The Earth's climate has been changing ever since it came into existence. Factors such as volcanic eruptions, changes in the natural cycles in Earth's orbit, and the amount of energy released from the sun influence the climate. Our planet has aged with warming and cooling cycles roughly every 100,000 years because of shifts in its orbit. But now we are witnessing increasing temperatures every few decades. Global warming refers to this global rise in temperatures.
Cause and effect
In the last 200 years, the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal and oil, and deforestation because of the Industrial Revolution has changed the composition of the gases in the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases are necessary to life as we know it, because they keep the planet's surface warmer. But, increase in the concentrations of these gases prevents heat from escaping to space which is not desirable. Research suggests that the Earth's average surface temperature has increased by about 1.2 to 1.4oF in the last 100 years. Other aspects of the climate are also changing such as rainfall patterns, snow and ice cover, and sea level.
Research suggests that the last two decades of the 20th century were the hottest in 400 years and possibly the warmest for several millennia. Ice thickness in the Arctic, as measured by submarine sonar, decreased by an average of more than 4 feet (1.2 m) compared to 20 to 40 years ago, which means that the Arctic ice is rapidly disappearing.
Alarming predictions
Some scientists have also predicted that Russia and Alaska may have their first completely ice-free summer by 2040 or earlier. A team of scientists reported that the in one year, Greenland witnessed 32 glacial earthquakes measuring 4.6 and 5.1 on the Richter scale. Glaciers and mountain snows are also rapidly melting. For example, in the US, Montana's Glacier National Park now has only 27 glaciers against 150 in 1910. Himalayan glaciers are receding 10-15 meters per year on average. Rapid melting of Himalayan glacier will first lead to massive flooding in China and Indian subcontinent but then in a few decades the water levels of the rivers will shrink; some rivers may become seasonal or may even run dry causing droughts and shortage of fresh water.
Coral reefs, which are highly sensitive to small changes in water temperature, suffered the worst bleaching ever recorded in 1998. More than a million species fear possible extinction because of changing ecosystems corroding their habitats by 2050. For example, approximately 70 species of harlequin frogs in Central and South America have been driven to extinction by a disease that has surfaced because of global warming.
Devastating consequences
With temperature flaring up increase in cloud cover has created an ideal condition for bacteria that kills the frogs. Further, studies suggest that the ocean's circulation system, known as the ocean conveyor belt, could be permanently altered, causing a mini-ice age in western Europe and other rapid changes such as wildfires, droughts, heat waves and strong tropical storms.
Another report by the IPCC released in April 2007 cautions that global warming could lead to large-scale food and water shortages and have catastrophic effects on wildlife. Glaciers around the world could melt, causing sea levels to rise while creating fresh water shortages in many regions. Sea levels could rise between 7 and 23 inches by century's end. Rises of just 4 inches could flood many South Seas islands and swamp large parts of Southeast Asia.
Some hundred million people live within 3 feet (1 meter) of mean sea level, and much of the world's population is concentrated in vulnerable coastal cities. For example, 80% of the land area in Maldives is less than 1m above mean sea-level and 47% of houses are less than 100m from the coastline.
A report compiled by some 2,500 scientists of more than 130 countries, hold humans responsible for the global warming. Humans are releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere much faster than what plants and oceans can absorb. These gases remain in the atmosphere for years, even if today such emission are stopped from being released in our atmosphere, the effects of damages already done so far will take a lot of time to wear out.
Skeptic's point of view
The Global Warming skeptics are of opinion that there is nothing to worry about. That the earth was once much warmer then what it is today. Since its conception the average temperature has been 22 degrees against the current 15.5 degrees. Therefore the rising temperatures will actually take us to a natural habitat where flora and fauna had thrived most. These skeptics believe that the current cool climate on the planet is an anomaly when assessed on the earth's geographical life scale.
Reuse, Recycle, Reduce
There are lots of simple things that we can do to fight and reduce the Global Warming trend. While some of these steps will not cost anything at all, some other may require greater investments in terms of monetary as well as labor to be put in. But in the long run the end result will be a win-win situation.
Greenhouse gases emitted are result of the any kind of energy we burn in any machinery such as car and electricity and many other activities to support the quality of life we live. Greenhouse gas emissions can be curtailed through simple actions such as switching to white light in your houses to properly inflating your car tires to improve your car's efficiency.
Use CFLs since they use 60% less energy than a regular bulb. This can save about 300 pounds of carbon dioxide from being released in to the atmosphere in a year.
Move your thermostats in AC and heater down 2° in winter and up 2° in summer. Clean or replace filters on your furnace and air conditioner - it can save 350 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.
Choose energy efficient appliances when making new purchases.
Cover your pots while cooking. Even better are pressure cookers and steamers: they can save around 70% of energy.
Take a shower instead of a bath, a shower takes up to four times less energy than a bath.
Be sure you recycle at home; you can save 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide a year by recycling half of the waste your household generates.
Buy intelligently. Choose products that come with little packaging and buy refills when you can and reuse your shopping bag.
Plant a tree. Buy locally grown and produced foods. Buy fresh foods instead of frozen. Buy organic foods as much as possible. Protect and conserve forest worldwide.
Reduce the number of miles you drive by walking, biking, carpooling or taking mass transit wherever possible.
Use properly inflated tires and when it is time for a new car, choose a more fuel efficient vehicle.
Switch to green power or to renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and biomass.
Global Warming is a pressing problem that needs radical and imperative measures. Many steps are being taken internationally to fight global warming. The Kyoto agreement, made by a lot of nations to trim down the secretion of various green house gases is a step in the right direction. But at the same time, we shouldn't just wait for national and international polices targeting this problem. Each one of us can do our bit for the environment by implementing small changes in our lives. We have to act now or else it will be too late even to react.
Chillibreeze's disclaimer: This is a contributed article and was published on Chillibreeze in March, 2010. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article. The relevance of the facts and figures cited (if any) could change after a period of time.
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—About our writer:
Himani Nayal is a freelance writer with an experience of over seven years. She has worked on various freelance projects like script writing for documentaries to report and feature writing for Times of India besides copywriting for an advertising agency. She has also worked with kids at different levels of creative expression. She has been dabbling with fiction and poetry for over decade now and has been published in online as well as print magazines.
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