The global warming it is an increasingly tangible reality on the planet. But in light of the truth, most people do not know what it is, how it affects us and what we can do to reverse it.
The most discouraging forecasts predict that the catastrophes caused by climate change will be irreversible after 2030. However, it does not seem that the world is doing much about it. And meanwhile, the planet keeps getting sick.
What does this all mean? Can we do something? In this article you will find the answers to these questions and much more.
Global warming and climate change
First of all, it is important to clarify this difference. These two concepts, although they can be used as synonyms, do not mean exactly the same thing. And although for the purposes of this article we will mention them interchangeably, understanding that small difference is vital to knowing what we are talking about.
Global warming
Global warming refers to the increase, over time, in the average temperature of the earth’s atmosphere and oceans. This warming of the earth is caused by the greenhouse effect.
Greenhouse effect
This effect is produced by the emission of gases into the atmosphere, particularly water vapour, carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane. The emission of these gases began to rise notably after the industrial revolution, and increased even more in the last decades of the 20th century, since they mainly come from the combustion of fossil fuels.
By accumulating in the atmosphere, they prevent the heat that comes from the sun from leaving the earth again: just like what happens in a greenhouse. It was like this, over the years, the average temperature of the earth has been rising.
Climate change
Global warming results in climate change. And this is where one of the most important concepts you have to know lies: cold waves, rainy or dry seasons and any notable change or unprecedented climate effect, have to do with global warming.
This means that the fact that the planet gets hotter does not mean that it will always get hotter. As the Earth’s average temperature rises, winds and ocean currents move heat around the globe in ways that can cool some areas, warm others, and change the amount of rain and snow that falls. As a result, the weather changes differently in different areas.
But the certainty is this: the climate is changing and that puts the planet at risk.
A graphic view to better understand global warming
Regardless of the fact that climate change can be expressed in many ways, the reality is that the planet is warming. If you want to understand it better, you can follow the work of Antti Lipponen.
He is a researcher at the Finnish Meteorological Institute who has set himself the task of making as many people as possible aware of climate change. And he does it in a very didactic way on his social networks. Based on the information he receives from his work, he makes animated graphics that allow visualizing these concepts.
They are very simple, but they can be moving.
“With them I want to demonstrate that the consequences of climate change are not going to arrive in the near future, but that we are already experiencing it; and I want to do it in a broader scope than the strictly scientific”, commented Lipponen about the graphics.
In fact, it is interesting – and scary – to discover that year after year the trend is increasing. Every year is the hottest in history. And this will continue like this.
Lipponen’s most viral chart sums up in a minute how we’re really on fire:
The main causes of global warming
But, what is it that really makes the planet warmer every day? These are the main causes.
- Power plants that burn fossil fuels
In our days, electricity is essential to maintain the lifestyle. But electrical energy in most cases is generated through the combustion of fossil fuels, which releases CO2 and favors global warming.
40% of US CO2 emissions come from electricity production, and burning coal accounts for 93% of emissions from the electric utility industry.
The move to electricity generation from renewable energies is vital to reduce climate change.
- The food industry, especially livestock
In addition to CO2, methane is another gas that affects global warming. Although its production volume is smaller, its effects are as serious or more serious than that of CO2, since it has more capacity to maintain heat, and also interacts with other molecules that promote the greenhouse effect.
The main cause of methane emissions is the agricultural industry, to the point that it is estimated that approximately half of the gas emissions that cause global warming related to food come from meat production.
To a lesser extent, the cultivation of rice at an industrial level also generates the release of methane that contributes to global warming.
- Transportation gasoline burning
It is considered that 33% of CO2 emissions come from transport. On the one hand, by the typical car culture of modernity. However, as a consequence of globalization: every product that we buy over the Internet from a remote region of the world has to be moved.
Multiplied by the amount of the world’s population, that generates an impressive increase in the gas emissions that generate global warming.
It is said that forests are the lungs of the planet, and it is not a simple saying. Trees clean the air and remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. In addition, they help retain moisture, lowering the temperature and avoiding major droughts.
However, the use of forests for fuel (both for fuelwood and charcoal), the appetite for fuelwood and paper products, the need for grazing space for cattle ranching, and the use of tropical forest land for vegetable plantations They have caused the forests to be significantly reduced. And this contributes significantly to global warming.
- Increased use of chemical fertilizers on farmland
In the last half of the 20th century, the use of chemical fertilizers (as opposed to the historical use of animal manure) has increased dramatically.
The high application rate of nitrogen-rich fertilizers has effects on the heat storage of cropland. As if that were not enough, when the rain washes them away, these chemical products fall into the oceans, causing a strong environmental impact. In addition, reversing it costs too much time and investment.
Global warming: a human problem
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is the main international body dedicated to this issue. This is how it defines climate change in its article 1:
“A climate change attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and that is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable periods”
In other words, global warming is a physical phenomenon of anthropogenic origin – a consequence of human actions – that results in an unwanted increase in the average temperature of the planet. It is not natural or expected: it is a direct consequence of human action and a real commitment is required to reverse it.
Time counted: global warming will be irreversible in a decade
The biggest problem with all of this is that global warming is not something that can be reversed just like that. In fact, there is damage that is already irreparable and that affects us notably. But today, it is still possible to think that if deep and true changes are generated climate change can be stopped and the damage done to the planet slowly repaired.
However, the forecasts are not very encouraging. According to scientists and experts on the subject, by 2030 the global warming catastrophe will have reached a point of no return. That is to say that we have, as a species, about a decade to make real changes in our lifestyle, customs and economic systems to avoid disaster.
Well, scientists estimate that once the Earth’s temperature exceeds 1.5ºC above its average, it will be too late.
The wisest on the subject say that change is possible, but it must happen now. A UN report assures that if the set goal is reached, the percentage of the world population with significant deficiencies would be reduced by 50% and food crises would also decrease significantly.
According to Johan Rockström, co-author of the Hothouse Earth report, “Global warming is happening sooner and faster than expected. Even today, without raising the temperature, it is a sore subject. It is important to understand at a global level that important changes have to be carried out in order not to exceed the temperature increase of 1.5°C”.
If it reaches 1.5ºC it would reach the point of no return, but if it reaches 3ºC, the devastation would be unprecedented and our current way of life could disappear completely.
Consequences of climate change
So far we have talked a lot about global warming, but you may not yet understand what makes it so serious. Perhaps you think that it is not so bad to have a little more temperature, but the reality is that this affects the ecosystem so much that even life as we know it could be at risk.
These are the most tragic consequences of global warming:
- 1. Melting ice and sea level rise
Perhaps the first and most important consequence of global warming is that the planet’s ice is melting. This may not seem very serious, but it is. Since, first of all, much of the drinking water we consume is born in the great masses of ice.
Second, Because this melting causes the sea level to rise. This implies that a large part of the earth’s surface could be completely submerged under the ocean if this melting continues to advance. Barcelona, New York, Rio de Janeiro, Shanghai, Cairo and Sydney they could be among the first cities to disappear.
Finally, because the tides largely condition the entire balance of the ecosystem, with which major changes can bring major consequences, such as those listed below:
Global warming increases the levels of drought in the world. Because in areas that are already dry, this has been noticeably intensified in recent years. But the traditionally rainier areas, such as the tropics, are also beginning to be affected.
- 3. Crop failure and food shortages
Crops depend directly on the ecosystem. The change in temperature with its consequences on sea level, the availability of drinking water and drought, among others, endanger the production of the most basic foods for human consumption.
This means less food, more poverty and more people going hungry.
- 4. Disappearance of animal species
Of course, humans are not the only ones affected by global warming. The animal kingdom is perhaps the one that is suffering the most from the consequences right nowand will continue to suffer if we do not act in time.
There are already many polar bears drowning or sick because they do not adapt to the new temperatures. Migratory birds…