Unveiling Impacts and Active Solutions: The Global Warming Crisis

Understanding Global Warming

We all know that we have to do something about global warming. Do you want to have a closer look? You may already have a personal observation from the unusually warmer winters and autumns coming late…let us take a look at some facts about global warming before getting deep inside.

For ages, global warming has been a great crisis that slowly develops every day and badly affects the world environmentally, economically, medically…almost in every field of our life we find it involved in one way or another. The temperature of the average global has risen by 0.8C since the start of the industrial revolution. That may not sound like too much, but the consequences are really huge. Occasionally we need to examine the world we have always evaded in order to find supervision for the choices we brand today.

The Science and Data Behind Global Warming

• What exactly is global warming?
• What actually causes it to happen and increase in the first place?
• What is the latest update on global warming development?
• What impact does it leave? What are the most blamed countries?
• How is the middle east and -specifically talking- I mean Egypt involved in global warming?
• It’s the concern of politicians and world leaders, not me. What difference can I make?

Explaining the definition and the causes of global warming:

Global warming simply happens when carbon dioxide (CO2) and other air contaminants and greenhouse gases collect in the atmosphere and engross sunlight and solar radiation that have bounced off the surface of the Earth. Global temperatures have varied in step with carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere, and these concentrations shot up way above anything experienced
over the past half-million years. Human activity is the only cause of this sudden surge.

Climate scientists talk about temperatures, greenhouse gas concentrations, and emissions. To understand what they are saying, you must be prepared to study figures, think about probability, and allow for scientific complexity to bring reduced to media simplicities.

• First: temperature.

There is a broad consensus that global temperature shouldn’t be allowed to rise more than 2 degrees C above preindustrial levels, although Prof. Rajendra, head of the international panel on climate change (IPCC) with its 2500 climate scientists, now says that 1.50 degrees C would be more appropriate. Land-based temperatures have already risen by 0.80C, and current levels of emissions in the atmosphere commit us to a rise of 1.30C due to the time lag between cause and effect. The biggest danger is runaway global warming.

Let’s say the area of arctic ice decreases. Then there is more dark water to engross heat from the Sun. This, sequentially, causes more ice to melt, exposing more dark water, causing more melt, more dark water, more melt. This is a chain response that could cause temperatures to rise without any supplementary help from us.

• Second: greenhouse gas concentrations.

The Stern Review (2006) stated that greenhouse gas concentrations at the time it was written were at 430 ppm C02e (parts per million of carbon dioxide equivalent). A figure of 382ppm is sometimes mentioned, but this does not include methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N20). Beforehand the industrial revolution, the figure was 280ppm. According to the Stern Review, ‘stabilization at 450ppm C02e is almost out given that we are probable to touch this level in ten years. It, therefore, set a target for stabilizing at 550 ppmC02e.

• Third: emissions.

Despite the Kyoto Protocol (adopted in 1997), emissions have been rising at an ever-increasing rate. In 2006, James Hansen, who heads the US NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, said: ‘A global tilting point be reached in ten years if levels of greenhouse fumes are not reduced. Global warming, at this point, becomes irresistible. The prestigious Tyndall Centre for Climate Change, in a 2006 report, “Living Within a Carbon Budget’, said that a 90 percent cut in United.

Kingdom greenhouse gas releases, including those from delivery and commercial airline, is needed by 2050, adding that emissions must be diminished by an unparalleled nine percent a year from 2010 for up to 20 years. With this kind of reduction, oil factories would no longer be sustainable, so we would be hopefully moving to a carbon-free economy better for us and for the next generation. What about sea levels? Greenland is the size of France and Spain united and mostly covered with ice two kilometers deep. Meltwater is plummeting down fissures and lubricating the base so that glaciers are sliding into the sea faster than expected. It was predicted that Greenland would drop 80 km3 of ice in 2006. NASA’s Grace Satellite showed that it actually lost 287 km3 that year. If greenhouse gas emissions are not stabilized within a decade, sea levels could increase several meters before the end of the era.

Impact and Realities of Global Warming

What changes to the climate are humans causing through global warming?

Global warming, caused by greenhouse gas pollution, is causing instantaneous and direct changes to the planet. The Earth’s temperature had by now warmed by one °C compared to preindustrial levels. This temperature rise may seem small, but small rises in temperature transform into big changes in the world’s climate. This is because the quantity of extra energy needed to increase the world’s temperature, even by a little, is enormous. This extra energy is like force-feeding worldwide.

• Hotter days:

Let us not get so far; you may have noticed the unusual heat waves that have struck our country (Egypt) in recent days; the Egyptian Meteorological Authority is expecting a coast-to-coast heatwave until Friday, with Cairo, Lower Egypt, and coastal zones to be mainly affected by the weather. Upper Egypt is probable to have hot weather throughout daylight hours, with temperatures set to descend across the country at nightfall. We are going to talk about that deep below.

• Expanding sea levels:

Augmented ocean temperatures are melting glaciers and ice caps all over the globe. Melted ice raises the volume of water in our oceans. Warmer temperatures also result in the expansion of the water’s mass, which causes sea levels to rise, intimidating lowland islands and seaside cities.

• More recurrent and intense life-threatening weather events:

Dangerous weather events like bushfires, cyclones, droughts, and floods are becoming more frequent and more intense as a result of global warming.

• Oceans are warming and acidifying:

The oceans have absorbed furthermost of extra heat and carbon dioxide so far – more than the air – making the seas both warmer and more acidic. Warming waters are whitening coral reefs and driving sturdier storms. Rising ocean acidity threatens shellfish, including the tiny lobsters without which marine food chains would, unfortunately, break down.

What is the latest update on global warming development?

This graph shows the change in global surface temperature relative to 1951-1980 average temperatures. Nineteen of the 20 warmest years have happened since 2001, with the exclusion of 1998. The year 2020 is almost certain to rank among the five warmest years on record. 2019 was the second warmest year since record-keeping began in 1880, and the 2010s were by far the warmest decade.

This year, i.e., 2020, has been especially warm in Eastern Europe and Asia, where average temperatures were at least 7.2 F above the historical average, NOAA reported. South America and the Caribbean also saw unusual warmth. In the United States, the average temperature from January through March was the eighth warmest since 1895, according to NCEI records. Temperatures were particularly high in the Southeast, averaging 54.6 F. That fell just short of the January-March record of 54.7 F, which was set in 2012 but was 5.5 F above the 126-year average.

The good news is that global momentum around climate change is building toward an upsurge. Six of 10 Americans are now either “alarmed’ or “concerned” about climate change, a number that has further than doubled in the past five years. Hundreds of thousands of people from all walks of life, including students, teachers, societies of faith, and healthcare experts, are taking to the streets to demand climate action. And more than 500 global corporations have dedicated themselves to setting climate goals founded on the best obtainable science. And recently, during the corona pandemic, the ozone has treated itself and closed after years of extreme corrosion in its layer.

Egypt and Global Warming

How is the middle east and -specifically talking- I mean Egypt involved in global warming?

Egypt is a characteristic example of a developing country that is exceptionally vulnerable to climate change and which confronts various threats to its economic, social, and environmental sustainability. This causes massive essential pressures on Egypt’s competitiveness. These pressures can also be defined as developing threats to national security. They are powered by a mounting population and growing demand coupled with the constrictions of a limited resource base and could improve into genuine crisis situations if not rapidly and conclusively addressed.

Declining precipitation levels, changing weather patterns, and rising seas in the Nile Delta are slowly but progressively making a tough situation worse, particularly in the area of food and water. Companies are very much affected by the shortage of available resources, and they cannot survive in the future if they cannot predict and adapt to major trends like climate change.

Taking Action: Every Individual Counts

It’s the concern of politicians and world leaders, not me. What difference can I make?

Let’s imagine: a parent and child are spraying their garden. Father controls the tap while the daughter grasps the hose. When they’ve done the job, he says, “That’s enough for now. Stop all the holes in the spray heads with matchsticks.”
“Dad!” she replies, “Are you mad? Turn the tap off!”

The father’s unwise approach is rather like present strategies where we are commanded to use low-energy light bulbs and travel less, whereas politicians and world leaders are allowed, even inspiring the abstraction of as much fossil fuel as possible. Can’t they recognize that once out of the ground, this reaches the atmosphere?

If politicians are serious about greenhouse gas emissions, they must find a way to reduce, not increase, the amount of coal, gas, and oil that is mined within or imported into a country; unless they control the tap, all your effort to diminish emission in a hundred little ways will be hopeless.

But how will politicians be convinced unless the public put pressure on the commercial lobbyists will twist any difficult legislation to their own benefit? Politicians pretend to the electorate that they are anxious when they introduce objectives, taxes, and incentives, but these dull instruments cannot promise that their promises will be met. A new wave of thinking proposes that the way out must involve individuals. The atmosphere does not belong to companies – not even to countries or administrations. We all (as individuals) have an equal right to its life-maintaining properties.

Other active solutions:

Celebrities are a great inspiration for people. People will love to follow them and see their healthy, non-polluting lifestyle and how they are dealing with such a problem. They can play an important role in increasing awareness. Many celebrities already use their platforms to raise awareness about reasons that are close to their hearts; here are some of the actors that are making climate change and the environment their main priorities.

Leonardo DiCaprio set up his own foundation in 1998, which is ‘devoted to the protection and comfort of all Earth’s populations.’ So far, the foundation has funded over 200 projects around the world and awarded $ 100 million in grants.

Mark Ruffalo

Another celebrity with ties to an organization aimed at protecting the environment and raising awareness about climate change is Mark Ruffalo. A co-founder of The Solutions Project, which also counts his fellow Avengers star, Don Cheadle, in its ranks, Ruffalo is focused on supporting the aim to bring renewable energy to everyone.

In the end, it’s in our hands whether to take this seriously and start making decisions and increasing awareness or to just keep consuming pollutants and increasing toxic emissions harming the ozone and making it worse.

References:

1. NASA Global Climate Change. (n.d.). Global Warming: Vital Signs of the Planet.
2. Stern, N. (2006). Stern Review: The Economics of Climate Change. HM Treasury, London.
3. Hansen, J. (2006). The Threat to the Planet. New Scientist, 2596, 24-27.
4. Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research. (2006). Living Within a Carbon Budget. Retrieved from https://www.tyndall.ac.uk/sites/default/files/living_within_a_carbon_budget.pdf
5. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). (n.d.). Frequently Asked Questions. Retrieved from https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/ipcc_far_wg_FAQ.pdf
6. Union of Concerned Scientists. (n.d.). How Does Climate Change Affect Sea Levels? Retrieved from https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/how-does-climate-change-affect-sea-levels
7. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). (2021). Global Climate Report: Annual 2020. Retrieved from https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/global/202013
8. Climate Reality Project. (n.d.). The Climate Crisis. Retrieved from https://www.climaterealityproject.org/climate-crisis
9. Hassan, R., Scholes, R., & Ash, N. (2005). Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Current State and Trends: Findings of the Condition and Trends Working Group. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Series, Vol. 1. Retrieved from https://www.millenniumassessment.org/documents/document.356.aspx.pdf
10. Ahmed, M., & Zekri, S. (2013). Understanding Egypt’s Vulnerability to Climate Change. The World Bank, Washington, DC.