Global warming refers to an increase in Earth’s temperature caused by human activities, particularly fossil fuel burning, which releases heat-trapping greenhouse gasses such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide into our atmosphere and trap heat therein.
These greenhouse gases encase our planet, trapping solar radiation that would otherwise float off into space. Pollutants like water vapor and synthetic fluorinated gases also play a role in climate change.
1. Fossil fuels
Burning of fossil fuels is the primary human source of long-lived climate pollutants that contribute to global warming, air and water pollution and air quality issues. Fossils fuels are formed from petrified remains of plants and animals that died millions of years ago and when burned their combustion releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere which traps heat, leading to global warming.
Fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas are fossilized forms of hydrocarbon compounds formed from ancient organic matter that has buried itself underground. Their bonds between hydrogen and carbon atoms store energy for use when combustion occurs in an oxygen rich environment releasing it as heat energy.
Eliminating fossil fuels would save lives, boost economies, and protect us from climate change’s worst impacts. Yet the United States continues to use up its reserves through low fuel economy standards and permitting new oil drilling on public lands; they even push for fracking!
2. Deforestation
Forests are among the world’s primary carbon sinks, absorbing vast amounts of greenhouse gases through photosynthesis and storing them safely for years. When trees are cut down, this carbon goes back into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide and contributes to global warming.
Additionally, forests cover much of the globe and act as a significant source of evaporative cooling to help lower temperatures. Unfortunately, deforestation often replaces forests with agricultural cropland or pasture land that generate even more greenhouse gases than before.
People primarily clear forested land for agricultural production of meat, soy and palm oil; however, deforestation also occurs for other reasons such as population growth, land ownership disputes, poverty or job opportunities that lack forest cover. Deforestation contributes around 10% of greenhouse gas emissions annually – although this percentage has decreased slightly over time but still represents a substantial contribution.
3. Intensive farming
Modern intensive agriculture is one of the main causes of global warming. Wide swaths of wild land are destroyed to grow crops for animals held captive on factory farms, decimating biodiversity while producing immense greenhouse gas emissions.
Chemical fertilizers and the production of farm animals – particularly cows which emit large amounts of methane – both contribute to an increase in greenhouse gases. Deforestation also depletes soil carbon quickly warming it up faster and leading to greater demand for more fertilizers.
Mixed farming systems offer the greatest sustainability, in which farmers cultivate commercial crops while raising livestock for both use as feed. Animal manure fertilizes crops while the crop remnants provide feed. Unfortunately, this form of farming has yet to become widely practiced, however. If we wish to lower agricultural pollution through more environmentally sustainable food production methods then the climate crisis can only worsen further.
4. Waste management
Human activity’s contribution of waste heat (known as residual energy ) into Earth’s climate system through human activities is the primary driver behind current global warming or climate change, according to Flanner. He estimates that heat released through our waste can contribute as much as one fifth of this warming so far.
Waste management encompasses all processes which identify whether materials can be reused again and organizes their disposal systematically, from placing dustbins where most waste is generated to collecting vehicles bringing it directly to recycling centers and transporting it there for recycling.
Unfortunately, waste management cannot offer a completely emissions-free solution as it produces short-lived GHGs like methane or black carbon aerosols with global warming potential exceeding that of CO2. Furthermore, recycling plastic and aluminum cans produces emissions as they must be separated from other material before being heated in order to melt them back down again.
5. Mining and metallurgical industry
Mining and refining metals is energy intensive and contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, inducing as much CO2 emissions as aviation (4%-7% total global). Copper and aluminium production account for roughly the same percentage – around as much – due to fuel consumption and electricity generation emissions; in copper’s case these emissions increased 130% between 2001 and 2017 due to decreasing ore grade.
Cutting back on fossil fuel consumption is the primary way to lower emissions and protect our planet from the warming effects of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, with concentrations now reaching unprecedented levels in 800,000 years – contributing to longer heat waves, droughts, heavy rainfall and hurricanes that already impact people across the world. As such, international communities have pledged to halve carbon emissions by 2050.
6. Overconsumption
Overconsumption occurs when people consume more than the earth can sustainably produce, which contributes to global warming by increasing greenhouse gas emissions. Fossil fuels are one of the primary culprits; burning them releases carbon dioxide while deforestation and intensive farming add methane and nitrous oxide emissions.
Consumption of too much meat or fish also produces climate-altering carbon emissions, according to one recent study. Furthermore, the richest 20 percent of world’s population account for 80 percent of natural resource usage and are responsible for more climate change than all others combined.
Overconsumption also contributes to greater pollution levels, due to its massive production of waste that must be dumped in landfills where it releases harmful gases into the atmosphere. Overconsumption also contributes to melting polar ice caps which causes rising sea levels – disrupting weather patterns.
7. Water vapour
Vapors are phases of substances at temperatures where they can also exist in liquid form; this temperature is known as their critical temperature. When partial pressure reaches certain thresholds, they convert back to gaseous state; otherwise pressure drops and they return back into their gaseous form.
Human activities are contributing to an acceleration of global warming, due to greenhouse gases in the atmosphere known as greenhouse gasses, which trap sunlight and solar radiation that would otherwise escape into space. Fossil fuels like coal and oil combustion emit carbon dioxide into the air when burned; other sources include clearing forests (deforestation), livestock farming which releases methane and nitrous oxides into the environment and synthesized fluorinated gases production.
Temperatures worldwide are rising and will likely continue to do so in coming years, due to an accumulation of heat-trapping gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and water vapor in our atmosphere. Emissions caused by these heat trapping gases also play a part in changing weather patterns, leading to longer and hotter heat waves as well as more intense droughts and heavier rainfall events.
8. Permafrost
Permafrost, found only in polar regions, serves as an effective barrier between decaying plant material and animal debris underground and greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane leaking out into the atmosphere. Unfortunately, as temperatures warm, permafrost is melting faster, prompting scientists to worry that more greenhouse gases could be released into the air faster.
Scientists estimate that permafrost harbors gigatonnes of carbon, including methane and carbon dioxide, equivalent to annual emissions for an entire medium-sized country if all this were released at once.
But if it were released gradually over decades, its effect would be less devastating. Take, for example, Tuktoyaktuk in Canada’s western Arctic which has witnessed its permafrost melt and cause its ground to slowly subside; this has already forced relocation. Furthermore, as bacteria and viruses return due to permafrost melting it also poses threats to human health and must be addressed quickly as well.
9. Forest blazes
With extreme summer heat waves, record ocean temperatures, and wildfires releasing plumes of smoke into major cities around the world, climate crisis is back in focus. Extreme fires not only damage infrastructure and displace populations but also contribute to climate change by burning forests, peatlands, and emitting greenhouse gases that accelerate warming trends.
Carbon dioxide emissions are the leading contributor to global warming, due primarily to human activities like burning fossil fuels. Other greenhouse gasses that contribute include methane, nitrous oxide and water vapor; non-greenhouse gases such as aerosols also have complex atmospheric effects which contribute to global warming through warming and cooling effects.
Burning fossil fuels heats the planet more, drying out vegetation such as forests and peatlands, which then burn more easily, emitting more carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases, continuing the cycle. This phenomenon, known as “feedback effect”, combined with other climate shifts like longer warm seasons increases overall warming significantly.
