The Global Warming Taboo

It is still hard to understand that the topic of Global Warming is still being thrown under the rug as it is perceived by some that it is not a leading issue that needs to be tackled. It makes me wonder why so much of America can’t see the problems that are being created just by our everyday actions. Due to the fact that the issue is still under mass controversy leads the topic of global warming to be a taboo in American society.

As stated by Pope Francis, The violence that exists in the human heart is also manifest in the symptoms of illness that we see in the earth, the water, the air and in living things, the connection between humans and the environment is connected by how we take care of each other. I have done continuous research on the link between humans and the increased temperature worldwide due to the activities that we are doing in our everyday lives that have been normalized to be okay. As many people are against the belief of man made global warming there are many statistics and findings that linc us to the warming of the planet. Due to the fact that so many people do not believe in global warming it has become a taboo in my society. There are many man made problems that we have created that are contributing to global warming and have become the silent taboos of the issue of global warming. Some include the burning of fossil fuels as well as the amount of fracking that is being taken place in our oceans. Lastly, humans are leading the temperature to rise causing the ice to melt at an increasing rate. In 1896, the term global warming was first used by scientist to explain the warming of the earth’s temperature. They were able to see and show the link between human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels with the earth’s warming. Through this essay the major topics are going to be discussed to open the eyes of people that do not believe in this major issue and educate them in the problems we are creating.

The leading cause of man made global warming is due to the burning of fossil fuels

The burning of fossil fuels is described as the burning of coal, petroleum, natural gas and more. The burning of these fuels releases carbon dioxide into the earth slowly increasing the temperature due to the amount of heat being released. Before the 18th century, when humans in the industrial west began to burn coal, oil and gas, our atmosphere typically contained about 280 parts per million of carbon dioxide. Those are the conditions on which civilization developed and to which life on earth is adapted. Now, as the use of fossil fuels spreads through the world, the amount of carbon in the atmosphere is skyrocketing. Now, as the use of fossil fuels spreads through the world, the amount of carbon in the atmosphere is skyrocketing. We are now well over 400 parts per million CO2 in the atmosphere. At the same time, the rapid growth in demand for animal-based agriculture by wealthier countries has seen other greenhouse gases like methane and nitrous oxide rapidly rise. The contribution of agriculture causes about 15% of global emissions. Burning fossil fuels remains by far the biggest single contributor to the problem, causing 57% of global emissions. This is due to the fact that carbon dioxide stays active in the atmosphere much longer than methane and other greenhouse gases. Fossil fuel companies are taking millions of years worth of carbon, once stored beneath the earth as fossil fuels, and releasing it into the atmosphere. Keeping fossil fuels in the ground is the most important step we can take to prevent further climate change.

Another major contribution to global warming comes from fracking, also known as the drilling for oil in our oceans. In a single year, fracking wells across the country released at least 5.3 billion pounds of the potent greenhouse gas methane, as much global warming pollution as 22 coal-fired power plants. The statistic is one of many in a new study by Environment America Research & Policy Center that quantifies the environmental harm caused by more 137,000 fracking wells permitted since 2005. Fracking also contributes to the harm of Marine animals due to the amount of oil that can be drained into the ocean from the oil rigs along with the increased damage from oil spills. Due to the increased human activities of the buildup of greenhouse gases the sea levels are beginning to rise as well as the ice caps melting. Scientists who assess the planet’s health see the evidence linking humans to the increase in temperature. When temperatures rise and ice melts, more water flows to the seas from glaciers and ice caps, and ocean water warms and expands in volume. This combination of effects has played the major role in raising average global sea level between four and eight inches (10 and 20 centimeters) in the past hundred years, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Scientists point out that sea levels have risen and fallen substantially over Earth’s 4.6-billion-year history. But the recent rate of global sea level rise has departed from the average rate of the past two to three thousand years and is rising more rapid, about one-tenth of an inch a year.

Over the past couple decades scientists and the population has created a higher interest in global warming due to the effect that we are causing to occur. The problems that we have created are due to the burning of fossil fuels as well as the amount of fracking that is being taken place in our oceans. We can help the problems of global warming by switching to alternative energy resources. These include switching to solar, wind and other resources such as biomass. With the increase in alternative energy resources the taboo of global warming can be wiped away and more and more people can help reverse the damage we have already caused and help plan for the future of our planet.

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