Global Warming: Why We Should not Ignore The Problem

Imagine a person going to school and learning about rhinoceroses and penguins. He couldn’t believe what was being taught; there were ice caps, giant plains, forests. This person heard of these before but never believed they could be real. So, he puts on his mask and heads home. He starts researching everything he has heard. This person finds out there were all these animals, giant open plains that existed, and forests were a wonderful and very common thing. What went wrong? Global warming is becoming an increasingly more threatening problem for the world people live in and although there are factual scientifically proven claims about global warming causing massive problems for life around the globe, advocates believe or wish to think global warming does not exist. This essay will analyze what’s happening with our planet and why we should not ignore it.

The Importance of Addressing Global Warming: Why We Must Pay Attention

Global warming is heating global temperatures, and the earth's mercury has already risen more than one degree Fahrenheit. This is causing glaciers to melt worldwide, resulting in increasing sea levels. Due to all of this, animals and plants are becoming endangered and are being forced to move higher up north. This is going to start leaving a shortage of food supplies due to temperature rises causing plants to bloom before their pollinating insects become active. This also is already resulting in droughts like in Ethiopia and will continue to get worse and spread to other places. Less fresh water will be available. If the Quelccaya ice cap in Peru continues to melt at its current rate, it will be gone by 2100, leaving thousands of people who rely on it for drinking water and electricity without a source of either (National Geographic, 2021).

Global climate change has already had observable effects on the environment. Glaciers have shrunk, ice on rivers and lakes is breaking up earlier, plant and animal ranges have shifted, and trees are flowering sooner. Global climate change is already creating more intense heat waves and cold flashes. The intensity, frequency, and duration of North Atlantic hurricanes, as well as the frequency of the strongest (Category 4 and 5) hurricanes, have all increased since the early 1980s (NOAA, 2019). The relative contributions of human and natural causes to these increases are still uncertain. Hurricane-associated storm intensity and rainfall rates are projected to increase as the climate continues to warm.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (2014), greenhouse gases absorb energy, therefore slowing or preventing the escaping of heat back into space. Greenhouse gases can be composed of water vapor, carbon dioxide, and methane. Some of the contributors to releasing these gases are volcanic eruptions, ocean-atmosphere exchange, and mainly human activities such as burning fossil fuels and changing of land use, which release large amounts of CO2, causing concentrations in the atmosphere to rise. Human activities that release methane into the air include the extraction of fossil fuels and agricultural activities. Yet people still choose to ignore what’s happening, knowing the potential this could cause to our environment. Some people may say that it’s out of public interest to prevent chaos. In Buhl, Idaho, their middle school’s curriculum does not allow a teacher to educate future generations about this massive problem as people don't want to 'concern or worry students' (Smith, 2020).

But this does not solve the problem; in fact, it worsens it. If people aren’t informed about the problem society caused, by the time our growing generation grows up, it may be too late. Others like to say global warming is due to natural causes like volcanoes. This may be true but does not account for the full cause. According to Rinkesh, a runner of the Conserve Energy Future site, global warming is an issue that naturally occurs, but humans have slowly made it worse (Rinkesh, 2016). Global Warming is the increase in the earth's average temperature by a release of greenhouse gases by humans and natural sources. Global warming is also flooding people living in low elevation areas near oceans. As the water rises, it drowns out animals and plants that don't usually live underwater and forces people to move from their homes. The people will also lose two food sources; plants and animals. With the global temperature increasing by 3%, it’s shown to be on the rise.

What Can Society Do

Well, what can society do? Congress should implement a comprehensive set of climate solutions. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists (2016), in order to effectively address global warming, scientists must significantly reduce the amount of heat-trapping emissions people are putting in our air. Individuals can help by taking action to reduce personal carbon emissions. But to fully address the threat of global warming, the people must demand action from Congress to support and implement a comprehensive set of climate solutions. This includes helping stop deforestation; reducing this could help significantly reduce emissions from fossil fuels for a long-term solution. As well as fighting misinformation that fossil fuel companies pay media producers to distribute to raise doubts about global warming. To help be a part of the greater cause, people can start by using more energy-efficient products, switching off gadgets when they're not in use, trying to use public transportation more often or carpooling, exploring and helping push toward renewable sources, and spreading the word to others to pitch in.

With society’s population skyrocketing today, with claims of increasing up to 42% by 2050, the need for energy and resources is going to increase (United Nations, 2019). People are going to need new, more efficient technology as time goes on, and cleaner renewable resources in the future. When it comes down to it, Congress isn’t going to do it. No government is going to adopt the draconian restrictions on economic growth and personal freedom this can include limits on electricity usage, driving, and travel. In reality, what’s happening is an engineering problem.

Conclusion

As global warming continues, life goes on, but the threat does not get any better. Science continues to help research and uncover the facts behind the causes of global warming to help better understand how to handle this problem. People will still choose to believe that global warming isn’t a problem or doesn’t exist, but in reality, it does. As much as people would like to believe it wouldn’t, society has to fully address this and come together to solve this problem as one.

References

Environmental Protection Agency. (2014). Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions

National Geographic. (2021). Quelccaya Ice Cap. Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/quelccaya-ice-cap

NOAA. (2019). Global Warming and Hurricanes. Retrieved from https://www.gfdl.noaa.gov/global-warming-and-hurricanes/

Rinkesh. (2016). Conserve Energy Future. Retrieved from https://www.conserve-energy-future.com

Smith, J. (2020). Curriculum Choices in Buhl, Idaho. Retrieved from https://www.educationnews.org/idaho/curriculum-choices

Union of Concerned Scientists. (2016). Global Warming Solutions. Retrieved from https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/global-warming-solutions

United Nations. (2019). World Population Prospects. Retrieved from https://population.un.org/wpp/