Introduction
Climate change is not a prediction but it is happening today. Climate change is the change of our environment due to several reasons. Let’s explore some of them.
There are two main causes of climate change:
anthropogenic and natural. The anthroprogenic causes of climate change are deforestation, fossil fuels, chlorofluorocarbons and waste.
Deforestation is the cutting down of trees. Different causes for deforestation are grazing land, slash and burn, lodging and housing. At least 2 million square kilometers of land are cleared for the grazing of cattle. Forests are burned to grow crops. Trees are cut down to make paper and furniture too. As the population increases, land is cleared for building houses. 25% of the greenhouse gas emission comes from deforestation.
Fossil fuels are found deep under the Earth’s Crust; they are formed from the remains of dead organisms. The different types of fossil fuels are coal, oil and natural gas. Coal is the most polluting fossil fuel. It is used in power plants and factories. It releases Co2. Oil is a thick black liquid. It converts to petrol, diesel and jet fuel for transportation. When it is used it releases harmful greenhouse gasses that lead to health issues. Natural gas is used for power plants and factorories. It produces Co2.
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are a group of chemicals named chlorine, fluorine, carbon and hydrogen. It is used in refrigerators, air conditioning and freezers. CFCs damage the ozone layer of our atmosphere.
Waste comprises Organic and Inorganic. Organic waste refers to wet waste. It includes plastic, newspaper and broken glass etc. Dry waste can be reused and recycled. It decomposes by itself.
The natural causes of climate change are volcanoes, forest fires, wildfires, lightning, wetlands and livestock. Volcanoes release 2% of CO2. Volcanoes erupt water vapor. Volcanoes erupt magma which cause fire. Forest fires are large uncontrollable fires. They take place in forests. They occur when trees get burned this leads to global warming.
Wild fires release a large amount of CO2 very quickly. Wildfires release a large amount of CO2 very quickly. Wildfire are difficult to control and damage forests. Lightning is the biggest natural cause of forest fires. It is more common after the dry season, it can burn for hours before fire fighters get alert. Wetlands are a large source of methane. Methane is 26% more harmful than CO2. Microbes take way oxygen in wet soil. Methane gets added to the atmosphere by diffusion, transport through plant tissues and episodic release of gas bubbles.
Livestock release methane and nitrous oxide. When cows burp or release gas due to their digestive system they release methane. Cow dung is used to make fertilizers. Cow dung releases nitrous oxide. When plants do not absorb extra nitrogen ; the gas is released to the atmosphere. It damages the ozone layer.
These extremely hazardous cause of climate change are harmful to the environment. It also leads to many negative impacts like health issues, air pollution and many more problems.
