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On Earth, human activities are changing the natural greenhouse. Over the last century the burning of
fossil fuels like coal and oil has increased the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2). This
happens because the coal or oil burning process combines carbon with oxygen in the air to make CO 2. To
a lesser extent, the clearing of land for agriculture, industry, and other human activities have increased
concentrations of greenhouse gases.
The following graph from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows the
ever increasing emissions of CO2 from year 2005 onwards.
The major sources of CO2 emissions are the burning of fossil fuels for the purposes of electricity
generation and transportation. Air travel is mainly responsible for large amounts of CO 2 emissions in the
transportation sector whereas the production of cement is the primal cause in the industrial sector.
FUTURE CONSEQUENCES
An Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report on extreme weather, published in 2012
said that for the future:
It is virtually certain that increases in the frequency and magnitude of warm daily temperature
extremes and decreases in cold extremes will occur in the 21st century at the global scale.
It is likely that the frequency of heavy precipitation or the proportion of total rainfall from heavy falls
will increase in the 21st century over many areas of the globe. There is medium confidence that
projected increases in heavy rainfall would contribute to increases in local flooding in some catchments or
regions.
Improved engineering technologies and advanced machine designs that save raw material and
energy,
Higher-activity catalysts,
Advanced combustion systems that reduce the formation of CO2 and other combustion-related
GHGs,
Use of cleaner-burning alternative energy sources, such as biomass-derived fuels and solar- and
wind-generated power.
We are in an era of unprecedented extreme weather events and these alarming climatic changes are
noticeably the product of human activities.
Heath Byers once said "An asteroid destroying the planet earth before WE do, might be the long shot of
21st century!"
So it is about time that each and every soul on this planet realize how critical this issue is and work
together towards a healthier, sustainable earth.
Global warming is rather a global warning, so be nice and save the ice!