Did you know that 85 percent of our world’s population is affected by climate change? It’s been scientifically proven that climate change is not only real but it affects billions of people.
As climate change continues to worsen, it’s clear that climate change will begin to affect more and more people. Is there anything that you can do to help?
There is! Here are some ways to prevent climate change.
What Is Causing Climate Change?
There is a big conversation happening in today’s world about climate change and how to slow it down. It’s important to know the most alarming causes of climate change before you can understand what you can do to help.
Climate change is known as the long-term changes in temperature and weather patterns within our planet. This is a natural activity that the earth goes through. However, certain human activities have sped up and intensified this process.
The main causes of climate change are the overuse of fossil fuels, cutting forests down, producing and consuming food, as well as transportation use. These fossil fuels release carbon dioxide into the air, which is known to be what’s called a greenhouse gas.
The burning of fossil fuels has become an essential way to power buildings and homes with electricity and heat, as well as to manufacture goods. Fossil fuels are also utilized for most vehicles such as boats, cars, and planes.
Producing food also utilizes fossil fuels for farm machines and fishing boats. Farms that produce meat are also a large cause of climate change. This is because cows produce methane, a form of greenhouse gas, which traps heat from the sun in the atmosphere.
In addition to the overproduction of fossil fuels, deforestation contributes to the heat becoming trapped in the atmosphere. When trees are cut down, they release more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Because trees absorb carbon dioxide, their absence contributes to the greenhouse gases in the air.
When the heat becomes trapped in the atmosphere and builds up, it can have catastrophic effects.
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What Are The Effects of Climate Change?
The effects of climate change weigh heavily on humans and all living beings on the planet. There’s no way to not be affected by climate change.
When the heat becomes trapped in the air, it raises the earth’s overall temperature. The heat trapped in the earth’s atmosphere will mean hotter temperatures across the globe. It also will contribute to rising sea levels, especially with northern icecaps melting from the heat.
Excessive heat can cause drought and a major loss of species around the world. This can also mean less food supply.
In addition to hotter temperatures, storms will become more severe. This can increase flooding and other natural disasters that can affect billions of homes. This also includes more severe and damaging wildfires.
Although storms, floods and fires are all natural occurrences, the severity of these natural effects has extremely damaging effects on humans, plants, and animals. So, it’s important to understand the science behind this issue.
When thinking about climate change, it’s easy to feel hopeless or distraught about what’s happening to our planet. Although most of these effects are caused by large corporations that make money off of fossil fuels and the food industry, there still is something that you can do to help.
5 Ways to Prevent Climate Change
Caring for the environment on an individual level can be a huge help to this big issue. Here are some eco-friendly tips to help you cut back on consumption and to live green.
1. Shop Locally-Sourced Food
If you’re able to buy as much locally-sourced food as possible, it can help cut the transportation emissions from transporting food. Supporting local farms is also more beneficial than supporting large farms that produce mass amounts of methane.
If you’re unable to afford locally-sourced meat or vegetables, try purchasing budget-friendly meat alternatives a few times a week. By partaking in “Meatless Mondays” you don’t have to sacrifice protein or your hard-earned money. This can include proteins like tofu, beans, and mushrooms.
2. Save or Switch Your Energy
Saving energy in your home or switching your energy to a renewable source like wind or solar energy. This may be expensive up-front but ultimately will pay off both financially and for the environment.
Walking or biking to work can also reduce emissions from your vehicle. Taking public transportation is another way to cut back on the emissions you produce.
3. Shop Products that are Recyclable
Purchasing clothing that’s made locally or made of recycled products can help reduce your carbon footprint. Giving your money to fast-fashion companies is keeping large factories in business and is contributing to their fuel emissions.
Try not to give your money to businesses or companies that contribute excessive amounts of greenhouse gases. Instead, try to shop at small businesses as much as possible.
Preventing climate change is not impossible just yet. But this is an issue that continues to worsen with time. Do what you can now to help stop climate change.
4. Plant Trees to Reduce Climate Change
Planting trees has been considered one of the major solutions to reduce climate changes. As trees assist in cleaning the air from carbon dioxide, also improve the carbon content of soil thus lessening the impacts of greenhouse gas emission in the atmosphere. It is necessary to have more trees for the removal of Co2 if we want to keep global temperature changes within narrow range.
Moreover, establishing the trees in the right place and for right purpose is significant to achieve desired outcomes for our climate. Otherwise, impractical approach to this project may result in hazardous effects on ecosystem by increasing carbon dioxide emissions.
5. Minimize use of Plastics
Plastics are manufactured from fossil fuels which are the chief source of climate change. Furthermore, plastics are degraded by burning which results in the discharge of greenhouse gases. According to a report in 2019, burning of plastics resulted in generating 1.8 billion metric tonnes of greenhouse gas release– which was 3.4 percent of the total.
Recycling of plastic is regarded as an effective approach to synthesize new goods from already used material but it also has some complications that result in increasing its cost. So, it is suggested to avoid or at least minimize the use of plastics until a better recycling process is available.
Hopeful for Change
With these small changes made by individuals, we can make an impact on the outcome of climate change. Part of taking action on this issue includes staying informed on the issue and those involved. We hope these were helpful tips on ways to prevent climate change. There is still hope to slow down these catastrophic events that will harm our planet and our daily lives.
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