Global Warming -- Bringing Temperatures to New Heights
A cycle showing an increasing streak of relevance, global warming certainly doesn't chaperone a stationary approach when observing climate change. Monitored since the pre-industrial period, its growing significance has claimed a vast space in the list of major environmental issues. Those that express empathy for mother nature understand the cruciality of protecting nonrenewable resources. Still, there are a bulk of uneducated folks that still have yet to understand global warming's reign above many environmental injustices.
Global Warming has a Global Warming.
There's no need to question why discussing global warming carries much significance -- it's a serious threat not just to earth but to humanity's well-being and existence. Living sustainably doesn't only pertain to protecting our planet. Stated less frighteningly, the moto indirectly concludes we humans are in real danger of facing our consequences. Earth will survive long enough without us here since we're ultimately the invading species on her planet.
We can no longer deny that we face the risk of premature extinction due to the constant barriers that the fossil fuel industry, a major contributor to global warming, has instilled. Fossil fuel burning has escalated heat-confined greenhouse gas intensity in Earth's atmosphere, which is a huge threat to all living systems. Pollutants such as natural gas, coal, and crude oil are considered fossil fuels. These environmental toxins mimic a blanket, engulfing the sun's heat and causing the planet to warm.
Fossil fuels are created from the calcified, immersed residue of ancient plants and animals. Due to their origin, fossil fuels contain a high carbon content. Fossil fuel burning has been a sustained practice used to generate most of the energy needed to propel our vehicles, power businesses, and sustain electricity and related necessities to living. These fossil fuels account for about 80% of our living conditions, claiming a superior grip amongst other resources used. Research indicates that the leading cause of global warming is human carbon footprint. Again, it has led to ecosystems being in grave peril, not hesitating to exclude us from those affected.
Even slight temperature increases from this instance are enough to cause a dramatic metamorphosis of our earth. So, what will global warming cost us in the end?
The Bad, the Irreversible, and the Results
1. Increased wildlife extinction rates: If you think global warming to be only a threat to humanity, think twice. It affects our wildlife surroundings rapidly, and they're the ones that take the most heat. Climate change dominates a field of concern, especially since the earth's landscape and ecosystems keep changing drastically. The polar caps are melting, which means that there won't be a place for polar bears and penguins to call home soon enough. They'll become endangered, and before you know it, they'll disappear. Research has indicated that vertebrate species like mammals, birds, and reptiles are vanishing 114 times quicker than wished for due to our planet's polluting through fossil fuel use.
2. Rising Sea levels: Although sea levels have been rising since the beginning of time, it's happening in areas more susceptible to damage, especially the polar regions. The Arctic average temperatures are surging like never before, increasing twice as fast as other sites. Not only does this alert us to the inevitable threat of nature collapsing before our eyes, but it warns of the gravest repercussions of rising sea levels. It's predicted that by 2100, our oceans will be one to four feet taller, towering and menacing coastal environments and low-lying regions, not excluding islands that hold the world's largest cities such as New York, Mumbai, and Dubai. This paves the way for a startling future, and unfortunately, it's too late to reverse the damage that's already been done. There's no changing the act of the expelling of a century's worth of environmental toxins into the air nearly unsupervised. However, by changing our routine to fit more sustainable standards, we can still avoid many upcoming problems spiraling at us from a distance.
"The time is past when humankind thought it could selfishly draw on exhuastible resources. We know now the world is not a commodity."
- Francois Hollande on Climate Change, President of the French Republic
3. More Ocean Acidification: Marine ecosystems are under much pressure because of global warming. Oceans adjust to a higher acidic presence due to their sensitive absorption properties and capitalization on a surplus of emissions. As acidification increases with no hesitation, it reveals a pressuring threat to underwater wildlife, distinctly creatures with calcium carbonate skeletons or shells such as crabs, urchins, and corals. Researchers have mapped and labeled locations experiencing the most extreme alterations from rising carbon dioxide levels. They identified the overlapping variables that determined what areas were more susceptible to decreasing harvests - algae blooms and coastal environments.
If we establish an ocean acidification task force, it will lead to an ecological risk evaluation to avoid harm. Also, reducing waterway pollution by introducing farming and development tactics will only help by incorporating extra sewage treatment procedures.
4. Frequencies in Severe Weather: Increasing climate temperatures have encouraged much more severe weather occurrences, including floods and droughts. Warmer weather creates an atmosphere that collects more water, changing natural weather inclinations, so that wet regions become even wetter; the same applies to drier climates. More moisture poses a threat to the world's health and safety; with prolonged dry spells jeopardizing agricultural needs and droughts deteriorating any healthy access to clean water, we continue our streak. Lack of accessible water will be our ultimate downfall, contributing to severe plagues across the globe. Examining the other end of things, heavier rainfall will result in water sources overflowing, damaging needed property, dangerous material spills, and unbreathable air. Diseases will thrive in these living environments, with parasites infecting all that we'll have left.
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Don't forget about taking care of our earth. Let us hold ourselves accountable as individuals occupying the global space, especially the billion-dollar industries thriving off nature's inevitable destruction. Seek to be part of a change, lead knowing you have so much influence on our standard of living. Live as sustainably as you can and repay mother nature for all that it's given you to live.