Energy and its uses have a significant impact on the environment, causing pollution on local and regional levels, as well as a global climate change issue. The root cause of climate change lies in the fact that the majority of the world’s energy supply is produced from fossil fuels - oil, gas, coal and its byproducts. Global warming is a name for the rise of average temperature within the Earth’s atmosphere and its oceans. It is a reaction to the emissions of carbon dioxide and methane, so called greenhouse gases, into the atmosphere mainly from large industrial compounds. The most obvious changes that are happening due to global warming are ice melting and reduction of ice caps in Arctic and Greenland, as well as a continuous rise of sea levels due to oceans getting warmer. This leads to extinction of plant and animal species, natural disasters such as earthquakes, storms and droughts that are getting to be more and more common and leave massive damages in their wake. Recent studies also show that people living in agricultural areas are facing hunger, malnourishment and lack of drinkable water. Global warming is an ecological problem that influences life on Earth. Greenhouse gases remain in the atmosphere for long periods of time - most likely decades and we experience their consequences on a daily level.
Out of all of the sunlight that reaches Earth, 30% is reflected back into the universe. The other 70% is absorbed by the ground, air and oceans leading to heating of Earth’s surface and its atmosphere. As they keep getting warmer, the heat emissions are released into the universe, allowing Earth to cool down.
However, as greenhouse gas concentration raises, the heat that is emitted from the planet’s surface gets trapped in the atmosphere leading to global warming. This is an ecological problem that influences life on our planet. Greenhouse gases remain in the atmosphere for long periods of time - most likely decades and we experience the aftermath of this daily for example when witnessing changes in natural habitats for many animal and plant species due to their acclimatisation to new climate.