20 facts you must know about global warming
The climate is changing around us, and not for the better.
According to the NRDC:
Global warming is caused by carbon dioxide pollution and other air pollution that collects in the atmosphere, and traps the heat form the sun, causing the planet to heat up.
While temperatures do fluctuate naturally, the global temperature has increased at a record rate in the past 50 years. Let’s take a look at 20 facts you must know about global warming.
- Global warming is caused by the surplus of carbon dioxide and methane gases, amongst other types of air pollution.
- Gases like carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide will remain in the atmosphere making it impossible to reverse global warming for many years.
- According to research, ocean levels will rise up to 23 inches by the end of the century due to global warming.
- Since 1880, the average temperature has increase by 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit .
- The Artic ice is melting at an alarming rate. By 2040, or even earlier, the Artic is expected to have no ice in the summer.
- The surplus carbon dioxide is affecting the oceans too. The amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by the top layer of the ocean has increased to about 2 billion tons per year, according to a report published in the journal Science.
- Because of global warming and pollution, coral reefs have suffered the highest dying rate since 1980.
- We are emitting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere faster than plants and the oceans can absorb it.
- Sea levels have risen 7 inches in the last 100 years, which is higher than the last 2000 years combined.
- More than 1 million species have become extinct because of habitat destruction and more, all due to global warming.
- Global warming will completely change the oceans conveyor belt, which may cause a mini ice age in Europe.
- 2000-2009 has been the hottest decade in the history of the earth.
- Many foods are endangered due to global warming, including chocolate, coffee, fish, maple syrup, peanuts, and wine.
- CO2 is being dumped into the environment at a rate of 1000 tons per second.
- Human activities release around 37 billion metric tons of CO2 per year.
- By the year 2100, the average earth temperature will increase by 5.8 degrees.
- Fossil fuels are the largest contributors due global warming.
- The United States is the single largest culprit of carbon pollution, emitting two billion tons into the air every year.
- The amount of spring snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere has decreased over the past five decades and that the snow is melting earlier, according to a report from the National Snow & Ice Data Center.
- Extreme storms, drought, floods, and fires are all effects of global warming.
[pullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”#228B22″ class=”” size=”16″]”Global warming is not only the number one environmental challenge we face today, but one of the most important issues facing all of humanity,” said Leonardo DiCaprio, an Academy Award-winning actor and leading environmental activist. “We all have to do our part to raise awareness about global warming and the problems we as a people face in promoting a sustainable environmental future for our planet.”[/pullquote]
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REFERENCES:
1. “6 Foods That Are Going Extinct Because of Climate Change.” TakePart. TakePart, n.d. Web. 7 Mar. 2016.
2. “Coffee and Climate: What’s Brewing with Climate Change?” Union of Concerned Scientists. Union of Concerned Scientists, n.d. Web. 7 Mar. 2016.
3. “Scientists: Climate Change Not Sweet For Sugar Maples.” WGBH. WGBH, n.d. Web. 7 Mar. 2016.
4. “Climate & Peanut Butter.” NOAA Climate.gov. NOAA Climate.gov, n.d. Web. 7 Mar. 2016.
5. “Global Warming Threatens Cold-Water Fish.” NRDC. NRDC, n.d. Web. 7 Mar. 2016.
6. “35 Facts About Global Warming.” ConserveEnergyFuture. N.p., 05 Sept. 2013. Web. 07 Mar. 2016.
7. “Global Warming Basics.” NRDC. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2016.
8. “What Is Global Warming?” LiveScience. TechMedia Network, 15 Dec. 2014. Web. 07 Mar. 2016.
9. “Climate Change Evidence: How Do We Know?” NASA. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2016.
10. “State of the Cryosphere.” National Snow and Ice Data Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2016.
11. “The Oceanic Sink for Anthropogenic CO2.” Science. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2016.
