The term “global warming” refers to the increase in the average temperature of the planet due to the release of excessive carbon dioxide and other harmful agents into the atmosphere. These agents, called greenhouse gases, trap heat at the Earth’s surface. For decades, scientists have been warning that greenhouse gases have reached levels that can no longer be fully absorbed or eliminated by natural processes. These greenhouse gasses are a direct result of human actions, and only human reaction can prevent ongoing damage to the planet.
Global warming, or climate change as it is now called by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, can adversely affect a wide variety of existing problems ranging from glacial melting to the transmission of infectious diseases.
Increasing temperatures can lead to extreme heat fatalities, such as the 700 heat related deaths that occurred in Chicago in the summer of 1995. Climate change can influence the breeding of mosquitoes, ticks and rodents, which can cause a rise in the incidence and transmission of infectious diseases. Warmer temperatures can also cause an increase in air and water pollution creating dangerous conditions for humans and animals.
Agriculture is extremely susceptible to the effects of climate change including droughts, floods and severe weather. The effects of climate change are also being seen in forests, with changing animal migration and breeding patterns, decreased tree health, increased wildfires and reduced carbon storage by plant life.
According to the EPA, “Human activity has already changed atmospheric characteristics such as temperature, rainfall, levels of carbon dioxide and ground level ozone.” Increased temperature can limit crop production in some areas, increase soil moisture evaporation and encourage droughts. Excessive rainfall can cause extreme soil erosion, washing away valuable nutrients needed to support plant life.
Climate change is also contributing to costal erosion caused by sea level rise and severe storms attributed to melting glaciers and ice caps. Research by the IPCC indicates that sea level rise may transform up to 22% of coastal areas to open ocean within the next century.
President Lyndon B. Johnson once said, “If future generations are to remember us with gratitude rather than contempt, we must leave them more than the miracles of technology. We must leave them a glimpse of the world as it was in the beginning, not just after we got through with it.”
Climate change is real, and it is drastically changing the world we live in. Keep future generations in mind, and live your life accordingly.
