroying homes and livelihoods. Heat can make it difficult to work in outdoor jobs. Water scarcity may affect crops.

SOLUTIONS TO CLIMATE CHANGE

1. Keeping Fossil Fuels in the Ground

Fossil fuels include coal, oil and gas – and the more that are extracted and burned, the worse climate change will get.

2. Investing in Renewable Energy

Changing our main energy sources to clean and renewable energy is the best way to stop using fossil fuels. These include technologies like solar, wind, wave, tidal and geothermal power.

3. Switching to Sustainable Transport

Reducing car use, switching to electric vehicles and minimizing plane travel will help to stop climate change.

4. Improving Farming and encourage Vegan Diets

Businesses and food retailers can improve farming practices and provide more plant-based products to help people make the shift.

5. Restoring Nature to absorb more Carbon

The natural world is very good at cleaning up our emissions. This can be done by planting trees in the right places or giving land back to nature through ‘rewilding’ schemes.

6. Protecting Forests

Forests are crucial in the fight against climate change. Cutting down forests on an industrial scale destroys giant trees which could be sucking up huge amounts of carbon.

7. Protecting the Oceans

Oceans absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, which helps to keep our climate stable.

8. Reducing the use of Plastic

Plastic is made from oil, and the process of extracting, refining and turning oil into plastic (or even polyester, for clothing) is carbon-intense. It doesn’t break down quickly in nature so a lot of plastic is burned, which contributes to emissions.

CONCLUSION

We need to follow the path of sustainable development to effectively address the concerns of climate change. If we will not do anything and things continue to go on like right now then a day in future will come when humans will become extinct from the surface of the earth. If every human will start contributing to the environment then we can be sure of our existence in the future.

“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not any man’s greed”.

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Author: Tanishka Ranjan

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