Humans feel the need to take on tasks based on their own selfish reasons. We have a lot of power being a part of this world, so why don’t we use it for good? I would say the Earth is slowly being destroyed, but now we are on a timeline for when we can fix our mistakes before the damage becomes irreversible.
The planet is heating up fast, the leading cause of this being the burning of fossil fuels. These planet-warming pollutions are hitting record highs, and the world is struggling. 37.4 billion metric tons of pollution is reported to take effect, which is 0.8% more than it was in the year 2023.
The amount of natural disasters has increased heavily this year, with many back-to-back hurricanes, an unusual amount of flooding, typhoons, and droughts across the globe. The amount of carbon dioxide has increased by more than 20% in the past century. Precipitation patterns will change worldwide, heatwaves and droughts will appear more commonly, and the temperature will keep on rising. We have already seen this effect, for we are in the middle of November, and temperatures are still getting up to 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
Global warming is affecting animals more than humans right now, which is why factories are still refusing to make changes. In the Arctic, animals are dying due to this heat rise. Polar bears are on track to become extinct due to the endangerment they are in right now. Imagine having your future kids asking, “What were polar bears?” You have to explain how we were the reason they went extinct. People are letting these exotic animals suffer for their own selfish ways. The Arctic includes snow leopards, many marine animals, and other cold-adapted species. These animals are in danger, for the Arctic is getting the most extreme effects from global warming right now. Although this cold region is of the most concern right now, other environments that are being greatly affected include coral reefs, tropical rainforests, coastal wetlands, and more. The rainforests are experiencing changes in rainfall patterns, coral reefs are enduring bleaching from warmer waters, and coastal wetlands are being altered by rising sea levels. In temperate areas, global warming is changing migration patterns, due to the unpredictable weather caused by the heating of the Earth.
Global warming is caused by human activities that include the release of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere. This happens mostly through the process of burning fossil fuels. This can include elements like coal, oil, and natural gas. These things are able to trap heat from the energy of the sun, and that causes the planet to warm up because the atmosphere is becoming weaker. Deforestation is another huge thing that increases the effects of global warming by reducing the planet’s ability to absorb carbon dioxide when the trees are being cut down.
At this point in time, we are way too late to reverse these effects completely, but there is still time to make a difference. Many of them are easily fixable things, like saving energy at home. Simple things like lowering heating and cooling, switching to LED light bulbs, washing laundry with cold water, and hanging things to dry instead of using a source of heat to dry them. Vehicles on roads are releasing excessive amounts of greenhouse gasses from the gas and diesel. This is one of the biggest contributors to increasing global warming, so next time there is a need to be transported, try taking a way of public transportation. Use an electric car. Walking or riding on a bike instead of driving and releasing pollution into the air is always an option as well. Even simple things like carpooling can help reduce the release of toxic things into the air. Other simple things that will help are throwing away less food, changing the source of energy that is used in a household, and a well-known way to help the world, recycling things. Don’t wait any longer for other people to change the world, be the difference that we need.
