Global Warming and the climate change

Global warming is caused by the Greenhouse effect. But what is this greenhouse effect?
The sun´s heat enters the earth´s atmosphere. The earth reflects the heat and it leaves the earth´s atmosphere again. But the so called Greenhouse gasses trap some of the heat in the atmosphere which increases the earth´s temperature.
The planet is becoming warmer and there are lots of possible effects of that process:

1. Ice melt
   In the last few decades we have been seeing an extreme ice melt everywhere on the earth. Not only glaciers, but also ice in polar regions starts to disappear. The reason for this process are extremly warm temperatures in those regions. Last summer the temperatures on the North Pole were 50 degrees higher than normally.
   This ice melt comes with another major disadvantage that is caused by the climate change: the rising sea level. The more ice melts on our planet, the more rises the sea level all over the world. The consequences of this can be seen already, as many island, especially in the Pacific Ocean, have already been flooded by water and even European cities, like Venice, will soon be in great danger.

2. Farming
   Global Warming does not only affect cold regions. Lots of farmers are worried about the earth getting warmer and warmer every year. In the time period between 1981 and 2002 the harvest of barley has decreased by 8%, the harvest of corn by 13% and the harvest of wheat decreased by 19%. Those numbers are almost compensated by the increasing concentration of CO2 in the air but, the losses are still very large. Lots of farmers now have the choice to quit their job or to grow plants that get along better with the heat.

3. Tourism
   The Austrian winter-tourism is an important financial source for the country. The increased temperatures that we see affect the Austrian tourism. Although we do not have to worry about this upcoming problem yet, we probably will have to think about an alternative for winter tourism and skiing in the upcoming decades. The winter in 2006/07 is a good example for a winter with very few snow. In this season, some skiing resorts had 7% less guests. And now, imagine global warming going on… You see: We probably would have a big problem.

4. Forest Fire
   Humans do not only cause Forest Fires directly, through flint and steels, for example, but also indirectly, by increasing Global warming. Extreme hot temperatures are able to make a whole forest burn. This is a natural phenomenon, but the number of forest fires that are not directly bred by humans is increasing. In lots of cases, not only animals, but also humans die.

5. Weather Extremes
   The climate change does not only cause extreme heats, but also extreme rainfall everywhere on the earth. We will see much more floods, like the ones in 2002, 2006 or 2013. Another weather phenomenon that will be more extreme in the next years are hurricanes. Scientists don´t really know if global warming really is the reason for the increase in numbers and intension of hurricanes, but they are pretty sure about it.

Climate change does not only have bad sides. Lots of farmers in Northern countries will probably benefit from climate change. Lots of plants will have better growing conditions and the farmer´s harvest will increase.
However, lots of farmers in Southern countries will have to face the problem that the heat destroys their harvest. Especially African countrymen are going to have big losses.

Probably you now are a bit worried about the future. You see, global warming is a real problem for our environment and us. But if we stop global warming and protect our beautiful earth, everything will be alright. Here are some tips, how YOU can save the environment:
-Buy locally produced food!
=>Less CO2 emissions
-Try not to throw food away!
-Do not drive short distances with your car!
-Buy food that has a recycleable packaging!
-Use energy efficient light bulbs!
-Turn off electronical devices instead of using the standby mode!
-Use less hot water!