What is the Cause of Global Warming?
There is no single cause of global warming. If anything, it is the accumulated results of years of environmental abuse and neglect. It is, in a way, payback time for man after constantly exploiting the gift of nature.
Fossil Fuels
At this age and time, there is probably no adult who is unaware of the undesirable effects of fossil fuel consumption on the environment. In spite of this, such consumption not only continues but shows signs of increasing as well in various aspects. Fossil fuels is one of the most prominent sources of carbon gas emissions and if nothing is done to address this then global warming would soon be the least of the world’s worries.
Deforestation
There are so many reasons why human population continues with activities of deforestation. Many are caused by illegal logging activities. Others are rationalized as a vital need for urbanization as they have great need for living space and other such needs.
Deforestation means the loss of trees and plants, living things that perform a vital function: the storage of carbon dioxide and conversely, the release of oxygen. Humans do the opposite: for every breath of oxygen we inhale, we exhale carbon dioxide. But the rapid loss of forests is causing an imbalance between oxygen and carbon dioxide and this lead to increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Methane
For those who are unaware, methane is yet another undesirable gas that causes increased levels of global warming. When there is an insufficient amount of oxygen available, certain organic matters are broken down by bacteria and which lead to the production of methane. When organic matters are contained inside herbivorous creatures or underwater, such as rice paddies – all these are possible instances in which methane may be created.
Fertile land nowadays is used for agricultural purposes and these activities lead to an increased presence of methane as well. And then there are natural gas fields which, when there are leakages or landfills, can lead to increased methane levels, too.
Clathrate is a little-known source of methane. Clathrates may be found at the most remote depths of the ocean and are huge hunks of methane and ice. Climate changes cause water temperature to increase and for the ice to consequently melt and release methane into the ocean. In this way, it’s easy to see that global warming can be a vicious cycle where effects can be another cause or source of global warming itself.
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