Global Warming by Tze Kang 4 Kindness

This picture shows a wildfire that occurred in California. This is another consequence of global warming. As the climate has warmed, forests have become drier and their branches and leaves are more combustible, therefore making them easier to burn.

This picture shows the glacier in Norway that has retreated 2 kilometers since it started melting in 1928. This accelerated melting of the global ice sheets is a result of global warming and also creates the climate feedback effect





This picture depicts how fast forests are vanishing from our planet. In particular, Indonesia had 187.9 million hectares of forest as of 2005 but almost half of the forest has been degraded, making Indonesia the 3rd largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world after the USA and China.







This is how mankind has polluted the Pacific Ocean. If we still continue to use excessive amount of plastic, all our oceans may eventually become a huge stew of plastic trash.

It is crucial for all mankind to start doing their part to help save our Earth like this Indonesian student who helped plant a tree sapling during a tree planting campaign.

Introduction
The environmental issue that I will be focusing on is global warming. I chose this topic because it is one of the most serious and major environmental problems on Earth today.

Global Warming
Global warming refers to the rise in temperature in the Earth which causes climate change. The main causes of global warming are -
1) Pollution – Pollution occurs in various forms like air pollution, water pollution, land pollution, noise pollution and radiation pollution. Pollution is solely caused by human activities like production at factories, driving, use of electrical goods and increasing affluent and materialistic lifestyles.
2) Deforestation - Trees are our planet’s major lung, they store carbon dioxide in their branches and roots. When they are cut down, their stored carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere. At the same time, there are fewer trees to absorb the carbon dioxide in our environment.
3) Climate Feedback effect – The ice sheets around the globe play a crucial part in mirroring the sun’s rays back to space. With more ice melting each year due to global warming, our planet absorbs more of the sun’s energy. This results in the temperature rising, causing even more ice to melt at a faster rate. This vicious circle, called climate feedback, accelerates global warming.

Pollution and deforestation produce greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide which gather at the surface of the Earth, trapping energy and not allowing heat to escape back to space. This is also known as the Greenhouse Effect.

The resulting rise in Earth’s temperature caused climate changes which has a great impact on humans, animals and plants. Our earth is experiencing more natural disasters like hurricanes, floods, drought and bushfires, causing huge loss of lives and damages.

Conclusion
Global warming is an act of human, so it is time mankind should put a stop to it. All of us must do our part to stop polluting our environment and cutting down our trees. This is the only way to save our Earth!