A poet once said “Nature is not a place to visit. It is home”. If we can really manage to understand the meaning of the above saying, we can achieve miracles in sustaining our planet earth, our home.
Today, we are experiencing “Climate Change” which is the variations of weather patterns that last for a long period of time.
This Change is caused by the increase of the temperature of the surface of the earth, atmosphere and oceans which is called “Global Warming”.
This warming resulted from the “Greenhouse Effect” which is the exchange of incoming and outgoing radiation that heats the Earth.
In other words, the Earth’s temperature depends on the balance between energy entering and leaving the planet’s system. So when incoming energy from the sun is absorbed by the Earth system, Earth warms.
Why is the energy absorbed inside the earth system?
The Earth is getting warmer because human beings are adding heat-trapping gases to the atmosphere that absorbs the heat inside the earth system, mainly by burning fossil fuels in industry, motor vehicles and land clearing. These emitted gases are called greenhouse gases such as: carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) and fluorinated gases.
Climate scientists looking at the data agree that the planet is warming as the Earth temperature has risen between 0.4 and 0.8 °C over the past 100 years and research have recently predicted that average global temperatures could increase between 1.4 and 5.8 °C by the year 2100.
“Climate change is a terrible problem, and it absolutely needs to be solved. It deserves to be a huge priority” –Bill Gates
Why is the increase in temperature that dangerous?
Because the increase in the temperature will cause the following:
- Rising sea levels due to the melting of the polar ice caps
- Increase in severity of storms, changes in rain and snow patterns
- Extremes in droughts and flooding causing displacement and conflict
- Less fresh water means less agriculture, food and income
- Warmer oceans and increased ocean acidity
Why should I care about Climate Change?
Because it affect us and the environment; How?
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA):
- Climate change will affect our health:
Climate change affects the social and environmental determinants of health such as clean air, safe drinking water, sufficient food and secure shelter. Between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause approximately 250 000 additional deaths per year, from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhea and heat stress.
- Climate Change will affect the Water, Food Supply and Agriculture:
We cannot live without water and food. Rising temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, and increasing droughts will affect the amount of water in lakes, rivers, and streams, as well as the amount of water that seeps into the ground to replenish ground water. Climate-related threats to global food production include risks to grain, vegetable, and fruit crops, livestock, and fisheries. Such as reduced yields, crops and livestock, including milk yields, may decline because of high temperatures and drought-related stress leading to higher costs and conflict over access to water.
- Climate Change will affect the Plants, Animals, and Ecosystems:
Any change in the climate of an area can affect the plants and animals living there, as well as the makeup of the entire ecosystem. As temperatures get warmer, many plants are starting to grow and bloom earlier in the spring and survive longer into the fall. Some animals are waking from hibernation sooner or migrating at different times, too.
- Climate Change will affect Forests
As the Earth gets warmer and droughts increase, wildfires are expected to occur more often and be more destructive. Wildfires do occur naturally, but the extremely dry conditions resulting from droughts allow fires to start more easily, spread faster, and burn longer.
- Climate Change will affect the Energy:
As temperatures rise, more people will need to keep cool by using air conditioning, which uses a lot of electricity so blackouts could increase. Because most electricity is currently produced by burning fossil fuels, using more electricity to run air conditioners will also add more greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.
Every day, we make decisions based on risk assessments. When we get into a car, we put on a safety belt. We don’t send our children to an unsafe place, and we avoid unsustainable lives. I believe that it isn’t that difficult to take action to reduce climate change all together as human beings knowing that adapting to such extreme environmental and socio economical events is risky.
We always should remember that we don’t own the earth; instead we borrow it from our children.
“Man has to realize that he is an integral part of nature …
that he is just as a natural form as a seagull or a wave, or a mountain,
and if he doesn’t recognize that, he uses his technical powers to destroy his environment to foul his own nest” -Alan Watts
