The Earth is our home. from our ancestors to us, humans have been living on earth for a very long time. Unfortunately, climate change is destroying our planet Earth. But what exactly is causing the climate change? The answer is really simple. It's us, we are the ones destroying the Earth. Our activities are slowly killing and ruining our planet. The primary cause of climate change is the phenomenon of the greenhouse effect.
A greenhouse is a building made of glass. This building is used to grow plants. A greenhouse works by trapping the sun's heat, causing a rise in the internal temperature of the greenhouse. The trapped heat cannot escape back out, that's why a greenhouse stays warm at all times. It affects the earth in the same way. The greenhouse effect is a natural process that traps heat to sustain life on the earth. An increase in the temperature of the planet due to the accumulation of different gases is called the greenhouse effect.
The gases which cause this effect are called greenhouse gases. They include carbon dioxide, methane, chlorofluorocarbons and nitrous oxide. The increased concentration of any of these gases can increase the greenhouse effect. An increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide occurs due to the burning of fossil fuels. Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels have increased dramatically over the past few years. Landfills increased methane gas concentration in the atmosphere. Aerosols, air conditioners, and solvents release chlorofluorocarbons. Nitrous oxide is a byproduct of fuel combustion. All of these gases contribute to the production of the greenhouse effect.
Apart from those things, deforestation also plays a role in increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases. Plants are the primary source of oxygen. They supply oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide in return, thereby reducing the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The levels of carbon dioxide increase when we cut down forests. Some of the radiation from the Sun upon reaching the atmosphere of the earth reflects. The lakes, oceans and land absorb the rest of the radiation entering the atmosphere.
Heat radiates back to space from this reflection whereas the greenhouse gases trapped some of this heat. The increased concentration of greenhouse gases caused an increase in the amount of heat that gets stuck. The phenomenon causes the temperature of the earth to rise. Glaciers and polar ice caps begin to melt, and the water from the glaciers gets added into the oceans. This ultimately causes the sea level to increase. An increase in four to eight inches has been observed in the past 100 years. If this continues, the coastlines will sink, and floods will occur. In addition fresh water gets added to salt water, thereby causing a decrease in the amount of drinkable water.
Our activities have a severe impact on the environment. They are causing the climate to change drastically right before our eyes. We may not realize it, but the future generations are at a high risk. We should try to minimize the usage of all products that cause the elimination of greenhouse gases. We should also plant more trees. If we do not monitor our activities, the consequences to the earth and ourselves will be severe.
