How have we, as humans, caused climate change?
Carbon dioxide is one of the most powerful greenhouse gases out there contributing to global warming and we produce a lot of it. Burning fossil fuels, such as gas, oil, or coal, releases concentrated carbon stored for many years as a lot of carbon dioxide. Most of our electricity comes from these sources because they are cheapest and fastest to make, so by using a lot of electricity, we are contributing to the excessive amounts of carbon dioxide entering our atmosphere. Driving cars or any kind of non-hybrid vehicle releases carbon-rich auto exhaust which results in carbon dioxide flowing into the atmosphere and adding to the collection of greenhouse gases warming our earth. International and global trade also result in a lot of carbon dioxide being released into our atmosphere because the transportation methods used to constantly transport these items produce a lot of it, such as boats, trains, and plains. Since 1750, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased over 36 percent, methane (another greenhouse gas) has increased over 148 percent and nitrous oxide (another greenhouse gas) has increased over 18 percent.
Our Earth needs carbon sinks in order to to absorb a lot of the carbon and carbon dioxide in our atmosphere to keep the atmosphere balanced with the type of gases it contains. Earth's largest carbon sink is the ocean and its second largest is the world's forests. However, a lot of deforestation has occurred over the past few decades, so we don't have as many trees to absorb the carbon dioxide anymore. The ocean loses its ability to absorb carbon dioxide as its temperature warms, so we are essentially stuck in a vicious cycle that will be very hard to get out of. According to the U.N. FAO, 34.1% or about 310,134,000 ha of Canada is forested, from its original state.The data compiled by the World Resources Institute reveals that the planet has already lost 80 percent of its forest cover to deforestation and they predict that it won't take long for 100% of the forests to be gone if deforestation is to continue at its current rate. This is why we need to reuse, reduce, and recycle our paper products because one tone of paper is made from 17 trees! We use so many paper products that require deforestation, so we need to use these methods!
Our Earth needs carbon sinks in order to to absorb a lot of the carbon and carbon dioxide in our atmosphere to keep the atmosphere balanced with the type of gases it contains. Earth's largest carbon sink is the ocean and its second largest is the world's forests. However, a lot of deforestation has occurred over the past few decades, so we don't have as many trees to absorb the carbon dioxide anymore. The ocean loses its ability to absorb carbon dioxide as its temperature warms, so we are essentially stuck in a vicious cycle that will be very hard to get out of. According to the U.N. FAO, 34.1% or about 310,134,000 ha of Canada is forested, from its original state.The data compiled by the World Resources Institute reveals that the planet has already lost 80 percent of its forest cover to deforestation and they predict that it won't take long for 100% of the forests to be gone if deforestation is to continue at its current rate. This is why we need to reuse, reduce, and recycle our paper products because one tone of paper is made from 17 trees! We use so many paper products that require deforestation, so we need to use these methods!