Global Warming Article

“Climate change is happening, humans are causing it, and I think this is perhaps the most serious environmental issue facing us.”-Bill Nye. Global warming is the increasing midpoint temperature of the Earth’s climate system. To put it in simpler words, it is when the average temperature of the Earth’s climate system increases. Greenhouse gases are a major contributor to global warming as a result of transportation, electricity, and industrial facilities. However, global warming can be reduced or decreased if everyone takes a few precautions.

What is common in these three greenhouse gas causes, is that we humans are to blame for this and contribute to it. First, I will explain what greenhouse gases are. Greenhouse gases are gases that draw in and release radiant energy. Some of the greenhouse gases that are in Earth’s atmosphere are methane, ozone, water vapor, nitrous oxide, and carbon dioxide. The first cause of greenhouse gases is transportation. Approximately 28.2% of greenhouse gas emissions come from transportation. Greenhouse gas emissions from transportation come from burning fossil fuels from cars, trucks, planes, and ships. Now you may be wondering, “Well, what are fossil fuels?” Fossil fuels are created by natural processes. Some types of fossil fuels are coal, petroleum, and natural gas. These gas emissions are dangerous, and what you can do to help reduce this is to try using less gas. For example, if you are flying to another state on a plane, consider using a train if there are any that are going to your destination because trains use coal as their fuel.

Another cause of greenhouse gases is electricity, mainly because of carbon dioxide and coal combustion. Carbon dioxide makes up the majority of greenhouse gas emissions from electricity. Smaller amounts of methane and nitrous oxide are present as well which also make up the electricity component. According to opisnet.com, the website states, “Coal combustion is more carbon-intensive than burning natural gas or petroleum for electricity.” Coal combustion is a process that releases a number of pollutants which include carbon dioxide, ash, a range of heavy metals, etc. In 2018, the electricity component of global warming was the second biggest cause of greenhouse gas emissions. Although it has increased over the years, it began to decrease in the year 2008. 

The third cause of greenhouse gases is industrial facilities. According to epa.gov, the article states, “The greenhouse gases emitted during industrial production are split into two categories: direct emissions that are produced at the facility, and indirect emissions that occur off-site, but are associated with the facility’s use of electricity.” Indirect emissions are constructed by burning fossil fuel to make electricity, which is then used by a facility to power up industrial buildings. Meanwhile, direct emissions are manufactured by burning any fuel for heat and power through chemical reactions from industrial equipment and processes. 33% of direct emissions come from petroleum, and natural gas leaks, and chemical reactions during the making of iron, and steel, cement, and more. Most of the direct emissions come from the usage of fossil fuels for energy. Direct industrial emissions took up 22% of greenhouse gas emissions in the year of 2018. Industrial facilities are dangerous because they release gas leaks and chemicals from both direct and indirect emissions, which can damage the environment. 

Everyone can contribute to help reduce global warming by taking a few primitive steps. The first step is to reduce water waste. Saving water helps reduce carbon pollution because it takes a large amount of energy to cleanse and process your water. By taking short showers and baths, turning off the sink whilst brushing your teeth, and installing water-saving showerheads if you would like to spend money. Although they are expensive, the personal and environmental benefits outweigh the costs. The second step is to use less electricity, preferably by pulling the plugs. On average, the outlets in your home are powering up approximately 65 devices in your home, which mostly include devices such as computers, phones, and speakers. Some electronics use energy even when they are not charging, such as laptops and cell phones if you are using them. To help reduce the electricity/energy usage, you can unplug fully charged electronics from an outlet. The third and final step is to reduce food waste. The stages of shipping, packaging, growing, and processing food takes up about 10% of all energy used in the U.S. And almost 40% of the food ends up being wasted and put into a landfill. Any food products that contain meat use up the most resources to produce. A great way to reduce food waste is food composting. If you compost any waste of vegetables, you can then use them in the future as fertilizers. Those are the three important steps of many on how everyone can contribute to help reduce global warming.

In conclusion, you can do things to help contribute to reducing global warming, by reducing water waste, using less electricity and finally, reduce food waste. Hopefully, you learned a lot of things about the causes of global warming and how to help reduce it. A way that you could start spreading this around or any global challenge around the world, is by taking action and joining the EmpowerAndHelp ambassador program. This is my first article and I really hoped you enjoyed it. To write an article and spread awareness like me, you can go to this link and see what other EmpowerAndHelp global challenge ambassadors like me have done – https://empowerandhelp.com/ambassadors-contribution-2020/

[By Surya Gedipudi, is Global Awareness Ambassador from New Jersey]