Melting ice caps and pollution in the environment are two of the many threats to the climate.
Ocean levels rising and melting ice caps are both social and economic problems that threaten the world because they put people's lives and sea ecosystems at risk. The goal of this paper is to look at the connection between melting ice and pollution by looking at important signs and infographics and suggesting suitable solutions.
SECTION: CLIMATE CHANGE & ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
4/22/20253 min read
Important facts
1. Isolation of polar areas: Since 1979, the likelihood of ice cutting off arctic areas has decreased by 43%.
2. Ecosystem Expectation Projection: The sea level has grown 15 to 20 centimeters since 1900, which makes things more dangerous for people and animals in the ocean.
3. The hottest years on record: The global average temperature in 2020 exceeded all previous records. We can confidently declare that '20 will be remembered as one of the most extreme years ever, as summer reached its zenith worldwide in July. NASA (2022)
4. Rising Sea Levels: Between 1880 and 2000, the world's sea levels rose by 21 to 24 centimeters (ca. 9 inch to 9 inches). Currently, sea levels are rising at a rate of 3.7 mm per year. The oceans getting bigger because of global warming is also not helpful at all. (NOAA, 2020)
5. The melting of Arctic ice: According to data from the NSIDC, it looks like we've been losing about 13% of the sea ice each decade. The sea ice reached its lowest point in September 2020. To be fair, 2020 was a lot of things, but the worst thing it was for Mother Nature was a disaster (NSIDC, 2022).
6. Warming of the seas: About 90% of the extra heat from global warming is absorbed by the oceans, which makes it hard for coral reefs to stay alive. The world is now afraid of "marine heat waves" because of this (IPCC, 2022).
7. Loss of the Greenland Ice Sheet: The CIF of the icebergs means that Greenland loses 280 billion metric tons of ice every year, which has a giant effect on the oceans (NASA).
8. Loss of Antarctic Ice: From 1992 to now, the continent has lost about 2,720 billion metric tons of ice, and the rate of loss is three times faster than it was ten years ago (European Space Agency).
9. Arctic Sea Ice Minimum: In September 2020, the area of Arctic sea ice hit a new low of 3.74 million km², the second time in history that a minimum had been recorded. In comparison to the 1980s, a minimum is a 40% drop (NSIDC).
10. Ocean Acidification: Because of pollution, industrial activities have made marine seas 30% more acidic than they used to be. This trend is slowly killing off most sensitive vertebrate species, such as coral reefs and shellfish. (NOAA).
11. Plastic Pollution in the Oceans: Between 8 and 12 million metric tons of plastic used to wrap things are dumped into the ocean every year, putting marine animals' lives at risk and making pollution worse (UNEP).
12. Microplastic Pollution: Scientists think that more than 14 million tons of microplastics have made it to the bottom of the oceans, which is even worse for biodiversity (Science Journal).
Sources of Pollution and Their Aftereffects
Pollution from plastic, trash, and chemical waste from factories:
1. Getting into an environment means putting the water and marine ecosystem, and eventually people's health, at risk.
2. Global warming: The gas that garbage and landfills emit exacerbates the problem.
What pollution has to do with changes in the climate
People who are worried about pollution and global warming are mostly worried about one thing: what people do.
1. Changing resources: This leads to greenhouse gas releases, habitat loss, and deforestation.
2. Need, Energy, and Pollution: People pollute the environment and use more energy when they consume and throw away things.
The loss of ice caps and pollution in the environment are terrible for wildlife and need strong actions like
1. Using less plastic: Making less trash and changing how things are reused will help reach this goal, as will using less single-use plastic.
2. Moving Towards Sustainable Energy: Use less trash, switch to renewable energy, and build places that use less fuel.
The health of the earth, its living things, and future generations depends on everyone working together.
The point of these articles is to discuss scary environmental facts in a way that makes people act right away while also reminding people of the terrible effects that global warming and the state of the world as a whole have on people's lives.