That energy is invariably produced by burning things. Coal is burned in a thermal power plant (you know, those big factories with tall chimneys) to produce electricity. Petrol or gas is burned in your car’s engine to provide motion.
Image Sourc: http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:AysvcOlHK2vvdM:http://ale1980italy.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/climate-change1.jpg
Because humans are burning more and more of fossil fuels, some of these gases (like CO2) are getting to be too much. They’re trapping too much of the sun’s heat. As a result, the planet is getting hotter and hotter. This is called global warming.
What’s The Problem !!
Temperatures on our planet have always seen ups-and-downs. But this is the first time in 4.5 billion years that temperatures are rising because of how humans have behaved themselves over the past 200 years.
As a result of this global warming, the climate is changing. Extreme weather events like typhoons and cyclones, floods and droughts, heat waves and cold waves, early springs and longer summers, all are part of Climate Change.
As just one example of what Climate Change is doing to us, consider that the Gangotri glacier is shrinking at the rate of 34 metres per year. If it shrinks any faster, the Ganga could dry up in just another 20 years, threatening the very survival of over 500 million people (or every second person) inIndia
125 million of these people could be displaced from their homes due to Climate Change. And just what do 125 million people look like?
The 1947 Partition displaced 12.5 million people. The Narmada Dam displaced 3 lakh people. Now imagine 10 Partitions, and 375 Narmadas. That’s what 125 million people look like.
Image source :http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ltSjMoWzpJUVwM:http://www.keepbanderabeautiful.org/climate-change.jpg
As a result of this global warming, the climate is changing. Extreme weather events like typhoons and cyclones, floods and droughts, heat waves and cold waves, early springs and longer summers, all are part of Climate Change.
As just one example of what Climate Change is doing to us, consider that the Gangotri glacier is shrinking at the rate of 34 metres per year. If it shrinks any faster, the Ganga could dry up in just another 20 years, threatening the very survival of over 500 million people (or every second person) in
125 million of these people could be displaced from their homes due to Climate Change. And just what do 125 million people look like?
The 1947 Partition displaced 12.5 million people. The Narmada Dam displaced 3 lakh people. Now imagine 10 Partitions, and 375 Narmadas. That’s what 125 million people look like.
How Can We Help !!
All this is the bad news. The good news is that we can actually do something about this, because if humans caused climate change, then humans can solve it too.
If we simply use the energy we already generate more sensibly, we’ll reduce heat-trapping gases like CO2.
What’s sensibly? Switch from ordinary light-bulbs to CFLs. Run the AC at 25° instead of 22°. Turn on the geyser only when it’s really needed. Turn off gizmos at home and office instead of leaving them on standby (including this computer). Walk or cycle short distances, and use public transport when possible instead of taking out your car or bike.
Oh, and buy less stuff. Because the production of everything in the world releases CO2, and the more you buy, the hotter the planet gets.
All this, of course, will only slow down Climate Change, not stop it. To do that, we’ll have to start generating energy from renewable sources (like the sun and the wind) instead of dirty stuff like coal and oil.
If we simply use the energy we already generate more sensibly, we’ll reduce heat-trapping gases like CO2.
What’s sensibly? Switch from ordinary light-bulbs to CFLs. Run the AC at 25° instead of 22°. Turn on the geyser only when it’s really needed. Turn off gizmos at home and office instead of leaving them on standby (including this computer). Walk or cycle short distances, and use public transport when possible instead of taking out your car or bike.
Oh, and buy less stuff. Because the production of everything in the world releases CO2, and the more you buy, the hotter the planet gets.
All this, of course, will only slow down Climate Change, not stop it. To do that, we’ll have to start generating energy from renewable sources (like the sun and the wind) instead of dirty stuff like coal and oil.
Source: http://www.earthvote.org/save-the-climate.aspx
