Global Warning for Global Warming

Global Warning for Global Warming
Environment-Outdoors

We are exploiting our environment in order to improve our lives. But are we actually improving our lives? Global warming has proved us wrong. From freakish weather, to inexplicable diseases, the impact of our thoughtless actions is becoming more and more visible.

We can’t reverse all the harm that has already been done. However, we can heed the warning signs, and work towards creating a better environment.

What causes Global Warming?

Both natural environmental changes and human activities cause global warming. While natural changes are part of nature’s cycles, human activities disturb the eco-balance. Recently the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) has validated environmentalists’ claim that human activities in the past few decades have resulted in atmospheric greenhouse gases, depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer, loss of biodiversity, pollution, abuse of water resources, and degradation of soils. The burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, and oil, is a major source of air pollution, as they give off CO2 when ignited. Also mining coal and drilling for oil allows methane to escape into the atmosphere. Both CO2 and methane are greenhouse gases, which contribute to global warming.

Population increases also contribute to this problem in many ways, from breathing out more CO2, to cutting down trees, the world’s main source of oxygen. We are also disturbing the eco-balance by occupying more and more space. This disturbs the natural habitat of all other living beings, creating concrete jungles using toxic and polluting products and procedures.

A higher population also requires more food. This means burning more fossil fuels, and burdening the earth with more crops, both plant and animal. Extensive use of pesticides makes our crops harmful to grow and consume. And domesticated animals like cows, bred for dairy products or for meat, are a source of eco-polluting manure and methane. Our growing dependence on energy gobbling appliances, gadgets and machines, is also increasingly adding to the pollution problem.

Another culprit is our usage of toxin emitting household products, such as detergents, air-fresheners, cleaning products.

Effects of Global Warming

Our health, agriculture, water resources, forests, wildlife and coastal areas are all vulnerable to global warming and the climatic changes it will bring. The IPCC concluded that "climate change is likely to have wide-ranging and mostly adverse impacts on human health, with significant loss of life."

Eco-unfriendly human actions have already started affecting the health and welfare of human populations. If you think that the rise in summertime heat is the only effect of Global warming, think of the related illnesses and deaths. The change in climate is also expected to have an effect on human health with dirtier air and water, more flood-related accidents and injuries, increasing threats to food supplies, hundreds of millions of environmental refugees, and will stress many ecosystems that now purify our air and water, possibly causing them to collapse.

Scientists predict that sea levels will rise as the global temperature rises, due to the melting of glaciers and land-based ice in the Polar Regions, and the thermal expansion of the oceans. According to the most recent projections, sea levels could rise between 9 and 88 centimeters by the year 2100.

A rise of this magnitude would affect the lives of people living on low-lying islands, such as the Maldives in the Indian Ocean, and many South Pacific islands. Higher sea levels will lead to coastal flooding and more frequent extreme high water levels from storm surges. Related problems are the contamination of coastal freshwater supplies by encroaching sea water, and the degradation of fishing and agricultural areas. Solutions

By controlling the human activities that contribute to global warming, we can slow down its progress. Here are a few actions you can take in your day-to-day life to cut down on your contribution to climate change:

• Use energy more efficiently. Whenever possible opt for renewable energy options, such as wind, solar, geothermal, and bioenergy.

• Avoid products that emit toxins. Think of environment when you buy detergents, and cleaners.

• Organically grown food is an eco-friendly alternative to pesticide ridden crops.

• We should reduce our dependence on oil and other fossil fuels that cause global warming. Fuel efficient cars, car pooling and using less polluting fuels can cut down vehicular pollution.

• Planting more trees, and cutting down on logging can give us a cleaner, greener environment.

• On macro level, preventive strategies such as surveillance systems, satellite monitoring, and climate models, can help predict when major climatic events will occur.