Global warming:
Global warming is the long-term heating of Earth’s climate system observed since the pre-industrial period (between 1850 and 1900) due to human activities, primarily fossil fuel burning, which increases heat-trapping greenhouse gas levels in Earth’s atmosphere.
Factors causing global warming
Global warming is an aspect of climate change, referring to the long-term rise of the planet’s temperatures. It is caused by increased concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, mainly from human activities such as burning fossil fuels, and farming.
- Burning fossil fuels:
- When we burn fossil fuels like coal, and gas to create electricity or power our cars, we release CO2 pollution into the atmosphere.
- Australians are big producers of CO2 pollution compared to the rest of the world. Our level of CO2 pollution per person is nearly double the average of other developed nations and more than four times the world average.
- Electricity generation is the main cause of carbon pollution in Australia as 73% of our electricity comes from burning coal and 13% from burning gas. The remaining 14% comes from renewable energy sources such as hydro, solar and wind, which do not emit carbon.
Solutions:
- Reducing the amount of electricity generated from coal and gas
- Increasing the amount of electricity from clean, renewable energy sources like solar and wind
- Deforestation & Tree-Clearing
- Plants and trees play an important role in regulating the climate because they absorb carbon dioxide from the air and release oxygen back into it.
- Forests and bushland act as carbon sinks and are a valuable means of keeping global warming to 1.5°C.
- When vegetation is removed or burnt, the stored carbon is released back into the atmosphere as CO2, contributing to global warming.
Solutions:
- Prevent deforestation and tree-clearing
- Plant more trees through reforestation and afforestation
- Shop sustainably
- Agriculture & Farming
- Animals, livestock like sheep and cattle, produce methane, a greenhouse gas. When livestock grazed at a large scale, as in Australia, the amount of methane produced is a big contributor to global warming.
- Some that farmers use also release nitrous oxide, which is another greenhouse gas.
Solutions
- Use different stock feeds can help to reduce farming’s contribution to climate change