Climate change

Hello everyone, today I am going to talk about climate change and its possible effects on humanity and wildlife. But first it is necessary to describe the greenhouse effect and greenhouse gases. The first is a phenomenon in which the radiation absorbed on the surface of the planet during the day is captured by the gases present in the atmosphere in the form of heat. On the other hand the second are particulate materials; mainly water vapour, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane and ozone; which have as main feature a great efficiency in absorbing heat, in this particular case the radiation in the form of heat emitted by the earth. Considering that carbon dioxide emissions have increased considerably since the industrial revolution, it can be derived that this particulate material is mainly responsible for the increase in temperature in the atmosphere and the oceans. It is also important to mention that without human interference, carbon from fossil fuels and soil would be released into the atmosphere but in a more gradual way, this is due to volcanic activity. However, the process is accelerated by the burning of carbon, oil, natural gas, excessive agriculture, chemical fertilizers, logging, among others. 

Once we have explained all this, we can talk about climate change freely. Its definition describes the alteration in the climate (significant and lasting change), attributed directly or indirectly to human activity, generating devastating problems within the ecosystems. It is important to consider that all existing ecosystems and their components are related to each other, so if one of them is affected by a disturbance or pollutant, it could generate problems to other larger or nearby ecosystems. 

What are the effects of climate change?

The main effect it brings is global warming; this increase in temperature affects natural cycles that take place on the planet, increasing the sea level by melting, generating extreme weather events, increasing the temperature of the oceans, this being the main threat to coral reefs that provide between 60% and 80% of oxygen needed for life

What to do about climate change? 

There are various actions and positions that one can take in the face of climate change. For example, travel in a sustainable way (electric vehicles, bicycles, scutters, among others); reduce electric energy consumption, recycle, reuse, reduce, compost, cultivate local species, promote the use of renewable energy, among others. While all this contributes to reducing pollutants, we cannot take away the environmental responsibilities of companies, which are the main ones to generate pollutants (something similar when the government calls for taking care of water and it is the mining, agricultural and forestry companies that dry Chile lol) 

What about Chile? 

Although Chile participates in international agreements, within which it has established its commitments to reduce its emissions at the national level, in order to comply and contribute to a reduction of greenhouse gases at the global level, projects in slaughterhouses that do not contribute to the mitigation of particulate pollutants, and illegal dumping sites, among others, are still approved or underway. We can conclude that current legislation is not sufficient to curb climate change.