Points About Global Warming

Leaders from various countries will soon gather in Paris to find solutions to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that pollute the air and are the main cause of global warming. But why is the Earth getting warmer? The greenhouse effect is a natural phenomenon that has made the Earth's temperature suitable for human habitation. An invisible layer of nitrogen, oxygen, and a small amount of carbon dioxide and other gases surrounds the Earth. This invisible layer prevents the Earth from burning up from the sun's heat during the day and freezing at night. However, human industrial activities, such as burning fossil fuels (oil, gasoline, coal, etc.), have released a large amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, thickening this invisible layer. Currently, the production of greenhouse gases is higher than ever in human history. According to a United Nations report, in 2014 alone, fifty-three billion tons of carbon dioxide entered the Earth's atmosphere, and this amount is alarmingly increasing. Thirty-five percent of this carbon dioxide results from burning fossil fuels for energy production. Agriculture and deforestation account for 24 percent, making them the second main reason for the increase in greenhouse gases. Heavy industries, transportation, and construction follow in the rankings. In 2011, the average concentration of greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere was 430 particles per million (total particles in the atmosphere), a level unprecedented in the past eight hundred thousand years. The average temperature of the Earth's atmosphere has increased by nearly two degrees from 1880 to 2015. However, this does not mean that everywhere has warmed equally. For example, heat has increased significantly at the two poles or at ocean surfaces, which have become unprecedentedly warmer over the past three decades. United Nations climate scientists have predicted that if the level of greenhouse gases does not decrease, the Earth's heat will increase by between 3.7 to 4.8 degrees by 2100. To keep the temperature rise below two degrees, human-produced greenhouse gases must be reduced by 40 to 70 percent compared to what was produced in 2010. Reducing this level of pollutants requires spending billions of dollars on modernizing old energy production structures and investing in clean energy sources such as solar, wind, or hydro energy. In this context, can Iran also rely on new energy sources? The Pope has called for an end to the use of fossil fuels. How serious is the U.S. in combating climate change? The World Bank states that global warming will push another hundred million people into poverty by 2030. A new global plan for reducing greenhouse gas emissions is in place. Floods, droughts, and climate change; "humans are to blame."