Global Warming: How Serious Is It?

Megan Choi

December 2024 — Social Issues

Have you ever seen a video where polar bears are floating on ice chunks? Or icebergs collapsing into the sea as they melt? These are scenes that usually appear in environmental protection commercials for global warming. You might not have imagined it, but these things might be happening at this moment. As time passes by, Earth’s temperature and the sea level is constantly rising. These are the effects of global warming. Many environmentalists are giving speeches and publishing articles to inform the importance of protecting the environment and the problem of global warming, but it still remains a problem to this day.

Global warming’s appearance hasn’t been that long in Earth’s long history. It is estimated that global warming began around the 1830s to 1850s, by the time when the Industrial Revolution was at the peak of the time. As society industrialized, the rate of global warming has increased exponentially. This is because industrialization has contributed to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions, which is the main cause for global warming. Greenhouse gas was released in two ways at that time. The Industrial Revolution changed from handcraft to machine-made products, which increased the use of fossil fuels. Many fossil fuels such as coal, oil, natural gas were spent on generating electricity, powering factories, and developing transportation. Also, people started cutting down trees to build more factories to increase demand and mass production for the economy. Deforestation can lead to global warming by releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Trees absorb carbon dioxide, but as they disappear one by one, carbon dioxide would remain and would affect Earth’s ability to maintain its temperature.

If global warming continues, what will eventually happen? The first thing which is already happening is climate change. As time passes, cold seasons will get shorter, and the hot seasons will get longer. Next, the glaciers melt, which causes the sea levels to rise. As ice melts, animals living in the North and South Pole such as polar bears and penguins will also be negatively affected. Polar bears looking lost while floating on ice chunks are happening in real life. Many islands are at the risk of disappearing or have already lost part of their areas due to rising sea levels. For example, Lohachara Island located in India's Sundarbans delta completely submerged under water in 2006. Tuvalu and Maldives are also threatened by the rising sea levels. Also, the ozone layer is depleting. If the ozone layer thins out one day, bursts of ultraviolet radiation will reach Earth’s surface. Increased ultraviolet radiation would damage everything that inhabits Earth. If humans are exposed to ultraviolet radiation, they might get diseases such as skin cancer and cataracts. DNA of plants will be damaged and won’t grow properly. The radiation might also stress marine phytoplanktons, which is the primary producer at the base of the marine food chain. So if they are damaged, the ecosystem might collapse.

Although we can’t end global warming right away, we can try several ways in our daily life to prevent the worst situation. First, use public transportation rather than driving a car. If you use public transportation at least once a week instead of driving a car, 218.5L of fuel will be saved per year and can reduce approximately 469.6kg of greenhouse gases per year. Second, reduce water waste. Reducing water waste helps global warming by reducing carbon pollution. Taking short showers and turning off the tap while we use the bathroom sink can slightly reduce water waste. Third, try to use less heaters. Heaters consume energy and emit greenhouse gases, which deteriorates global warming. Instead, try wearing warm pajamas and using hot packs. Lastly, choosing a plant-based diet can help mitigate climate change by reducing our carbon footprints, or the amount of carbon dioxide emitted. This is because a plant-based diet requires fewer resources than an animal-based diet.

To end this article, global warming is getting worse every year. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s 2023 Annual Climate Report, Earth’s temperature has risen by an average of 0.11° Fahrenheit (0.06° Celsius) per decade since 1850, or about 2°F in total. It is also written that 2023 was the warmest year since global records began in 1850 by a wide margin. We should really be aware of global warming and consider it seriously.

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