Global Warming: Unraveling Earth's Climate Crisis

You've definitely heard that carbon dioxide causes global warming, but how does it work? Is it like a greenhouse's glass or an insulating blanket? Well, not exactly. If you look carefully at sunlight divided by a prism, you'll notice dark gaps where color bands are absent. What happened to them? Different gases absorbed specific parts of the spectrum before reaching human eyes. For example, oxygen gas absorbed a portion of the dark red light, whereas sodium absorbed two bands of yellow light. But why do certain colors of light absorb by these gases? This is the point at which we reach the quantum realm. Every atom and molecule has a fixed number of electron energy levels. A molecule must gain energy in order to transfer its electrons from the ground state to a higher one. There will be no more or less. It receives its energy from light, which comes in an infinite number of energy levels. Light consists of small particles called photons, each of which has a different color depending on how much energy it contains. The wavelengths of red light are longer and the energy is lower. Purple light has a higher energy level and shorter wavelengths. 

Sunlight contains all of the photons of the rainbow, a gas molecule can select the photons that carry the exact amount of energy required to shift the molecule to the next energy level. When this match occurs, the photon vanishes as the molecule obtains energy, leaving a small gap in our rainbow. If a photon has too much or too little energy, the molecule has no alternative except to let it pass by. This is why glass is transparent. Because the atoms in glass do not combine well with any of the visible light's energy levels and photons pass through. So, which photons are preferred by carbon dioxide? Where is our rainbow's black line that explains global warming? Light from the Sun is not absorbed by carbon dioxide directly. It absorbs light from a celestial body that is completely different. 

Earth is the one that does not appear to emit any light. The Earth does not emit visible light, which is why it does not appear to glow. It releases infrared light. The light that human eyes can perceive, which includes all of the colors of the rainbow, is only a small fraction of the broader spectrum of electromagnetic radiation, which also includes radio waves, microwaves, infrared, ultraviolet, x-rays, and gamma rays. It may appear unusual to consider these things as light, yet there is no fundamental distinction between visible light and other forms of electromagnetic radiation. It's the same energy, just at a different level. After all, snakes can see infrared light and birds can see ultraviolet light. If human eyes were tuned to see light at 1900 megahertz, a mobile phone would be a flashlight, and a cell phone tower would become a massive lantern. Since any object with a temperature greater than absolute zero produces light, the Earth emits infrared radiation. This is known as thermal radiation. The higher the frequency of light that an object emits, the hotter it becomes. When you heat a piece of iron, it emits more and more wavelengths of infrared light until it reaches the visible spectrum at roughly 450 degrees Celsius. It will appear red hot at first. With even more heat, it will glow white with all visible light frequencies. This is how traditional light bulbs were supposed to work, and it is why they are so wasteful. We can't see 95 percent of the light they release because it's invisible to our eyes. It is squandered as heat. 

If there were no greenhouse gas molecules in our atmosphere, infrared light from Earth would escape into space. Similar to how oxygen prefers dark red photons, carbon dioxide, and other greenhouse gases prefer infrared photons. They give the necessary energy to move the gas molecules to a higher energy level. Shortly after absorbing an infrared photon, a carbon dioxide molecule will return to its previous energy level and spit a photon in a random direction. Some of the energy is subsequently reflected back to the Earth's surface, creating warming. The more greenhouse gases there are in the atmosphere, the more likely it is that infrared photons will return to Earth and affect our climate.

• Causes of Global Warming:

The primary drivers of global warming include:

1. Burning Fossil Fuels: The combustion of fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas for energy production and transportation releases significant amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere.
2. Deforestation: The clearing of forests for agriculture, urbanization, and logging reduces the Earth's capacity to absorb CO2 through photosynthesis, contributing to higher greenhouse gas concentrations.
3. Industrial Processes: Industrial activities, such as cement production and chemical manufacturing, release CO2 and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

• Effects of Global Warming:

The consequences of global warming are far-reaching and impact various aspects of the Earth's systems:

1. Rising Temperatures: Global warming leads to increased temperatures, causing heatwaves and changes in weather patterns.
2. Melting Ice and Rising Sea Levels: Higher temperatures cause glaciers and polar ice caps to melt, contributing to rising sea levels and posing a threat to coastal communities and ecosystems.
3. Extreme Weather Events: Global warming intensifies extreme weather events, including hurricanes, droughts, floods, and wildfires, leading to devastating impacts on human lives and livelihoods.
4. Ocean Acidification: The absorption of excess CO2 by the oceans results in ocean acidification, which harms marine life, particularly coral reefs and shell-forming organisms.
5. Disruption of Ecosystems: Global warming alters habitats and disrupts ecosystems, leading to species extinction, changes in migration patterns, and shifts in biodiversity.

Today, we'd like to introduce you to a term you may not have heard before but should be familiar with: drawdown. Drawdown is a new method of thinking about and acting on global warming. It's an aim for a better future, one in which global warming can be reversed. Drawdown is the point at which atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases begin to decrease each year. Simply described, it is the point at which we take out more greenhouse gases than we release into the Earth's atmosphere. We're all concerned about climate change, but that's not the issue. Climate change is the problem's manifestation. It's the planet's feedback system telling us what's going on. The issue is global warming, which is being exacerbated by rising levels of greenhouse gases caused by human activities. So, how do we go about resolving the issue? How can we start the process of slowing or stopping global warming? The only method we know how is to draw down, to prevent adding more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, and to pull down what is currently there.

Global warming poses a profound and urgent challenge to the health of our planet and the well-being of its inhabitants. The impacts of rising temperatures and increasing greenhouse gas emissions are evident in changing weather patterns, melting ice caps, and disruptions to ecosystems. However, with collective efforts from individuals, governments, and industries, we can address this global crisis. By embracing sustainable practices, transitioning to clean energy sources, and fostering global cooperation, we can forge a path towards a more resilient and sustainable future. As stewards of the Earth, it is our responsibility to take bold action to combat global warming and safeguard the planet for future generations.