“Driving the sun too close
to earth, the boy withered rivers,
torched Eucalyptus groves, until the hills
burst into flame, and the people’s blood
boiled through the skin.”- Poetry by Eliza Griswold
Global surface temperature (GST) is the average temperature at the sea surface and air temperature over land. A long-term increase in GST is termed global warming technically.
Image Source - GST change since 1880
The above graph describes the global surface temperature change relative to 1951-1980 average temperatures. 19 out of 20 warmest years have taken place since 2001 and the year 2016 was the warmest. Over the past 50 years, the average global temperature has increased at the fastest rate in history and the trend is accelerating.
Image Source- Atmospheric carbon dioxide level change
The Earth's climate has changed throughout history. There had been seven cycles of glacial advance and retreat and climate changed abruptly often. The last ice age ended about 11,700 years ago and the modern climate era began to mark the start of human civilization. We discovered fire. Advancement in civilization brought industrialization and we also started to pollute the planet. Human activities started to change the natural greenhouse. In the last century, the burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil increased the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration. Also the clearance of land for agriculture, industry, and other human activities lead to greenhouse effect, where radiation from the Earth’s atmosphere warmed the Earth’s surface. Not only carbon dioxide, but also methane, nitrous oxide, chlorofluorocarbons have been released heavily by human activities into the atmosphere which caused the greenhouse effect. As per the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, there is more than 95 percent probability that human activities over the past 50 years have warmed our planet.
Image Source -The Greenhouse Effect
Climate Change
Global warming and climate change are not synonymous. Global warming is a major aspect of climate change. To be accurate, global warming is mainly continued human-caused increase in global surface temperature and climate change includes both global warming and its range of effects.
Consequences of global warming
The consequences of global warming is severe. Yes, the Earth will become warmer. Some regions will become wetter and some dryer. A strong greenhouse effect will trigger warming of the oceans and partially melt glaciers which will lead to increasing sea level. Higher temperatures and changing climate patterns may change the crop growth characteristics and affect the natural plant habitats. We should remember, the planet Venus experienced runaway greenhouse effect, resulting in 96% carbon dioxide content in its atmosphere. For your information, Venus temperature is 462 °C!
Is global warming a hoax?
The Climatic Research Unit email controversy (‘Climategate’) of 2009 happened due to the hacking of a server at the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) of the University of East Anglia. The ‘Climategate’ story became popular which tried to prove that global warming was a scientific conspiracy and climate data were manipulated by the scientists. Many scientific committees investigated the reports but they did not find any substantial proof. The scientific consensus that global warming is occurring as a result of human activity remains unchanged till date.
Which countries are responsible?
The Paris Agreement is an agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It deals with greenhouse-gas-emissions mitigation, adaptation, and finance and it was signed in 2016 by all UNFCCC members. The Paris Agreement's long-term goal is to keep the increase in global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels. It also pursues to limit the increase to 1.5 °C, as this would substantially reduce the risks and impacts of climate change. Under the agreement, each country submits its own national plan and sets the emission reduction target. Are we really making progress? You can check the ‘CAT (Climate Action Tracker)’ score of any country by clicking here. Their data covers about 80% of the global emissions and approximately 70% of the global population.
Image Source- Country wise status as per climate action
How to stop global warming?
High atmospheric carbon dioxide is the Earth’s enemy. It’s released when oil, coal or any other fossil fuels are burned for energy production. Yes we use this energy in our day to day life. We need to cut down our energy utilization firstly. We also need to use renewable energy rather than using fossil fuel energy. It is a fact that utilization of water consumes a lot of energy as you to pump, heat, and treat your water regularly. Saving water reduces carbon pollution. For example, if just one out of every 100 American homes are retrofitted with water-efficient fixtures, about 100 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year can be saved and we can avoid 80,000 tons of global warming pollution. You can offset the carbon you produce by purchasing carbon offset products too. It shrinks your carbon profile. Lastly, speak up! Talk to your friends and relatives and make them understand the demerits of global warming and climate change. You can make all the differences!
Opportunities from global warming
Besides the danger of global warming, this crisis also brings unexampled opportunities. Does it sound odd? Our intention to stop global warming and climate change will just create new jobs and new business models. We can build cleaner engines, can use the solar/wind/hydro power to generate electricity and we can also stop to waste energy. What we want to do is up to us!
Conclusion
"We are now faced with the fact, my friends, that tomorrow is today.”
- Martin Luther King Jr.
Yes we are confronted with fierce urgency. Procrastination will only kill the time. History is recording our vigilance and neglect to mother Earth. We simply can’t act too late! Global warming is a unifying cause for the mankind. It is the opportunity to rise above all conflicts. It is the opportunity to fill our spirits and bind together for a noble cause to discover the epiphany that the crisis of global warming is only a moral challenge!
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