FEATURES: IS OUR PLANET DYING?

By Agara Bibisinuoluwa

 “Humanity faces many threats, but none is greater than climate change. In damaging our climate, we are becoming the architects of our own destruction. We have the knowledge, the tools, and the money (to solve the crisis).”-Prince Charles, U.K.

Climate change refers to the change in the environmental conditions of the earth. This happens due to many internal and external factors. The climatic change has become a global concern over the last few decades. Besides, these climatic changes affect life on the earth in various ways. These climatic changes are having various impacts on the ecosystem and ecology. Due to these changes, a number of species of plants and animals have gone extinct.

The climate started changing a long time ago due to human activities but we came to know about it in the last century. During the last century, we started noticing the climatic change and its effect on human life. We started researching on climate change and came to know that the earth temperature is rising due to a phenomenon called the greenhouse effect. The warming up of earth surface causes many ozone depletion, affect our agriculture, water supply, transportation, and several other problems.

The temperature at the surface of the planet has increased

 by 1.7 degrees since the nineteenth century. Researchers say the heat from human emissions (microwave, CO2, greenhouse gases), is equal to 400 thousand Hiroshima bombs exploding across the planet every single day. As it continues to get warmer, storms will continue to grow in intensity with longer periods of drought in between.

Climate change in the world is caused by various activities. When climate change occurs; temperatures can increase a dramatically. When temperature rises, many different changes can occur on Earth. For example, it can result in more floods, droughts, or intense rain, as well as more frequent and severe heat waves. Oceans and glaciers have also experienced some changes: oceans are warming and becoming more acidic, glaciers are melting, and sea levels are rising. As these changes frequently occur in future decades, they will likely present challenges to our society and environment.

Man due to his need and greed has done many activities that not only harm the environment but himself too. Many plant and animal species go extinct due to human activity. Human activities that harm the climate include deforestation, using fossil fuel, industrial waste, a different type of pollution and many more. All these things damage the climate and ecosystem very badly. And many species of animals and birds got extinct or on a verge of extinction due to hunting.

Mother Nature has played her part in our doom as well. Some of the natural reasons for climate change are; volcanic eruption (Volcano eruptions can really affect climate, because when it erupts it spews out more than just lava and ash. Volcanoes release tiny particles made of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere), solar radiation, tectonic plate movement, orbital variations. Due to these activities, the geographical condition of an area become quite harmful for life to survive. Also, these activities raise the temperature of the earth to a great extent causing an imbalance in nature.

Climate change can destabilize nations, especially coastal regions.  Global sea levels have risen eight inches over the last century. In the last two decades alone, the rate at which the sea levels rise has nearly doubled. This is a direct cause of melting ice caps and increased global temperatures. The nations in Asia, such as China, Korea, and Japan could be underwater. As the earth grows warmer, the ice caps melt, and a new era begins.. If this rise continues, entire countries, such as Bangladesh, could be underwater.

Oceans will rise at about 80 to 160 feet, totally submerging coastal cities (this is what would happen if all the polar ice caps melted). As land becomes smaller, food becomes scarce and many more resources would be unavailable to the teeming population. Wars will wage between nations to determine new territories. Does this not seem like the end of the world?

As their habitats begin to change, some species might be unable to move to new locations. This will most likely lead to mass extinction.

During the past century, human activities have released large amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Most of the gases come from burning fossil fuels to produce energy. Greenhouse gases are like a blanket around the Earth, trapping energy in the atmosphere and causing it to warm. This is called the greenhouse effect and it is natural and necessary to support life on earth. However, while greenhouse gases buildup, the climate changes and result in dangerous effects to human health and ecosystems. People have adapted to the stable climate we have enjoyed since the last ice age which ended several thousand years ago. A warmer climate can bring changes that can affect our water supplies, agriculture, power and transportation systems, the natural environment, and even our own health and safety. There are some climate changes that are unavoidable and nothing can be done about it. For example, carbon dioxide can stay in the atmosphere for nearly a century, so Earth will continue to warm in the future.

Researchers all over the world have signed a letter addressed to world leaders calling climate change a global emergency and have called for governments and citizens to keep ‘the 1.5-degree dream alive’. This refers to the goal which scientists hope to diminish global warming compared to pre-industrial levels. 

Scientists warn that a global temperature rises above 1.5 degrees Celsius will lead to more heatwaves, extreme rainfall, water shortages and droughts, greater economic losses, and lower crop yields. , sea-level rise and destruction of coral reefs.

In conclusion, we need to take part and try to stop global warming and other effects on climate change. If the earth’s temperatures continue to rise in the future, living things on earth would become extinct due to the high temperatures. If humans contribute to control global warming, this world would be cooler and the high temperatures we currently have would decrease. If everybody as one take stand and try to end most of the climate changes that are occurring, this world would be a safer place to live on.

What have you done lately to help prevent global warming?