Top 5 causes of Global Warming
If you get a chance go and see the movie Interstellar. The movie by Christoper Nolan is a Science fiction drama with a take on how the future looks for planet Earth. It isn't pretty and bleak, Earth has been potrayed as permanently damaged from the effects of Global Warming. In my opinion we are heading in that direction with no chance of reversing the damage caused so far. So what are the causes for my pessimism?
1. The continued use of Fossil fuels. The conclusion is clear, this is the leading cause of global warming. Governments are slowly trying to wean themselves off from fossil fuels, but in my opinion it is already too late. It is going to take years to notice any positive changes from the reduced usage of Fossil fuels.
2. Increasing deforestation especially in the Amazon of South America. I don't see this trend improving. In some countries deforestation is a means to survival. In other countries deforestation is used for urban expansion.
3. Agriculture and Livestock are both considered to be leading contributors of global warming. It is prevalent in both the developed world and in the undeveloped world. It is the only livelihood for a large percentage of the population. Imagine trying to get this segment of the population to change their behaviours to help with reducing greenhouse gas emissions - it is an impossible task.
4. Increased consumerism especially in faster developing economies. People are increasingingly becoming prosperous in these economies and as a result they want to purchase bigger, newer, faster things. Take cars for example, BMWs and LandRovers are high in demand in countries like China and India.
5. A large segment of the population would rather believe talking heads on a podcast, T.V. or other media rather than in Science and are apathetic. Science looks at data and makes conclusions based on data. Sure data can be inaccurate but the chances of that being the case with Global Warming is low because your looking at a large group of Scientists who have the same conclusion looking at the same data.