What is Global Warming?
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The terms Global Warming and climate change are often used interchangeably, but they are not the same thing. Global Warming is just one aspect of climate change. Climate change refers to all changes in climate over a long period of time – including precipitation, temperature, and wind patterns. Sometimes it can even mean colder weather than usual, not warmer.
Global warming is the long-term rising of Earth’s surface temperature observed since the pre-industrial period (between 1850 and 1900) due to human activities, primarily through the burning of fossil fuels. When fossil fuels are burned, they release large amounts of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, into the air. Greenhouse gases trap heat in our atmosphere, causing global warming. The average global temperature has already increased by 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit). This number is currently predicted to increase by more than 0.2 degrees Celsius (0.36 degrees Fahrenheit) per decade.
Meanwhile CO2 levels have soared to 420 ppm (parts per million) — that’s the highest they’ve been in at least three million years. The concentration of CO2 is also increasing about 100 times faster than it did at the end of the last ice age.
In 2018, 89% of global CO2 emissions came from fossil fuels and industry. Coal is the dirtiest fossil fuel of all, responsible for over 0.3C of the 1C increase in global average temperatures. Oil releases a huge amount of carbon when burned - approximately a third of the world’s total carbon emissions. Natural gas is often promoted as a cleaner energy source than coal and oil. However, natural gas is still a fossil fuel.
Fossil fuels are not the only problem when it comes to Global Warming. Clearing land and deforestation also causes damage. The Amazon Rainforest is the world’s largest forest. 3.6 million acres of it have been scorched in this first half of 2023. In Brazil, cattle ranchers and land-grabbers often set the Amazon on fire to illegally clear land and expand their destructive business. And world wide, industrial agriculture is the biggest driver of deforestation. Other causes of fires include carelessness and arson. Wildfires and bushfires destroy vast areas of forest in many other regions such as California and Australia. Even Greece saw one of it’s worst years in August 2023.
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Why do some people say that Global Warming isn’t real?
Global warming denialists argue that the change in the Earth’s climate is not caused by human activities. They say that Earth’s climate has always changed. For the last 2.6 million years, the planet has cycled between ice ages and milder interglacial periods like the one we’re in now. Hundreds of millions of years ago, the entire planet froze. Fifty million years ago, alligators lived in what we now call the Arctic.
While this is true, the human factor is undeniable. Since the 1800s, human activities have been contributing to climate change.
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When assessing the truth about something it is always important to look at the sources. Are they reliable? Global Warming is described as very real on sites such as the official website of NASA, the UN and the New York Times, not only on sites concerned with environment protection such as WWF and National Geographic.
Yearly temperature compared to the twentieth-century average (red bars mean warmer than average, blue bars mean colder than average) from 1850–2022 and atmospheric carbon dioxide amounts (gray line): 1850-1958 from IAC, 1959-2019 from NOAA ESRL. Original graph by Dr. Howard Diamond (NOAA ARL), and adapted by NOAA Climate.gov.
Looking for more info? Check out WWFs site on 10 Myths about climate change:
https://www.wwf.org.uk/updates/here-are-10-myths-about-climate-change
How bad are the effects of Global Warming going to be?
That depends on how we address climate change. The consequences of climate change now include, intense droughts, water scarcity, severe fires, rising sea levels, flooding, melting polar ice, catastrophic storms and declining biodiversity. If we continue with business as usual, by the end of the century, it will: be too hot to go outside during heat waves in the Middle East and South Asia. Droughts will grip Central America, the Mediterranean and southern Africa. Many island nations and low-lying areas, from Texas to Bangladesh, will be overtaken by rising seas. Conversely, climate change could bring welcome warming and extended growing seasons to the upper Midwest, Canada, the Nordic countries and Russia. And because the Earth is a system, where everything is connected, changes in one area can influence changes in all others.
Poorer countries will be hit hardest. That’s because many less developed countries tend to be in tropical regions. These nations also often have greater vulnerabilities. They have large coastal populations. People live in improvised housing that is easily damaged in storms. And they have fewer resources to adapt.
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What can we do?
Three broad categories of action are: cutting emissions, adapting to climate impacts and financing required adjustments.
Cutting emissions means switching from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources and dedicating time to finding better sources. But how far along are we producing renewable energy resources? And how environment friendly are they really? For more info, check out the next link on Renewable Energy Resources.
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Sources:
https://climate.nasa.gov/what-is-climate-change/#:~:text=Global warming is the long,the term "climate change.”
https://www.nytimes.com/article/climate-change-global-warming-faq.html#link-4b4906cb
https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-difference-between-global-warming-and-climate-change#:~:text=“Global warming” refers to the,, temperature, and wind patterns.
https://www.clientearth.org/latest/latest-updates/stories/fossil-fuels-and-climate-change-the-facts/
https://www.wwf.org.uk/updates/here-are-10-myths-about-climate-change
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Renewable Energy
Renewable energy is energy that comes from a source that won’t run out. They are natural and self-replenishing. Three main sources of renewable energy include:
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Wind
Wind power is the largest producer of renewable electricity in both the UK and the US. It is generated in wind farms by wind turbines. Wind turbines are the modern version of a windmill. They generate electricity through their spinning blades. The turbines convert the kinetic energy of the spinning blades into electric energy by turning a drive shaft and gear box, which is connected to a generator. Electricity is then converted into higher voltages and fed into the national grid.
Wind farms are groups of wind turbines. They can be located onshore (on the land) or offshore (in the sea).
On the plus side:
Wind power is a clean and effective resource. It is cost effective, works in different environments. On the downside:
Wind turbines have to manufactured in factories which produce greenhouse gases. And broken parts contribute to more waste.
Their blades can also harm wildlife (especially birds), they produce noise and are not nice to look at. Installation is often complex, because they work best in remote areas.
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Solar
Solar energy is derived from the sun's radiation. There are two forms of energy generated from the sun for our use – electricity and heat. Electricity is generated by capturing sunlight on solar panels (photovoltaic cells).
On the plus side:
Solar power is inexhaustible, as if is derived from the sun. The maintenance costs of solar panels are low, after the initial setup, and they can be owned by individuals as well as companies.
On the downside:
Solar power is dependant on good weather and time of day. It has to be used right away, or it needs to be stored in large batteries, which have their own environmental impact and, like wind turbines, have to be manufactured and have a life cycle of 20-30 years after which they become waste. Solar panels take up a lot of space and can cause visual pollution of the environment.
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Hydroelectric
Hydro power is created using the movement of flowing or falling water. Hydroelectric power plants are found at dams and generate electricity through underwater turbines that turn a generator. Hydro power also encompasses wave and tidal power, which rely on ocean forces to generate electricity.
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On the plus side:
Solar power, hydro power is fairly inexhaustible. It is also very reliable, because water has a constant flow, unlike the wind and the sun, which comes and goes. What’s more, Hydro plants can adjust the flow of water to produce more energy or less energy, as required.
On the downside:
Hydro power that involves the construction of a dam has a negative impact on the environment. When a running water source is dammed, fish can’t reach their breeding ground, and the risk of floods for nearby towns, below the dam, increases. Dams make the initial construction cost high and can only be built in certain locations.
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Geothermal
Geothermal energy is derived from the natural heat of the earth, Geo (earth) + thermal (heat).
Geothermal energy is visible on the surface in form of volcanoes, geysers, or hot springs. A geothermal heat pump circulates water through pipes buried in the ground, or submerged in a water body, to heat and cool a building’s HVAC system.
Many countries have developed methods of tapping into geothermal energy. Different types of geothermal energy are available in different parts of the world. In Iceland, abundant sources of hot, easily accessible underground water make it possible for most people to rely on geothermal sources as a safe, dependable, and inexpensive source of energy. Other countries, such as the U.S., must drill for geothermal energy at greater cost.
On the plus side:
Geothermal energy is recently believed to be the most advantageous source of energy. It is fairly unlimited, available in most places and not dependant on weather or time of day, like wind and solar energy. It also has a high efficiency. Geothermal heat pumps eg use 25-50% less electricity than conventional sources.
On the downside:
Geothermal energy does lead to the release of some greenhouse gases (although the release is much lower than that of fossil fuels). Installation costs are high and in some locations the heat source could cool down after a certain number of years.
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Red Earth
Red Earth only exists on Ararat, but it was inspired by geothermal energy.
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Sources
https://www.nationalgrid.com/stories/energy-explained/how-does-wind-turbine-work
https://www.energy.gov/eere/wind/advantages-and-challenges-wind-energy#:~:text=Turbines produce noise and alter,visual impacts on the landscape .
https://www.greenmatch.co.uk/blog/2014/08/5-advantages-and-5-disadvantages-of-solar-energy
https://www.greengeeks.com/blog/hydroelectric-energy/
https://www.energy.gov/eere/geothermal/geothermal-basics#:~:text=Geothermal energy is heat energy,depths below the Earth's surface.
https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/geothermal-energy/
How far along are renewable energy sources?
Today, the use of renewables in our electricity mix has grown massively. At the end of 1991, renewables accounted for 2% of electrical generation in the UK, for example, while by 2020 renewables contributed 43.1% of the electricity mix. However in many Asian countries burning of fossil fuels and CO2 emissions have increased over the recent years.
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How environment friendly are renewable energy sources?
Nonetheless, problems still exists. And although the positive aspects of renewable energy sources are often addressed, the downside is talked about less.
Although renewable energy sources emit no CO2, the way in which they’re manufactured is not environment friendly. This is particularly true when it comes to mining the metals and minerals needed for production, such as graphite, lithium, nickel and cobalt. Many of these metals and minerals are far from infinite – in fact their reserves are in decline. They are often mined in poor regions, with no regard for human rights. And frequently, the poorer countries in which these resources are, are being exploited.
What’s more, chemical products are needed in mining operations which leads to severe long-term pollution. Not to mention that the process of extracting, transporting, and refining minerals accounts for 8 to 10% of global primary energy consumption.
So even though renewable energy is often described as green energy or clean energy this does not necessarily mean that it has the well being of the planet and its people at heart. It is still predominantly driven by big business and finance rather than environment protection.
So the steps that are being undertaken to protect the environment are not as efficient as they might look at a first glance and much should still be done to improve the humanitarian aspect.
Are there places that rely only on renewable energy?
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Iceland is the leader in renewable energy. 99% of it’s energy is provided by renewable energy sources. 73% of those come from hydropower plants while the remaining 26.8% come from geothermal energy. With over 200 volcanoes and many hot springs, Iceland has an abundance of geothermal energy. 90% of all households heat their homes with geothermal water.
Fossil fuels are still being imported for cars, ships and planes, but electric car ownership is already growing and changes are also being made in the fishing ship sector.
mix.
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sources: https://www.visiticeland.com/article/renewable-energy
https://energytransition.org/2023/03/geothermal-iceland-this-land-of-fire-and-ice-is-pushing-the-limits-of-its-natural-energy/#:~:text=With over 200 volcanoes across,are heated by geothermal energy.
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/carbon-emissions-by-country-2022/
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