Global warming can be defined as the average increase of global temperatures in the earth’s atmosphere. A rising and an accelerating trend in global temperatures has been witnessed since the industrial revolution. Data from surface temperature stations and satellites have measured an imbalance of energy at the top of the Earth's atmosphere. The data indicates that the planet is warming. Pieces of evidence showing the effects of global warming have also been recorded. Sea levels continue to rise, ice sheets are receding, and spring is arriving sooner every year.
What is more worrying is the fact that the warming is continuing despite efforts and mechanisms put in place to address the issue. A research study conducted by the NASA Institute of Goddard Studies (GISS) has shown that the twenty-first century is hotter than the nineteenth century, which was, in turn, hotter than the eighteenth century ( Paterson, 2013) . Global warming is a problem affecting every country and every continent in equal measure. Global warming is disrupting national economies, negatively affecting lives, and disrupting global sustainability. It is therefore high time for countries to pull their resources together and bring to a stop the rising cases of global warming.
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Causes of Global Warming
The greenhouse effect witnessed on Earth did not magically happen. Neither is it attributed by natural forces such as volcanoes, the sun or the El Nino cycles. The global warming trend witnessed in recent years is human-made. Atmospheric temperatures in the Earth's atmosphere are rising mainly due to human activities. Research findings have established that humans are emitting thirty billion tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) gas into the atmosphere per year. According to Stoknes (2015), CO2 is released into the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels such as coal or oil.
The CO2 gas collects into the atmosphere and absorbs solar radiation that would otherwise have escaped into space. The solar radiation that has bounced off the Earth's surface is therefore trapped thus causing the planet to get hotter. Fossil fuels are usually burnt in the United States to make electricity by coal-burning power plants. These plants emit about two billion tons of CO2 every year thus acting as the largest source of heat trapping-pollution. Another notable source of carbon pollution comes from the transportation sector. Statistics show that carbon pollution generated yearly by the transportation sector is about 1.7 billion tons. The transportation sector, therefore, acts as the second- largest source of CO2 pollution in the United States. The problem of global warming does not rest with the United States alone. However, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported that the average temperature all over the world has increased by about 0.8 degrees Celsius from 1880. According to the IPCC report, the dominant cause of observed global warming is as a result of human influence (Dhillon, & von Wuehlisch, 2013). It is, therefore, correct to say that humans are the primary cause of global warming witnessed since the Industrial Revolution.
Scientists have also observed that human greenhouse gas emissions have caused about 66 percent more global warming since the 1950s. Provided that humans continue to emit large amounts of greenhouse gases such like CO2, nitrogen oxide and chlorofluorocarbons, the warming will continue. Global warming should, therefore, be a paramount concern for the society since it involves a wide range of interlinked problems. People from different nations should, therefore, pursue an interdisciplinary manner and use a holistic approach to examine and solve various problematic aspects of global warming.
Effects of Global Warming
Global warming brings with it various consequences. Though the outcomes may be both positive and negative, the net result always ends up to be adverse. Some of the positive effects noted by scientist include improving agriculture in places with high altitudes. The negatives will, however, outweigh the positives in the long run. Some of the negative consequences of global warming include species extinction due to shifting temperature regimes, ocean acidification, heavy snowfall, and heavy rainfall with floods, heat waves, and droughts ( Paterson, 2013).
It will be accurate to say that the effects of global warming pose a threat to environmental sustainability. The overall climate across the globe is changing. Rainfall patterns and air circulation patterns are shifting significantly. These changes witnessed as a result of global warming have brought climate instability globally. Climate instability has in turn created economic and security instability among nations.
Countries such as the United States have learned of the effects of global warming the hard way possible. For example in 2015, the state of California the worst water shortage in 1,200 years. Environmental scientists argued that global warming contributed 15 percent to 20 percent of the witnessed drought. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has issued a report indicating that oceans have warmed, sea level has risen, and the amounts of snow and ice have diminished (Wallace et al., 2014) . Due to increased emission of greenhouse gases by human activities, the IPCC has predicted that the global temperature will rise by more than 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2065.
Ocean acidity has also risen to approximately 30 percent. The amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by oceans has increased by more than 2 billion tons per year. The quality of aquatic life is adversely affected due to ocean acidity. The adverse effect brought by ocean acidity is the extinction of sea animals. Scientists have also blamed global warming for heating dispersal. The ocean temperatures are becoming warmer and warmer. Increased warmth of ocean temperatures enables tropical storms to pick up more energy. According to Dai (2013), global warming has the capability of turning a dormant category three storm into a more dangerous category four storm. The frequency of oceanic storms has therefore been significantly influenced by global warming. Research studies conducted by scientists have established that the incidence of North Atlantic Hurricanes has increased since the 1980s due to global warming. For example in 2005, New Orleans – in the United States- was struck by the costliest hurricane in the county’s history, Hurricane Katrina.
Global warming has also been associated with extreme heat waves that are being felt across the globe. The heat waves have contributed to adverse environmental and health effects to humans. More than nine explosive fires have occurred in the United States since 2000. In 2015, the United States witnessed the costliest fire in the American history which ended up burning approximately 10.1 million acres. Many people lost their homes due to the fire while some people lost their lives. Climate pundits have warned that the United States will face economic losses estimated to a whopping $ 180 billion by the end of the century due to climate change.
The Big Picture
Humans know that the Earth is warming and that they are the dominant cause of global warming. It is high time for people to take responsibility to mitigate the effects and dangers of global warming. People should stop assuming the risks brought by greenhouse gases they emit into the atmosphere. Due to increased cases of deforestation and increase use of fossil fuels, it has become difficult for forests to cycle vast amounts of carbon (Baer, & Singer, 2016). The quantity of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has therefore increased to an alarming level. Global warming is not a phenomenon made up by people to make money. It is a real phenomenon that will negatively impact human life negatively if it is not controlled.
It is not a wise decision to ignore the risks brought about by global warming. The risks of global warming have high catastrophic consequences if not dealt with in time. Taking action is not an option since humans have the necessary tools and know how to solve the problem. Global warming is not a problem that can be addressed in isolation. Countries need to join hands by sharing resources and technology for them to solve the problem of global warming more efficiently (Akerlof et al., 2013) .
Countries such as the United States have put in measures to avoid the worst effects that might result from global warming. For example, in 2015, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) formulated a Clean Power Plan. The plan was enacted to ensure that a reduction of carbon pollution from power plants reduces to more than a third by 2030. Countries should also reduce their overdependence on fossil fuels as a source as a source of energy. Using clean energy such as solar power is more environmentally friendly as it does away with the issue of carbon dioxide emissions (Dhillon, & von Wuehlisch, 2013). Globally, countries have come together to address the issue of global warming. States adopted the Paris Agreement which aimed at preventing the average global temperature from rising above pre-industrial times. More than 195 countries have agreed to approve plans for responding to climate change by jointly mobilizing $110 billion annually by 2020 to mitigate the effects of global warming.
Global warming is a worldwide issue and does not respect national boundaries. To effectively solve the underlying challenges brought by global warming, coordinated and international level solutions need to be adopted. However, countries need to put in individual efforts and mechanisms that will ensure they move toward a low-carbon economy. Such efforts include encouraging reforestation, recycling garbage, and discouraging the open burning of waste.
References
Dai, A. (2013). Increasing drought under global warming in observations and models. Nature Climate Change , 3 (1), 52.
Paterson, M. (2013). Global warming and global politics . Routledge.
Baer, H., & Singer, M. (2016). Global warming and the political ecology of health: Emerging crises and systemic solutions . Routledge.
Dhillon, R. S., & von Wuehlisch, G. (2013). Mitigation of global warming through renewable biomass. Biomass and Bioenergy , 48 , 75-89.
Akerlof, K., Maibach, E. W., Fitzgerald, D., Cedeno, A. Y., & Neuman, A. (2013). Do people “personally experience” global warming, and if so how, and does it matter?. Global Environmental Change , 23 (1), 81-91.
Stoknes, P. E. (2015). What we think about when we try not to think about global warming: Toward a new psychology of climate action . Chelsea Green Publishing.
Wallace, J. M., Held, I. M., Thompson, D. W., Trenberth, K. E., & Walsh, J. E. (2014). Global warming and winter weather. Science , 343 (6172), 729-730.
