Greenhouse Gases In The Atmosphere And Global Warming: Our Role And Impact

Global warming has become a big topic in society today. There are any different views and opinions on whether or not it is real and what effects it is having on us and our planet. I personally believe that global warming is real and is changing our climate and will only continue to get worse over the years if we do not start taking care of our planet.

There are many reasons on why I have these specific views one being because of what we have been learning about in class with the greenhouse effect. We are having to use more of these because of the amount of sun that is coming in and staying in. Many people try and say that there is no problem but if there was no problem we would not have to use these or even be recommended to use more energy efficient appliances and solar panels. The truth is that we are the ones who are causing the problem and people aren’t even realizing it. We are releasing too much Co2 into the atmosphere in a number of different ways like the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation.

I also believe that Global warming is a growing problem because we can see changes happening in our climate. The earth is getting warmer resulting in shorter winters and longer summers. There have also been major changes to the icecaps and glaciers. They are melting faster than they did before and that melted water drains into the oceans which makes sea levels rise causing the ocean to become less salty. If we do not try and fix this issue, the sea levels will rise causing certain areas to flood, destroying homes and forcing people to move.

One last reason that I have these specific views on global warming is because of the wildfires. Most recently the one that occured in Australia. This wildfire was very widespread and caused a lot of damage. It also lasted for a very long period of time due to the climate changes. The effects of this wildfire were due to high temperatures, extreme drought, low air and soil moisture that would usually be present during the normal fire season, and neglect. Some scientists would even say that due to climate change, in a few years there could be a fire three times more than the one we saw in Australia.

We can help prevent these issues if we participate in trying to create a better climate. The first and most important thing that we should do as individuals is to try and reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that we are releasing into the atmosphere. We can do this by first making changes in our homes. We can line dry our clothes and unplug devices when we are not using them to help the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere diminish. We can also use more energy efficient appliances that do not release as much Carbon Dioxide into the atmosphere.

The private sector can help prevent these man made greenhouse gases from being released into the atmosphere.The first way being changes in farming. We can Reduce the use of these fertilizers causing the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to diminish. Investing in sustainable food can also help reduce the amounts of greenhouse gases being released into the atmosphere. Products that increase agricultural resilience can be more encouraged to buy as we face climate change.

There are also ways that the government can contribute to this to make it easier for everyone. One way is to stop forest loss. The main reason is so that the trees can take the carbon out of the atmosphere in the process of photosynthesis. The less photosynthesis there is the more carbon will be in the atmosphere. Keeping trees instead of tearing them down can help regulate the amounts of carbon dioxide that are being produced. The government can also develop flexible fuels. Flexible fuels can allow efficient storage of energy from sporadic sources like the sun and wind so the energy would only be used when we needed it.

Reducing the amount of greenhouse gases being released into the atmosphere is also important for financial reasons. Bringing in all of these energy efficient appliances will help bring in money. The amount of money that is used in releasing the carbon into our atmosphere is a lot more in costs than paying for things to help reduce it which is another reason to participate in helping reduce the amount of gas being released.

My carbon footprint for my household was 53.80 tons. When answering the questions to calculate my footprint I realized that many of the answers I clicked said “US average”, which means that there are many people around me that may have a similar footprint to mine. I know that it takes a lot of trees to offset our home and many others who live like us. This obviously is not a good thing so some ways that we can reduce it are to unplug our devices, eat less meat, and drive less. If we all come together and put in the effort we can make a change in our world.

Citations:

1. Gillingham, K. (n.d.). The True Cost of Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions – IMF F&D: DECEMBER 2019. Retrieved from https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2019/12/the-true-cost-of-reducing-greenhouse-gas-emissions-gillingham.htm
2. Gramling, C. (2020, January 17). Here’s how climate change may make Australia’s wildfires more common. Retrieved from https://www.sciencenews.org/article/how-climate-change-may-make-australia-wildfires-more-common
3. How the Government Can Go Green. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.dummies.com/home-garden/green-living/how-the-government-can-go-green
4. National Geographic Society. (2012, October 9). Greenhouse Effect. Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/greenhouse-effect/?utm_source=BibblioRCM_Row
5. Shaw, R. (2015, March 12). How the private sector can help stem emissions from agriculture. Retrieved from http://blogs.edf.org/growingreturns/2015/03/12/how-the-private-sector-can-help-stem-emissions-from-agriculture/