Global warming.

According to the scientific community, the climate of the earth is changing rapidly. Over the last century, the earth has become hotter by 1 degree F, and it is projected that it will continue to do so, even more quickly, in the next few decades. The reason being, the atmosphere being polluted by greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, most of it from industrial activity, the burning of fossil fuels, and deforestation. In fact, according to climate researchers, most of this global warming that has occurred over the past 50 years is due to the consequences of human activity.

[edit] What are the Consequences of Global Warming on Human Life and the Environment?

It goes without saying that the phenomenon of global warming is highly complex, and therefore difficult to predict what exactly te full-scale consequences on human life and the environment will be. However, with each passing year scientists are learning more and more about how global warming is impacting the Earth, and many of them now agree that if there is a continuation of the current trends, then some of the effects of global warming will be:

Changes in Climatic Conditions

There will be an increase in the average temperatures all over the world, leading to more frequent heat waves. This will lead to drought - like conditions, increasing the chances of the forest fires that are larger in scale, more intense, and harder to put out. Rising temperatures can also affect the climatic system of a region by increasing the energy of storm conditions, resulting in more severe rainfalls. Likewise, when the waters in the oceans heat up, it increase the energy of tropical storms, resulting in hurricanes that are more powerful and destructive.

Reduction of Agricultural Productivity

It is said that if the global warming continues at its current rate, the resulting increase in the temperature will lead to a drastic reduction in agricultural productivity, especially in northern continental regions. It is projected that the soil in these areas will be dried in the summer, partly because of the snow melting earlier in the spring, and more cloudless and hotter summers, which will in turn result in the moisture in the soil evaporating extensively, causing severe droughts. This will be further exacerbated by water levels in rivers and lakes falling because of less rainfall.

Inundation of Coastal Areas and Low-Lying Regions due to Rising Sea Levels

There is evidence that the sea levels are already rising, and this phenomenon is likely to increase because of glaciers melting in the mountains and the ice caps in the Arctic and Antractic regions melting. This will have an impact on coastal areas that are low-lying like the estuaries of Chesapeake Bay and along the Guf of Mexico. According to a report that the United Nations published, if global warming continues, the coastal areas of the Netherlands and Bangladesh will be flooded by 2100. Plus, it is also said that Maldives will disappear completely, which can happen by the sea level rising just by two feet.

The Distruption of Ecosystems

It is expected the global warming will cause extensive distruptions in ecosystems, with the consequential loss of a number of species, particularly those that are unable to adapt to the changes. According to some assessments, it is predicted that by the year 2050 about a million species wil be extinct, if the current rates of global warming continues. Some of the ecosystems that are most vulnerable are alpine meadows found in the Rocky Mountains, tje delicate ecosystems of the Himalayan ranges, mangrove forests in coastal areas, coral reefs, and so on.

Effects On Health

Global warming will lead to heat waves occuring more intensively and more frequently, resulting heat-related health effects and deaths. These affects may also exacerbate problems caused by poor air quality in various regions, which are already affecting people around the world. It is also projected that the virulence and wider range of tropical diseases will also increase due to global warming.

Dealing with Global Warming

Dealing with and mitigating the adverse effects of global warming is not going to be an easy task. Ultimately, we will have to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide dramatically if we want to protect the planet, the economy, as well as our health.

[edit] Ways to Stop Global Warming

No prize in guessing htat global warming is occuring, it has become much more evident over the last century with a rise of 1.8 degree Celsius in the near surface temperature of the planet. A look at the current rates suggests that the problem is worsening with time, and if it is not curbed now it will only spell doom for various life forms on the planet including us human beings. The need of the hour is to find different ways to stop global warming and implement them in our day to day life. If you are one of the numerous people out there who are well versed with the seriousness of the issue, and are wondering as to how can we stop global warming, the information given below will put on the right track.

[edit] What are Some Ways to Stop Global Warming?

There are numerous ways to stop global warming, and all of these rely on a single method - identifying the causes of global warming and working to eliminate them. Given below are some of the simplest measures which can help you in doing your bit to stop global warming and save the Earth.

• Plant more trees and stop contributing to deforestation: This is by far the easiest measure to save our planet from the hazards of global warming. Global warming can be attributed to the large scale concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. That being said planting trees can help in absorbing this harmful gas and help in regulating its amount in the atmosphere and help in preventing global warming by lessening green house effect.

• Switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs: Every household which uses incandescent bulbs contributes to global warming on a large scale. On the whole, these bulbs add 300lbs of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere every year. Replacing incandescent bulbs with energy saving Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs (CFLs) can help in reducing carbon dioxide generation and help you to save 60 percent of energy.

• Reuse and recycle products: Reusing and recycling various products which we use in our day to day life can also help you in doing your bit to stop global warming. For instance, recycling paper will make sure that the large scale felling of trees to produce paper is stopped, and these trees will in turn absorb the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and reduce global warming.

• Unplug appliances: Unplugging appliances to save energy is yet another effective way to address the problems of global warming. Simply unplugging all the electronic devices which are not in use can help in saving 20 percent energy. More importantly, it will also help in reducing your electricity bill by 10 percent every month.

• Avoid keeping electrical appliances on standby: Similarly, keeping alectronic appliances on standby also contributes to loss of energy and global warming, and therefore is best avoided. One may feel that keeping a single computer on standby won't make a big difference, but when millions of people think in this manner it does make a drastic difference.

• Use a programmable thermostat: A thermostat helps in regulating the temperature by altering heat supply. Make sure that you keep your thermostat as low as possible during the winter, and as high as possible during the summer. Lowering the thermostat by 2 degrees in winter and increasing it by 2 degrees in summer can help in keeping 2,000 lbs of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.

• Promote the use of organic products: Promoting the use of organic foods is also one of the effective ways to prevent global warming. The tendency of organic soils to capture carbon dioxide far exceeds that of the soil used in conventional farming. Estimates suggest that we can get rid of 580 billion lbs of carbon dioxide if we resort to organic farming for food production.

• Use vehicles efficiently: One of the leading causes of pollution, vehicles dump a great amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. If we stop using vehicle we can cut down of great amount of pollution. If you can’t resist vehicle, you can opt to efficient driving tips, such as turning the engine off at red lights and driving at moderate speeds, and contribute in curbing global warming. Ideally though, you should opt for public transport or other environment friendly modes of transportation such as cycling.

• Resort to alternative sources of energy: One of the most talked about global warming solutions is to switch to alternative energy sources such as solar power and wind power. You can easily harness these sources of nature to generate power, and replace fossil fuels with it. Doing away with fossil fuels alone will help in reducing the huge amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere every day.

• Become a responsible citizen: This is the most important among the various measures to curb global warming. We need to acknowledge the fact that we are responsible for this menace to a great extent. Just implementing the simple steps to stop global warming mentioned above can make a huge difference. You can also come up with your own novel ways to contribute for this cause. For instance, one of our readers had made a valid point by saying, "If we sacrifice the unnecessary luxuries in our life, we can contribute in saving the tremendous amount of energy which goes in their production."

Resorting to these 10 ways to stop global warming can help us to curb the problem to a significant extent. However, we also need to take into consideration the fact that this problem has developed over a period of time and thus it will take a significant amount of time for things to get back to normal. While the administration tries to tackle the hazards of global warming at a larger scale, we can follow the measures given above and contribute our bit for the cause.