Global Warming

Coal, oil and natural gas are all carbon-based substances. When we burn these (for instance when we drive a car), they produce water and carbon dioxide. This carbon-dioxide enters the atmosphere and creates a sort of blanket for the globe, trapping heat. The burning of fossil fuels increases this ‘blanket effect'. Other well known greenhouse gasses are for instance methane (produced by certain bacteria and digestive processes) and nitrous oxide (produced for instance when fertilisers are applied to the soil in agricultural lands).

Results of global warming

In contrast to what many people think, global warming does not mean every individual place on the globe gets warmer year round. Instead, it is expected that the weather will get more diverse, and extreme. So dry warm places may get hotter and drier, whereas some places may get even wetter. Depressions get stronger and there is an increased risk of tropical storms reaching temperate areas.
The direct result of global warming is an increase in extreme weather events. Over the last few years we have seen some clear examples of this. Think of the extreme draughts in central USA (Read the whole report, July 2012) which causes an increase in mortality of humans as well as trees, leading to extensive forest die-offs. As a result, by 2050 we may see drought-stress in forests at a level unknown to the planet for over 1000 years (Williams et.al., 2012. Nature Climate Change).

Impacting global warming

A number of options exist to positively impact current patterns of global warming. One very logical option is to completely stop using fossil fuels, and start removing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses from the atmosphere. And although many alternative energy projects are under way  it is not expected that we will be independent of fossil carbon-based fuels any time soon. So what can we do now?