Global Warming is Real

This article appeared in Breaking Blue from Martinsville High School.

Global warming is a pretty controversial topic and some people don’t believe in it, but it is real and is a serious issue. You may be wondering, “What even causes climate change?” or “Should I be worried about its effects on my future?” That’s what you’re about to find out. 

One of the most common causes is the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is when carbon dioxide and other air pollutants get trapped in the atmosphere and absorb sunlight and solar radiation. Normally, they would just be released into space, but these gasses last for years and trap heat, causing the planet to get hotter. 

When you drive your car or create electricity, you release greenhouse gasses.

Another big cause of global warming is deforestation. Deforestation is the removal of trees from a certain area. Around one-fifth of greenhouse gas pollution comes from the removal of trees.

Trees are a vital part of the Earth and they play a very important role in regulating the climate. They absorb carbon dioxide out of the air and release it as oxygen.

The third biggest contributor to global warming is waste. We create more waste than we did years ago due to the amount of packaging and the short life of products. The majority of things we throw away aren’t able to be recycled. When landfills start to decompose, all of the harmful gasses, like methane, are released into the atmosphere. Methane emissions are twenty-five times more damaging than carbon emissions over a hundred year span.  

Global warming has many effects on the world, not just the degradation of the atmosphere. Global warming can cause severe weather changes. For example, the ocean’s temperatures are rising and this means that tropical storms can pick up more energy. The rise in temperatures can turn a Category 3 storm into a much more dangerous Category 4 storm. 

Scientists have found that the frequency of hurricanes in the North Atlantic has increased since the 1980s, and so has the number of Category 4 and 5 storms. 

Ice all around the world is melting because of the rise in temperatures, but it’s melting the most at Earth’s poles. Arctic Sea ice, mountain glaciers, and ice sheets covering West Antarctica and Greenland are all affected. The glaciers in Montana’s National Glacier Park have declined from more than 150 to fewer than 30 since 1910. 

Image courtesy of NASA Goddard

Melting ice contributes to most of the rise in sea levels. The global sea levels are rising 0.13 inches a year when in 2013, they were rising 0.06 yearly. The rate is rising very fast and is predicted to rise even more in the following years. 

The rise in sea levels will lead to more coastal flooding. The Eastern Seaboard, like Florida and areas by the Gulf of Mexico, will be more prone to floods.

Global warming also heavily affects animals and their habitats. While some species will not be negatively affected and may possibly thrive, others will be threatened. The rising temperatures could cause less food availability, less successful reproduction, and interfere with and harm the environment. 

Global warming is expected to continue to change over this century and beyond. If we continue to pollute the atmosphere and harm the environment, we’re going to reach a point where we can not fix the damage that’s been done. If global warming continues to be an issue and the temperatures continue to rise, the results could be catastrophic. 

The temperatures around the world will continue to rise. Human-induced warming on top of a naturally varying climate means that the temperature rise has not, and will not, be equal. 

There will be more droughts and heatwaves. Droughts in the Southwest and heat waves everywhere are estimated to be more intense, and cold waves less intense. By the end of this century, heat waves that have occurred once in twenty years, are projected to happen every two to three years.

Global sea levels will continue to get higher. The levels are estimated to rise 1 to 8 feet in the next century. Over the next several decades, storm surges and high tides could combine with the rising sea levels and further increase floods in certain areas. 

People need to start thinking economically and be more responsible with what they put into the Earth. The world is a beautiful place and we need to take care of it before it’s too late.