Global warming is the phenomenon of continually increasing average temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans. Its causes are attributed to several things, including volcanic eruptions and changes in the Earth's orbit around the sun, but perhaps its most striking root is the presence of greenhouse gasses in our atmosphere, like methane and carbon dioxide. These gases trap the sun's heat, not letting it escape back to space. The more greenhouse gases there are, the more heat is trapped inside the earth's atmosphere, and the warmer our world gets. This conclusion is backed up by tremendous research and has been endorsed by at least 30 scientific societies and academies of science, together with all of the national academies of science of chief industrialized nations.
Some people would argue global warming is not real, but just some science fiction catastrophe scenario conjured up by scientists to scare people off. If you're some caveman living apart from modern society, you're probably one of them, but I'm sure even cavemen know that there's something wrong with our world these days. The seemingly invincible arctic ice is breaking off into huge chunks faster. In fact, Ward Hunt Ice Shelf, the biggest single block of ice in the Arctic Region, which has been around for 3,000 years, started cracking in 2000. Because of this, ocean levels are rising, and the earth absorbs more sunlight and gets even hotter. Arctic shrinkage and glacier retreat have also been observed.
Mother Nature's cycles have been disturbed, and erratic weather occurrences are evident all over the world. The El Niño phenomenon is a natural and expected occurrence, but global warming is causing El Niño to be unpredictable in terms of arrival, length of occurrence and strength. Notice too that the amount and pattern of rain fall has changed in many parts of the world. Hurricanes have become stronger, storms more intense. Drought and wildfires, flooding and heavy snowfall are also prevalent. Global warming also affects biodiversity, bringing about species extinctions. The increased temperatures also cause changes in agricultural yield and changes in the occurrence and spread of disease. The zone range of potential disease transmission increases; population size and range of hosts and pathogens, and duration of transmission season also change, affecting the overall intensity of outbreaks.
Fortunately, global warming is now a household phrase, and everyone seems to be aware of it at least to some degree. Greenpeace is one of the largest environmental activist groups and their worldwide campaigns to protect the Earth are commendable and highly respected. Efforts to lessen if not eliminate harmful substances that contribute to global warming take form in recycling and use of fuel alternatives like biogas and eco-friendly energy sources like solar and wind power.
I think global warming started by accident, like some kid who thought fire was cool and ended up burning his house. Well we haven't burned down our planet yet and we still have time to make sure we don't. If we haven't yet, we need to realize that to survive, we must protect the Earth. Information about global warming is plentiful, and when science experts, businessmen and politicians are talking about it, I'd say it's as real as the air you breathe; you can't see it, but you know and feel it's there. Global warming is a threat, but also an opportunity to change for the better.
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