Essay on Role of Human Activities in Global Warming

The role of human activities in global warming is very essential. Global warming can simply be said to mean there is a temperature increases, it causes the earth (globe) to become warmer. Global warming is generally believed to be a result of greenhouse effect. Global warming is an extremely important issue that must be handled.

There has been a continual and exponential rise in the earth’s temperature some of the activities of man that contribute to global warming include overpopulation, deforestation, farming, fossil fuels burning and garbage. These human activities cause a release of various greenhouse gases into the environment and atmosphere which leads to global warming.

In other words, global warming is basically the rise of the mean temperature of the earth. We are prone to exploiting nature for our own personal and selfish benefits and we tend to neglect the environment and nature while doing this. This causes a lot of damage to the environment and global warming is one of the many effects.

There are some natural factors also along with some human activities that can be seen as responsible for global warming. Human beings are actually not the only contributors to global warming. In fact, global warming has been in existence long before the evolution of man. The sun largely determines the climate.

The earth’s temperature rises majorly when the energy entering the atmosphere from the sun is a lot more than the energy that bounces or goes back into the space. When solar activity reduces, the climate becomes colder than normal. Some other factors that are responsible include the eruption of volcanoes and many other forms of heat trapping substances and gases that are in the air or atmosphere.

The main human factors contributing to the climate are the emissions of heat trapping from oil and gas in cars and in the power plants, burning of coal, pollution from black carbon, the clearing of forests, etc. A major gas that brings harm to the atmosphere is carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is emitted when humans burn coal, fossil fuels and oils in order to produce energy that can be used for transport, powering of houses, television, smart phones and a lot if other devices. Some other gases of greenhouse include nitrous oxide, ozone and methane.

In order to fully battle global warming and its numerous dangers, some solutions and regulations must be out in place.

Some of the measures that can be put in place to help prevent and fight global warming are discussed below:

1. Stop Deforestation:

Deforestation is a major cause of global warming and accounts for a large amount of emission of heat trapping. Reducing or permanently stopping deforestation and also doing our best to help promote and encourage reforestation can go a long way to help in reducing global warming.

2. Using Renewable Sources as Energy Sources:

There are a lot of studies that have shown that the burning of some fossil fuels including gas, coal and oil increases the temperature of the atmosphere and the air through the release of various greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. A switch of energy sources to the renewable sources like wind, solar and hydropower can help in reducing the demand for energy sources that are fossil fuels. This will subsequently drop the emission rate of the greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and air.

3. An Economy of Clean Energy:

Investing in technologies and also industries that are energy efficient can go a long way in building an economy that has clean energy and this will help curtail global warming because the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere will drastically reduce.

4. Investment into Agriculture:

Some agricultural practices can help in reducing the release of methane and nitrous oxide into the air and atmosphere and these agricultural practices should be encouraged and improved by investing in them.

Having discussed some of the regulations that the government can put in place to fight global warming, it is very important to also look at some of the things that all of us as members of the society can do towards reducing Global Warming.

A few of the steps that can be taken to lower global warming are highlighted below:

1. Light bulbs that are fluorescent should be used instead of light bulbs that are incandescent because the light bulbs that are fluorescent consume about 25% energy when they are compared to the bulbs that are incandescent. LED technology and LED bulbs can also be used for lighting as they save a lot of electricity.

2. Electrical home appliances that are not in use should always be switched off when they are not in use so as to save electricity.

3. Fans can be used instead of using air conditioners as air conditioners use more energy than fans.

4. Only appliances that are energy efficient should be used at home.

5. We should endeavour to reuse and recycle things.

6. When packaging products, the minimum amount of packaging should be used.

7. Solar cookers can be used for cooking and heating systems can be converted into using solar energy.

8. The use of hybrid or electric cars should be encouraged instead of using gasoline cars. Government can also try to subsidise electric cars so that they are affordable.

9. Trees should be planted and there should be education about how planting of trees can help our environment by releasing oxygen and absorbing carbon dioxide.

10. We should try to reduce the lighting of our homes during the day. Sunlight from the windows and doors can serve as natural lighting.

11. We can save the quantity of water we consume by turning the tap off when we are brushing our teeth, reducing the period of time we spend under the shower and try to reduce the quantity and frequency of hot water we use.

12. We can also try to use the public transport more instead of using cars of our own as this would go a long way in reducing pollution by air and also save energy.