Human Negligence as A Cause of Global Warming

Our planet's aesthetic elements are slowly disappearing due to human activity that is leading to global warming. Our actions, such as excessive use of electricity and fossil fuels, contribute to this critical issue. 'Nowadays, our life patterns are difficult and surrounded by complexity for this global warming issue. Industries, refineries, excessive electromagnetic wave propagation through air, transport vehicles – road and airways…' (Bhattacharjee). Global warming has not only contributed to the melting of glaciers in Antarctica, but also the disappearance of marine ecosystems. If this significant problem continues, several ecosystems will cease to exist as we know it. Though there is no simple solution to eradicate global warming entirely, there are ways to help reduce the adverse effects significantly. With that said, people decide to look the other way when being confronted about this severe issue. They say, 'Global warming is not a real thing,' as their excuse for letting this problem persist. Scientist Michael Ranney, for example, claimed that he believes a 'wisdom deficit' is driving the belief of global warming. Ranney claims that our climate literacy is not high enough for there to be a clear understanding of global warming. 'If you don't understand the mechanism, then you just have competing authorities, kind of like the Pope and Galileo”. (Ranney).

Ranney, unfortunately, is one of the many respected individuals who does not believe this problem is real. President Donald Trump has also publicly stated that he does not believe in global warming. That it is a 'hoax' rather than a real global issue. In 2014, Trump tweeted, 'Snowing in Texas and Louisiana, record-setting freezing temperatures throughout the country and beyond. Global warming is an expensive hoax!' (newsweek) Because Trump is seen in the public eye periodically, by tweeting such an unprofessional comment, allows people, who support him to question whether global warming is real. It is truly saddening to see someone who has a 'voice', use it in the wrong way. People like Trump, who have a big 'voice' and 'say' over the nation, should be advocating for change, not trying to convince his supporters to dismiss global warming.

The ice sheets continue to melt more and more each year, causing animals such as polar bears and penguins to lose their habitat. 'The area covered by sea ice has been smaller every year for the past 30 years, with an average decrease of 3.2% per decade. Minimum cover in September is decreasing at an even faster rate of 13.4% per decade.' (ucsusa.org) Global warming has also contributed to the rise in the temperature of our oceans. An increase in ocean temperature is causing several marine ecosystems to be forced to either adapt or die. Because of this, fisheries all over the world have to pay the price as well. 'Warmer ocean water damages coral reefs, threatens marine ecosystems, and disrupts global fisheries.' (ucsusa.org)

Not only are several ecosystems and fisheries being affected by global warming, humans are also being impacted by this issue. Higher temperatures are causing more frequent natural disasters to occur, such as: heat waves, tornados, hurricanes, floods, severe storms and droughts. 'A warmer climate creates an atmosphere that can collect, retain, and drop more water, changing weather patterns in such a way that wet areas become wetter and dry areas drier. 'Extreme weather events are costing more and more,' says Aliya Haq, deputy director of NRDC's Clean Power Plan initiative. Higher temperatures in the atmosphere are causing more and more people to end up in the hospital due to heat stroke and exhaustion, causing more deaths than hurricanes, tornados, etc. Writer Melissa Denchak stated, 'In the United States, hundreds of heat-related deaths occur each year due to direct impacts and the indirect effects of heat-exacerbated, life-threatening illnesses, such as heat exhaustion, heatstroke, and cardiovascular and kidney diseases. Indeed, extreme heat kills more Americans each year, on average, than hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, and lightning combined.' (nrdc.org)

The rise in air temperature has lead to an increase in insect pests that cause tropical diseases. 'The excess heat in the air can be linked to the increased frequency of heat waves across the globe, wider distribution of insect pests (e.g., pine beetle in the northwest U.S.), and various health-related issues such as the spread of tropical diseases further north into the U.S.' (ucsusa.org). The increase of these disease carrying insects, allows the likeliness of animals and humans to become infected and ill. Because we as humans consume animals and animal byproducts, the chances of becoming infected with diseases indirectly are likely. The increase in pine beetles is also causing the population of pine forests to decrease, endangering several ecosystems that depend on pine trees. 'Southern pine beetles are among the most destructive insects invading North America's pine forests today, and they're spreading farther north as global temperatures rise, putting entire ecosystems at risk and creating fuel for wildfires as they kill the trees they infest.' (climatenews.org)

Global warming remains the biggest challenge the world faces. The debate on global warming persists even though scientific evidence has been supported that this is indeed a global problem. Yet no effort in claiming that the Earth is facing such a vulnerability is being made. There appears to be a battle between global warming alarmists and global warming skeptics. This prevents real progress from reducing or reversing global warming. Several factors that cause global warming controversies, such as politics, poor messaging of global warming, the media, and economic costs due to our dependency on fossil fuels. Many of these things can make it difficult for the objective observer to realize the scope of the problem and often turn many people into skeptics of global warming. All countries need to come together in order to make the steps needed to stop this issue. “Countries should take cooperative steps to slow global warming. There is no case for delay. The most fruitful and effective approach is for countries to put a harmonized price, perhaps a steep price, on greenhouse gas emissions, primarily those of carbon dioxide resulting from the combustion of fossil fuels.”(International Journal of Life)