Climate change is a hot topic in today’s society and has played an important role in political decisions over the last few years. Global warming is the gradual increase in temperature of the Earth’s surface, oceans and atmosphere. Living in Canada, this doesn’t sound that bad. But our world is sensitive and even the slight temperature increase (0.8 degrees Celsius) that has occurred over the last century has caused a lot of damage.
Some of the effects of global warming are as follows: more air pollution, higher wildlife extinction rates, higher sea levels, more acidic oceans, ice is melting, coral reefs are dying, and animals are migrating (due to changing temperatures or loss of habitat). This is just a sample of the damage that climate change is responsible for.
The melting of the glaciers in the arctic is harmful not only to the animals that live there, but to the whole world. The glaciers are responsible for reflecting the suns radiation and thereby keeping our planet cool. The melting of the ice means less radiation is being reflected and that cooler ocean currents are disrupting the balance of marine ecosystems across the plant.
The changes to the planet have already begun and we can expect them to get worse. This will take form as more extreme weather, of all types: harsher winters, stronger hurricanes, droughts, floods, etc. In addition, many coastal cities will soon be underwater as a result of the rising sea levels.
The majority of global warming is caused by humans. We destroy forests, wetlands, and nearly every other aspect of nature. We produce so much garbage – it is overflowing in landfills, floods the ocean and litters streets. And we produce copious amounts of greenhouse gases (especially methane and CO2).
CO2 accounts for about 80% of the greenhouse gases emitted in the US, with methane coming in second place. However, methane is more destructive, trapping more radiation in the atmosphere than CO2. Methane occurs naturally but is also created by humans through landfills and factory farms.
The livestock industry is responsible for at least 18% of greenhouse gas emissions and about 50% of what is currently in the atmosphere. This is because factory farms produce a lot of waste, which ends up polluting our water, soil and air. Manure is dumped in massive pits, which are toxic, and make the air harmful to breathe, and produce greenhouse gases.
The dairy and meat industries are responsible for an immense amount of greenhouse gas emissions and people who consume these products produce more emissions. Specifically, 1.5 tonnes more than someone who does not consume meat or dairy products. Therefore, lowering emissions by eliminating animal products from your life is one of the fastest, cheapest and most effective methods to not only lower global emissions, but to bring about rapid planetary cooling. This has become more important than ever before, as we now know that we only have a few years to reverse the damage that we have done to the planet.
If you value our planet, you will continue to reflect on this issues, and make choices that reduce waste and pollution. We are all in this together, and everyone is responsible for their actions.
The Long Defeat 