What is Global Warming?
“Global warming is a gradual increase in the earth's temperature generally due to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide, CFCs, and other pollutants."
Motivation & Goal
A. To investigate what causes global warming - The average temperature of the Earth began to increase rapidly as industrialization began and people have used energy steadily or more. This is never a natural phenomenon, and the overall temperature of the Earth is increasing rapidly as greenhouse gas emissions increase extremely. Several substances from greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, are making the Earth warmer and even hotter.
B. To alert the severity of Global Warming - Global warming have a problem that escalating pollution of lands, air, and waters. Ongoing and accelerating toxic pollution kills crops, fish stocks, and poisons our air, water, and soil creating and accelerating all types of global health, social, and economic problems. (Ocean heating and ocean acidification from carbon from global warming will eventually kill off much of the oceans' oxygen-producing plankton. These plankton are responsible for as much as 50% of all oxygen produced on the planet.)
C. To decelerate Global Warming - There are many kinds of global greenhouse gas emissions, but the largest contributor to greenhouse gases is fossil fuel. Fossil fuel, mostly burnt for electricity, heat and transportation, is one of the largest greenhouse gas emissions in the world which takes up to 76% of the total greenhouse gas emissions from the past 40 years. Additionally, transportation takes up 25% of the world energy, meaning usage of fossil fuel.
Source : Byjus
What Causes It?
A. To investigate what cause global warming
1. Burning Fossil Fuel
2. Deforestation & Tree-Clearing
3. Agriculture & Farming
1. Burning Fossil Fuel
When we burn fossil fuels like coal and gas to generate electricity or power our cars, we release CO2 into the atmosphere. Australians, for example, are big polluters of CO2 compared to the rest of the world. Our CO2 pollution per person is almost twice the average of other industrialised nations and more than four times the world average. Electricity generation is the main cause of CO2 pollution in Australia, with 73% of our electricity coming from burning coal and 13% from burning gas. The remaining 14% comes from renewable energy sources such as hydro, solar and wind, which emit no carbon. We release CO2 into the environment when we burn fossil fuels like coal and gas to generate energy or power our cars. Compared to the rest of the world, Australians are big CO2 polluters. Our CO2 pollution per person is about twice that of other wealthy countries and more than four times that of the rest of the world. In Australia, electricity generation is the main source of carbon pollution, with 73% of our electricity coming from coal and 13% from gas. The remaining 14% comes from carbon-free renewable energy sources such as hydro, solar and wind.
2. Deforestation & Tree-Clearing
Plants and trees play an important role in climate regulation because they absorb carbon dioxide from the air and return oxygen to it. Forests and scrublands act as carbon sinks and are a valuable means of limiting global warming to 1.5°C. Yet people are clearing vast areas of land around the world for agriculture, urban and infrastructure development, or the sale of tree products such as timber and palm oil. When vegetation is removed or burned, the stored carbon is released back into the atmosphere as CO2, contributing to global warming. Up to one-fifth of global greenhouse gas pollution comes from deforestation and forest degradation.
Stopping deforestation alone will not stop climate change - urgent action is needed to reduce the other 90 percent of emissions. But the need to protect tropical forests and regrow them where they have been cut down cannot be ignored either.
It is now known that even mature tropical forests sequester carbon. In the 1990s and early 2000s, they removed over a billion tonnes of heat-trapping gases from the atmosphere. And young secondary forests - which grow back after deforestation - account for about 28 percent of tropical forest cover. Their potential carbon sequestration is conservatively estimated at about 40 percent of the amount that could be achieved by ending deforestation, making them an important additional "natural climate solution."
Tropical forests are home to many unique species of animals and plants that face extinction if we do not protect their habitat.
Tropical forests help regulate regional rainfall and prevent both floods and droughts.Reducing deforestation is not only a useful measure against global warming, but can also make an important contribution to biodiversity conservation and sustainable development.
3. Agriculture & Farming
Agricultural greenhouse gasses include carbon dioxide from tropical deforestation, methane from livestock and rice production, and nitrous oxide from fertilization or burning of cropland. Agriculture is responsible for about half of the world's methane emissions. Methane is a greenhouse gas 26 times more potent than CO2. Cows and sheep, digest their food through enteric fermentation, producing methane. About one-third of global agricultural methane emissions come from livestock. Burning biomass to prepare fields is another methane producer, as is spreading manure on fields.
Most N2O is produced after fertilization of cropland, when soil microbes convert some of the applied nitrogen from fertilizers and manure to N2O. Because of a non-linear relationship between application and emissions, as nitrogen fertilizer is applied, a greater proportion of the applied nitrogen is converted to N2O. Nitrous oxide is also produced when crop residues are burned.
How Severe Is It?
B. To alert the severity of Global Warming
1. Carbon Dioxides
2. Temperature Rise
3. Warming of Poles
1. Carbon Dioxides
Greenhouse gases are considered the main culprit of climate change. Among the various greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide is evaluated to have the greatest impact on global warming, that is, climate change. According to the C2ES, 78% of the artificially increased carbon dioxide by mankind since 1970 came from fossil fuel combustion and industrial processes (Global emissions, 2021). This ratio is still showing a similar pattern. Since the Industrial Revolution, mankind has been living a rich life based on the energy obtained from fossil fuels. Also, plastic is a hot topic in recent years. Half of the plastics produced so far have been made over the past 15 years plastics are generally made for disposable use and discarded in a very short time (Parker, 2021). Abandoned plastics emit large amounts of carbon dioxide and pollute the environment. Only some plastic waste is recycled, and wastes that have not been reclaimed or incinerated are still thrown away in nature. Even plastics that incinerate or landfills emit pollutants and are difficult to completely remove.
Increasing carbon dioxide in the Earth is a big problem. Radiant heat from the sun has to escape the Earth again, but the increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere causes a greenhouse effect, causing radiant heat to become trapped inside the Earth, causing the Earth's temperature to rise.
2. Temperature Rise
a. Weather Crisis b. Intense, Accentuated Heat Waves c. Loss of Sea Ice; Sea-Level Rise
Temperature rise refers to climate change of the earth and provokes drastic weather crises. The U.S. drought map attached herewith well delineates the severity of the drought caused by temperature rise. Refer to the image below.
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The louder the color is, the more intense the drought is with regard to its intensity and impacts on the region. Regions colored in red-purple refer to the stage of D4, in other words, exceptional drought with long impacts according to the U.S. drought monitor.
The above-mentioned climate crisis, drought, directly pertains to the intense heatwaves. Greenhouse gas emissions and agitations entail negative environmental factors including air pollution, drought, and so forth. Their impact on climate change is the most notable factor in that they lead to accentuated heatwaves generating overall temperature rise.
Referring to the image, Land & Ocean Temperature Percentiles, from the National Centers for Environmental Information, it well elucidates most of the earth’s regions have recorded the warmest temperature as of July 2021. Directly quoting from the American Meteorological Society, heatwaves are defined as “periods of abnormally and uncomfortably hot and usually humid water,” and they seem to be hatching excruciating, troublesome damage to the planet.
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Temperature rise due to heatwaves not only introduces multiple problems to ground levels but also is precipitating complications to sea levels. There are two focal factors that are causing sea level rise according to Climate.gov: glacier meltdown and water volume expansion due to temperature rise. The severity of loss of sea ice and sea-level rise is to be elaborated on in the following paragraph.
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3. Warming of Poles
The rising of global temperature due to greenhouse gasses are impacting the North and South pole to a great extent. There are two major problems that are caused due to the warming of Poles, which are: endangering the wildlife living in the Poles due to their habitats being threatened, and the cause to a major contribution to the rising sea levels.
The warming in the Antarctic Peninsula in the South Pole is affecting both the physical and living environment in the region (Evans, 2015), endangering the biodiversity species. Many species living in the Poles are under the Endangered Species Conservation Act due to global warming. For instance, countless animals in the Poles are depending directly on sea ice to hunt and sustain their diet, but the melting of sea ice and their habitats are threatening them. Polar bears for instance, use sea ice to hunt seals, which are the main source of their weight. However, due to the melting of sea ice, the bears have less time to hunt, and unable to sustain their diet, they were registered under the Endangered Species Act as of 2008 (Benson, 2011). Aside from polar bears, Antarctic krill, some species of penguins such as Emperor and Adélie, seals, and whales are some of the many ice-dependent species that are being endangered due to global warming in the Poles (Evans, 2015).
The melting of ice is not only causing problems for the living environment in the Poles, but it is also causing worldwide problems such as rising sea levels. In the North Pole, due to polar amplification, the Arctic is warming twice as fast than the global average (Turton, 2021), resulting in the consistent melting of sea ice, glaciers, and ice caps, thus adding to the rising sea levels. Since rising sea level causes many environmental disasters such as coastal erosion and elevation of storm surges, the warming in the Poles is not to be neglected.
Global warming isn't a prediction. It is happening
James Hansen
How To Decelerate It?
C. How to decelerate Global Warming
1. Applying The Three R’s Principles to our daily lives. : Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle
2. Minimizing greenhouse gas emissions and More Electric Vehicles
3. Carbon Taxation and Use Alternative Energy
1. Applying The Three R's Principles to our daily lives : Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle
Reduce: People can reduce waste by reducing the behavior of buying new products. If you need to buy a new product, consider buying an eco-friendly product. (Kukreja). For example, there are eco-friendly products such as reusable produce bags, reusable bamboo utensils, eco safety razor, and so on. According to the statistics of the article, only 6 % of all plastic can be recycled in the US. (Natasha). So, people need to be aware of the shocking fact that the remaining 94% of plastic is not recycled.
Reuse: People can reduce waste by reusing the product. According to the article, developing habits of reusing the product can lead to the results that will lessen having to purchase new purchases as a same function. People trying to reuse products such as bottles, plastic containers. In addition, people should try to use disposable products in some other form. For example, there are famous 10 home items that can save from the trash and give new life to reuse for a long time: Glass Jars, Containers, Plastic Soda Bottles, Plastic Containers, Newspapers, Magazines, Paper Bags, Clothes, Towels, Bedding, Seeds,Laundry Waste Plastic Bags, Bathroom Items,Broken Dishes, Old Furniture.(Baker, 2020)
Recycle: People can recycle almost anything such as paper, bottles, aluminum foils, cans, newspaper..etc. As a result, recycling saves our earth to decelerate the pace of global warming and prevent pollution by decreasing waste that should burn up.
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2. Minimizing Greenhouse Gas Emissions and More Electric Vehicles
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The electric vehicle market is growing, and the proportion of consumers who prefer to purchase electric vehicles is also increasing, however, “[t]he report shows that electric vehicles (EVs) currently make up only 3% of car sales worldwide" (Kopestinsky). Cars with internal combustion engines use fuels produced based on fossil fuels such as gasoline and diesel, which emit greenhouse gases. The greenhouse gas is mostly composed of carbon dioxide, which heats the surface because it allows short-wavelength solar radiation energy from the sun to pass through, while absorbing long-wavelength radiation energy from the Earth. This causes a greenhouse effect and accelerates the progress of global warming.
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The electric vehicle market will grow explosively by 2030, and many people will have to use electric vehicles instead of internal combustion engines to prevent global warming.
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Fossil fuel cars waste hundreds of times more raw material than their battery electric equivalents...Only about 30kg of raw material will be lost over the lifecycle of a lithium ion battery used in electric cars once recycling is taken into account, compared with 17,000 litres of oil…” (Jolly). An electric vehicle emits a greenhouse gas of â…“ of the internal combustion engine cars, charges and stores electricity in the battery, so it does not use fossil fuels, and uses energy regeneration technology to convert kinetic energy into electric energy during braking or deceleration. Since there are not many electric vehicle charging stations in Korea yet, if more charging infrastructure is created, electric vehicles can replace internal combustion cars to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
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3. Carbon Taxation and Use Alternative Energy
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European countries, including Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Portugal, Poland, Norway, Spain, United Kingdom, and many other countries, are introducing a carbon tax (Asen). Carbon tax is a taxation paid according to carbon emissions generated by factories or companies in the process of producing products. Countries that have already considered or introduced carbon taxes are expecting that emissions will naturally decrease because they have to pay taxes as much as they use carbon energy. Fifty countries around the world have introduced carbon tax policies, and it is a very effective way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from carbon emissions. Korea is also considering introducing greenhouse gases to reduce greenhouse gases, and the atmosphere and environment are severely polluted, so the more countries introduce carbon tax policy, the slower global warming will be, and in the future, carbon emissions will be rapidly limited to restore the destroyed Earth.
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Alternative energy is energy that does not come from fossil fuels, and it does not emit greenhouse gases which accelerate global warming. To be specific, examples of alternative energy are solar energy, hydroelectric energy, geothermal energy, wind energy, and biomass energy.
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Solutions
Transitioning to clean, healthy, renewable energy will slow global warming by reducing the amount of electricity generated from coal and gas. There are many ways to generate clean, renewable energy, such as solar power, wind power, hydroelectric power, etc. Switching to these clean energy sources will reduce pollution and slowly cool the earth so people can live there.
Deforestation can be reduced - and in many places already is. There are a variety of approaches, from recognizing indigenous groups' sovereignty over their land to civil society pressure on logging companies to payments to tropical countries that reduce their deforestation emissions. Also, simple ways like planting tree, using less paper, recycling, reducing meat consumption, etc could reduce deforestation dramatically.
