Since the Industrial Era began, humans have had an increasing effect on climate, particularly by adding billions of tons of heat-trapping greenhouse gases to the atmosphere (“Causes of Climate Change”). The greenhouse effect has the main influence on the climate change since it releases fossil fuels CO2, to the lower atmospheric layer, which is keeping our planet warmer and warmer as the life on Earth passes. And as we all know this is a problem that everyone should be aware of, and that is why I choosed to write the basic information so you guys will know about it.
Burning the carbon in fossil fuels over the past 150 years has increased the level of atmospheric CO2 by 33% (Hardy, 2003, ix). According to Hardy (2003), if we continue on our heavy dependence on fossil fuel, we will double the preindustrial atmosphere’s carbon dioxide level in a few decades and perhaps triple it by the end of this century. And as a consequence, by most estimates, the planet will rapidly warm to a level never experienced by human beings (ibid). As Archer (2010) claimed, impacts of greenhouse effect will last longer than Stonehenge, longer than nuclear waste, far longer than the age of human civilization so far.
There are many ways how to slow it down, for instance: reducing driving cars, changing a light bulb, powering down electronics, using less water, and recycling (“What You Can Do”). I think that reducing the greenhouse emissions is not hard at all, yet it is needed to make the population change it, otherwise the climate change will continue to affect the life on the Earth.
European Union decided to lower the emissions, so every EU country by the end of the year 2020 has to lower their emissions and increase the usage of renewable sources. My opinion is that, if we are able to use renewable sources which are ecologic we should definitely lower the usage of non-renewable sources. Czech republic is using 12% of renewable sources and 88% of non-renewable, as we can assume this is a huge problem. I understand that renewable sources are not stable and very expensive, yet there are many ways how to slow it down as I have mentioned the paragraph above. All countries and people living on this planet are affecting the climate change. We as humans have to understand that if we continue on reducing fossil fuels, to the atmosphere, by this speed the things which depend on the climate, such as fish, forest products, supplies of water and productive agriculture will affect the economy, food supply, water resources, infrastructure, ecosystem, and the very last our own health. That is why, we as humans have to realize that we are not only making it worst conditions for animals to survive but also for us.
Sources:
„Causes of Climate Change.“ EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d. Web. 2015.
Hardy, John T. Climate Change: Causes, Effects, and Solutions. New York: Wiley, 2003. Questia School. Web. 06 December 2015.
Archer, David. The Long Thaw: How Humans Are Changing the Next 100,000 Years of Earth’s Climate. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 2010.Questia School. Web. 06 December 2015.
„What You Can Do.“ EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, 13 Apr. 2015. Web. 06 December 2015.
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