What's Global Warming? It's Global Boiling.
Before we start...
Have you ever felt like the Earth is boiling? The temperature seemed to get hotter once in a while. Well, it's because of global warming. In this article, there will be all the information about global warming, from its meaning to its solution for preventing global warming from worsening.
What is Global Warming?
Global warming is when the temperature of the Earth rises. Since the Industrial Revolution, the temperature has risen slightly every year. Scientists don't want the temperature to rise yearly, so they want to limit it so natural disasters don't happen. This is a problem that humans have been dealing with since the 1800s.
How it started
Global warming started because of greenhouse gas emissions. Too much greenhouse gases make the Earth warm and even boil. Human activities, such as burning fossil fuels, over transportation use, produce greenhouse gases.
Deforestation plays a role in global warming too. When deforestation occurs, trees fall and forest loss happens. Trees will produce lots of carbon dioxide when they die. Deforestation has caused 10% of global warming.
Greenhouse gases contain carbon dioxide, ozone, nitrous oxide, methane, and water vapor. Greenhouse gases keep the Earth warm, by taking the sunlight into the Earth's atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is the main part of greenhouse gases. Carbon dioxide itself is very easy to produce, just from human activities.
What does Global warming do?
Impacts of global warming include natural disasters, such as droughts, heat waves, and floods. Below are the explanations about the impact of global warming :
- Glaciers will start to disappear
Snowmelts occur, causing droughts and water shortages. The air and ocean will become colder, so the risk of typhoons and hurricanes occurring increases. Glaciers disappearing also cause coastal erosions, carrying away components from the sand.
Antarctica's glaciers are melting very quickly. Animals lose their habitat (for example: polar bears).
- Rising sea levels
This happens because of thermal expansion (when water expands when it is warm), and glaciers melting. When glaciers and icebergs melt, they become water. These icy plains are huge, it is enough to flood lots of land with it. Antarctica's glaciers are melting quickly if the whole of Antarctica melts, that would be a lot of seawater.
- Forests, farms, and cities will face new problems
Examples: Floods and heavy downpour levels. This can harm and disturb ocean life, such as fish.
- High levels of air pollution
This can cause asthma and allergies.
How can we prevent global warming from happening?
- Save energy
Examples are turning on the lights during the daytime or when we don't have to use them, and turning off the air conditioner when the room is cold. These appliances come from burnt coal.
- Walk, use a bike, or use public transport
When we are going somewhere nearby, we could use a bike or walk. This can save us from air pollution and the need to buy gasoline. When we are going somewhere far away, we could use public transport, like buses and trains.
- Limit trash usage
When we could use something more reusable or something easier to recycle, it is more environmentally friendly. Examples are using paper straws instead of plastic straws because plastic straws are harder to recycle, and using water bottles instead of paper bottles is also helpful for the environment. After all, you can reuse it instead of throwing a plastic bottle and buying it again.
- Using alternatives for energy
We could use solar panels on our roof so that heat energy won't come from coal, but instead from the sunlight. Try using energies that could be renewed (such as wind). This can limit the use of fossil fuels along with saving coal and other materials that cannot be renewed.
An example is solar panels, which can convert sunlight to electricity.
- Using electric cars
They can limit air pollution along with less gas emissions produced. This could help humans so that they breathe fresher air. Although, they use energy from fossil fuels. Electric cars are more expensive but have cheaper maintenance.
Electric cars work by charging it, hence there is no need to buy gasoline (fuel).
- Plant more trees
Trees take carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. Carbon dioxide is one of the components of greenhouse gasses, hence greenhouse gases cause the rise of Earth's temperature. Did you know trees also can prevent floods?
Summary
Global warming happens because of greenhouse gas emissions. These greenhouse gas emissions make the Earth warmer. Greenhouse gas mostly comes from human activity (such as burning fossil fuels). When global warming happens, it impacts our lives along with the nature around us. We could limit the use of fossil fuels to help stop global warming.
Let's stop global warming today, remember, it starts from YOU!
Sumber :
https://www.nrdc.org/stories/global-warming-101#effects
https://indonesia.un.org/id/175273-penyebab-dan-dampak-perubahan-iklim#Tindakan_individu
