Well, I guess to start this off I should probably tell you what a greenhouse gas is. I'm sure most of you know, it's a well spoken about topic and I feel like it's something everyone should know about at this point in their lives. The definition of a greenhouse gas, according to whatsyourimpact, is "a group of compounds that are able to trap heat in the atmosphere." This basically means that these gases are emissions that make the Earth much warmer than it should be.
Whilst a lot of greenhouse gases are the fault of humans, there are some gases that can't be controlled. Carbon dioxide is a chemical that occurs during the natural process of respiration; we breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide. Now, this is a process that we can't control since we need it to live.
This is not the only way carbon dioxide is released into the air and it, actually, happens to be the largest greenhouse gas created by human activity. If that comes as a surprise to you... it shouldn't. We do so much to the Earth that involves the use of this particular greenhouse gas, it's kind of ridiculous that we haven't found alternatives to the use of CO2 at this point. You'd think that since people have come to realize that this gas is negatively effecting the environment and us that this would lessen the use of it. Hm... nope.
Some CO2 emissions that are released into the air are from fossil fuels, land use changes (natural changes), and natural sources. You know when you're driving and you see a huge mound of smoke being released into the air from one source? I have to see one every time I drive to the mall I go to on Long Island, so I'm sure you've seen at least one of these buildings in your lifetime too. Each of these emissions listed are all manmade sources of CO2 emission; the burning of fossil fuels is the biggest unnatural source of carbon dioxide in our environment.
Fossil fuels come from, it's going to sound really weird, decomposed dead animals and plants from hundreds of millions of years ago. These decomposed plants and animals eventually formed the fossil fuels that we use today. Fossil fuels make up coal, natural gas, and oil. Coal (fun fact: it's the most abundant fossil fuel in the world!) is used in the use of electricity and in those buildings I was talking about before, you know the ones with the smoke coming out of them. Basically, coal is really bad for the environment because of the steam that is released from the coals when it's used. Carbon dioxide is not the only greenhouse gas released into the air from coal; the burning of this fossil fuel also releases sulfur dioxide, Nitrogen oxides and ash (so it's really bad!!!).
Gas and oil are pretty similar for the fact that they're usually found near one another underneath the Earth's surface. Natural gas that is dug up is usually used in heating/electricity; it's what's used in order to allow you to make some food on your stove and other things in your home. The industry also uses natural gases (surprising, I know) in order to run their factories that are killing the environment. Oil, or petroleum, is used to create gasoline. Whenever we decide to drive or take an uber somewhere, I mean they really are so convenient, we are releasing fossil fuels into the air.
A huge reason why many car manufacturers are switching to electric cars is to stop people from releasing gasoline into the air. There's a lot of debate between people on whether electric cars really are better for the environment or not. I mean, remember what I said before, these gases are used to create electricity. So, basically, more CO2 is going to be released into the atmosphere since electric is made by using a greenhouse gas.
I've only touched on some of the greenhouse gases that are emitted into the air and most of them are through human error; over 85% of the greenhouse gases that are released into the air by humans are fossil fuels. We are killing the atmosphere through the use of electricity, driving, and the industrial buildings that are all over the world.
I'm sure humans will eventually find a way to stop the use of greenhouse gases that we can control, but until then the environment will continue to suffer.
Friday, February 17, 2017
Friday, February 3, 2017
Is Climate Change Real?
Yes.
In short, climate change is very, very real. Although our new president doesn't believe in climate change (for some reason that I will never understand), I can promise you that it is extremely real. Whether you'd like to deny it or not, climate change is one of the biggest problems in society today.
Climate change doesn't only effect the United States, it effects entire world. Hence the term "global climate change." The world has heated up, literally, in the past hundred years. In 2014, the earth’s surface temperature was around 0.74º Celsius (about 33º Fahrenheit) warmer than the average was in the twentieth century. I know that doesn't sound like much and I know one hundred years sounds like a hell of a long time, but 33º is such a large change from where the average used to be. I don't know about you, but I seriously think that that is one crazy statistic.
Evidence of climate change isn't only shown by the fact that the world has gotten much warmer, on average, than it used to be. The polar ice caps are melting, people! In 2009, the minimum level of ice cover in the Arctic was 24% which is significantly low the past average for the Arctic. Melting of the ice caps is bound to continue since the average has gone down so much in less than ten years. If you step back and think about the statistic I just presented, how crazy is that. Climate change is destroying our environment so much that we're impacting a place where only 4,000,000 people live, 4,000,000 out of the almost 7.5 billion people living on this planet today. That is less than 00% of the population!
The Arctic has been effected by climate change much more than the Antarctic has, although the Antarctic Peninsula has warmed 2.4º Celsius since 1950. The Antarctic Peninsula is just north of Antarctica, but is not the only part of the Antarctic to be effected. The ice sheet on the west Antarctic is also losing mass. This occurrence shows how much the warmer water in the ocean has effected the polar ice caps on the earth. Although the Antarctic has not been in as much danger as the Arctic has, it is still suffering from climate change.
Now, I'm sure you know that we're not the only thing effecting climate change on Earth. The sun is also effecting the slow-paced rise in temperature... but honestly that's partially our fault too, so... oops? There is something in the atmosphere that I'm sure most of you have heard of at this point in your life. This "thing" is called the ozone layer. If you're not entirely sure what the Ozone Layer does, I'll explain it in a short and concise way. The ozone layer protects us, and the Earth, from the sun's ultraviolet radiation. Now, here's another tidbit of information about the wonderful ozone layer that allows us to survive with the sun beating down on us.
WE MADE A HUGE HOLE IN IT.
You know how people have said that using products like hairspray and spray deodorant are bad for the environment? Well, it's true. Although the aerosol cans no longer harm the environment like they used to, the damage has been done. From the 1920s all the way up to the 1970s, a chemical called chlorofluorocarbon (also known as CFC) was used to allow the product to be sprayed from the can and into the air. CFC and other man-made chemicals are a huge cause of the lovely hole we have in our ozone layer, today. This hole, obviously, does not help with climate change since the sun's UV rays are now directly heating Earth up rather than a bit of protection from this layer in the atmosphere.
I hope you noticed how I said "it's true" and not "it was true" that these cans harm the environment. Although they no longer have the same effect they used to, these products still contribute to global warming. Since carbon is released from the product every time it's used, greenhouse gases are released into the air.
I don't know how, or why, people still deny climate change... but the evidence is pretty substantial. Climate change is real. Climate change is a problem. And climate change can no longer be denied by those who think it was made up. Where did anyone even get the idea that climate change was made up? Anyway...
Climate change is real.
In short, climate change is very, very real. Although our new president doesn't believe in climate change (for some reason that I will never understand), I can promise you that it is extremely real. Whether you'd like to deny it or not, climate change is one of the biggest problems in society today.
Climate change doesn't only effect the United States, it effects entire world. Hence the term "global climate change." The world has heated up, literally, in the past hundred years. In 2014, the earth’s surface temperature was around 0.74º Celsius (about 33º Fahrenheit) warmer than the average was in the twentieth century. I know that doesn't sound like much and I know one hundred years sounds like a hell of a long time, but 33º is such a large change from where the average used to be. I don't know about you, but I seriously think that that is one crazy statistic.
Evidence of climate change isn't only shown by the fact that the world has gotten much warmer, on average, than it used to be. The polar ice caps are melting, people! In 2009, the minimum level of ice cover in the Arctic was 24% which is significantly low the past average for the Arctic. Melting of the ice caps is bound to continue since the average has gone down so much in less than ten years. If you step back and think about the statistic I just presented, how crazy is that. Climate change is destroying our environment so much that we're impacting a place where only 4,000,000 people live, 4,000,000 out of the almost 7.5 billion people living on this planet today. That is less than 00% of the population!
The Arctic has been effected by climate change much more than the Antarctic has, although the Antarctic Peninsula has warmed 2.4º Celsius since 1950. The Antarctic Peninsula is just north of Antarctica, but is not the only part of the Antarctic to be effected. The ice sheet on the west Antarctic is also losing mass. This occurrence shows how much the warmer water in the ocean has effected the polar ice caps on the earth. Although the Antarctic has not been in as much danger as the Arctic has, it is still suffering from climate change.
Now, I'm sure you know that we're not the only thing effecting climate change on Earth. The sun is also effecting the slow-paced rise in temperature... but honestly that's partially our fault too, so... oops? There is something in the atmosphere that I'm sure most of you have heard of at this point in your life. This "thing" is called the ozone layer. If you're not entirely sure what the Ozone Layer does, I'll explain it in a short and concise way. The ozone layer protects us, and the Earth, from the sun's ultraviolet radiation. Now, here's another tidbit of information about the wonderful ozone layer that allows us to survive with the sun beating down on us.
WE MADE A HUGE HOLE IN IT.
You know how people have said that using products like hairspray and spray deodorant are bad for the environment? Well, it's true. Although the aerosol cans no longer harm the environment like they used to, the damage has been done. From the 1920s all the way up to the 1970s, a chemical called chlorofluorocarbon (also known as CFC) was used to allow the product to be sprayed from the can and into the air. CFC and other man-made chemicals are a huge cause of the lovely hole we have in our ozone layer, today. This hole, obviously, does not help with climate change since the sun's UV rays are now directly heating Earth up rather than a bit of protection from this layer in the atmosphere.
I hope you noticed how I said "it's true" and not "it was true" that these cans harm the environment. Although they no longer have the same effect they used to, these products still contribute to global warming. Since carbon is released from the product every time it's used, greenhouse gases are released into the air.
I don't know how, or why, people still deny climate change... but the evidence is pretty substantial. Climate change is real. Climate change is a problem. And climate change can no longer be denied by those who think it was made up. Where did anyone even get the idea that climate change was made up? Anyway...
Climate change is real.
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