Global warming or climate change?

There are still those who confuse these two phenomena that, although they are very different, are closely related to each other, just as they are with the greenhouse effect. We must bear in mind that all three correspond to natural conditions of our planet for millions of years. Thanks to them, and to other characteristics of the Earth, such as its distance from the sun, its diameter, gravity, and the speed of rotation and translation, they came together to produce a big bang of life, an authentic vital explosion on our planet that gave rise to this immense and exuberant biodiversity, for now incomparable with no other planet.

What is the greenhouse effect?

The natural greenhouse effect is a phenomenon that allows temperatures to be maintained in a fairly uniform range on Earth, thanks to the special characteristics of our atmosphere.Solar rays come from space, bounce off the Earth's surface and try to escape back to the cosmos, but a part is retained in the atmospheric layers and as a consequence the phenomenon of natural global warming occurs. Without the greenhouse gases (GHG), present in the atmosphere such as carbon dioxide (CO2) or water vapor (H2O), the average temperature of the Earth would be about 33 ° C less than the current one, in an average of 18 ° C below zero. It would be an icy planet, probably uninhabited like most of the others in the Solar System or at least not suitable for life as we know it.

Global warming

When we talk about global warming, climate change or the greenhouse effect, we are referring to current phenomena, of anthropogenic causes, that is, modifications related to human activities that have been observed since the industrial expansion and population growth of the Earth, for about 200 years, more since the 20th century, and especially since 1950. The changes in global warming, the greenhouse effect and climate change are so linked to each other that it is impossible to talk about any of them without mentioning the other two.

Evidence of human influence on global warming

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, referred to by Wikipedia, concluded in 2013 that it is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of observed warming since the middle of the 20th century. "The greatest human influence has been the emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrogen oxide. These conclusions have been endorsed by the national science academies of the main industrialized countries and are not questioned by any scientific organization of national or international prestige ”.

GHG emissions and temperature increase on Earth

Current global warming refers to the increase in temperature on Earth that has been observed in recent centuries. Since then, the use of coal, gasoline, diesel and natural gas as fuels to move factories, railroads, motor vehicles and other transportation systems, as well as for cooking and generating heat, has been increasing. With the addition of GHGs to the atmosphere, unnaturally, the progressive increase in global temperature began. Consequently, fewer sun rays escape into the cosmos, leaving the difference trapped on Earth. This process, which appears to be slow from human chronometry, is almost instantaneous from the geological time scale and can bring serious changes in weather patterns on the planet.

Main greenhouse gases

The composition of the Earth's atmosphere is 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen. Only the remaining 1% is made up of other gases, including GHGs, of which the main ones are water vapor, CO2, nitrous oxide (N2O), methane (CH4) and ozone (O3).

CO2 represents just 0.04% of the total gases in the atmosphere, but with such a meager amount it has been responsible for maintaining life on Earth. It is the main greenhouse gas whose concentration recently broke a record when it passed the threshold of 400 PPM, parts per million, for the first time since Homo sapiens appeared on Earth. Its participation in the atmosphere, although it seems very low, is capable of modifying the climate, causing extra warming of the Earth. CO2 is characterized by its strong fixation in the atmosphere and can take more than a thousand years to be removed.

Water vapor is a vital constituent of the atmosphere, on average it participates with 0.97% of the total. It manifests as clouds and its volume can present significant variations in short periods, since, unlike CO2, it can precipitate in the form of rain at any time. The evaporation-precipitation effect is vital for almost all species on Earth.

Nitrous oxide is a powerful greenhouse gas. Its emissions, along with carbon dioxide, methane, and some aerosols, contribute to global warming.

Methane is a relatively powerful gas that participates in global warming of the planet, since it has a global warming potential 23 times greater than CO2, although its concentration in the atmosphere is 220 times lower, and therefore its contribution is also lower. to the greenhouse effect.

What is the consequence of global warming?

It is a complex phenomenon called climate change, which is revealed with the increase in the intensity of the heat, producing increases in droughts, vegetation fires, melting of the poles and glaciers, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, deterioration of the coral reef, shortage of drinking water, food, etc. It is estimated that most of the increase in GHG comes from the burning of fossil fuels, but there are other factors such as the burning and cutting of forests and jungles or the livestock industry. For all these reasons, the subject of climate change is complex, varied and extensive, which is why it deserves to be addressed in greater detail in a future article.

The role of forests

Trees produce oxygen, necessary for most living things, and in turn absorb CO2 or carbon dioxide. During photosynthesis, a process carried out by trees and most plants, they absorb and store CO2, which is fixed to their roots, trunks and leaves as carbon. Although plants take oxygen from the air and re-enter carbon dioxide, the bottom line is favorable to removing CO2 from the atmosphere. This advantage is lost by deforesting rainforests and forests, such as the Borneo jungle, which has been depleted by 70% in three decades, or the Amazon jungle that seems to be on the same path. Therefore, cutting down and burning trees increases global warming.

Methane gas and the expansion of livestock

An FAO report on livestock establishes that this activity contributes with 18% of GHG emissions measured in CO2 equivalents. In addition, it is responsible for 9% of direct CO2 emissions, mainly from deforestation, 37% of methane emissions, mainly from animal depositions and 65% of nitrous oxide, from manure.

For the first time 400 PPM

"The record for CO2 emissions marks the beginning of a new era of climate change" was the headline of BBC Mundo, on 10-24-2016. PPM is short for parts per million and refers to the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere. Since humans first appeared on Earth, the planet has entered the 400 ppm era for the first time. This means increased global warming and climate change that is increasingly difficult to reverse. It will take millennia to lower this concentration.

Forecasts for the future

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, projections of climate models indicate that during this century the global surface temperature will probably rise between 0.3 and 1.7 ° C for its best scenario, using strict mitigation, and between 2, 6 and 4.8 ° C for the worst case scenario, in case the requirements of the Paris Agreement are not met. A rise close to 5 ° C would produce catastrophic changes on Earth.

A clash of constellations in sight

A conflict of great proportions looms between fossil fuel supporters and those fighting against climate change, as we noted in our article on fracking. A stellar collision between two sides. On one side are those interested in the exploitation of fossil fuels, the promoters of fracking and its products such as shale gas and shale oil, the exploitation of new oil fields and natural gas, which deforest forests for logging, agricultural purposes or ranchers. On the other side are those who bet on clean energy such as lithium batteries and electric cars, green cities, solar energy, wind energy.

Top 10 GHG emitters

Logically the most industrialized countries are the biggest polluters, in this order: China 28.21%, United States 15.99%, India 6.24%, Russia 4.53%, Japan 3.67%, Germany 2.23%, South Korea 1.75%, Iran 1.72%, Canada 1.71%, Saudi Arabia 1.56%.

The Paris Agreement, a manual to overcome climate change

The Paris Agreement is an ambitious global agreement to fight climate change, negotiated during COP21, Paris 2015. The main objective of the document is to limit the increase in global temperature to 2ºC by reducing GHG emissions, caused by fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal, which, when burned, release CO2 into the atmosphere. Through the premise "Zero fossil fuels", it is intended to replace these with renewable, alternative or clean energy. It also includes recommendations for achieving sustainable development. The Green Climate Fund has been established to help developing countries meet their goals in the fight against climate change. The Paris Agreement places special emphasis on increasing mitigation, adaptation and resilience capacity to reduce vulnerability to climate change.

Mitigation. It means mitigating or softening a negative thing, like an illness or a headache. In the case of global warming, mitigation refers to the reduction of GHG emissions. They also include improving sinks to increase the absorption capacity of these gases. Also considered are programs such as carbon or energy taxes, and incentives for the voluntary reduction of GHG and its replacement by clean energy.

Adaptation. It refers to the actions that must be carried out to prevent changes that can produce undesired effects. In the case of global warming, adaptation includes initiatives and measures to reduce the vulnerability of natural and human systems to climate change. Countries and communities must implement preventive measures and practices to avoid probable harm. Short and long-term measures should be considered, through environmental administration, planning and disaster management.

Resilience. It is the ability of a species or a system to recover against a disturbing agent. Regarding climate change, resilience refers to the capacity of an ecosystem to absorb disturbances without significantly altering its structural and functional characteristics, and may return to its original state after the adverse factor has ceased.

When and who discovered global warming and climate change?

In 1896 Svante Arrhenius, a Swedish scientist, was the first to proclaim that fossil fuels could accelerate global warming. Arrhenius was ahead of his time, along with Thomas Chamberlin, calculated that human activities could cause an increase in temperature by adding CO2 to the atmosphere, establishing a relationship between atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations and temperature. In 1940, using long-wave radiation measurements, using Infrared spectroscopy, it was found that the increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere causes a greater absorption of infrared radiation. In 1955, Gilbert Plass observed that CO2 prevents such radiation from escaping into space, causing overheating of the earth.

When did you start talking about climate change?

In 1957, The Hammond Times mentioned the terms "global warming" and "climate change," based on research by Roger Revelle, a leading American scientist and scholar, on human intervention in the natural greenhouse effect by increasing CO2 and warned about the effects of its use on a large scale. However, his warnings were forgotten until 1975, when Wallace Smith Broecker published a scientific article: “Climate change: Are we on the verge of pronounced global warming? ” Since then the denomination began to be used with increasing frequency. In 1976, Mikhail Budyko's statement "global warming has begun" was widely circulated. In 1979 the United States National Academy of Sciences, headed by Jule Charney, described the effects of CO2 more broadly, attributing its use to increased climate change. In 1988 NASA climatologist James Hansen testified before the United States Senate: "Global warming has reached a level such that we can attribute with a high degree of confidence a cause and effect relationship between the greenhouse effect and global warming observed". From then on, the term global warming became popular in the press and in colloquial language.

To conclude, going back to what was said at the beginning, about the greenhouse effect, global warming and climate change and the other characteristics of the Earth, such as its distance from the sun, diameter, gravity and speed of rotation and translation, came together to produce a big bang of life, a true vital explosion on our planet that gave rise to that immense and exuberant biodiversity, for now incomparable with no other planet. This privileged conjunction of advantages of our planet we must make it aware every day, thank it and take care of it. If we do not, the life of most species can go into it. We must be alert with 2020, a key year in which the Paris Agreement will be activated, which will require the commitment of the 197 signatory countries.It will be then that we will see who is who and the scenario that we will have to face in the 21st century will begin to be defined.

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USA Today. Global warming roars on: Past four years have been Earth's hottest on record. Recovered from

National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Water Vapor Confirmed as Major Player in Climate Change. Recovered from

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