What is global warming?
It is known as global warming to a planetary-scale phenomenon, which consists of the gradual increase in the temperatures of the layers of the atmosphere closest to the surface of the Earth, which brings with it important changes in the climatic cycles and in the composition of the terrestrial chemistry, and consequently, in the very dynamics of life.
Global warming, also called climate change, became a concern for humanity in the mid-20th century, when it became clear that the accumulation of carbon-rich gases in the atmosphere, mainly carbon dioxide (COtwo) and methane (CH4), produce the so-called “greenhouse effect”: they absorb and retain the infrared radiation emitted by the Sun and accumulate that energy in the form of atmospheric heat. These gases are among the main atmospheric pollutants of our contemporary model of life.
Is humanity responsible for global warming?
Although climate change has occurred numerous times in the Earth’s geological history (alternating glacial and tropical eras), it has never done so with the dizzying speed that it has shown from the end of the 19th century to today, something that coincides with the start of the global industrialization of human societies. And that is why the world scientific community considers it “extremely likely” that these abnormal warming margins are our responsibility as a species.
The first records of the increase in atmospheric heat date back to the mid-nineteenth century, and record from 1880 to today a total increase of 0.8 °C in the global average temperature, at a speed that multiplied throughout the twentieth century, increasing every decade between 0.13 and 0.22 °C.
To date, 2014 has been the worst year on record. And while these isolated figures may not seem like much, it is estimated that a total increase of just 1.5 °C in global temperature would have catastrophic biological consequences, and a total increase above 2 °C would make the warming process complete. irreversible, at least in human times.
The consequences of global warming have a direct impact on life on the planet as we know it. A higher global temperature causes the melting of the poles and eternal snow on the mountain tops, increasing the levels of water and atmospheric humidity.
This not only means that many coastal cities will be inundated by the oceans, which in itself is serious, but also that we will have a more chaotic and extreme global climate system: colder winters and hotter summers at the same time, torrential rainfall and /or prolonged droughts, in short, a more unpredictable and inhospitable world.
In addition, the economic and humanitarian consequences of this would be unpredictable and possibly catastrophic, such as the expansion of subtropical deserts and the reduction of arable land, or the deoxygenation of the oceans, which would end their great biodiversity. And given the dormancy of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, this situation could last for tens of thousands of years.
What is the solution for global warming?
The solutions to this problem are not simple. A reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from human activity also implies a reduction in energy production and generation, which is incompatible with our current economic and consumption model.
A reduction of about 80% of the current production of carbon dioxide is required to stop global warming in time to more or less preserve our standards of living.
The great global powers have undertaken, albeit slowly, the process of adjusting their respective economies towards a “green” or “sustainable” model, and have set the year 2050 as the deadline to carry out this transition.
References:
- “Expository text” on Wikipedia.
- “Global warming” on Wikipedia.
- “The expository text and its functions” in ar.
- “What is global warming?” in National Geographic.
- “Global Warming (Earth science)” in The Encyclopaedia Britannica.
What is an expository text?
An expository text is a type of writing whose essential mission is to provide the reader, in an objective way, timely and concrete information on a specific topic. In this it differs from other textual types, such as the argumentative text or the narrative text, since the expository text does not contain arguments or opinions in favor of a perspective, nor does it contain any kind of story or narration.
Expository texts focus primarily on information, so they are usually dispassionate and impersonal and more or less rigorous in their approach to the subject. They are texts in which data, observations, quotes and other resources predominate, as its name indicates, to expose the reader to an aspect of reality.
To write an expository text, we must first of all document ourselves on the desired topic and then reproduce the ideas, from the most general to the most specific (or vice versa), without involving our own points of view on the matter, but sticking to what is strictly informative.