It is not the time to be complacent or apathetic. What we need to do is to act positively and constructively. There is disaster and devastation looming. We should not shy away from the truth, however ‘inconvenient the truth’ may be. It is time we put our shoulders to the wheel and focused with all our concentration. Because global warming is coming to swallow us up. And if we waste too much time, it will really engulf us. Then there will be only blackness around. We will be beset by the greatest catastrophe imaginable, something that we have only talked about and seen enacted in exciting cinemas until now, in reality. If global warming spreads its tentacles over us, you will not be able to read this article anymore. Because mankind will be extinct!

Understanding Global Warming

Global warming is a phenomenon that has been taking place for quite some time. Our blue planet is getting hotter due to an increase in the volume of carbon dioxide in it. Tons and tons of carbon dioxide have been produced due to the burning of fossil fuels and non-renewable resources such as coal, natural gas, petroleum, crude oil, oil shale, etc. The use of fossil fuels on a widespread basis started from the 16th century during the advent of the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain and in the colonies of Great Britain. The Industrial Revolution witnessed the discovery of the steam engine, which was operated with the help of fossil fuels. But over the centuries, scientists gradually discovered that burning fossil fuels leads to a high degree of air pollution. The combustion of fossil fuels results in a high proportion of noxious gases such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, etc. to be emanated into the atmosphere. These poisonous gases have an adverse impact on the climate and the ecology of our planet. They also affect our health negatively.

Oxides of sulfur and nitrogen when dissolved in water form corrosive acids, which are capable of wreaking irreparable damage on mausoleums and historical edifices that are made of marble.

Sulfur dioxide plus water gives sulfuric acid (highly corrosive acid)
Nitrogen dioxide plus water gives nitric acid (highly corrosive acid)

Sustainable Development

Hence, when such toxic gases dissolve in and form a mixture with rainwater, the inevitable outcome is an acidic kind of rain popularly called acid rain. This acid rain can eat away the surfaces of architectural splendors as has been mentioned above. A refinery near the Taj Mahal of Agra, India had been releasing such deadly gases into the air above the mausoleum. These gases led to the formation of acid rain that had an atrophying effect on the spotless white marble surfaces of the Taj. The destruction was so alarming that the management of the refinery had to be hauled up by the Government of India and by environmental activists. The refinery was told to lower its emissions by using high-end manufacturing techniques and to shut down some of its operations to prevent the fabulous monument and tomb of Mogul Emperor Shah Jehan and his wife Mumtaz Mahal (after whom the monument is named) from crumbling totally into dust. The refinery did its best by modernizing some of its manufacturing methods, by planting myriad trees, by developing an ecological park that is currently the habitat of many migratory and rare species of birds. Such a sincere response from the refinery to protect one of the seven modern wonders of the world from decay placated the government and the activists. However, environmental watchdogs must not sleep. There are hundreds of industries across the world, which violate environmental laws and norms, everyday. Steps towards safeguarding the environment must be executed on a long-term basis. Short-term environmental projects and sudden forays into ‘environmental protection schemes’ for the sake of publicity and image-boosting are neither desirable nor useful. Sustainable development and environmental conservation are the only weapons that we have to fight global warming. Read the rest of this entry »