Updated on July 8, 2021
Human Causes Of Climate Change
Humans cause climate change by releasing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the air. Today, there is more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere than there ever has been in at least the past 800,000 years.
Experts claim that the world’s climate crisis calls for “non-emissions-based solutions” and, furthermore, that “contraception is an overlooked approach”.Climate Change: Is Birth Control The Answer? Population Council experts claim that improved access to birth control could slow population growth and reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 40%.
We produce greenhouse gases in lots of different ways:
- Burning fossil fuels – Fossil fuels such as oil, gas, and coal contain carbon dioxide that has been ‘locked away’ in the ground for thousands of years. When we take these out of the land and burn them, we release the stored carbon dioxide into the air.
- Deforestation – Forests remove and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Cutting them down means that carbon dioxide builds up quicker since there are no trees to absorb it. Not only that, trees release the carbon they stored when we burn them.
- Agriculture – Planting crops and rearing animals releases many different types of greenhouse gases into the air. For example, animals produce methane, which is 30 times more powerful than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas. The nitrous oxide used for fertilizers is ten times worse and is nearly 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide!
- Cement – Producing cement is another contributor to climate change, causing 2% of our entire carbon dioxide emissions.
There are lots of things that affect climate change, but the evidence is irrefutable. Human activity, such as burning fossil fuels and changing how we use the land, is the leading cause of climate change.