Author: Aritra Mitra

Air conditioners and room heaters were formerly considered luxury items, but they are now considered a necessity for most people. Yet very soon our necessity can turn against us.

Climate change is the result of our negligence towards mother nature. Climate change is a slow and steady process that occurs every day, minute, and second. Climate change is caused by both natural and man-made processes in equal measure.

However, by taking some minor yet essential measures we can solve the present scenario. This article will discuss some of the positive measures that can be taken for it.

 

 

What is climate change?

Climate change is defined as an unpredicted shift in weather patterns and variance in temperature due to both natural and man-made factors. It is an uncertain and unpredicted process.

Natural Factors

When a person reaches a particular age, they have internal health difficulties, which we refer to as the age factor. Similarly, the earth is becoming older and encountering internal challenges such as changes in dimensions, plate shifting, and so on.

Volcanic eruptions, changes in ocean currents, changes in the orbital route, and so on are all caused by this. These are the most important natural factors that influence climate.

Here’s a detailed look into the natural factors.

Eruptions of volcanoes

Volcanoes have a short-term cooling influence on the climate. The eruption of volcanoes produces dust and cloud of ashes that obscure part of the sun's rays.

Because the ashes are quite heavy, they fall to the ground within three months, resulting in a fairly short-term cooling impact. Large amounts of gases and ash particles can have a long-term impact on climate patterns by increasing planetary reflectance and cooling the atmosphere.

 

 

Oceanic Current

The oceans make up a significant part of the global climatic system. Ocean currents may be found in both shallow and deep water. They can transport water both vertically as well as horizontally, and they can occur in both local and global sizes.

Wind, tides, the Earth's rotation (Coriolis effect), the sun (solar energy), and water density variances all contribute to the ocean's linked current, or circulation, system. Ocean currents are also influenced by the geology and geometry of ocean basins and surrounding landmasses.

Changes in Earth's orbit

Climate change can be triggered by shifts and wobbles in the Earth's orbit. However, orbital shifts are so slow that they take thousands of years to discover - not decades or centuries.

Every year, the earth completes one full circle around the sun. Its orbital path is inclined at a 23.5° to the perpendicular plane.

Small but climatically significant variations in the intensity of the seasons can be caused by changes in the earth's tilt; greater tilt implies warmer summers and colder winters; less tilt means cooler summers and milder winters.

 

 

Solar variations

For the earth's climate, the sun is the most essential source of energy. Although from a practical standpoint, the Sun's energy output looks constant, minor changes in solar emission can cause climate change on earth.

Man-made Factors

Smartphones have become a most frequent item that everyone owns.

Well, it has become possible due to the rapid modernization of humankind. Modernization comes with a technological build-up, heavy industrialization and more.

Here’s a detailed view of the man-made factors.

Emission of Greenhouse gases

Greenhouse gas emissions are regarded to be the most significant man-made climate change factor as it is so widespread and large-scale.

Greenhouse gases are naturally occurring gases in the atmosphere that absorb and reflect the Sun's heat for the benefit of life on the planet but due to heavy industrialization. These gases are being produced on such a scale that it disturbs the balance of energy in the earth’s atmosphere.

Use of Fossil Fuels

Carbon dioxide is the major greenhouse gas that causes climate change, and it is produced by burning fossil fuels, among other substances. It is not a highly warming gas in and of itself, but the amount we emit into the atmosphere makes it the most harmful.

 

 

Deforestation

Huge swaths of primary forest are being razed to make room for unsustainable agriculture, urbanization, or the logging and paper industry. Because trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, the amount of carbon dioxide in the air will rise as more trees are chopped down.

Urbanization

As our populations grow and our cities reach their carrying capacity, we begin to expand them in a process known as urban sprawl. As a result, the quantity of plants available to absorb CO2 is reduced. As a result, urbanization produces more greenhouse gases, which further causes Climate Change.

 

 

How can we help?

The harm that we are giving to earth is irreversible, but researchers say that there is still a chance to save our climate, our planet earth. We should take charge of our actions and cultivate new processes that result in a better future.

Here are some steps one can take.

Introduction of Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle

Essentially, the Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle Concept is a set of procedures for appropriately managing trash. The first objective is to minimize trash creation, followed by reuse and recycling to offer waste materials a second opportunity before being disposed of in landfills.

This will not only reduce the usage of raw materials but also encourage the use of sustainable materials.

Reduce wastage of water

Only one-third of the earth's surface land, with the remainder being water. However, only 1.2 % of water is drinkable, making it a valuable resource. By reducing the wastage of water in our home and our surroundings we can ensure proper balance in the water cycle in the earth which makes our climate better and more comfortable.

Waste management

By reducing the development of unneeded waste by managing garbage in a way that avoids landfills and lowering consumption by recycling things we can not only limit the quantity of the garbage that ends up in landfills by separating and recycling the waste that we do produce but also can produce energy but burning the leftover wastage that cannot be recycled.

 

 

Afforestation

Afforestation is the process of planting trees in areas with little to no prior plantation. We can guarantee correct life-cycle balance in our ecosystem, boost oxygen levels in our environment, and prevent soil erosion by increasing afforestation.

Key Takeaways

To avoid permanent damage to the Earth's life-support systems, mankind must reduce emissions of climate-warming greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide while also removing excess carbon from the atmosphere.

This will necessitate a rapid and large-scale shift to clean, renewable energy sources. Even if the world totally ceased using fossil fuels, we would not be able to avoid a worst-case scenario unless we also stopped destroying carbon-absorbing ecosystems like forests.