According to Climate.nasa.gov, “in the last 650,000 years there have been seven cycles of glacial advance and retreat, with the abrupt end of the last ice age about 7,000 years ago marking the beginning of the modern climate era,– and of human civilization.” One of the reasons why the earth’s climate is changing is because human activities alter the chemical composition of the atmosphere through the buildup of greenhouse gases, primarily carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. In order to understand how greenhouse gases impact on our planet we have to understand what climate change is.
Climate change occurs when changes in Earth’s climate system result in new weather patterns that remain in place for extended periods. One of the reasons for the occurrences of new weather patterns is greenhouse gas emissions. The Greenhouse Effect is due to human activities, and many countries are trying to find the best ways to solve the problem in this, the 21st century. Some believe it is nothing to worry about. However, over the last century, the burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil has increased the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). This happens because the burning processes of coal and oil combine carbon with oxygen in the air to make CO2. To a lesser extent, the clearing of lands for agriculture, industry, and other human activities have increased concentrations of greenhouse gases.
In some regions, new weather patterns might be welcomed but for others they are devastating. New weather patterns affect the ecosystem the most. According to the report, Ecosystems and Global Climate Change ,by Jay R. Malcolm & Louis F. Pitelka, “Climate is the single most important factor determining the geographic distributions of species and major vegetation types. It also influences the properties of ecosystems and the flows of energy and materials through them” When a pattern in weather changes certain types of plants and foods won’t be able to grow. Therefore, animals that depend on plants as their food source won’t have any food to eat, which leads to their deaths.
New weather patterns don’t only impact animals, humans are also affected. In some places higher temperatures and shifting climate patterns may change the areas where crops grow best and affect the makeup of natural plant communities. Alexandra Branscombe states, “The greatest damage to crops per ton comes from black carbon and from gases used in refrigeration. Methane emissions are also very harmful to plants because the gas increases surface ozone that causes harmful chlorosis, or a yellowing of the leaves”. With such facts and research information, we still have a world leader who believes that climate change is not real. According to an article in Times.com by Justin Worland, “President Donald Trump has falsely called climate change a “hoax” invented by China, incorrectly suggested that wind turbines cause cancer and dismissed a landmark scientific report produced by the federal government’s own scientists. His Administration has sought to roll back key climate regulations at every turn”.
If we don’t stop greenhouse gas emissions, we might not see a big impact in our generation but the upcoming generation will be greatly impacted by it. We can’t be selfish thinking only about ourselves and not about our future generation. We might not able to solve the greenhouse gas emissions within one or two years, but taking small steps.such as using recyclable products, buying energy-efficient products, planting more trees, and using solar power will help to reduce them, as well as save money. If we all take little steps toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions, we will be able to save the planet from horrific circumstances.
References:
https://time.com/5622374/donald-trump-climate-change-hoax-event/
https://www.c2es.org/document/ecosystems-and-global-climate-change/
https://eos.org/research-spotlights/which-greenhouse-gas-does-the-most-damage-to-crops
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_change
2 Responses
Salam brother Muhammad,
I read your blog and I found it very interesting and very informative about climate change is and what greenhouse gases are and their impact on our planet. Very well addressed. But what I think you missed is that there are also some benefits from those gases(the greenhouse gases!). So if you don’t mind, let me add some more information to yours in my own words about what I think greenhouse gases are and what benefits we might get from them. I might repeat some of what you said to better clarify what I’m trying to say…!
So many people believe that CO2 is the main and or the biggest greenhouse gas because it plays a huge role in our atmosphere. But if you dig deeper you will find that the dominant greenhouse gas is water vapor, and it is actually the main greenhouse gas in Earth’s atmosphere. Water vapor produces more of the greenhouse effect on our planet than any other single gas does. In fact, water, in the form of water vapor and in liquid form causes roughly around 65% and 85% of the greenhouse effect…
Some of the other gases that play a big role after water vapor which I believe you mentioned are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and ozone (O3). There are many numbers of other gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect to a lesser extent such as nitrous oxide (N2O), sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).”
Some of these gases occur naturally and some are human-made. For example, greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide occur naturally and are emitted to the atmosphere through natural processes and human activities. Other greenhouse gases such as fluorinated gases are created and emitted solely through human activities. Some of the major greenhouse gases that are caused in some way by humans and get trapped in the atmosphere – which you also mentioned – are the Methanec or (CH4): And that type of gas is released during the production and transport of coal, natural gas, and oil. Another type is Nitrous Oxide or (N2O) gas: this type of gas is released during farming and manufacturing activities, as well as during the burning of fossil fuels and or waste. Last but not least is the Fluorinated Gases: these types of gases are unnatural gases that are very powerful greenhouse gases that are released from many different sources such as industrial processes. These gases are very dominant in greenhouse gases and that makes them very ‘high global warming potential’ gases regardless of the small quantities they release.
But are all of the greenhouse gases bad and harmful to us and to our atmosphere as many believe so? The answer is absolutely NO! Because, as we know, some of sunlight which hits the earth gets reflected back to space either by the clouds or by ice(snow), and when the sunlight gets reflected that’s when the greenhouse gases come in handy and benefit us tremendously. Most of that reflected light gets absorbed by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and that keeps our atmosphere warm. Without this process (that was made by greenhouse gases), our atmosphere would be very cold and that’s if I’m not mistaking around -18° C (0° F) which would be a disaster to our planet and to us as humans, producing very due harsh conditions to live in. In short, our planet would be FREEZING…
I read your blog and found it very interesting and insightful about climate change and its effect on our world.Very well addressed. But I also agree with what the above brother had to say in order to hold the earth above negative degrees. Too much is bad, and the green house effect also applies. We would be negative 20 Celsius without the green house effect, and with the green house effect we are 15 Celsius which is rounds to 61 degrees Fahrenheit.