Global Warming

Author: Tianxin Li

Global warming is a gradual increase of the overall temperature of the earth’s atmosphere. Global warming causes many problems, glaciers are melting, sea levels are rising, cloud forests are dying, and many wildlife are trying to catch up with the pace of global warming. Some places on Earth get colder for a short period of time when global warming happens. Climate change isn’t all about temperature rising but also extreme weather events, shifting wildlife population and habitats, rising seas, and many other impacts.

Humans are mainly the cause of global warming by releasing greenhouse gases. The greenhouse effect is a process where the sunlight shines onto Earth’s surface, where the energy is stored and then emits that back into the atmosphere as heat. In the atmosphere, the greenhouse gas molecules will trap some of the heat, and the rest that are not “trapped” go into space. The more greenhouse gases that are in the atmosphere, the more locked up the molecules are. Since 1824, scientists have known about the greenhouse effects. Joseph Fourier calculated that without the atmosphere the Earth would be too cold, where the atmosphere brings a more preferable temperature to us. The greenhouse effect is what keeps Earth’s climate a livable temperature. Without the greenhouse effect the Earth would be an average of about 60 degrees Fahrenheit or 33 degrees Celsius cooler. Svante Arrhenuis, a Swedish chemist, in 1895 discovered that humans could increase the greenhouse effect by making carbon dioxide, which is a greenhouse gas.

Some ways you can help with reducing global warming is by powering your home with renewable energy, reducing water waste, buying better light bulbs, and pulling plugs. Some renewable energy you can power your home with is with wind or solar energy. Saving water can reduce carbon pollution. This is because it takes a lot of energy to pump, heat, and treat your water. So take shorter showers and turn the tap off when you are brushing your teeth. Buy light bulbs that use less energy. LED light bulbs use up to 80% less energy than conventional incandescent, and they are also cheaper. A 10-watt LED replaced for your traditional 60-watt bulb will save you $125 over a lightbulb’s life. Pulling the plug or plugs will also help too. The people who leave the plug on when unnecessary all over the U.S. households adds up to the output of 50 large power plants in the U.S. So pull the plug when you don’t need it.

Cites used:

Richards, Cory, and Michael Melford. “What Is Global Warming?” What Is Global Warming, Facts and Information?, 25 Feb. 2019, www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/global-warming-overview/.

NASA Climate Kids. “What Is the Greenhouse Effect?” NASA, NASA, 9 Apr. 2020, climatekids.nasa.gov/greenhouse-effect/.

Denchak, Melissa. “How You Can Stop Global Warming.” NRDC, 9 Mar. 2020, www.nrdc.org/stories/how-you-can-stop-global-warming.