lobal Warming and Glacial Melting: What Does It Mean for Our Future?
Recent climate changes, also known as global warming, indicate that average increases in temperature around the world are happening because of the carbon dioxide that’s increasingly emitted into the atmosphere. No matter where you live, climate change is going to affect you directly. Therefore, it should concern you no matter who you are. Because there are potentially dire consequences as a result of climate change, we need to begin to discuss this problem and take action now before it’s too late, and so that others can follow our example. These changes have to be made now so that future and even more catastrophic changes don’t happen.
Global warming is happening because, as research has shown, heat is being trapped in the atmosphere. This happens because deforestation, vehicle emissions, and pollution from industrial processes all have produced extra heat on the Earth’s surface. This is increasing average temperatures. It has been projected that the planet itself is overheating and that our environments and we will all be adversely affected in just a few years by negative climate change, unless something is done. It is happening now, but we can begin to control it simply by changing a few behaviors.
What would happen with this type of climate change? Plants and flowers’ growth and abilities to survive and thrive will change, as will those of other plants and animals. Glaciers will melt, raise ocean levels, and change weather patterns. Our own activity as humans is what’s causing this, of course, and we are also in control of whether or not this can be stopped.
What happens if nothing is done? Plant and animal species will shift and in some cases will become extinct. If you think humans aren’t going to be affected by this, think again. Because every living thing depends on other living things, we’ll be affected, too. Our food chain will be altered and many species are becoming extinct (in fact, some already have). What we eat will change drastically.
Weather patterns will only become more intense, even though we have already begun to see this activity, thus resulting in even more deaths and destruction. Economies, too, will be negatively affected by climate change. Intense storms, for example, could destroy plant food sources like coffee beans or wheat, which in turn is of course going to increase food prices at the grocery store. Besides economic changes to the negative, death itself will also increase among people because of catastrophic weather like tsunami occurrences, major storms, and more hurricane activity.
Where does all of this extra carbon dioxide come from? It comes from industrial pollution and from carbon dioxide emissions from cars. Restrictions are beginning to be put in place such that this type of carbon dioxide emission is minimized. We can decrease these climate changes through carbon dioxide over exposure if cars and industries themselves reduce emissions by 3% year.
Everyone can help contribute to slow down global warming. Some simple household tasks that can help decrease climate change are recycling, planting a tree, weatherizing your home, and replacing old appliances. Some other tasks include eliminating plastic, buying a fuel-efficient car, and car-pooling to work or school. Younger generations need to be educated about how humans negatively impact their environments and need to be directed on what changes to make for future generations.
At present, climate changes are already evident and will continue to drastically and negatively affect the future if something isn’t done. We can make changes now that will positively impact our future if we pay attention. Simply by reducing carbon dioxide emissions and increasing the amount of oxygen in our atmosphere, we can reduce the carbon dioxide covering the planet and causing the temperature increases. These climate changes have already begun to impact us and our futures, but we can do things to help slow down these changes and maybe even reverse them. However, we must act quickly, because time is of the essence if we want our futures to be assured.
About the author: Jerry Dyess specializes in the Texas Energy segment. He has published many articles on Texas Power prices.
