Threatening Global Environmental Issue: Global Warming
Due to climate changes, global warming has become a major concern among environmental, political, and public health professionals across the globe because it has become the result from greenhouse gases being admitted by humans. Through this, rising temperatures in the ocean and the surface of the Earth have occurred, which has melted the polar ice caps and has caused the sea levels to rise. As a result of this, unnatural patterns of precipitation (flash floods, excessive snow, desertification) have occurred (Rinkesh, 2016). Even though some disagree that global warming is not occurring, a recent survey conducted by Yale University showed that a majority of the research participants agreed that global warming was gotten worse, which has been seen through extreme weather and natural disasters. Of the many concerns is the rising sea levels, which is predicted to rise 20 to 80 inches by 2100; it is due to this that 3.7 million residents are at risk of flooding (Denchak, 2017). It is because of this that global warming has become a major threat to everyone.
Given this in mind, there are several ways that Earth can move towards are greener, more sustainable future if adoptions are met to lower and eliminate emissions of greenhouse gases. In 2015 195 nations signed an agreement to reduce carbon emissions, with a goal to limit future warming to 2 degrees Celsius. By reducing carbon emissions, the countries are reducing the release through oil, coal, and other fossil fuels that are burned. Other politicians have suggested that people should power their homes with renewable energy through wind or solar power. Green-e-Energy is an organization that produces renewable energy options for homes. Simpler options include sealing drafts and having proper insulation to reduce heating and cooling expenses. This same principle can be applied to appliances. Investing in energy-efficient appliances has reduced over 2 billion tones of carbon dioxide in the air since it was first launched in 1987 (Denchak, 2017). However, even with these changes, humans will have to face some challenges that can no longer be overcome.
No matter what the future holds, increase temperature will occur by about at least half a degree with increase rise in sea levels. At any time in the future, even if extreme measurements are taken to try to reverse damage, climate changes will become greater than those who have already observed (Meehl et. al, 2005). Even though these changes will occur regardless of future actions, they can be reduced if serious actions are taken now. Global warming is a severe threat to Earth’s ecosystem, and humanities future will depend on what choices humans will make in the near future.
References
Denchak, M. (2017, March 07). How You Can Stop Global Warming. Retrieved March 08, 2017, from https://www.nrdc.org/stories/how-you-can-stop-global-warming
Meehl, G. A., Washington, W. M., Collins, W. D., Arblaster, J. M., Hu, A., Buja, L. E., Teng, H. (2005, March 18). How Much More Global Warming and Sea Level Rise? Retrieved March 08, 2017, from https://science.sciencemag.org/content/307/5716/1769
Rinkesh. (2016, December 24). 15 Current Environmental Problems That Our World is Facing. Retrieved March 08, 2017, from https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/15-current-environmental-problems.php