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How You Can Stop Global Warming
EDITOR’S NOTE: On April 4, 2022, the IPCC released the Working Group III Sixth Assessment report on climate change mitigation. The report describes how, despite gains in the clean energy revolution, nations are falling far too short of reducing climate pollution quickly enough to avoid severe damage, cost, and upheaval. “The good news is that we have the climate solutions needed, and they work,” says NRDC president Manish Bapna. “For our economic and national security, and for the future of all life on earth, lawmakers must act without delay.” Read more about the IPCC report here .
Rising sea levels. Raging storms. Searing heat. Ferocious fires. Severe drought. Punishing floods. The effects of climate change are already threatening our health, our communities, our economy, our security, and our children’s future.
What can you do? A whole lot, as it turns out. Americans, on average, produce 21 tons of carbon a year, about four times the global average. Personal action is, of course, no substitute for meaningful government policies. We still must limit carbon pollution and aggressively move away from dirty fossil fuels toward cleaner power.
But it’s important to remember the equally vital contributions that can be made by private citizens—which is to say, by you. “Change only happens when individuals take action,” says clean energy advocate Aliya Haq . “There’s no other way, if it doesn’t start with people.”
Here are a dozen easy, effective ways each one of us can make a difference.
1. Speak up!
What’s the single biggest way you can make an impact on global climate change? “Talk to your friends and family, and make sure your representatives are making good decisions,” Haq says. By voicing your concerns—via social media or, better yet, directly to your elected officials —you send a message that you care about the warming world. Encourage Congress to enact new laws that limit carbon emissions and require polluters to pay for the emissions they produce. “The main reason elected officials do anything difficult is because their constituents make them,” Haq says. You can help protect public lands, stop offshore drilling, and more here .
2. Power your home with renewable energy.
Choose a utility company that generates at least half its power from wind or solar and has been certified by Green-e Energy , an organization that vets renewable energy options. If that isn’t possible for you, take a look at your electric bill; many utilities now list other ways to support renewable sources on their monthly statements and websites.
3. Weatherize, weatherize, weatherize.
“Building heating and cooling are among the biggest uses of energy,” Haq says. Indeed, heating and air-conditioning account for almost half of home energy use. You can make your space more energy efficient by sealing drafts and ensuring it’s adequately insulated. You can also claim federal tax credits for many energy efficiency home improvements. To help you figure out where to start, you could also get a home energy audit, which some utilities offer free of charge (alternatively, you can hire a professional to come to your home and perform one). The EPA’s Home Energy Yardstick gives you a simple assessment of your home’s annual energy use compared with similar homes.
4. Invest in energy-efficient appliances.
Since they were first implemented nationally in 1987, efficiency standards for dozens of appliances and products have kept 2.3 billion tons of carbon dioxide out of the air. That’s about the same amount as the annual carbon pollution coughed up by nearly 440 million cars. “Energy efficiency is the lowest-cost way to reduce emissions,” Haq says. When shopping for refrigerators, washing machines, heat pump water heaters , and other appliances, look for the Energy Star label. It will tell you which are the most efficient. (There may also be rebates to earn from your purchase of Energy Star–certified products.)
And when you’re ready to swap out your old machines, don’t just put them on the curb: Recycling an old refrigerator through the EPA’s Responsible Appliance Disposal Program can prevent an additional 10,000 pounds of carbon pollution because the global-warming pollutants in the refrigerants and foam would be properly captured rather than vented to the air.
5. Reduce water waste.
Saving water reduces carbon pollution, too. That's because it takes a lot of energy to pump, heat, and treat your water. So take shorter showers, turn off the tap while brushing your teeth, and switch to WaterSense -labeled fixtures and appliances. The EPA estimates that if just one out of every 100 American homes were retrofitted with water-efficient fixtures, about 100 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year would be saved—avoiding 80,000 tons of global warming pollution .
6. Actually eat the food you buy—and compost what you can’t.
Approximately 10 percent of U.S. energy use goes into growing, processing, packaging, and shipping food—about 40 percent of which winds up in the landfill. “If you’re wasting less food, you’re likely cutting down on energy consumption,” Haq says. As for the scraps you can’t eat or the leftovers you don’t get to, collect them in a compost bin instead of sending them to the landfill where they release methane. Recycling food and other organic waste into compost provides a range of environmental benefits, including improving soil health, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, recycling nutrients, and mitigating the impact of droughts.
7. Buy better bulbs.
LED light bulbs use one-sixth the amount of energy to deliver the same amount of light as conventional incandescents and last at least 10 times longer. They’re also cheaper in the long run: A 10-watt LED that replaces your traditional 60-watt bulb will save you $125 over the ligh bulb’s life. And because the average American home has around 40 to 50 light bulbs, this is a simple swap that will reap huge rewards. If every household in the United States replaced just one incandescent with an Energy Star–labeled LED, we would prevent seven billion pounds of carbon pollution per year. That’s equivalent to the emissions of about 648,000 cars.
8. Pull the plug(s).
Taken together, the outlets in your home are likely powering about 65 devices—an average load for a home in the United States. Audio and video devices, cordless vacuums and power tools, and other electronics use energy even when they're not charging. This "idle load" across all U.S. households adds up to the output of 50 large power plants in the country. So don't leave fully charged devices plugged into your home's outlets, unplug rarely used devices or plug them into power strips and timers, and adjust your computers and monitors to automatically power down to the lowest power mode when not in use.
9. Drive a fuel-efficient vehicle.
Gas-smart cars, such as hybrids and fully electric vehicles, save fuel and money . And once all cars and light trucks meet 2025’s clean car standards, which means averaging 54.5 miles per gallon, they’ll be a mainstay. For good reason: Relative to a national fleet of vehicles that averaged only 28.3 miles per gallon in 2011, Americans will spend $80 billion less at the pump each year and cut their automotive emissions by half. Before you buy a new set of wheels, compare fuel-economy performance here .
10. Maintain your ride.
If all Americans kept their tires properly inflated, we could save 1.2 billion gallons of gas each year. A simple tune-up can boost miles per gallon anywhere from 4 percent to 40 percent, and a new air filter can get you a 10 percent boost. Also, remove unnecessary accessories from your car roof. Roof racks and clamshell storage containers can reduce fuel efficiency by as much as 5 percent.
11. Rethink planes, trains, and automobiles.
Choosing to live in walkable smart-growth cities and towns with quality public transportation leads to less driving, less money spent on fuel, and less pollution in the air . Less frequent flying can make a big difference, too. “Air transport is a major source of climate pollution,” Haq says. “If you can take a train instead, do that.” If you must fly, consider purchasing carbon offsets to counterbalance the hefty carbon pollution associated with flying. But not all carbon offset companies are alike. Do your homework to find the best supplier.
12. Reduce, reuse, and recycle.
In the United States, the average person generates 4.5 pounds of trash every day. Fortunately, not all the items we discard end up in landfills; we recycle or compost more than one-third of our trash. In 2014 this saved carbon emissions equivalent to the yearly output of 38 million passenger cars . But we could be doing so much more. “ Reduce should always be the number-one priority,” says NRDC senior resource specialist Darby Hoover . And to reap the environmental benefits of “recyclable” goods, you must recycle according to the rules of your municipality, since systems vary widely by location . Search your municipality’s sanitation department (or equivalent) webpage to learn exactly what you can place in the recycling bin, as counties and cities often differ in what they accept.
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Global warming solutions, explained
Humans have the solutions to address climate change. The question is: Do we have the will?
The evidence that humans are causing climate change, with drastic consequences for life on the planet, is overwhelming , but the question of what to do about it remains controversial. Economics, sociology, and politics are all important factors in planning for the future.
A global conversation that began with concern over warming has now turned to the broader term climate change , preferred by scientists to describe the complex shifts now affecting our planet’s weather and climate systems. Climate change encompasses not only rising average temperatures but also extreme weather events, shifting wildlife populations and habitats, rising seas , and a range of other impacts. All of these changes are emerging as humans continue to add heat-trapping greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.
Countries around the world acknowledged the imperative to act on climate change with the Paris Agreement in 2015, making pledges to reduce greenhouse gas pollution. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which synthesizes the scientific consensus on the issue, has set a goal of keeping warming under 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) and pursuing an even lower warming cap of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit).
Both of those targets are in jeopardy . Major countries are already falling behind on their pledges, according to a UN report issued at the end of 2018 , and emissions levels in 2030 need to be approximately 25 to 55 percent lower than they were in 2017. Previous research suggests that even if countries do meet their pledges to reduce emissions, those commitments won't be enough to stave off severe warming.
What can be done?
Addressing climate change will require many solutions —there's no magic bullet. Yet nearly all of these solutions exist today, and many of them hinge on humans changing the way we behave, shifting the way we make and consume energy. The required changes span technologies, behaviors, and policies that encourage less waste and smarter use of our resources. For example, improvements to energy efficiency and vehicle fuel economy, increases in wind and solar power, biofuels from organic waste, setting a price on carbon, and protecting forests are all potent ways to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide and other gases trapping heat on the planet.
Scientists are also working on ways to sustainably produce hydrogen, most of which is currently derived from natural gas, to feed zero-emission fuel cells for transportation and electricity. Other efforts are aimed at building better batteries to store renewable energy; engineering a smarter electric grid; and capturing carbon dioxide from power plants and other sources with the goal of storing it underground or turning it into valuable products such as gasoline . Some people argue that nuclear power—despite concerns over safety, water use, and toxic waste—should also be part of the solution, because nuclear plants don't contribute any direct air pollution while operating.
While halting new greenhouse gas emissions is critical, scientists have also emphasized that we need to extract existing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. More fanciful ideas for cooling the planet—so-called “geoengineering” schemes such as spraying sunlight-reflecting aerosols into the air or blocking the sun with a giant space mirror—have largely been dismissed because they may pose more environmental risks than proven benefits.
An iceberg melts in the waters off Antarctica. Climate change has accelerated the rate of ice loss across the continent.
But planting trees, restoring seagrasses, and boosting the use of agricultural cover crops could help clean up significant amounts of carbon dioxide . Restoring forests already chopped down in Brazil, for example, could draw about 1.5 billion metric tons of CO 2 out of the air, and a recent study published by the National Academies of Science estimates the world’s forests and farms could store 2.5 gigatons. Those are relatively modest numbers given historic carbon emissions of 2.2 trillion metric tons, but every contribution is needed to curtail the world’s current trajectory.
Adapt or else
Communities around the world are already recognizing that adaptation must also be part of the response to climate change . From flood-prone coastal towns to regions facing increased droughts and fires, a new wave of initiatives focuses on boosting resilience . Those include managing or preventing land erosion, building microgrids and other energy systems built to withstand disruptions, and designing buildings with rising sea levels in mind.
Recent books such as Drawdown and Designing Climate Solutions have proposed bold and comprehensive yet simple plans for reversing our current course. The ideas vary, but the message is consistent: We already have many of the tools needed to address climate change. Some of the concepts are broad ones that governments and businesses must implement, but many other ideas involve changes that anyone can make— eating less meat , for example, or rethinking your modes of transport .
"We have the technology today to rapidly move to a clean energy system," write the authors of Designing Climate Solutions . "And the price of that future, without counting environmental benefits, is about the same as that of a carbon-intensive future."
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Human activity affects global surface temperatures by changing Earth ’s radiative balance—the “give and take” between what comes in during the day and what Earth emits at night. Increases in greenhouse gases —i.e., trace gases such as carbon dioxide and methane that absorb heat energy emitted from Earth’s surface and reradiate it back—generated by industry and transportation cause the atmosphere to retain more heat, which increases temperatures and alters precipitation patterns.
Global warming, the phenomenon of increasing average air temperatures near Earth’s surface over the past one to two centuries, happens mostly in the troposphere , the lowest level of the atmosphere, which extends from Earth’s surface up to a height of 6–11 miles. This layer contains most of Earth’s clouds and is where living things and their habitats and weather primarily occur.
Continued global warming is expected to impact everything from energy use to water availability to crop productivity throughout the world. Poor countries and communities with limited abilities to adapt to these changes are expected to suffer disproportionately. Global warming is already being associated with increases in the incidence of severe and extreme weather, heavy flooding , and wildfires —phenomena that threaten homes, dams, transportation networks, and other facets of human infrastructure. Learn more about how the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report, released in 2021, describes the social impacts of global warming.
Polar bears live in the Arctic , where they use the region’s ice floes as they hunt seals and other marine mammals . Temperature increases related to global warming have been the most pronounced at the poles, where they often make the difference between frozen and melted ice. Polar bears rely on small gaps in the ice to hunt their prey. As these gaps widen because of continued melting, prey capture has become more challenging for these animals.
Read a brief summary of this topic
global warming , the phenomenon of increasing average air temperatures near the surface of Earth over the past one to two centuries. Climate scientists have since the mid-20th century gathered detailed observations of various weather phenomena (such as temperatures, precipitation , and storms) and of related influences on climate (such as ocean currents and the atmosphere’s chemical composition). These data indicate that Earth’s climate has changed over almost every conceivable timescale since the beginning of geologic time and that human activities since at least the beginning of the Industrial Revolution have a growing influence over the pace and extent of present-day climate change .
Giving voice to a growing conviction of most of the scientific community , the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was formed in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). The IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report (AR6), published in 2021, noted that the best estimate of the increase in global average surface temperature between 1850 and 2019 was 1.07 °C (1.9 °F). An IPCC special report produced in 2018 noted that human beings and their activities have been responsible for a worldwide average temperature increase between 0.8 and 1.2 °C (1.4 and 2.2 °F) since preindustrial times, and most of the warming over the second half of the 20th century could be attributed to human activities.
AR6 produced a series of global climate predictions based on modeling five greenhouse gas emission scenarios that accounted for future emissions, mitigation (severity reduction) measures, and uncertainties in the model projections. Some of the main uncertainties include the precise role of feedback processes and the impacts of industrial pollutants known as aerosols , which may offset some warming. The lowest-emissions scenario, which assumed steep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions beginning in 2015, predicted that the global mean surface temperature would increase between 1.0 and 1.8 °C (1.8 and 3.2 °F) by 2100 relative to the 1850–1900 average. This range stood in stark contrast to the highest-emissions scenario, which predicted that the mean surface temperature would rise between 3.3 and 5.7 °C (5.9 and 10.2 °F) by 2100 based on the assumption that greenhouse gas emissions would continue to increase throughout the 21st century. The intermediate-emissions scenario, which assumed that emissions would stabilize by 2050 before declining gradually, projected an increase of between 2.1 and 3.5 °C (3.8 and 6.3 °F) by 2100.
Many climate scientists agree that significant societal, economic, and ecological damage would result if the global average temperature rose by more than 2 °C (3.6 °F) in such a short time. Such damage would include increased extinction of many plant and animal species, shifts in patterns of agriculture , and rising sea levels. By 2015 all but a few national governments had begun the process of instituting carbon reduction plans as part of the Paris Agreement , a treaty designed to help countries keep global warming to 1.5 °C (2.7 °F) above preindustrial levels in order to avoid the worst of the predicted effects. Whereas authors of the 2018 special report noted that should carbon emissions continue at their present rate, the increase in average near-surface air temperature would reach 1.5 °C sometime between 2030 and 2052, authors of the AR6 report suggested that this threshold would be reached by 2041 at the latest.
The AR6 report also noted that the global average sea level had risen by some 20 cm (7.9 inches) between 1901 and 2018 and that sea level rose faster in the second half of the 20th century than in the first half. It also predicted, again depending on a wide range of scenarios, that the global average sea level would rise by different amounts by 2100 relative to the 1995–2014 average. Under the report’s lowest-emission scenario, sea level would rise by 28–55 cm (11–21.7 inches), whereas, under the intermediate emissions scenario, sea level would rise by 44–76 cm (17.3–29.9 inches). The highest-emissions scenario suggested that sea level would rise by 63–101 cm (24.8–39.8 inches) by 2100.
The scenarios referred to above depend mainly on future concentrations of certain trace gases, called greenhouse gases , that have been injected into the lower atmosphere in increasing amounts through the burning of fossil fuels for industry, transportation , and residential uses. Modern global warming is the result of an increase in magnitude of the so-called greenhouse effect , a warming of Earth’s surface and lower atmosphere caused by the presence of water vapour , carbon dioxide , methane , nitrous oxides , and other greenhouse gases. In 2014 the IPCC first reported that concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxides in the atmosphere surpassed those found in ice cores dating back 800,000 years.
Of all these gases, carbon dioxide is the most important, both for its role in the greenhouse effect and for its role in the human economy. It has been estimated that, at the beginning of the industrial age in the mid-18th century, carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere were roughly 280 parts per million (ppm). By the end of 2022 they had risen to 419 ppm, and, if fossil fuels continue to be burned at current rates, they are projected to reach 550 ppm by the mid-21st century—essentially, a doubling of carbon dioxide concentrations in 300 years.
A vigorous debate is in progress over the extent and seriousness of rising surface temperatures, the effects of past and future warming on human life, and the need for action to reduce future warming and deal with its consequences. This article provides an overview of the scientific background and public policy debate related to the subject of global warming. It considers the causes of rising near-surface air temperatures, the influencing factors, the process of climate research and forecasting, the possible ecological and social impacts of rising temperatures, and the public policy developments since the mid-20th century. For a detailed description of Earth’s climate, its processes, and the responses of living things to its changing nature, see climate . For additional background on how Earth’s climate has changed throughout geologic time , see climatic variation and change . For a full description of Earth’s gaseous envelope, within which climate change and global warming occur, see atmosphere .
Science is Knowledge
10 Solutions for Climate Change
Ten possibilities for staving off catastrophic climate change
- By David Biello on November 26, 2007
The enormity of global warming can be daunting and dispiriting. What can one person, or even one nation, do on their own to slow and reverse climate change ? But just as ecologist Stephen Pacala and physicist Robert Socolow, both at Princeton University, came up with 15 so-called " wedges " for nations to utilize toward this goal—each of which is challenging but feasible and, in some combination, could reduce greenhouse gas emissions to safer levels —there are personal lifestyle changes that you can make too that, in some combination, can help reduce your carbon impact. Not all are right for everybody. Some you may already be doing or absolutely abhor. But implementing just a few of them could make a difference.
Forego Fossil Fuels —The first challenge is eliminating the burning of coal , oil and, eventually, natural gas. This is perhaps the most daunting challenge as denizens of richer nations literally eat, wear, work, play and even sleep on the products made from such fossilized sunshine. And citizens of developing nations want and arguably deserve the same comforts, which are largely thanks to the energy stored in such fuels.
Oil is the lubricant of the global economy, hidden inside such ubiquitous items as plastic and corn, and fundamental to the transportation of both consumers and goods. Coal is the substrate, supplying roughly half of the electricity used in the U.S. and nearly that much worldwide—a percentage that is likely to grow, according to the International Energy Agency. There are no perfect solutions for reducing dependence on fossil fuels (for example, carbon neutral biofuels can drive up the price of food and lead to forest destruction, and while nuclear power does not emit greenhouse gases, it does produce radioactive waste), but every bit counts.
So try to employ alternatives when possible—plant-derived plastics, biodiesel, wind power—and to invest in the change, be it by divesting from oil stocks or investing in companies practicing carbon capture and storage.
Infrastructure Upgrade —Buildings worldwide contribute around one third of all greenhouse gas emissions (43 percent in the U.S. alone), even though investing in thicker insulation and other cost-effective, temperature-regulating steps can save money in the long run. Electric grids are at capacity or overloaded, but power demands continue to rise. And bad roads can lower the fuel economy of even the most efficient vehicle. Investing in new infrastructure, or radically upgrading existing highways and transmission lines, would help cut greenhouse gas emissions and drive economic growth in developing countries.
Of course, it takes a lot of cement, a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, to construct new buildings and roads. The U.S. alone contributed 50.7 million metric tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere in 2005 from cement production, which requires heating limestone and other ingredients to 1,450 degrees Celsius (2,642 degrees Fahrenheit). Mining copper and other elements needed for electrical wiring and transmission also causes globe-warming pollution.
But energy-efficient buildings and improved cement-making processes (such as using alternative fuels to fire up the kiln) could reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the developed world and prevent them in the developing world.
Move Closer to Work —Transportation is the second leading source of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. (burning a single gallon of gasoline produces 20 pounds of CO 2 ). But it doesn't have to be that way.
One way to dramatically curtail transportation fuel needs is to move closer to work, use mass transit, or switch to walking, cycling or some other mode of transport that does not require anything other than human energy. There is also the option of working from home and telecommuting several days a week.
Cutting down on long-distance travel would also help, most notably airplane flights, which are one of the fastest growing sources of greenhouse gas emissions and a source that arguably releases such emissions in the worst possible spot (higher in the atmosphere). Flights are also one of the few sources of globe-warming pollution for which there isn't already a viable alternative: jets rely on kerosene, because it packs the most energy per pound, allowing them to travel far and fast, yet it takes roughly 10 gallons of oil to make one gallon of JetA fuel. Restricting flying to only critical, long-distance trips—in many parts of the world, trains can replace planes for short- to medium-distance trips—would help curb airplane emissions.
Consume Less —The easiest way to cut back on greenhouse gas emissions is simply to buy less stuff. Whether by forgoing an automobile or employing a reusable grocery sack, cutting back on consumption results in fewer fossil fuels being burned to extract, produce and ship products around the globe.
Think green when making purchases. For instance, if you are in the market for a new car, buy one that will last the longest and have the least impact on the environment. Thus, a used vehicle with a hybrid engine offers superior fuel efficiency over the long haul while saving the environmental impact of new car manufacture.
Paradoxically, when purchasing essentials, such as groceries, buying in bulk can reduce the amount of packaging—plastic wrapping, cardboard boxes and other unnecessary materials. Sometimes buying more means consuming less.
Be Efficient —A potentially simpler and even bigger impact can be made by doing more with less. Citizens of many developed countries are profligate wasters of energy, whether by speeding in a gas-guzzling sport-utility vehicle or leaving the lights on when not in a room.
Good driving—and good car maintenance, such as making sure tires are properly inflated—can limit the amount of greenhouse gas emissions from a vehicle and, perhaps more importantly, lower the frequency of payment at the pump.
Similarly, employing more efficient refrigerators, air conditioners and other appliances, such as those rated highly under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star program, can cut electric bills while something as simple as weatherproofing the windows of a home can reduce heating and cooling bills. Such efforts can also be usefully employed at work, whether that means installing more efficient turbines at the power plant or turning the lights off when you leave the office .
Eat Smart, Go Vegetarian? —Corn grown in the U.S. requires barrels of oil for the fertilizer to grow it and the diesel fuel to harvest and transport it. Some grocery stores stock organic produce that do not require such fertilizers, but it is often shipped from halfway across the globe. And meat, whether beef, chicken or pork, requires pounds of feed to produce a pound of protein.
Choosing food items that balance nutrition, taste and ecological impact is no easy task. Foodstuffs often bear some nutritional information, but there is little to reveal how far a head of lettuce, for example, has traveled.
University of Chicago researchers estimate that each meat-eating American produces 1.5 tons more greenhouse gases through their food choice than do their vegetarian peers. It would also take far less land to grow the crops necessary to feed humans than livestock, allowing more room for planting trees.
Stop Cutting Down Trees —Every year, 33 million acres of forests are cut down . Timber harvesting in the tropics alone contributes 1.5 billion metric tons of carbon to the atmosphere. That represents 20 percent of human-made greenhouse gas emissions and a source that could be avoided relatively easily.
Improved agricultural practices along with paper recycling and forest management—balancing the amount of wood taken out with the amount of new trees growing—could quickly eliminate this significant chunk of emissions.
And when purchasing wood products, such as furniture or flooring, buy used goods or, failing that, wood certified to have been sustainably harvested. The Amazon and other forests are not just the lungs of the earth, they may also be humanity's best short-term hope for limiting climate change.
Unplug —Believe it or not, U.S. citizens spend more money on electricity to power devices when off than when on. Televisions, stereo equipment, computers, battery chargers and a host of other gadgets and appliances consume more energy when seemingly switched off, so unplug them instead.
Purchasing energy-efficient gadgets can also save both energy and money—and thus prevent more greenhouse gas emissions. To take but one example, efficient battery chargers could save more than one billion kilowatt-hours of electricity—$100 million at today's electricity prices—and thus prevent the release of more than one million metric tons of greenhouse gases.
Swapping old incandescent lightbulbs for more efficient replacements, such as compact fluorescents (warning: these lightbulbs contain mercury and must be properly disposed of at the end of their long life), would save billions of kilowatt-hours. In fact, according to the EPA, replacing just one incandescent lightbulb in every American home would save enough energy to provide electricity to three million American homes.
One Child —There are at least 6.6 billion people living today, a number that is predicted by the United Nations to grow to at least nine billion by mid-century. The U.N. Environmental Program estimates that it requires 54 acres to sustain an average human being today—food, clothing and other resources extracted from the planet. Continuing such population growth seems unsustainable.
Falling birth rates in some developed and developing countries (a significant portion of which are due to government-imposed limits on the number of children a couple can have) have begun to reduce or reverse the population explosion. It remains unclear how many people the planet can comfortably sustain, but it is clear that per capita energy consumption must go down if climate change is to be controlled.
Ultimately, a one child per couple rule is not sustainable either and there is no perfect number for human population. But it is clear that more humans means more greenhouse gas emissions.
Future Fuels —Replacing fossil fuels may prove the great challenge of the 21st century. Many contenders exist, ranging from ethanol derived from crops to hydrogen electrolyzed out of water, but all of them have some drawbacks, too, and none are immediately available at the scale needed.
Biofuels can have a host of negative impacts, from driving up food prices to sucking up more energy than they produce. Hydrogen must be created, requiring either reforming natural gas or electricity to crack water molecules. Biodiesel hybrid electric vehicles (that can plug into the grid overnight) may offer the best transportation solution in the short term, given the energy density of diesel and the carbon neutral ramifications of fuel from plants as well as the emissions of electric engines. A recent study found that the present amount of electricity generation in the U.S. could provide enough energy for the country's entire fleet of automobiles to switch to plug-in hybrids , reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the process.
But plug-in hybrids would still rely on electricity, now predominantly generated by burning dirty coal. Massive investment in low-emission energy generation, whether solar-thermal power or nuclear fission , would be required to radically reduce greenhouse gas emissions. And even more speculative energy sources—hyperefficient photovoltaic cells, solar energy stations in orbit or even fusion—may ultimately be required.
The solutions above offer the outline of a plan to personally avoid contributing to global warming. But should such individual and national efforts fail, there is another, potentially desperate solution:
Experiment Earth —Climate change represents humanity's first planetwide experiment. But, if all else fails, it may not be the last. So-called geoengineering , radical interventions to either block sunlight or reduce greenhouse gases, is a potential last resort for addressing the challenge of climate change.
Among the ideas: releasing sulfate particles in the air to mimic the cooling effects of a massive volcanic eruption; placing millions of small mirrors or lenses in space to deflect sunlight; covering portions of the planet with reflective films to bounce sunlight back into space; fertilizing the oceans with iron or other nutrients to enable plankton to absorb more carbon; and increasing cloud cover or the reflectivity of clouds that already form.
All may have unintended consequences, making the solution worse than the original problem. But it is clear that at least some form of geoengineering will likely be required: capturing carbon dioxide before it is released and storing it in some fashion, either deep beneath the earth, at the bottom of the ocean or in carbonate minerals. Such carbon capture and storage is critical to any serious effort to combat climate change.
Additional reporting by Larry Greenemeier and Nikhil Swaminathan .
ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S)
David Biello is a contributing editor at Scientific American . Follow David Biello on Twitter
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Essay on Global Warming
- Updated on
- Nov 18, 2022
Being able to write an essay is an integral part of mastering any language. Essays form an integral part of many academic and scholastic exams like SAT , and UPSC amongst many others. It is a crucial evaluative part of English proficiency tests as well like IELTS , TOEFL , etc. Major essays are meant to emphasize issues of concern that can have significant consequences on the world. In this blog, we seek to explore the skills needed and learn how to write an essay on global warming.
This Blog Includes:
What is climate change, what is global warming, what are the causes of global warming, solutions for global warming, effects of global warming, essay on global warming in 100 – 150 words, essay on global warming in 250 words, essay on global warming in 500 words, essay on global warming upsc, climate change and global warming essay, tips to write an essay.
Since the industrial and scientific revolutions, Earth’s resources have been gradually depleted. Furthermore, the start of the world’s population’s exponential expansion is particularly hard on the environment. Simply put, as the population’s need for consumption grows, so does the use of natural resources, as well as the waste generated by that consumption.
Climate change has been one of the most significant long-term consequences of this. Climate change is more than just the rise or fall of global temperatures; it also affects rain cycles, wind patterns, cyclone frequencies, sea levels, and other factors. It has an impact on all major life groupings on the planet.
Global warming is the unusually rapid increase in Earth’s average surface temperature over the past century, primarily due to the greenhouse gases released by people burning fossil fuels. The greenhouse gases consist of methane, nitrous oxide, ozone, carbon dioxide, water vapour, and chlorofluorocarbons. The weather prediction has been becoming more complex with every passing year, with seasons more indistinguishable, and the general temperatures hotter. The number of hurricanes, cyclones, droughts, floods, etc., has risen steadily since the onset of the 21st century. The supervillain behind all these changes is Global Warming. The name is quite self-explanatory; it means the rise in the temperature of the Earth.
According to recent studies, many scientists believe the following are the primary four causes of global warming:
- Deforestation
- Greenhouse emissions
- Carbon emissions per capita
Extreme global warming is causing natural disasters , which can be seen all around us. One of the causes of global warming is the extreme release of greenhouse gases that become trapped on the earth’s surface, causing the temperature to rise. Similarly, volcanoes contribute to global warming by spewing excessive CO2 into the atmosphere.
The increase in population is one of the major causes of Global Warming. This increase in population also leads to increased air pollution . Automobiles emit a lot of CO2, which remains in the atmosphere. This increase in population is also causing deforestation, which contributes to global warming.
The earth’s surface emits energy into the atmosphere in the form of heat, keeping the balance with the incoming energy. Global warming depletes the ozone layer, bringing about the end of the world. There is a clear indication that increased global warming will result in the extinction of all life on Earth’s surface.
Of course, industries and multinational conglomerates emit more carbon than the average citizen. Nonetheless, activism and community effort are the only viable ways to slow the worsening effects of global warming. Furthermore, at the state or government level, world leaders must develop concrete plans and step-by-step programmes to ensure that no further harm is done to the environment in general.
Although we are almost too late to slow the rate of global warming, finding the right solution is critical. Everyone, from individuals to governments, must work together to find a solution to Global Warming. Some of the factors to consider are pollution control, population growth, and the use of natural resources.
One very important contribution you can make is to reduce your use of plastic. Plastic is the primary cause of global warming, and recycling it takes years. Another factor to consider is deforestation, which will aid in the control of global warming. More tree planting should be encouraged to green the environment. Certain rules should also govern industrialization. Building industries in green zones that affect plants and species should be prohibited.
Global warming is a real problem that many people want to disprove to gain political advantage. However, as global citizens, we must ensure that only the truth is presented in the media.
This decade has seen a significant impact from global warming. The two most common phenomena observed are glacier retreat and arctic shrinkage. Glaciers are rapidly melting. These are clear manifestations of climate change.
Another significant effect of global warming is the rise in sea level. Flooding is occurring in low-lying areas as a result of sea-level rise. Many countries have experienced extreme weather conditions. Every year, we have unusually heavy rain, extreme heat and cold, wildfires, and other natural disasters.
Similarly, as global warming continues, marine life is being severely impacted. This is causing the extinction of marine species as well as other problems. Furthermore, changes are expected in coral reefs, which will face extinction in the coming years. These effects will intensify in the coming years, effectively halting species expansion. Furthermore, humans will eventually feel the negative effects of Global Warming.
Sample Essays on Global Warming
Here are some sample essays on Global Warming:
Global Warming is caused by the increase of carbon dioxide levels in the earth’s atmosphere and is a result of human activities that have been causing harm to our environment for the past few centuries now. Global Warming is something that can’t be ignored and steps have to be taken to tackle the situation globally. The average temperature is constantly rising by 1.5 degrees Celsius over the last few years. The best method to prevent future damage to the earth, cutting down more forests should be banned and Afforestation should be encouraged. Start by planting trees near your homes and offices, participate in events, and teach the importance of planting trees. It is impossible to undo the damage but it is possible to stop further harm.
Over a long period, it is observed that the rising temperatures of the earth. This affected wildlife, animals, humans, and every living organism on earth. Glaciers have been melting, and many countries have started water shortages, flooding, and erosion and all this is because of global warming. No one can be blamed for global warming except for humans. Human activities such as gases released from power plants, transportation, and deforestation have increased gases such as carbon dioxide, CFCs, and other pollutants in the earth’s atmosphere. The main question is how can we control the current situation and build a better world for future generations. It starts with little steps by every individual. Start using cloth bags made from sustainable materials for all shopping purposes, instead of using high-watt lights use energy-efficient bulbs, switch off the electricity, don’t waste water, abolish deforestation and encourage planting more trees. Shift the use of energy from petroleum or other fossil fuels to wind and solar energy. Instead of throwing out the old clothes donate them to someone so that it is recycled. Donate old books, don’t waste paper. Above all, spread awareness about global warming. Every little thing a person does towards saving the earth will contribute in big or small amounts. We must learn that 1% effort is better than no effort. Pledge to take care of mother nature and speak up about global warming.
Global warming isn’t a prediction, it is happening! A person denying it or unaware of it is in the most simple terms complicit. Do we have another planet to live on? Unfortunately, we have been bestowed with this one planet only that can sustain life yet over the years we have turned a blind eye to the plight it is in. Global warming is not an abstract concept but a global phenomenon occurring ever so slowly even at this moment.
Global Warming is a phenomenon that is occurring every minute resulting in a gradual increase in the Earth’s overall climate. Brought about by greenhouse gases that trap the solar radiation in the atmosphere, global warming can change the entire map of the earth, displacing areas, flooding many countries, and destroying multiple lifeforms. Extreme weather is a direct consequence of global warming but it is not an exhaustive consequence. There are virtually limitless effects of global warming which are all harmful to life on earth.
The sea level is increasing by 0.12 inches per year worldwide. This is happening because of the melting of polar ice caps because of global warming. This has increased the frequency of floods in many lowland areas and has caused damage to coral reefs. The Arctic is one of the worst-hit areas affected by global warming. Air quality has been adversely affected and the acidity of the seawater has also increased causing severe damage to marine life forms. Severe natural disasters are brought about by global warming which has had dire effects on life and property.
As long as mankind produces greenhouse gases, global warming will continue to accelerate. The consequences are felt at a much smaller scale which will increase to become drastic shortly. The power to save the day lies in the hands of humans, the need is to seize the day. Energy consumption should be reduced on an individual basis. Fuel-efficient cars and other electronics should be encouraged to reduce the wastage of energy sources. This will also improve air quality and reduce the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Global warming is an evil that can only be defeated when fought together.
It is better late than never. If we all take steps today, we will have a much brighter future tomorrow. Global warming is the bane of our existence and various policies have come up worldwide to fight it but that is not enough. The actual difference is made when we work at an individual level to fight it. Understanding its import now is crucial before it becomes an irrevocable mistake. Exterminating global warming is of utmost importance and each one of us is as responsible for it as the next.
Always hear about global warming everywhere, but do we know what it is? The evil of the worst form, global warming is a phenomenon that can affect life more fatally. Global warming refers to the increase in the earth’s temperature as a result of various human activities. The planet is gradually getting hotter and threatening the existence of lifeforms on it. Despite being relentlessly studied and researched, global warming for the majority of the population remains an abstract concept of science. It is this concept that over the years has culminated in making global warming a stark reality and not a concept covered in books.
Global warming is not caused by one sole reason that can be curbed. There are multifarious factors that cause global warming most of which are a part of an individual’s daily existence. Burning of fuels for cooking, in vehicles, and for other conventional uses, a large amount of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, and methane amongst many others is produced which accelerates global warming. Rampant deforestation also results in global warming as lesser green cover results in an increased presence of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere which is a greenhouse gas.
Finding a solution to global warming is of immediate importance. Global warming is a phenomenon that has to be fought unitedly. Planting more trees can be the first step that can be taken toward warding off the severe consequences of global warming. Increasing the green cover will result in regulating the carbon cycle. There should be a shift from using nonrenewable energy to renewable energy such as wind or solar energy which causes less pollution and thereby hinder the acceleration of global warming. Reducing energy needs at an individual level and not wasting energy in any form is the most important step to be taken against global warming.
The warning bells are tolling to awaken us from the deep slumber of complacency we have slipped into. Humans can fight against nature and it is high time we acknowledged that. With all our scientific progress and technological inventions, fighting off the negative effects of global warming is implausible. We have to remember that we do not inherit the earth from our ancestors but borrow it from our future generations and the responsibility lies on our shoulders to bequeath them a healthy planet for life to exist.
One good action in a day to combat the heat.
Global Warming and Climate Change are two sides of the same coin. Both are interrelated with each other and are two issues of major concern worldwide. Greenhouse gases released such as carbon dioxide, CFCs, and other pollutants in the earth’s atmosphere cause Global Warming which leads to climate change. Black holes have started to form in the ozone layer that protects the earth from harmful ultraviolet rays. Human activities have created climate change and global warming. Industrial waste and fumes are the major contributors to global warming. Another factor affecting is the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation and also one of the reasons for climate change. Global warming has resulted in shrinking mountain glaciers in Antarctica, Greenland, and the Arctic and causing climate change. Switching from the use of fossil fuels to energy sources like wind and solar. When buying any electronic appliance buy the best quality with energy savings stars. Don’t waste water and encourage rainwater harvesting in your community.
Writing an effective essay needs skills that few people possess and even fewer know how to implement. While writing an essay can be an assiduous task that can be unnerving at times, some key pointers can be inculcated to draft a successful essay. These involve focusing on the structure of the essay, planning it out well, and emphasizing crucial details. Mentioned below are some pointers that can help you write better structure and more thoughtful essays that will get across to your readers:
- Prepare an outline for the essay to ensure continuity and relevance and no break in the structure of the essay
- Decide on a thesis statement that will form the basis of your essay. It will be the point of your essay and help readers understand your contention
- Follow the structure of an introduction, a detailed body followed by a conclusion so that the readers can comprehend the essay in a particular manner without any dissonance.
- Make your beginning catchy and include solutions in your conclusion to make the essay insightful and lucrative to read
- Reread before putting it out and add your flair to the essay to make it more personal and thereby unique and intriguing for readers
Both natural and man-made factors contribute to global warming. The natural one also contains methane gas, volcanic eruptions, and greenhouse gases. Deforestation, mining, livestock raising, burning fossil fuels, and other man-made causes are next.
The government and the general public can work together to stop global warming. Trees must be planted more often, and deforestation must be prohibited. Auto usage needs to be curbed, and recycling needs to be promoted.
Switching to renewable energy sources, adopting sustainable farming, transportation, and energy methods, and conserving water and other natural resources.
We hope this blog gave you an idea about how to write and present an essay on global warming that put forth your opinions. The skill of writing an essay come in handy when appearing for standardized language tests. Thinking of taking one soon? Leverage Edu provides the best online test prep for the same via Leverage Live . Register today to know more!
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This was really a good essay on global warming… There has been used many unic words..and I really liked it!!!Seriously I had been looking for a essay about Global warming just like this…
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Hi, we are glad that we could help you to write essays. We have a beginner’s guide to write essays ( https://leverageedu.com/blog/essay-writing/ ) and we think this might help you.
It is not good , to have global warming in our earth .So we all have to afforestation program on all the world.
thank you so much
Very educative , helpful and it is really going to strength my English knowledge to structure my essay in future
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Global warming is the increase in 𝓽𝓱𝓮 ᴀᴠᴇʀᴀɢᴇ ᴛᴇᴍᴘᴇʀᴀᴛᴜʀᴇs ᴏғ ᴇᴀʀᴛʜ🌎 ᴀᴛᴍᴏsᴘʜᴇʀᴇ
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Causes, Effects and Solutions to Global Warming
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Current events and news told in essay format
- Global Warming
Global Warming Essay
So You Want To Write A Global Warming Essay?
One of the most important issues of our time is climate change, or global warming. As a student, you should know that climate change is real and that the only political issue is what to do about it. Climate change is not something you can believe in, any more than gravity is something you can believe in. However, it can be difficult to propose solutions to the problem that are realistic and workable.
Climate change is complex but can be explained in simple terms even by those with no scientific background. Basically, climate change caused by the greenhouse effect, which means exactly what it says: the earth is like a giant greenhouse in which the heat can get trapped beneath the atmosphere. The atmosphere traps heat that emits from the surface of the planet. That heat would normally be allowed to move into space, but due to the proliferation of “greenhouse gases,” the atmosphere is becoming less permeable.
Writing the Essay
When you have been asked to write about global warming , you may be overwhelmed. There are many approaches to this complex subject. You could write about it for a science class, or for a political science class. You could talk about the causes or global warming, or the effects of global warming, or both. In fact, you could even write only about your suggestions for how to deal with the effects of global warming.
Looking for a creative or unique approach to global warming that will impress your readers? Want to write about global warming in a way that will interest you? This article will help you understand how to write an essay about global warming from many different perspectives.
- The different effects of global warming in two different geographic regions.
- Possible social or humanitarian effects from global warming, such as population migration.
- The places on Earth most at risk due to rising sea levels.
- The most reasonable policy solutions to address climate change.
- The countries that are doing the most to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
- Some of the most effective global warming policies
- The history of global warming.
- Not Yet Worried About Global Warming? You Should Be
- Why Global Warming Is a Political Issue
- Will Global Warming Bring The World Together For a Common Cause?
- The Possible Effects of Global Warming
- Global Warming: Policy Suggestions
- Why Some People Think Global Warming is a Hoax
- Global Warming: Worst Case Scenarios
Getting Started
Before you begin your essay, consider things like how long it has to be and what class you are writing for. Then, narrow down your topic using one of the suggested subjects above or one of your own ideas. The next step would be to create a subject outline to help you structure your essay. With a subject like global warming, you are generally going to talk about causes, effects, and possible solutions to the problem.
I. Introduction
A. One degree in temperature change may not seem like a lot, but that amount of global warming can cause major crises, displacing millions of people and causing billions of dollars in damage.
B. It is a known fact that fossil fuel burning, particularly coal, is the biggest culprit of global warming (MacMillan, 2016).
C. Knowing what causes global warming makes it possible to take action, to minimize the deleterious effects of global warming.
D. Thesis Statement: A comprehensive solution to global warming would be to curtail carbon emissions further through innovations in alternative energy, combined with a plan to minimize humanitarian and financial damages.
II. Body Section One: Causes of Global Warming
A. Topic sentence: Global warming is anthropogenic, meaning that it is caused by human beings.
B. Human industrial activity results in the emission of greenhouse gases, with China and the United States the biggest culprits (MacMillan, 2016).
C. Knowing the causes of global warming, it becomes easier to come up with targeted and reasonable solutions to the problem.
III. Body Section Two: Effects of Global Warming
A. Topic sentence: Global warming is a problem because it can lead to extreme weather conditions, flooding due to rising sea levels, and resulting deaths, destruction, and displacement.
B. The term “global warming” is misleading, because not all areas will experience uniform temperature rises and some areas will not warm at all (NASA, 2018).
C. However, global warming has the potential to radically alter the climate conditions around the world.
1. Effects on agricultural production and food security.
2. Effects on water security.
3. Effects on population displacement and financial damages due to natural disasters.
4. Humanitarian and political effects due to displacement, which could even lead to the outbreak of wars.
D. Because of how devastating the effects of global warming will be, taking action now is an ethical responsibility.
IV. Body Section Three: How to Prevent Global Warming
A. Topic Sentence: Taking action on global warming now requires a concerted coalition between the private and public sectors around the world.
B. Governments need to work together better to create stimulus packages for investment into alternative energy.
C. The private sector needs to become more environmentally responsible, requiring new anti-pollution laws if necessary.
D. Governments and the private sector also need to work together to build resilience and have strategies in place for mitigating disasters.
V. Conclusion
A. Doing something about global warming requires being proactive, both in terms of changing the way industry operates, and also building resilience to minimize harm.
B. Innovation in new technologies will be essential to prevent global warming and stimulate the global economy.
C. Investment into infrastructure improvement will also help to minimize damages due to climate change.
D. Legislation and public policy, in addition to ethical behavior from the private sector, will help reduce climate change and create a safer tomorrow.
Introduction
Thesis statement.
A comprehensive solution to global warming would be to curtail carbon emissions further through innovations in alternative energy, combined with a plan to minimize humanitarian and financial damages.
One degree. That is all it takes to create massive changes on planet earth. Just one degree in temperature change may not seem like a lot, but that amount of global warming can cause major crises, displacing millions of people and causing billions of dollars in damage (NASA, 2018).
One degree. That is all it takes to create massive changes on planet earth. Just one degree in temperature change may not seem like a lot, but that amount of global warming can cause major crises, displacing millions of people and causing billions of dollars in damage (NASA, 2018). It is a known fact that fossil fuel burning, particularly coal, is the biggest culprit of global warming (MacMillan, 2016). Knowing what causes global warming makes it possible to take action, to minimize the deleterious effects of global warming. Global warming is not a political issue, but a simple fact. However, what to do about global warming is a political issue. A comprehensive solution to global warming would be to curtail carbon emissions further through innovations in alternative energy, combined with a plan to minimize humanitarian and financial damages.
Causes of Global Warming
Global warming is anthropogenic, meaning that its primary cause is human beings. In particular, human industrial activity results in the emission of greenhouse gases, with China and the United States the biggest culprits (MacMillan, 2016). The population of the planet has also exploded rapidly over the past century, which results in increased industry, increased use of land for agriculture, and increased human activities that contribute to global warming. The most important cause of global warming is greenhouse gases, which trap hot air in the Earth’s atmosphere instead of allowing that heat to escape into space. Greenhouse gasses build up in the earth’s atmosphere, effectively insulating the planet just as a greenhouse used to grow fruits and vegetables traps heat.
According to NASA (2018), the primary greenhouse gases responsible for global warming include water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and chlorofluorocarbons. Deforestation leads to an overabundance of carbon dioxide, and agriculture leads to an overabundance of methane (NASA, 2018). Therefore, unsustainable agricultural practices and related issues like land use are one of the biggest causes of greenhouse gas buildup. Unsustainable agriculture is a major cause of global warming. There are several reasons why agriculture is a problem. One reason is linked to land use. When rainforests and other vegetation-dense areas are cut down to make room for agriculture, the result is an increase in carbon dioxide emissions (MacMillan, 2016). Many crops and farm animals are especially bad for the environment. For example, animals like cattle emit methane, a greenhouse gas, and certain fertilizers used extensively in mono-crop agriculture also lead to greenhouse gas emissions (NASA, 2018). Yet the burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil for electricity production and transportation also cause global warming. Knowing the causes of global warming, it becomes easier to come up with targeted and reasonable solutions to the problem.
Effects of Global Warming
Global warming is a problem because it can lead to extreme weather conditions, flooding due to rising sea levels, and resulting deaths, destruction, and displacement. In fact, the term “global warming” is misleading, because not all areas will experience uniform temperature rises and some areas will not warm at all (NASA, 2018). However, global warming has the potential to radically alter the climate conditions around the world. The main effects of global warming will be on agricultural production and food security, on water security, on population displacement, financial damages due to natural disasters, and the humanitarian and possibly military effects of global warming.
Global warming will lead to changes to weather patterns, causing some areas to experience flooding and other areas to experience drought conditions (NASA, 2018). The result is that food production will be less reliable, and there could be major crop failures. Crop failures and unpredictable food supplies will drive up prices of food, leading to humanitarian crises, and possibly even cause famine in some of the most affected areas. In addition to alterations in food production, global warming will also lead to increased extreme weather events including major storms like hurricanes, and wildfires (Union of Concerned Scientists, 2018). These extreme weather patterns can destroy whole communities, leading to humanitarian crises. The initial extreme weather may cause deaths, while the long-term effects include population displacement and refugee crises. Because of what it could mean for displacement and refugee crises, global warming could cause wars in the future. Because of how devastating the effects of global warming will be, taking action now is an ethical responsibility.
Rising temperatures cause ice packs to melt in the arctic and other glacial regions. The melting of ice is the primary contributor of sea level rises. Some ice packs will melt directly into the sea, altering the salinity of the sea water too, thereby having an impact on all underwater life. When inland glaciers melt, the additional water fills rivers, which could lead to disastrous flooding. Rising sea levels could inundate coastal regions and cause whole islands to disappear. Flooding due to global warming could displace countless people all around the world, creating humanitarian crises. As MacMillan (2016) also points out, flooding also increases the rates at which communicable diseases spread. Therefore, global warming could indirectly lead to disease proliferation.
It is also important to address the effects of global warming on the non-human populations of planet earth. Global warming has the potential to wipe out whole species. Whole ecosystems will change because of global warming, causing some animals and plants to move to new territories, altering the food chains and also changing the relationships between humans and nature.
Another important effect of global warming is related to national security. As the Union of Concerned Scientists (2018) points out, global warming may directly impact American military bases, particularly those located in coastal areas. In addition to the impact on military bases that are at risk for flooding, global warming could also create national security issues such as diverting military resources to helping the victims of climate change. If the United States experiences water shortages or crop failures due to global warming, it would also become more vulnerable and dependent on other nations, creating national security crises or alternatively, causing a bellicose president to invade another country for its resources.
How to Prevent Global Warming and Minimize Damage
Taking action on global warming now requires a concerted coalition between the private and public sectors around the world. Governments need to work together better to create stimulus packages for investment into alternative energy. Likewise, the private sector needs to become more environmentally responsible, requiring new anti-pollution laws if necessary. Governments and the private sector also need to work together to build resilience and have strategies in place for mitigating disasters. Unfortunately, getting multiple stakeholders to work together can be challenging, even within the same country. Creating international coalitions between governments and private sector organizations has been ineffective so far, but there is still room for hope.
As the Union of Concerned Scientists (2018) claims, reducing greenhouse gas emissions is the first and most important order of business, and will require politicians to take action. The reason why politicians are often reluctant to take action is fear that doing so would adversely impact the economy. After all, many businesses have yet to develop alternative methods, processes, or technologies that can replace those that caused global warming. To overcome this problem, politicians need to simultaneously pass laws that offer incentives to companies for developing alternative technologies or energy sources. Another reason why governments need to take responsibility is that in most places, land use issues can be mitigated via legislation. Instead of allowing more deforestation, governments can cease new developments in favor of a more sustainable economic policy.
Taking action on global warming requires a multifaceted effort, that combines working with the private sector as well as forming local, regional, national, and international coalitions. Each region will experience global warming differently. Therefore, it is important to not just focus on what can be done nationally or internationally but also locally. Each community needs to build its own resilience strategy to reduce harm. For example, regions in California and the American West that could experience greater wildfires and droughts need to have in place improved fire mitigation strategies. Low-lying coastal regions like Florida and the Atlantic seaboard need to have evacuation or land reclamation measures in place in case of storms and rising sea levels. Local approaches help to create more robust long-term solutions. It is often easier to get smaller groups of people from the same region to agree on a course of action than it is for larger and more diverse entities. The residents of one area can see the immediate results of their work, and are more connected to the need to take action for their community.
Individual consumers also need to take responsibility for their choices to help reduce global warming. Because the private sector responds to consumers, and because governments respond to the private sector, ultimately consumers have more power than they may believe. By choosing sustainable products, and supporting sustainable, ethical companies, individuals can reduce global warming. Eating less meat or no meat is one way to contribute to the effort in reducing demand for unsustainable agricultural practices. Likewise, boycotting products that are manufactured in ways that contribute to global warming can also help create a consumer-driven revolution. Walking, riding a bicycle, and otherwise avoiding unnecessary use of fuel-burning cars is another way consumers can make a difference even before governments are willing to take action. As the Union of Concerned Scientists (2018) also points out, individuals have a responsibility to promote science literacy and reduce misinformation. When voters are empowered with information about global warming, they are more able and likely to elect officials who are dedicated to implementing solutions.
Minimizing damage is also an important global warming strategy. Both governments and the private sector need to work together to create more resilient communities. Disasters will happen, but responses need to be more robust. For example, the public infrastructure needs to be improved so that hurricanes like Katrina cause less damage than they did. Helping the most vulnerable areas around the world to prepare for disasters and evacuate people as safely and efficiently as possible is one of the most important ways of responding to the problem of global warming.
It may be impossible to completely eliminate global warming because of the huge population on the planet, but a lot can be done to minimize it and reduce harm. Doing something about global warming requires being proactive, both in terms of changing the way industry operates, and also building resilience to minimize the damages that may result from extreme weather, drought, and other problems. Innovation in new technologies will be essential to prevent global warming and stimulate the global economy. Investment into infrastructure improvement will also help to minimize damages due to climate change. Legislation and public policy, in addition to ethical behavior from the private sector, will help reduce climate change and create a safer tomorrow.
MacMillan, A. (2016). Global warming 101. https://www.nrdc.org/stories/global-warming-101#warming
NASA (2018). Facts. https://climate.nasa.gov/causes/
Union of Concerned Scientists (2018). Confronting the realities of climate change. https://www.ucsusa.org/global-warming#.WrwXPtPwYWo
When you write about global warming for a class, always remember to keep your audience in mind.
Are you writing your global warming essay for an environmental science class? If so, then make sure you use credible science sources and talk about the chemistry of greenhouse gases and other scientific principles.
However, if you are writing your essay for a debate class or for an English composition class, you will want to use the principles of argumentative essay or expository essay writing.
You might even be asked to write about global warming from a historical perspective, such as tracing the evolution of policies or attitudes towards global warming. Sociology, anthropology, and psychology classes might also ask you to write about attitudes towards global warming.
Remember to use an outline to stay organized while you write, and proofread your copy when you are finished writing your draft.
To avoid being accused of plagiarism when you write an essay, always keep track of what sources you use and cite them properly in the References or Bibliography section of your essay. If you need help composing an essay on global warming or any other subject, you can seek help with a writing tutor.
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10 ways you can help fight the climate crisis
This piece was originally published on 16 December 2021 and the latest update is based on UNEP's ActNow Speak Up! campaign .
The evidence is irrefutable : unless we act immediately to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, we will not be able to stave off the worst consequences of climate change.
The world is already 1.2°C warmer than pre-industrial times and every fraction of a degree counts. Research shows that with 2°C of global warming we will have more intense droughts and more devastating floods, more wildfires and more storms.
As United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said at the recent UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) , “Our fragile planet is hanging by a thread. We are still knocking on the door of climate catastrophe. It is time to go into emergency mode — or our chance of reaching net-zero will itself be zero.”
The outlook can seem depressing. But the good news is that there is a lot we can still do as individuals to change this narrative.
“The climate emergency demands action from all of us. We need to get to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and everyone has a role to play,” said Niklas Hagelberg, UNEP’s Climate Change Coordinator. “We, as individuals, must change our consumption habits and pressure those who represent us – our employers, our politicians – to move rapidly to a low-carbon world.”
Here are 10 ways you can be part of the climate solution:
1. Spread the word
Encourage your friends, family and co-workers to reduce their carbon pollution. Join a global movement like Count Us In, which aims to inspire 1 billion people to take practical steps and challenge their leaders to act more boldly on climate. Organizers of the platform say that if 1 billion people took action, they could reduce as much as 20 per cent of global carbon emissions. Or you could sign up to the UN’s #ActNow campaign on climate change and sustainability and add your voice to this critical global debate.
2. Keep up the political pressure
Lobby local politicians and businesses to support efforts to cut emissions and reduce carbon pollution. #ActNow Speak Up has sections on political pressure and corporate action - and Count Us In also has some handy tips for how to do this. Pick an environmental issue you care about, decide on a specific request for change and then try to arrange a meeting with your local representative. It might seem intimidating but your voice deserves to be heard. If humanity is to succeed in tackling the climate emergency, politicians must be part of the solution. It’s up to all of us to keep up with the pressure.
3. Transform your transport
Transport accounts for around a quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions and across the world, many governments are implementing policies to decarbonize travel. You can get a head start: leave your car at home and walk or cycle whenever possible. If the distances are too great, choose public transport, preferably electric options. If you must drive, offer to carpool with others so that fewer cars are on the road. Get ahead of the curve and buy an electric car. Reduce the number of long-haul flights you take.
4. Rein in your power use
If you can, switch to a zero-carbon or renewable energy provider. Install solar panels on your roof. Be more efficient: turn your heating down a degree or two, if possible. Switch off appliances and lights when you are not using them and better yet buy the most efficient products in the first place (hint: this will save you money!). Insulate your loft or roof: you’ll be warmer in the winter, cooler in the summer and save some money too.
5. Tweak your diet
Eat more plant-based meals – your body and the planet will thank you. Today, around 60 per cent of the world’s agricultural land is used for livestock grazing and people in many countries are consuming more animal-sourced food than is healthy. Plant-rich diets can help reduce chronic illnesses, such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer.
The climate emergency demands action from all of us. We need to get to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and everyone has a role to play.
6. Shop local and buy sustainable
To reduce your food’s carbon footprint, buy local and seasonal foods. You’ll be helping small businesses and farms in your area and reducing fossil fuel emissions associated with transport and cold chain storage. Sustainable agriculture uses up to 56 per cent less energy, creates 64 per cent fewer emissions and allows for greater levels of biodiversity than conventional farming. Go one step further and try growing your own fruit, vegetables and herbs. You can plant them in a garden, on a balcony or even on a window sill. Set up a community garden in your neighbourhood to get others involved.
7. Don’t waste food
One-third of all food produced is either lost or wasted. According to UNEP’s Food Waste Index Report 2021 , people globally waste 1 billion tonnes of food each year, which accounts for around 8-10 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Avoid waste by only buying what you need. Take advantage of every edible part of the foods you purchase. Measure portion sizes of rice and other staples before cooking them, store food correctly (use your freezer if you have one), be creative with leftovers, share extras with your friends and neighbours and contribute to a local food-sharing scheme. Make compost out of inedible remnants and use it to fertilize your garden. Composting is one of the best options for managing organic waste while also reducing environmental impacts.
8. Dress (climate) smart
The fashion industry accounts for 8-10 per cent of global carbon emissions – more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined – and ‘fast fashion’ has created a throwaway culture that sees clothes quickly end up in landfills. But we can change this. Buy fewer new clothes and wear them longer. Seek out sustainable labels and use rental services for special occasions rather than buying new items that will only be worn once. Recycle pre-loved clothes and repair when necessary.
9. Plant trees
Every year approximately 12 million hectares of forest are destroyed and this deforestation, together with agriculture and other land use changes, is responsible for roughly 25 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. We can all play a part in reversing this trend by planting trees, either individually or as part of a collective. For example, the Plant-for-the-Planet initiative allows people to sponsor tree-planting around the world.
Check out this UNEP guide to see what else you can do as part of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration , a global drive to halt the degradation of land and oceans, protect biodiversity, and rebuild ecosystems.
10. Focus on planet-friendly investments
Individuals can also spur change through their savings and investments by choosing financial institutions that do not invest in carbon-polluting industries. #ActNow Speak Up has a section on money and so does Count Us In . This sends a clear signal to the market and already many financial institutions are offering more ethical investments, allowing you to use your money to support causes you believe in and avoid those you don’t. You can ask your financial institution about their responsible banking policies and find out how they rank in independent research.
UNEP is at the front in support of the Paris Agreement goal of keeping the global temperature rise well below 2°C, and aiming - to be safe - for 1.5°C, compared to pre-industrial levels. To do this, UNEP has developed a Six-Sector Solution . The Six Sector Solution is a roadmap to reducing emissions across sectors in line with the Paris Agreement commitments and in pursuit of climate stability. The six sectors identified are Energy; Industry; Agriculture & Food; Forests & Land Use; Transport; and Buildings & Cities.
- Clean fuels
- Energy Efficiency
- Sustainable Development
Further Resources
- 7 climate action highlights to remember before COP26
- Climate Action Note - data you need to know
- Emissions Gap Report 2021
- Food Waste Index 2021
- Act Now: the UN campaign for individual action
- Count Us In
- Food Loss and Waste Website
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Essay on Global Warming
Students are often asked to write an essay on Global Warming in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word and 250-word essays on the topic.
Let’s take a look…
100 Words Essay on Global Warming
Introduction.
Global warming is the rise in the average temperature of Earth’s atmosphere and oceans. It is caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide and other pollutants in the atmosphere.
The main causes of global warming are burning of fossil fuels, deforestation and industrial activities. These activities release large amounts of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide into the atmosphere.
Global warming has many effects on the environment and human life. It can cause extreme weather conditions like floods, droughts, heat waves and storms. It can also lead to the melting of glaciers, rise in sea levels, and spread of diseases.
To reduce the effects of global warming, we need to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases. We can do this by using renewable energy sources, planting more trees, conserving energy and reducing the use of fossil fuels.
Global warming is a major environmental problem and it is important that we take steps to reduce it. We must all take responsibility and make necessary changes to save our planet.
250 Words Essay on Global Warming
Global Warming is an increasingly pressing global concern. It is the gradual increase in the average temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere and oceans, which is driven by increased levels of Carbon Dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The problem of Global Warming has been an issue of great concern and debate for many years, and its effects are becoming more apparent every day.
Effects of Global Warming
The most obvious effect of Global Warming is the rise in average global temperatures. This has led to extreme weather events such as more frequent and intense heat waves, droughts, and floods. In addition, the melting of the ice caps is causing sea levels to rise, leading to increased flooding in coastal areas. Furthermore, Global Warming is also causing a disruption of the Earth’s ecosystems, leading to the extinction of certain species and the displacement of others.
Causes of Global Warming
The primary cause of Global Warming is the burning of fossil fuels, which releases Carbon Dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. These gases act as a blanket, trapping heat and raising the Earth’s temperature. Other activities, such as deforestation, also contribute to Global Warming by reducing the amount of vegetation that can absorb the Carbon Dioxide released into the atmosphere.
Measures to Reduce Global Warming
The good news is that there are steps that can be taken to reduce the effects of Global Warming. One of the most important measures is to reduce the burning of fossil fuels. This can be done by investing in renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power, and by increasing energy efficiency. In addition, reforestation and other efforts to restore ecosystems can help to reduce the amount of Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere.
Global Warming is a serious and growing problem, but it can be addressed if we take the necessary steps. We must reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, invest in renewable energy, and restore ecosystems. If we take these steps, we can make a significant impact on reducing the effects of Global Warming and ensuring a healthier planet for future generations.
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Solution of Global Warming Essay
- Topics: Global Warming
- Words: 1633
- This essay sample was donated by a student to help the academic community. Papers provided by EduBirdie writers usually outdo students' samples.
The modern world faced the problem of global warming which is considered to be the growth of Earth’s average temperature within oceans and air. It is necessary to underline the fact that this climate change has started to develop since the 20th century and is still in a progressive state of continuation. The true causes of the greenhouse effect are still open to discussion; it should be stressed that there are some debates among the scientists arguing whether human activities or natural processes are the reasons for the global warming threat. By Climate Change Intergovernmental Panel, human activities are the central causes for the increase of greenhouse gas through the burning of fossil fuel, and deforestation. Nevertheless, according to some sources, the real effects of the natural changes are produced by the nature itself through some gases releases. So, the paper will investigate the key supporting argument as to the causes for global warming spreading based on natural and human processes analysis.
Following contemporary scientific analysis, the true causes for global warming are considered to be contradictory enough; it is necessary to underline the fact that human activities produce the most vivid effects on the changes in natural processes. The ecosystem, consisting of several living organisms, is under the threat of harmful influence produced through numerous human activities in a modern industrialized era. Climatologists state, that the beginning of global warming can be referred to as the nineteenth century, though in that period the problem was not considerably stressed in the society. They managed to investigate that human activities contributed to the enhancement of the greenhouse effect. It is necessary to underline the fact that the greenhouse effect impacts the Earth’s surface warming through several complex processes, such as gases, sunlight, and atmosphere practices (Horner, 2007).
The analysis of global warming effects should be based on the fossil fuels burning covering oil, coal, and natural gas; this human activity involves the land clearing introducing and causing some changes in the natural processes. The burning is the result of automobiles’ effects, as well as electric power plants and factories providing energy for office buildings and houses. Carbon dioxide, created as a result of fossil fuel burning, has the chemical formula of a greenhouse effect CO2, slowing the heat escape into space. The plants sponge CO2 from the air in the process of photosynthesis, as it is necessary for their food production. Speaking about land clearing, it is necessary to underline the fact it influences the CO2 buildup through reduction of the gas rate at which it is completely removed from the atmosphere, or through dead vegetation decomposition (Langdon, 2003).
It should be noted that scientists argued as to greenhouse gases increase providing no clear differences in the temperature fluctuations; according to their theory, global warming may be the result of natural processes. To explain this fact they highlighted the impact of the sun’s emitted energy (Global Warming Causes. 2005).
Nevertheless, pollution is recognized as one of the principal causes of global warming; it is necessary to underline the fact that environmental pollution, as well as air one, produces negative effects on nature’s health. The concentration of greenhouse gases in the air appeared to be the result of modern industrialization and technological progress. According to the report by Schweiger, being the president of the National Wildlife Federation, the problem of global warming is a sharp threat to the modern environment, ‘It is our future that is now uncertain. It is past time to act and solve global warming with the urgency and determination with which Americans have successfully confronted other threats to our security and wildlife.’ (Schweiger, 2007) the problem of land use as the basic human threat to nature can be expressed through the following reasons:
Nowadays a lot of agricultural practices have been introduced for animals’ breeding, cereals growing, as well as vegetables and fruits for human consumption; these practices develop the basic greenhouse gases, such as nitrous oxide and methane;
Land clearance for human activities expansion;
Tropical deforestation covering the firing of forests leading to the release of pollutants, for example, carbon dioxide (Houghton, 2004).
Speaking about natural causes of global warming in more detail, it is necessary to underline the idea that solar output changes lead to climate transformations and instability; according to scientific researches, the change in output even by 1% can become the cause for rapid alterations in the average temperature. Besides, it should be stressed that the changes in the Earth’s orbit characteristics around the sun and also, Earth’s axis tilt, can lead to the alteration of solar energy total amount received by the planet. As a result, the temperature changes as well. To understand the causes for the problem spreading it is necessary to underline the most important and influential anthropogenic greenhouse gases developed in nature and harming the environment; they are the following: methane (CO4), sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), nitrous oxide (N2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), and fluorocarbons (HFC). One of the most central gases is considered to be carbon dioxide; methane and nitrous oxide are referred to as the less harmful gases. Taking into account the calculations demonstrated by the scientists, the potential threat of the gases influence on the global warming development will be increased within the next one hundred years, disclosing the following figures:
Methane – about 20%;
Carbon Dioxide – 73%;
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Nitrous Oxide – 9%.
Despite the danger of gases impact outlined by the scientists, it is necessary to stress that not all greenhouse air pollutants provide a negative effect on global warming directly. It was proved that in the air they are transformed into other actual gases; thus, CO, carbon monoxide, can be changed into CO2, carbon dioxide, and produce an indirect contribution to climate warming. Besides, there are several precursor gases, being referred to as non-greenhouse gases; they are the following: nitrogen oxides, NOx, carbon monoxide, CO, and VOC, that is volatile organic compounds (Major Findings of climate change. 2006).
The neutralization of the global warming causes and consequences have been analyzed through the analysis of possible ways and methods aimed at global warming emissions reduction. So, the examination of the problem causes demonstrated the most profound impact of carbon dioxide on the development and spreading of the greenhouse effect. It is necessary to stress that the ways of the problem solution are closely connected with the lifestyle of the modern generation. By governmental considerations, the average footprint of carbon reaches about 42000 pounds annually. This figure is predominantly based on the setting and way of life; the first step in the problem solution is connected with switching to green power. It should be stressed that the production of conventional energy leads to air pollution. Per US Energy Department, green power kilowatt requires less than one pound of CO2. It is necessary to underline the fact that green electricity generated from solar energy, wind, and water is much better for the environment (Maslin, 2007).
The second step in the problem solution is based on insulation and sealing of duct system; the scientists explain that this measure influences the reduction of CO2, as well as costs spent for cooling and heating (Global Warming Solutions. 2008).
Then, fuel-efficient car driving can influence the reduction of hazardous gas in the air; this step will reduce the costs by 8000 pounds annually. Besides, it is necessary to replace the old water heater with the new efficient one. It is necessary to stress that heating water uses about 13% of typical energy, and the replacement can lead to CO2 reduction and more than 3000 pounds every year (Schneider, 1990).
People are to be concentrated on the heating temperature controlling; it was found out that the thermostat lowering will result in the energy cutting by 3%, which is very important for environmental protection. Scientists managed to identify the impact of air conditioners on the irrational usage of energy. Thus, they underlined the necessity to change it with the energy-efficient one, which will help to reduce CO2 emissions. It should be stressed that central air conditioning used in every house influences the affection of the released energy on greenhouse effect development. The usage of the new rational technology will help to save about 2000 pounds annually (Pringle, 2001).
The amount of CO2 is closely connected with fuel consumption without taking into account the vehicle; certainly, fuel economy is reached through the usage of sport-utility vehicles or compact family sedans. The fuel waste can be reduced by 33%; a 6% reduction can be reached through the appropriate usage of recommended motor oil.
It is necessary to underline the idea that technological development is an integral part of C2 release as well; so, Consumer Reports found out that letting the computer system sleep will economize the energy released and reduced more than 576 pounds of CO2 every year.
The final step of the global warming solution is connected with refrigerator and washing machine efficient energy release. To benefit the environment one is to use Energy Star qualified technologies reducing the emissions of CO2 by 25%. The purchase of the most efficient model can contribute to the growth of annual savings in energy release.
The paper managed to investigate the seriousness of the global warming problem, as well as its causes and possible solutions. One is to outline the principle idea of the research lies in the disclosure not only of human activities harm, but natural processes’ impact on greenhouse effect through the release of hazardous things in the atmosphere.
The paper managed to outline the key methods of neutralizing the problem based on human lifestyle change. People are to concentrate on the problem’s seriousness and its effects; the basic goal of humanity is to protect the environment we live in through policies and investments into economizing and rationality. The modern generation living in the period of industrialization is to be aware of global warming consequences and take measures to tackle the problem.
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- Global Warming Essay
Essay on Global Warming
The last few decades have been monumental when it comes to technological development. Humans have developed systems and machines that make our lives easier. Especially during the early modern period from the early 16th century to as far as the late 18the century, also commonly referred to as “The Scientific Revolution” or “The Enlightenment”, modern technology leapt ahead in development in such a short time frame compared to all of history.
However, with the development of society, there has been a severe detriment to the quality of Earth’s environment. One of the most massive threats to the condition of the planet is climate change. Inadequate research and reckless misuse of natural resources are some of the core reasons for the deteriorating condition of the planet.
To understand the concept of Global Warming and its causes and effects, we need to take an in-depth look into many factors that affect the temperature of the planet and what that means for the future of the world. Here is an objective look at the topic of Global Warming and other important related topics.
What is Climate Change?
Ever since the industrial and scientific revolution, Earth is slowly being used up for its resources. Moreover, the onset of the exponential increase in the world’s population is also very taxing on the environment.
Simply put, as the need for consumption of the population increases, both the utilisation of natural resources and the waste generated from the use of said resources have also increased massively.
One of the main results of this over the many years has become climate change. Climate change is not just the rise or fall of temperature of different areas of the world; it is also a change in the rain cycles, wind patterns, cyclone frequencies, sea levels, etc. It affects all major life groups on the planet in some way or the other.
What is Global Warming?
Global Warming is often considered an effect of Climate change. Global Warming is the rapid increase in the temperature of the Earth’s environment that is causing many life-threatening issues to arise.
Global Warming is a dangerous effect on our environment that we are facing these days. Rapid industrialization, increase in the population growth and pollution are causing a rise in Global Warming. Global Warming refers to the increase in the average temperature of the earth's surface during the last century. One of the reasons why Global Warming is dangerous is because it disturbs the overall ecology of the planet. This results in floods, famine, cyclones and other issues. There are many causes and results of this warming and is a danger for the existence of life on earth.
The sign of Global Warming is already visible with many natural phenomena happening around globally, affecting each living species.
Here is some data that can help to give a more precise understanding of the reality of Global Warming in the last few years:
On average, the world’s temperature is about 1.5°C higher than during the start of the industrial revolution in the late 1700s. That may not seem a lot to you, but that is an average estimate. This number is only increasing. Many parts of the world face far more severe changes in temperature that affect the planet’s overall health.
In 1950, the world’s CO 2 emissions were at 6 billion tonnes which had quadrupled in volume until 1990, just 40 years later to 22 billion tonnes. Not only that, unchecked CO 2 emissions today have reached a whopping 35 billion tonnes.
The most evident causes of Global Warming are industrialization, urbanization, deforestation, and sophisticated human activities. These human activities have led to an increase in the emission of Greenhouse Gases, including CO₂, Nitrous Oxide, Methane, and others.
Causes of Global Warming
A variety of reasons causes Global Warming. Some of which can be controlled personally by individuals but others are only expected to be solved by communities and the world leaders and activists at the global level.
Many scientists believe the main four reasons for Global Warming, according to recent studies, are:
Greenhouse gases
Deforestation
Per capita carbon emissions
Global Warming is certainly an alarming situation, which is causing a significant impact on life existence. Extreme Global Warming is resulting in natural calamities, which is quite evident happening around. One of the reasons behind Global Warming is the extreme release of greenhouse gases stuck on the earth surface, resulting in the temperature increase.
Similarly, volcanoes are also leading to Global Warming because they spew too much CO₂ in the air. One of the significant causes behind Global Warming is the increase in the population. This increase in the population also results in air pollution. Automobiles release a lot of CO₂, which remains stuck in the earth.
This increase in the population is also leading to deforestation, which further results in Global Warming. More and more trees are being cut, increasing the concentration of CO₂.
The greenhouse is the natural process where the sunlight passes through the area, thus warming the earth's surface. The earth surface releases energy in the form of heat in the atmosphere maintaining the balance with the incoming energy. Global Warming depletes the ozone layer leading to the doom's day.
There is a clear indication that the increase in Global Warming will lead to the complete extinction of life from the earth surface.
Solution for Global Warming
Global Warming can not be blamed on individuals; however, it can be tackled and maintained from worsening starting at the individual level. Of course, industries and multinational conglomerates have higher carbon emissions levels than an average citizen. Still, activism and community effort are the only feasible ways to control the worsening state of Global Warming.
Additionally, at the state or government level, world leaders need to create concrete plans and step programmes to ensure that no further harm is being caused to the environment in general.
Although we are almost late in slowing down the Global Warming rate, it is crucial to find the right solution. From individuals to governments, everyone has to work upon a solution for Global Warming. Controlling pollution, population and use of natural resources are some of the factors to consider. Switching over to the electric and hybrid car is the best way to bring down the carbon dioxide.
As a citizen, it is best to switch over to the hybrid car and to use public transport. This will reduce pollution and congestion. Another significant contribution you can make is to minimize the use of plastic. Plastic is the primary cause of Global Warming taking years to recycle.
Deforestation is another thing to consider that will help in controlling Global Warming. Planting of more trees should be encouraged to make the environment go green.
Industrialization should be under certain norms. The building of industries should be banned in green zones affecting plants and species. Hefty penalties should be levied on such sectors contributing towards Global Warming.
Effects of Global Warming
Global Warming is a real problem that many want to prove as a hoax for their political benefit. However, as aware citizens of the world, we must make sure only the truth is presented in the media.
Various parts of the environment, both flora and fauna, are directly adversely affected by the damages caused by Global Warming. Wildlife being in danger is ultimately a serious threat to the survival of humanity as we know it and its future.
The effect of Global Warming is widely seen in this decade. Glacier retreat and arctic shrinkage are the two common phenomena seen. Glaciers are melting in a fast way. These are pure examples of climate change.
Rise in sea level is another significant effect of Global Warming. This sea-level rise is leading to floods in low-lying areas. Extreme weather conditions are witnessed in many countries. Unseasonal rainfall, extreme heat and cold, wildfires and others are common every year. The number of these cases is increasing. This will indeed imbalance the ecosystem bringing the result of the extinction of species.
Similarly, marine life is also widely getting affected due to the increase in Global Warming. This is resulting in the death of marine species and other issues. Moreover, changes are expected in coral reefs, which are going to face the end in coming years.
These effects will take a steep rise in coming years, bringing the expansion of species to a halt. Moreover, humans too will witness the negative impact of Global Warming in the end.
FAQs on Global Warming Essay
1. What Global Warming will Cause?
Global warming will have a massive impact on our earth in the end. Flood, extreme weather conditions, famine, wildfire and many more will be the result. There will be hotter days, which will also increase the wildfire and famine. In the past years, many meteorological bureaus have added purple and magenta to the forecast.
Another impact of global warming will be rising sea levels. Increased ocean temperatures will lead to the melting of glaciers and ice caps. Increase in the sea level will lead to floods in many low-lying areas.
The overall ecosystem of nature will be an imbalance. This will affect nature in the long-term.
2. Why Does Global Warming Happen?
There are many reasons for the cause of global warming. There are certain gases in the atmosphere called greenhouse gases. The energy then radiates from the surface; the greenhouse gases trap longwave radiation. We humans have added to the atmospheric blanket of greenhouse affecting the living species. Warming of air, oceans, and land is how global warming happens.
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What are the solutions to climate change?
Climate change is already an urgent threat to millions of lives – but there are solutions. From changing how we get our energy to limiting deforestation, here are some of the key solutions to climate change.
Climate change is happening now, and it’s the most serious threat to life on our planet. Fortunately, there are plenty of solutions to climate change, they are well-understood.
In 2015, world leaders signed a major treaty called the Paris agreement , to put these solutions into practice.
Core to all climate change solutions is reducing greenhouse gas emissions , which must get to zero as soon as possible.
Because both forests and oceans play vitally important roles in regulating our climate, increasing the natural ability of forests and oceans to absorb carbon dioxide can also help stop global warming.
The main ways to stop climate change are to pressure government and business to:
- Keep fossil fuels in the ground. Fossil fuels include coal, oil and gas – and the more that are extracted and burned, the worse climate change will get. All countries need to move their economies away from fossil fuels as soon as possible.
- Invest in renewable energy. Changing our main energy sources to clean and renewable energy is the best way to stop using fossil fuels. These include technologies like solar, wind, wave, tidal and geothermal power.
- Switch to sustainable transport. Petrol and diesel vehicles, planes and ships use fossil fuels. Reducing car use, switching to electric vehicles and minimising plane travel will not only help stop climate change, it will reduce air pollution too.
- Help us keep our homes cosy . Homes shouldn’t be draughty and cold – it’s a waste of money, and miserable in the winter. The government can help households heat our homes in a green way – such as by insulating walls and roofs and switching away from oil or gas boilers to heat pumps.
- Improve farming and encourage vegan diets. One of the best ways for individuals to help stop climate change is by reducing their meat and dairy consumption, or by going fully vegan. Businesses and food retailers can improve farming practices and provide more plant-based products to help people make the shift.
- Restore nature to absorb more carbon. T he natural world is very good at cleaning up our emissions, but we need to look after it. Planting trees in the right places or giving land back to nature through ‘rewilding’ schemes is a good place to start. This is because photosynthesising plants draw down carbon dioxide as they grow, locking it away in soils.
- Protect forests like the Amazon. Forests are crucial in the fight against climate change, and protecting them is an important climate solution. Cutting down forests on an industrial scale destroys giant trees which could be sucking up huge amounts of carbon. Yet companies destroy forests to make way for animal farming, soya or palm oil plantations. Governments can stop them by making better laws.
- Protect the oceans. Oceans also absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, which helps to keep our climate stable. But many are overfished, used for oil and gas drilling or threatened by deep sea mining. Protecting oceans and the life in them is ultimately a way to protect ourselves from climate change.
- Reduce how much people consume. Our tr ansport, fashion, food and other lifestyle choices all have different impacts on the climate. This is often by design – fashion and technology companies, for example, will release far more products than are realistically needed. But while reducing consumption of these products might be hard, it’s most certainly worth it. Reducing overall consumption in more wealthy countries can help put less strain on the planet.
- Reduce plastic. Plastic is made from oil, and the process of extracting, refining and turning oil into plastic (or even polyester, for clothing) is surprisingly carbon-intense . It doesn’t break down quickly in nature so a lot of plastic is burned, which contributes to emissions. Demand for plastic is rising so quickly that creating and disposing of plastics will account for 17% of the global carbon budget by 2050 (this is the emissions count we need to stay within according to the Paris agreement).
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed, and to feel that climate change is too big to solve. But we already have the answers, now it’s a question of making them happen. To work, all of these solutions need strong international cooperation between governments and businesses, including the most polluting sectors.
Individuals can also play a part by making better choices about where they get their energy, how they travel, and what food they eat. But the best way for anyone to help stop climate change is to take collective action. This means pressuring governments and corporations to change their policies and business practices.
Governments want to be re-elected. And businesses can’t survive without customers. Demanding action from them is a powerful way to make change happen.
The fossil fuel industry is blocking climate change action
Major oil and gas companies including BP, Exxon and Shell have spent hundreds of millions of pounds trying to delay or stop government policies that would have helped tackle the climate crisis.
Despite the effects of climate change becoming more and more obvious, big polluting corporations – the ones responsible for the majority of carbon emissions – continue to carry on drilling for and burning fossil fuels.
Industries including banks, car and energy companies also make profits from fossil fuels. These industries are knowingly putting money over the future of our planet and the safety of its people.
What are world leaders doing to stop climate change?
With such a huge crisis facing the entire planet, the international response should be swift and decisive. Yet progress by world governments has been achingly slow. Many commitments to reduce carbon emissions have been set, but few are binding and targets are often missed.
In Paris in 2015, world leaders from 197 countries pledged to put people first and reduce their countries’ greenhouse gas emissions. The Paris agreement has the aim of limiting global warming to well below 2ºC and ideally to 1.5°C.
If governments act swiftly on the promises they made in the Paris climate agreement, and implement the solutions now, there’s still hope of avoiding the worst consequences of climate change .
Global climate change activism
Around the world, millions of us are taking steps to defend our climate.
Tens of thousands of school strikers and people from all walks of life have taken to the streets demanding a solution to the climate emergency.
Over the years, Greenpeace has challenged oil companies chasing new fossil fuels to extract and burn. We’ve also called out the UK government for their failure to act fast enough on the climate emergency. Meanwhile, ordinary people have blocked tankers and fracking rigs, letting everyone know that renewable energy is the answer to fossil fuels.
Indigenous Peoples are most severely affected by both the causes and effects of climate change. They are often on the front lines, facing down deforestation or kicking out fossil fuel industries that want to put their water supplies at risk from oil spills.
Communities in the Pacific Islands are facing sea level rises and more extreme weather. But they are using their strength and resilience to demand world leaders take quicker climate action in global meetings, such as COP21 in Paris 2015.
For many of these communities, climate change is a fight for life itself. And for many countries around the world, including the UK, climate change is having more and more of a negative impact on people. As a country with the wealth and power to really tackle climate change, it’s never been more important to demand that our leaders act.
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While the UK government claims to be a climate leader, many of its policies are taking us in the opposite direction. Tell the prime minister it's time to lead by example.
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Lesson of the Day
Explore 7 Climate Change Solutions
In this lesson, students will use a jigsaw activity to learn about some of the most effective strategies and technologies that can help head off the worst effects of global warming.
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By Natalie Proulx
Lesson Overview
Earlier this summer, a report issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change , a body of scientists convened by the United Nations, found that some devastating impacts of global warming were unavoidable. But there is still a short window to stop things from getting even worse.
This report will be central at COP26 , the international climate summit where about 20,000 heads of state, diplomats and activists are meeting in person this week to set new targets for cutting emissions from coal, oil and gas that are heating the planet.
In this lesson, you will learn about seven ways we can slow down climate change and head off some of its most catastrophic consequences while we still have time. Using a jigsaw activity , you’ll become an expert in one of these strategies or technologies and share what you learn with your classmates. Then, you will develop your own climate plan and consider ways you can make a difference based on your new knowledge.
What do you know about the ways the world can slow climate change? Start by making a list of strategies, technologies or policies that could help solve the climate crisis.
Which of your ideas do you think could have the biggest impact on climate change? Circle what you think might be the top three.
Now, test your knowledge by taking this 2017 interactive quiz:
How Much Do You Know About Solving Global Warming?
A new book presents 100 potential solutions. Can you figure out which ones are top ranked?
After you’ve finished, reflect on your own in writing or in discussion with a partner:
What solutions to climate change did you learn about that you didn’t know before?
Were you surprised by any of the answers in the quiz? If so, which ones and why?
What questions do you still have about solving climate change?
Jigsaw Activity
As you learned in the warm-up, there are many possible ways to mitigate the worst effects of climate change. Below we’ve rounded up seven of the most effective solutions, many of which you may have been introduced to in the quiz above.
In this jigsaw activity, you’ll become an expert in one of the climate solutions listed below and then present what you learned to your classmates. Teachers may assign a student or small group to each topic, or allow them to choose. Students, read at least one of the linked articles on your topic; you can also use that article as a jumping-off point for more research.
Climate Change Solutions
Renewable energy: Scientists agree that to avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change, countries must immediately move away from dirty energy sources like coal, oil and gas, and instead turn to renewable energy sources like wind, solar or nuclear power. Read about the potent possibilities of one of these producers, offshore wind farms , and see how they operate .
Refrigerants: It’s not the most exciting solution to climate change, but it is one of the most effective. Read about how making refrigerants, like air-conditioners, more efficient could eliminate a full degree Celsius of warming by 2100.
Transportation: Across the globe, governments are focused on limiting one of the world’s biggest sources of pollution: gasoline-powered cars. Read about the promises and challenges of electric vehicles or about how countries are rethinking their transit systems .
Methane emissions: You hear a lot about the need to reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, but what about its dangerous cousin, methane? Read about ideas to halt methane emissions and why doing so could be powerful in the short-term fight against climate change.
Agriculture: Efforts to limit global warming often target fossil fuels, but cutting greenhouse gases from food production is urgent, too, research says. Read about four fixes to earth’s food supply that could go a long way.
Nature conservation: Scientists agree that reversing biodiversity loss is a crucial way to slow climate change. Read about how protecting and restoring nature can help cool the planet or about how Indigenous communities could lead the way .
Carbon capture: Eliminating emissions alone may not be enough to avoid some of the worst effects of climate change, so some companies are investing in technology that sucks carbon dioxide out of the air. Learn more about so-called engineered carbon removal .
Questions to Consider
As you read about your climate solution, respond to the questions below. You can record your answers in this graphic organizer (PDF).
1. What is the solution? How does it work?
2. What problem related to climate change does this strategy address?
3. What effect could it have on global warming?
4. Compared with other ways to mitigate climate change, how effective is this one? Why?
5. What are the limitations of this solution?
6. What are some of the challenges or risks (political, social, economic or technical) of this idea?
7. What further questions do you have about this strategy?
When you’ve finished, you’ll meet in “teaching groups” with at least one expert in each of the other climate solutions. Share what you know about your topic with your classmates and record what you learn from them in your graphic organizer .
Going Further
Option 1: Develop a climate plan.
Scientists say that in order to prevent the average global temperature from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius, the threshold beyond which the dangers of global warming grow immensely, we will need to enact all of the solutions you learned about — and more. However, the reality is that countries won’t be able to right away. They will have to consider which can have the biggest or fastest impact on climate change, which are the most cost-effective and which are the most politically and socially feasible.
Imagine you have been asked to come up with a plan to address climate change. If you were in charge, which of these seven solutions would you prioritize and why? You might start by ranking the solutions you learned about from the most effective or urgent to the least.
Then, write a proposal for your plan that responds to the following questions:
What top three solutions are priorities? That is, which do you think are the most urgent to tackle right away and the most effective at slowing global warming?
Explain your decisions. According to your research — the articles you read and the quiz you took in the beginning of the lesson — why should these solutions take precedence?
How might you incentivize companies and citizens to embrace these changes? For some ideas, you might read more about the climate policies countries around the world have adopted to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Option 2: Take action.
Thinking about climate change solutions on such a big scale can be overwhelming, but there are things you can do in your own life and in your community to make a difference. Choose one of the activities below to take action on, or come up with one of your own:
Share climate solutions via media. Often, the news media focuses more on climate change problems than solutions. Counteract this narrative by creating something for publication related to one or more of the solutions you learned about. For example, you could submit a letter to the editor , write an article for your school newspaper, enter a piece in one of our upcoming student contests or create an infographic to share on social media .
Make changes in your own life. How can you make good climate choices related to one or more of the topics you learned about? For example, you could eat less meat, take public transportation or turn off your air-conditioner. Write a plan, explaining what you will do (or what you are already doing) and how it could help mitigate climate change, according to the research.
Join a movement. This guest essay urges people to focus on systems, not themselves. What groups could you get involved with that are working toward some of the solutions you learned about? Identify at least one group, either local, national or international, and one way you could support it. Or, if you’re old enough to vote, consider a local, state or federal politician you would like to support based on his or her climate policies.
Want more Lessons of the Day? You can find them all here .
Solutions to Global Warming
Solutions to Global Warming There are many solutions to reduce the amount of green house gases in the atmosphere, which causes Global Warming. A main culprit for global warming is the use of CFC's (chlorofluorocarbons). If the use of CFC's was reduced, the number of greenhouse gases will be reduced by a great deal (however there are many other thing that cause dramatic amounts of greenhouse gases including carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide). The items that contain CFC's are regular house hold items, but they can have a devastating effect on the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. They are found in aerosols, plastic foam and fridges. However now that the scientists have a greater knowledge on the effect of CFC's the government had banned the selling of objects with CFC's in; and also great care is needed when disposing of older items containing CFC's e.g. fridges. CFC's are 40 times more effective as a greenhouse gas then carbon dioxide. So reducing the amount of CFC's used will have a good effect on the atmo...
In this essay, the author
- Explains that there are many solutions to reduce the amount of green house gases in the atmosphere, which causes global warming.
- Explains that cfc's can have a devastating effect on the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. they are found in aerosols, plastic foam and fridges.
- Argues that reducing the amount of cfc's used will have a good effect on the atmosphere by causing less damage.
- Explains that reducing the amount of trees cut down each year in rainforests like the amazon will have a massive impact on the co2 levels in our atmosphere.
- Opines that sustainable forestry could be taken into consideration, where for every tree cut down one or two new trees are planted.
- Explains how people can save energy without having to pay a great deal by buying more energy efficient washing machines and refrigerators.
- Explains that the amount of fossil fuels burnt will be reduced and minimise greenhouse gases. lower energy light-bulbs use half the energy of normal light bulbs.
- Concludes that there are many simple methods which people need to take in consideration to prevent global warming.
- Opines that a law stating that the selling of cfc products is illegal should be introduced world wide. large ledc counties like china and india need to be educated and persuaded by financial incentives to adopt the measures used in britain to reduce global warming.
- explanatory
- comparative
- Opines that the solution to the waste catastrophe is to recycle, reuse, and reduce.
- Opines that doing something to help the planet is better than doing nothing at all. the whole system must become eco-friendly to make a significant and beneficial difference.
- Explains that climate change is the transformation of our weather and global patterns. fossil fuels are one reason our climate is changing for the worst.
- Opines that we need to mend and restore our whole and only planet. we are not advanced enough to colonize other planets and destroy them.
- Explains that our society is riddled with countless problems that are causing discussions and debates around the world. one of the most important problems is climate change or "the greenhouse effect."
- Explains that the earth's average temperature has risen one and a half degrees over the past 100 years, and the temperature is expected to rise about.5 to 8.6 degrees.
- Opines that one-fourth of the earth's species could be headed for extinction by 2050 due to climate change.
- Explains that the cost and benefits of global warming will vary greatly from area to area.
- Explains that the concentration of carbon dioxide within the atmosphere was approximately 280ppm before the industrial revolution began, but has increased tremendously since 1800?s. recent climate changes cannot be explained by natural causes alone.
- Argues that free markets can transform global climate change into a source of net benefits for humankind. the heat is melting glaciers and sea ice, shifting precipitation patterns and setting animals on the move.
- Explains that there is no single solution to solve global warming which has already created havoc in today's world. the solutions listed below can bring down the carbon emissions up to much extent.
- Opines that skeptics who don't believe in global warming are the ones who attack weather data, the analysis of climatologists and the predictions of the models.
- Opines that global warming is an issue that the united states has been facing for many years now.
- Explains that global warming is caused by natural and human consumption causes, such as burning of fossil fuels for everyday errands.
- Explains that global warming causes droughts, heat waves, and severe cold winters in the united states. the drought is not good for the economy of central valley and the framers.
- Explains that california passed the california global warming solutions act (ab 32) and became the first state to standardize greenhouse gases by 2020.
- Explains that global warming affects everything from agriculture to the new generation babies.
- Opines that corporations need to find new ways of getting work done, such as finding better alternatives.
- Opines that the subject of global warming is huge and one that can't be avoided any longer. there are cheaper and less expensive ways to help the environment but need to be found.
- Opines that the u.s. federal government should take these ideas into consideration and educate the common people about the climate change issue.
- Cites dawson, mccright, dunlap, hulme, dlugokencky, butler, j. h., and spooner, i.
- Explains that emissions of co2 increased by 0.3% to 6.8 tons per person in the united states. emissions from the industrial sector declined by 1.3% even though the u.s. economy grew 3.9% in 1998.
- Explains that 1999 u.s. greenhouse gas emissions were about 10.7 percent higher than 1990 emissions, which are estimated at 1,655 million metric tons carbon equivalent.
- Explains the u.s. emissions of greenhouse gases, based on global warming potential, 1990-1999.
- Explains that the data in this table are revised from the previous eia report, emissions of greenhouse gases in the united states 1998.
- Analyzes the energy end-use sector sources of u.s. carbon dioxide emissions, 1990-1999. the residential sector's carbon dioxide emissions increased by 0.4 percent in 1999.
- Explains that carbon dioxide (co2) is the most troublesome greenhouse gas that comes from human activities, mostly from burning hydrocarbon fuels.
- Explains that the atmospheric concentrations of several greenhouse gases are rising as a result of human activity.
- Explains that each greenhouse gas differs in its ability to absorb heat in the atmosphere. methane traps over 21 times more heat per molecule than carbon dioxide.
- Explains that emissions vary based on the state you live in, the types of fuel used to generate electricity, population and vehicle miles traveled, and whether fossil fuels are extracted or processed.
- Explains that action is occurring at every level to reduce, to avoid, and to better understand the risks associated with climate change. many cities and states across the country have prepared greenhouse gas inventories.
- Explains that the u.s. global change research program (usgcrp) coordinates the world's most extensive research effort on climate change. epa and other federal agencies are actively engaging the private sector, states, and localities in partnerships.
- Proposes that we collect co2, compress it, and store it underground, where it originally came from.
- Opines that dry ice would solve all the problems for hundreds of years, despite the enormity of our rivals.
- Opines that the "dry ice can" plan has more emphatic long-term consideration, for further resource preservation and daily housing uses.
- Argues that the "dry ice can" plan impels urban expansion while accelerating our industrial development.
- Proposes the "dry ice plan" for the sake of our ultimate benefit.
- Argues that global warming should be a priority in today's society, and that it needs to be taken into consideration before it is too late.
- Explains that 97% of all climate scientists agree that global warming is an issue and that it is most likely due to human activity.
- Explains that global warming is a concern because of our dependence on fossil fuels, which causes heat trapping greenhouse gases into our atmosphere. the temperature rise over the next 16 years has been estimated to be greater than the past century.
- Explains that the earth's orbit has been cooling and warming for a hundred thousand years, but this isn't the cause of global warming. the "hockey stick graph" shows the constant rise and fall in temperatures after the industrial revolution.
- Argues that global warming caused by humans is a growing threat to society.
- Opines that the temperature rise is going to have a large effect on our global recourses. their glaciers have already begun to melt and slide into the ocean.
- Opines that humans aren't the only creatures trying to adapt to the changes we are forcing them to go through. animals are starting to recognize the climate change.
- Concludes that global warming is detrimental to our world and that we need to take into consideration the outcome of our planet should we continue to abuse it.
- Explains that global warming has become a global problem facing our planet. as the world continues to warm, the effects of climate change will be detrimental.
- Opines that while there is no one, immediate solution to this complication, there are smaller solutions that can eventually reduce the effects that climate change has on the planet.
- Explains that the most common cause of the current global warming trend is the burning of fossil fuels, which changes the natural greenhouse of our earth.
- Explains that the effects of green house gases on climate change in the environment have already been witnessed. future hurricanes will become stronger and more intense because the climate continues to warm.
- Explains that household appliances, such as refrigerators and freezers, are harmful and pose a serious threat to our planet.
- Opines that the best way to reduce the effects of global climate change is to promote education and apply it in school classrooms.
- Explains how climate change education can be implemented into regular classroom lessons that will benefit both young children and older children.
- Explains that planting gardens and trees can be a fun and easy activity that elementary and high school students can take part in.
- Opines that most schools would not mind paying for the cost of materials needed to educate their students about climate change.
- Opines that the only solution left is to put our faith in the future generations of this planet, in hopes that they will finally end this massive problem.
- Explains that humans are the most dominant species on earth because of their ability to think outside the box. planting and protecting trees is a popular idea to stop global warming.
- Explains that global warming is a serious problem with two major effects which are increasing in sea level and degradation of wild lives.
- Explains that planting and protecting trees is the best solution to the global warming.
- Explains that plants and protecting trees meet all the promises from both of the solutions above and is not limited to one country or a place.
- Concludes that global warming is a slow and gradual process that affects our lives day by day. many environmentalists and nature protection organizations have come up with many ideas to prevent it.
- Argues that mankind should be responsible for destroying the planet's atmosphere due to global warming. renewable energy is an efficient way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
- Explains that the global thermometer is changing year by year, which could have a devastating impact on humanity. the latest use of hybrid cars, renewable energy, and wind power are all technological advancements that could assist in the outcome of global warming.
- Analyzes how the seriousness of global warming affects both the environment and the people living in it.
- Explains that new technologies such as wind turbines and windmills are used to create pollution-free renewable energy that is valuable to cutting back global warming.
- Explains that diandong, r., and kriz, m. (2010). effects of global warming on wind energy availability.
- Explains that global warming is when an excess of certain gasses are produced and trap the sun's heat in the atmosphere.
- Opines that without human participation in stopping global warming, the earth will continue to spiral into death.
Related Topics
- Greenhouse gas
Responding to Climate Change
NASA is a world leader in climate studies and Earth science. While its role is not to set climate policy or prescribe particular responses or solutions to climate change, its purview does include providing the robust scientific data needed to understand climate change. NASA then makes this information available to the global community – the public, policy- and decision-makers and scientific and planning agencies around the world.
Climate change is one of the most complex issues facing us today. It involves many dimensions – science, economics, society, politics, and moral and ethical questions – and is a global problem, felt on local scales, that will be around for thousands of years. Carbon dioxide, the heat-trapping greenhouse gas that is the primary driver of recent global warming, lingers in the atmosphere for many thousands of years, and the planet (especially the ocean) takes a while to respond to warming. So even if we stopped emitting all greenhouse gases today, global warming and climate change will continue to affect future generations. In this way, humanity is “committed” to some level of climate change.
How much climate change? That will be determined by how our emissions continue and exactly how our climate responds to those emissions. Despite increasing awareness of climate change, our emissions of greenhouse gases continue on a relentless rise . In 2013, the daily level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere surpassed 400 parts per million for the first time in human history . The last time levels were that high was about three to five million years ago, during the Pliocene Epoch.
Because we are already committed to some level of climate change, responding to climate change involves a two-pronged approach:
- Reducing emissions of and stabilizing the levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (“mitigation”) ;
- Adapting to the climate change already in the pipeline (“adaptation”) .
Mitigation and Adaptation
Mitigation – reducing climate change – involves reducing the flow of heat-trapping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere , either by reducing sources of these gases (for example, the burning of fossil fuels for electricity, heat, or transport) or enhancing the “sinks” that accumulate and store these gases (such as the oceans, forests, and soil). The goal of mitigation is to avoid significant human interference with Earth's climate , “stabilize greenhouse gas levels in a timeframe sufficient to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, ensure that food production is not threatened, and to enable economic development to proceed in a sustainable manner” (from the 2014 report on Mitigation of Climate Change from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, page 4).
Adaptation – adapting to life in a changing climate – involves adjusting to actual or expected future climate. The goal is to reduce our risks from the harmful effects of climate change (like sea-level rise, more intense extreme weather events, or food insecurity). It also includes making the most of any potential beneficial opportunities associated with climate change (for example, longer growing seasons or increased yields in some regions).
Throughout history, people and societies have adjusted to and coped with changes in climate and extremes with varying degrees of success. Climate change (drought in particular) has been at least partly responsible for the rise and fall of civilizations . Earth’s climate has been relatively stable for the past 10,000 years, and this stability has allowed for the development of our modern civilization and agriculture. Our modern life is tailored to that stable climate and not the much warmer climate of the next thousand-plus years. As our climate changes, we will need to adapt. The faster the climate changes, the more difficult it will be.
While climate change is a global issue, it is felt on a local scale. Local governments are therefore at the frontline of adaptation. Cities and local communities around the world have been focusing on solving their own climate problems . They are working to build flood defenses, plan for heat waves and higher temperatures, install better-draining pavements to deal with floods and stormwater, and improve water storage and use.
According to the 2014 report on Climate Change Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability (page 8) from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, governments at various levels are also getting better at adaptation. Climate change is being included into development plans: how to manage the increasingly extreme disasters we are seeing, how to protect coastlines and deal with sea-level rise, how to best manage land and forests, how to deal with and plan for drought, how to develop new crop varieties, and how to protect energy and public infrastructure.
How NASA Is Involved
NASA, with its Eyes on the Earth and wealth of knowledge on Earth’s climate, is one of the world’s experts in climate science . NASA’s role is to provide the robust scientific data needed to understand climate change. For example, data from the agency’s Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) , its follow-on mission ( GRACE-FO ), the Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat), and the ICESat-2 missions have shown rapid changes in the Earth's great ice sheets. The Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich and the Jason series of missions have documented rising global sea level since 1992.
NASA makes detailed climate data available to the global community – the public, policy-, and decision-makers and scientific and planning agencies around the world. It is not NASA’s role to set climate policy or recommend solutions to climate change. NASA is one of 13 U.S. government agencies that form part of the U.S. Global Change Research Program, which has a legal mandate to help the nation and the world understand, assess, predict, and respond to global change. These U.S. partner agencies include the Department of Agriculture , the Environmental Protection Agency , and the Department of Energy , each of which has a different role depending on their area of expertise.
Although NASA’s main focus is not on energy-technology research and development, work is being done around the agency and by/with various partners and collaborators to find other sources of energy to power our needs.
Related Articles
For further reading on NASA’s work on mitigation and adaptation, take a look at these pages:
Earth Science in Action
- Sustainability and Government Resources
- NASA's Electric Airplane
- NASA Aeronautics
- NASA Spinoff (Technology Transfer Program)
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- Essay on Global Warming
Essay On Global Warming
Essay on global warming is an important topic for students to understand. The essay brings to light the plight of the environment and the repercussion of anthropogenic activities. Continue reading to discover tips and tricks for writing an engaging and interesting essay on global warming.
Essay On Global Warming in 300 Words
Global warming is a phenomenon where the earth’s average temperature rises due to increased amounts of greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and ozone trap the incoming radiation from the sun. This effect creates a natural “blanket”, which prevents the heat from escaping back into the atmosphere. This effect is called the greenhouse effect.
Contrary to popular belief, greenhouse gases are not inherently bad. In fact, the greenhouse effect is quite important for life on earth. Without this effect, the sun’s radiation would be reflected back into the atmosphere, freezing the surface and making life impossible. However, when greenhouse gases in excess amounts get trapped, serious repercussions begin to appear. The polar ice caps begin to melt, leading to a rise in sea levels. Furthermore, the greenhouse effect is accelerated when polar ice caps and sea ice melts. This is due to the fact the ice reflects 50% to 70% of the sun’s rays back into space, but without ice, the solar radiation gets absorbed. Seawater reflects only 6% of the sun’s radiation back into space. What’s more frightening is the fact that the poles contain large amounts of carbon dioxide trapped within the ice. If this ice melts, it will significantly contribute to global warming.
A related scenario when this phenomenon goes out of control is the runaway-greenhouse effect. This scenario is essentially similar to an apocalypse, but it is all too real. Though this has never happened in the earth’s entire history, it is speculated to have occurred on Venus. Millions of years ago, Venus was thought to have an atmosphere similar to that of the earth. But due to the runaway greenhouse effect, surface temperatures around the planet began rising.
If this occurs on the earth, the runaway greenhouse effect will lead to many unpleasant scenarios – temperatures will rise hot enough for oceans to evaporate. Once the oceans evaporate, the rocks will start to sublimate under heat. In order to prevent such a scenario, proper measures have to be taken to stop climate change.
More to Read: Learn How Greenhouse Effect works
Tips To Writing the Perfect Essay
Consider adopting the following strategies when writing an essay. These are proven methods of securing more marks in an exam or assignment.
- Begin the essay with an introductory paragraph detailing the history or origin of the given topic.
- Try to reduce the use of jargons. Use sparingly if the topic requires it.
- Ensure that the content is presented in bulleted points wherever appropriate.
- Insert and highlight factual data, such as dates, names and places.
- Remember to break up the content into smaller paragraphs. 100-120 words per paragraph should suffice.
- Always conclude the essay with a closing paragraph.
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Causes and Effects of Climate Change
Fossil fuels – coal, oil and gas – are by far the largest contributor to global climate change, accounting for over 75 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions and nearly 90 per cent of all carbon dioxide emissions.
As greenhouse gas emissions blanket the Earth, they trap the sun’s heat. This leads to global warming and climate change. The world is now warming faster than at any point in recorded history. Warmer temperatures over time are changing weather patterns and disrupting the usual balance of nature. This poses many risks to human beings and all other forms of life on Earth.
Causes of Climate Change
Generating power
Generating electricity and heat by burning fossil fuels causes a large chunk of global emissions. Most electricity is still generated by burning coal, oil, or gas, which produces carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide – powerful greenhouse gases that blanket the Earth and trap the sun’s heat. Globally, a bit more than a quarter of electricity comes from wind, solar and other renewable sources which, as opposed to fossil fuels, emit little to no greenhouse gases or pollutants into the air.
Manufacturing goods
Manufacturing and industry produce emissions, mostly from burning fossil fuels to produce energy for making things like cement, iron, steel, electronics, plastics, clothes, and other goods. Mining and other industrial processes also release gases, as does the construction industry. Machines used in the manufacturing process often run on coal, oil, or gas; and some materials, like plastics, are made from chemicals sourced from fossil fuels. The manufacturing industry is one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.
Cutting down forests
Cutting down forests to create farms or pastures, or for other reasons, causes emissions, since trees, when they are cut, release the carbon they have been storing. Each year approximately 12 million hectares of forest are destroyed. Since forests absorb carbon dioxide, destroying them also limits nature’s ability to keep emissions out of the atmosphere. Deforestation, together with agriculture and other land use changes, is responsible for roughly a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Using transportation
Most cars, trucks, ships, and planes run on fossil fuels. That makes transportation a major contributor of greenhouse gases, especially carbon-dioxide emissions. Road vehicles account for the largest part, due to the combustion of petroleum-based products, like gasoline, in internal combustion engines. But emissions from ships and planes continue to grow. Transport accounts for nearly one quarter of global energy-related carbon-dioxide emissions. And trends point to a significant increase in energy use for transport over the coming years.
Producing food
Producing food causes emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases in various ways, including through deforestation and clearing of land for agriculture and grazing, digestion by cows and sheep, the production and use of fertilizers and manure for growing crops, and the use of energy to run farm equipment or fishing boats, usually with fossil fuels. All this makes food production a major contributor to climate change. And greenhouse gas emissions also come from packaging and distributing food.
Powering buildings
Globally, residential and commercial buildings consume over half of all electricity. As they continue to draw on coal, oil, and natural gas for heating and cooling, they emit significant quantities of greenhouse gas emissions. Growing energy demand for heating and cooling, with rising air-conditioner ownership, as well as increased electricity consumption for lighting, appliances, and connected devices, has contributed to a rise in energy-related carbon-dioxide emissions from buildings in recent years.
Consuming too much
Your home and use of power, how you move around, what you eat and how much you throw away all contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. So does the consumption of goods such as clothing, electronics, and plastics. A large chunk of global greenhouse gas emissions are linked to private households. Our lifestyles have a profound impact on our planet. The wealthiest bear the greatest responsibility: the richest 1 per cent of the global population combined account for more greenhouse gas emissions than the poorest 50 per cent.
Based on various UN sources
Effects of Climate Change
Hotter temperatures
As greenhouse gas concentrations rise, so does the global surface temperature. The last decade, 2011-2020, is the warmest on record. Since the 1980s, each decade has been warmer than the previous one. Nearly all land areas are seeing more hot days and heat waves. Higher temperatures increase heat-related illnesses and make working outdoors more difficult. Wildfires start more easily and spread more rapidly when conditions are hotter. Temperatures in the Arctic have warmed at least twice as fast as the global average.
More severe storms
Destructive storms have become more intense and more frequent in many regions. As temperatures rise, more moisture evaporates, which exacerbates extreme rainfall and flooding, causing more destructive storms. The frequency and extent of tropical storms is also affected by the warming ocean. Cyclones, hurricanes, and typhoons feed on warm waters at the ocean surface. Such storms often destroy homes and communities, causing deaths and huge economic losses.
Increased drought
Climate change is changing water availability, making it scarcer in more regions. Global warming exacerbates water shortages in already water-stressed regions and is leading to an increased risk of agricultural droughts affecting crops, and ecological droughts increasing the vulnerability of ecosystems. Droughts can also stir destructive sand and dust storms that can move billions of tons of sand across continents. Deserts are expanding, reducing land for growing food. Many people now face the threat of not having enough water on a regular basis.
A warming, rising ocean
The ocean soaks up most of the heat from global warming. The rate at which the ocean is warming strongly increased over the past two decades, across all depths of the ocean. As the ocean warms, its volume increases since water expands as it gets warmer. Melting ice sheets also cause sea levels to rise, threatening coastal and island communities. In addition, the ocean absorbs carbon dioxide, keeping it from the atmosphere. But more carbon dioxide makes the ocean more acidic, which endangers marine life and coral reefs.
Loss of species
Climate change poses risks to the survival of species on land and in the ocean. These risks increase as temperatures climb. Exacerbated by climate change, the world is losing species at a rate 1,000 times greater than at any other time in recorded human history. One million species are at risk of becoming extinct within the next few decades. Forest fires, extreme weather, and invasive pests and diseases are among many threats related to climate change. Some species will be able to relocate and survive, but others will not.
Not enough food
Changes in the climate and increases in extreme weather events are among the reasons behind a global rise in hunger and poor nutrition. Fisheries, crops, and livestock may be destroyed or become less productive. With the ocean becoming more acidic, marine resources that feed billions of people are at risk. Changes in snow and ice cover in many Arctic regions have disrupted food supplies from herding, hunting, and fishing. Heat stress can diminish water and grasslands for grazing, causing declining crop yields and affecting livestock.
More health risks
Climate change is the single biggest health threat facing humanity. Climate impacts are already harming health, through air pollution, disease, extreme weather events, forced displacement, pressures on mental health, and increased hunger and poor nutrition in places where people cannot grow or find sufficient food. Every year, environmental factors take the lives of around 13 million people. Changing weather patterns are expanding diseases, and extreme weather events increase deaths and make it difficult for health care systems to keep up.
Poverty and displacement
Climate change increases the factors that put and keep people in poverty. Floods may sweep away urban slums, destroying homes and livelihoods. Heat can make it difficult to work in outdoor jobs. Water scarcity may affect crops. Over the past decade (2010–2019), weather-related events displaced an estimated 23.1 million people on average each year, leaving many more vulnerable to poverty. Most refugees come from countries that are most vulnerable and least ready to adapt to the impacts of climate change.
Learn more about...
What is climate change?
Our climate 101 offers a quick take on the how and why of climate change.
What is “net zero”, why is it important, and is the world on track to reach it?
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6. Actually eat the food you buy—and compost what you can't. Approximately 10 percent of U.S. energy use goes into growing, processing, packaging, and shipping food—about 40 percent of which ...
A global conversation that began with concern over warming has now turned to the broader term climate change, preferred by scientists to describe the complex shifts now affecting our planet's ...
global warming, the phenomenon of increasing average air temperatures near the surface of Earth over the past one to two centuries. Climate scientists have since the mid-20th century gathered detailed observations of various weather phenomena (such as temperatures, precipitation, and storms) and of related influences on climate (such as ocean currents and the atmosphere's chemical composition).
The solutions above offer the outline of a plan to personally avoid contributing to global warming. But should such individual and national efforts fail, there is another, potentially desperate ...
Thus, it will result in global warming. Steps must be taken immediately to stop global warming and make the earth better again. Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas. Global Warming Solutions. As stated earlier, it might be challenging but it is not entirely impossible. Global warming can be stopped when combined efforts are ...
The sea level is increasing by 0.12 inches per year worldwide. This is happening because of the melting of polar ice caps because of global warming. This has increased the frequency of floods in many lowland areas and has caused damage to coral reefs. The Arctic is one of the worst-hit areas affected by global warming.
Another cause of global warming is greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases are carbon monoxide and sulphur dioxide it trap the solar heats rays and prevent it from escaping from the surface of the earth. This has cause the temperature of the earth increase. Volcanic eruptions are another issue that causes global warming.
A rise in global temperatures can lead to additional changes in the environment, such as rising sea levels. Since an increase in the temperature causes the glaciers and icebergs to melt at a rapid pace, it causes the sea levels to rise. On the Weather: Global Warming causes intense heat waves by significantly increasing the temperature which ...
This example global warming essay discusses the causes of this environmental change along with the effects of the warming of our planet and how to prevent it in the future. ... A comprehensive solution to global warming would be to curtail carbon emissions further through innovations in alternative energy, combined with a plan to minimize ...
Solutions to Global Warming Essay example. Scientists report that global warming has been escalating since the Industrial Revolution. Governments are trying to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions. With the speed of destruction of Earth?fs ecosystem, the survival of many species, including human beings, is threatened.
Here are 10 ways you can be part of the climate solution: Photo: Unsplash / Becca Tapert 1. Spread the word . Encourage your friends, family and co-workers to reduce their carbon pollution. Join a global movement like Count Us In, which aims to inspire 1 billion people to take practical steps and challenge their leaders to act more boldly on ...
The "it" is global warming. "Global warming refers to the global-average temperature increase that has been observed over the last one hundred years or more" (Spencer). Some experts argue that global warming is a result of human activities, while others believe the warming and cooling of the Earth's atmosphere is a natural cycle.
Students are often asked to write an essay on Global Warming in their schools and colleges. And if you're also looking for the same, we have created 100-word and 250-word essays on the topic. ... Solution. To reduce the effects of global warming, we need to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases. We can do this by using renewable energy ...
Solution of Global Warming Essay. The modern world faced the problem of global warming which is considered to be the growth of Earth's average temperature within oceans and air. It is necessary to underline the fact that this climate change has started to develop since the 20th century and is still in a progressive state of continuation.
Solutions to Global Warming Essays. Air Pollution Policy Problem. Air pollution is currently one of the policy problems that affect several countries across the globe. Air pollution refers to the introduction of harmful substances into the air. As more countries become industrialized, the level of air pollution (Vaahtoranta, 1990).
Global Warming refers to the increase in the average temperature of the earth's surface during the last century. One of the reasons why Global Warming is dangerous is because it disturbs the overall ecology of the planet. This results in floods, famine, cyclones and other issues. There are many causes and results of this warming and is a danger ...
The Paris agreement has the aim of limiting global warming to well below 2ºC and ideally to 1.5°C. If governments act swiftly on the promises they made in the Paris climate agreement, and implement the solutions now, there's still hope of avoiding the worst consequences of climate change. Global climate change activism
Option 1: Develop a climate plan. Scientists say that in order to prevent the average global temperature from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius, the threshold beyond which the dangers of global ...
Explains that global warming causes droughts, heat waves, and severe cold winters in the united states. the drought is not good for the economy of central valley and the framers. Explains that california passed the california global warming solutions act (ab 32) and became the first state to standardize greenhouse gases by 2020.
In the United States of America, emissions in 2020 (the latest available data) were 14.6 tons of CO2 equivalent per person - more than double the global average of 6.3 tons, and six times the 2. ...
Responding to climate change involves two possible approaches: reducing and stabilizing the levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere ("mitigation") and adapting to the climate change already in the pipeline ("adaptation"). NASA's role is to make climate data available to the global community, including the public ...
Essay On Global Warming in 300 Words. Global warming is a phenomenon where the earth's average temperature rises due to increased amounts of greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and ozone trap the incoming radiation from the sun. This effect creates a natural "blanket", which prevents the heat from escaping ...
As greenhouse gas emissions blanket the Earth, they trap the sun's heat. This leads to global warming and climate change. The world is now warming faster than at any point in recorded history ...
Solution of global warming essay - Intro. Causes of Global Warming: Global warming is as a result of several factors some of which are natural while some are human influences. If we want to be able to reduce or limit pollution through global warming, there is a need for us to put a limit to technological needs that are unnecessary. Global ...