An Environmental Dilemma...

            As humans, we often times don't realize that the small, simple things we do daily are affecting the world around us. Over the past century, the Earth's average temperature has risen by 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit. Although this change seems relatively small, this amount is already taking a toll on the world.

            Our overuse of greenhouse gases are becoming dangerous to the planet. Greenhouse gases are gases that allow direct sunlight to come, unimpeded, in contact with the Earth's surface. Carbon dioxide is the most common greenhouse gas, however, it most certainly is not the only one. Methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gas are common greenhouse gases as well. Being the main greenhouse gas, 82 percent of carbon dioxide moves into and out of the air through the carbon cycle. This gas comes from electricity, several methods of transportation, and multiple industries. Only 9 percent of methane runs through the air, however it traps more heat that carbon dioxide. This gas stems from natural gas and petroleum systems, enteric fermentation, landfills, coal mining, and manure management. Remaining in the air for nearly 120 years is the gas called nitrous oxide, and is more potent than both carbon dioxide and methane. Nitrous oxide emerges from agriculture, industry/chemical production, stationary combustion, manure management, and transportation. Lastly comes fluorinated gas. Just about 3 percent of this potent gas resides in the air. It comes from substitutes for ozone-depleting chemicals, transmitting electricity, magnesium/aluminum production, and semiconductor manufacturing. Of these gases, carbon dioxide actually occurs naturally in the atmosphere. Unfortunately, through acts like burning forest lands and mining coal, we are artificially taking carbon from a solid state to a gaseous state. In result, atmospheric concentrations are increasing.

This is a photograph of deforestation.

            Deforestation is an ongoing problem that partly originates from issues associated with global warming. Trees are crucial to our environment as they produce oxygen, clean the air, slow storm water runoff, fight soil erosion, as well as provide us with simple pleasures like shade on a hot day. An article at http://planetearthherald.com/trees-dying-globally-at-alarming-rate/ explains: "The “Stomata” or breathing holes in Trees is  used to absorb CO2, but also release water when open. According to scientists the stomata in some trees is closing as early as 9am on any given day. This is leading to the trees starving themselves to death! A massive spike in insect and Fungal attacks is also occurring. These attacks are more common when the Trees are of poor health. Kind of like HIV for trees!” We need to take into consideration how much we are harming our environment through deforestation, and take action on stopping this phenomenon.

Here is an image of the, now extinct, Golden Toad.

            As time progresses, the climate change will affect more of our Earth's species. Weather and vegetation patterns are changing due to rising temperatures. Consequently, animals have been migrating to new, cooler areas for survival. Several species have already been affected by global warming. In 1999, the Golden Toad became the first recognizable species to go extinct due to the climate change. Other animals such as polar bears, and birds are currently being negatively affected by the temperature change. It has even been noted that coral reefs are having difficulty with survival. This is because the heat is beginning to kill the colorful algae that is necessary for their survival.

            Global warming is only going to become more detrimental as time advances. It's time for more people 
to start taking steps in helping to build a healthier environment. There are many ways that we can create a cleaner habitat to live in. Even simple things like planting a tree, carpooling, recycling, and going solar will do a number on helping our fragile planet.

Sources:

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/science/topics/globalwarming/index.html

http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/24/world/gallery/climate-change-impact/

https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/monitoring-references/faq/greenhouse-gases.php

http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/StopGlobalWarming.php

http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/urgentissues/global-warming-climate-change/threats-impacts/wildlife-at-risk.xml

http://planetearthherald.com/trees-dying-globally-at-alarming-rate/

http://planetearthherald.com/top-10-environmental-issues/

http://epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/gases/ch4.html

http://science.kqed.org/quest/2014/12/12/what-are-greenhouse-gases-and-where-do-they-come-from/

http://epa.gov/climatechange/basics/