On the subject of global warming and climate change, there has consistently been discussion and doubt. Nevertheless, there is considerable proof that global warming does represent a genuine threat to mankind and its lifestyle. Humans have turned out to be unquestionably further developed as of late, yet as headway proceeds carbon emissions and ozone harming substances humans release have been destructive to the planet. Considering the harm humans have caused to the planet, the risk of worsening the health of the population, cataclysmic events, and mass eradication is turning out to be more of a reality than just a threat.
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Some may argue that global warming represents no genuine risk, or that it may not by any means exist, there is undeniably more proof suggesting that climate change has a negative impact on mankind's general wellbeing. Because of the carbon emissions that are produced, the air at ground level has become deplorable. This implies that humans have created “ground-level ozone…and the hotter things get, the more of it we have” (Denchak par. 8). This substandard condition of air has been linked to “higher death rates for asthmatics,” and worsening health for “people suffering from cardiac or pulmonary disease” (Denchak par. 8). In an analysis done by Dr. M Medina-Ramon and J Schwartz from the Harvard School of Public Health, “they used daily mortality and weather data for 6,513,330 deaths occurring from 1989 to 2000” (Medina-Ramon, Schwartz par. 2). This contributed to the conclusion that "mortality increases associated with…extreme heat (5.74%)” (Medina-Ramon, Schwartz par. 3). With the proof that more fatalities and medical issues happen because of climate change brought about by pollution, it's astonishing that more individuals are not concerned. Extreme heat and poor air quality are not all society needs to stress over. Cataclysmic events brought about by global warming are an undeniable issue that mankind needs to confront.
Natural disasters have always been a credible threat, and albeit a few individuals of society may argue that it’s simply fear mongering political propaganda, there is proof to demonstrate something else. Higher temperatures are a primary factor behind the deterioration of many disastrous events, including floods, storms, heat waves, and dry spells. This is should be considered because “A warmer climate creates an atmosphere that can collect, retain, and drop more water, changing weather patterns in a way that makes wet areas wetter and dry regions drier” (Denchak par.3). This implies the spots that experience these extreme conditions are suffering further every year because of mankind’s absence of consideration for nature. In 2015, a group of analysts from more than 20 nations studied disastrous events in 2014 that they found were connected to climate change. “Droughts in Syria and East Africa, record rains in New Zealand and France, Nepal’s extreme Himalayan snowstorm, flooding in southeastern Canada, and an extremely active Hawaiian hurricane season [all] had direct or indirect climate links, the report finds” (Loftis par. 7). Even though some may contend that there is no immediate connection between climate change and natural disasters, there is evidence to advocate that climate change makes it easier for these calamities to happen. In California, “researchers could not link any 2014 wildfire to climate change, but they concluded that climate change has made bigger, more intense western fires far more likely” (Loftis par. 10). With this evidence, it can deduced that climate change has an impact on the earth and natural disasters, regardless of whether immediate or indirect. As climate change continues to occur and humankind dispenses more carbon and pollutants into the air, Earth progress’ towards the worst threat global warming would cause: mass extinction.
All throughout Earth's existence, there have been five mass extinctions, the worst of which happened 250 million years back, causing 96 percent of marine species and 70 percent of land species to cease to exist. “Each of these events is associated with a significant change in Earth’s carbon cycle” (Rothman, par. 1). Even though the carbon in the air does not directly cause these phenomena, the warming of the earth and the growing acidity of the sea are both brought about by the increasing carbon emissions and pollution that humans produce. An analysis done in 2006 demonstrates that “global warming could threaten one fourth of the world’s plant and vertebrate animal species with extinction by 2050” (Handwerk par. 1). The study was conducted in Africa’s Cape Floristic region, the Caribbean Basin, and the tropical regions of the Andes mountains. These territories were picked due to their assorted variety in plant and animal species, and it was discovered that “changes to the rate and degree of warming, as well as the ability of the species to migrate or adapt , altered the species’ extinction risk” (Handwerk par. 8). It was also found in 2004 that “over a million species - 15 to 35 percent of those they studied - could be at risk of extinction by 2050” (Handwerk par. 11). The ocean’s acidity has harmful effects on marine life as well. This happens because roughly 26 percent of carbon dioxide in the air is absorbed into the oceans. At the point when CO2 meets H2O, it makes an atom called carbonic acid, H2CO3, and afterward separates into hydrogen particles and bicarbonate. At that point, the hydrogen particles bond with other carbonate particles to create more bicarbonate. This is an issue because “marine organisms possessing shells (mollusks, crustaceans, corals, coralline algae, foraminiferans) need available carbonate ions to form the calcium carbonate that comprises their shells” (Van Dien, Stone par.1). This prompts the breakdown and extinction of these species and the species that depend on them for survival.
All in all, global warming is truly a threat, and should not be overlooked. Political activists and the media might be on one side or the other of the debate on whether global warming exists or not, yet facts and evidence demonstrate that Earth is at risk of deteriorating conditions. From poor air conditions that cause disease to worsen, the climate change mankind is causing is putting the presence of plants, creatures, and even humankind itself, at risk.
Works Cited
- Denchak, Melissa. “Are the Effects of Global Warming Really That Bad?” NRDC, 29 June 2019
- Rothman, Daniel H. “Thresholds of Catastrophe in the Earth System.” Science Advances, American Association for the Advancement of Science. 29 June 2019.
- Schwartz, J. “Temperature, Temperature Extremes, and Mortality: a Study of Acclimatisation and Effect Modification in 50 US Cities.” Occupational & Environmental Medicine, BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. 29 June 2019.
- Loftis, Randy Lee. “Half of Weather Disasters Linked to Climate Change.” National Geographic. 29 June 2019.
- Handwerk, Brian. “ Global Warming Could Cause Mass Extinctions by 2050, Study Says.” National Geographic. 29 June. 2019.
- Van Dien, Kevin, and Debbi Stone. “Climate Interpreter.” The Effects of Ocean Acidification on the Marine Food Chain | Climate Interpreter. 29 June 2019.
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