Global warming and climate change have been a recurrent theme in blockbuster summer movies – although you may not exactly realize it is what is behind the catastrophic end of the world scenarios being portrayed. You may be thinking that these environmental changes won’t be happening in your lifetime, but being made aware of the irreversible damage that these can bring is something which may help you change your mind about how you are currently living and enjoying the world as you know it.
What is Global Warming and Climate Change?
Both global warming and climate change refer to the increase in the average temperature around the world. Natural occurrences as well as human activity are the contributing factors which add to the increase of the temperature in all parts of the world. Global warming is primarily caused by an increase of the “greenhouse” gases in the atmosphere; one such gas is carbon dioxide emitted from vehicles and factories.
When a planet becomes warmer, noticeable climate changes are also observed. While the greenhouse effect where the sun’s energy changes the climate as well as the energy which the earth radiates back to space, the additional greenhouse gases from human activities further increase the planetary warming earth experiences. This is what leads to the catastrophic effects of global warming such as erratic climate patterns and the melting of the poles which may cause a significant and ultimately permanently damaging rise in the volume of the oceans.
Effects of Global Warming
Global warming and climate change is already being felt. Seasons all over the world have changed compared to how they were decades ago, and older generations will attest to nights which warm faster than days, much colder winters, and dreadfully smoldering summers. These are all effects of global warming.
There is now less oxygen in the air compared to how it was before, and it is steadily being polluted by more fossil fuel carbon which is trapped in the atmosphere. It is for this reason that scientists are now finding more ways to live a more eco-friendly life where renewable energy sources such as solar energy, hydro energy, and wind energy are being utilized to have close to zero negative impact on the already damaged atmosphere that the planet currently has.
Over the past few years, climate change and global warming has been felt in a more aggressive manner, and scientists, environment advocates, and even private individuals are adopting environmentally friendly lifestyles to minimize the impact of global warming.