‘’We have abused the Earth so much, and it appears it cannot take it anymore. The Earth is the only astronomical object known to accommodate life. What if it no longer houses life? Where do 7 billion people relocate to?’’
We celebrate World Earth Day on the 22nd of April every year. If we were to leave the celebration cake out in the summer for too long, the sun would melt it quickly because there is not much to celebrate, and we do not deserve to eat cake. If we celebrated it at the beach, the wave-current could get so high and sweep us all away. Well, that’s just the Earth’s way of showing us that it is angry. Should it not be?
The Earth is 4.543 billion years old, yet it is not shown the respect it deserves. If a 2-year-old child tries to disrespect me, I will get angry. It is a basic ‘living-thing’’ reaction. So yes, I get why the Earth is angry. We have abused the Earth so much, and it appears it cannot take it anymore. The Earth is the only astronomical object known to accommodate life. What if it no longer houses life? Where do 7 billion people relocate to?
How Does the Earth Show Its Anger?
This is a form in which the Earth shows its anger. There are a series of events that have to occur before we experience climate change. The major event is called Global Warming. To explain Global Warming, let us look at how the Earth gets its energy; the Earth receives over 50% of its power from the sun. When the sun shines upon the Earth, the Earth absorbs a part of the heat stored and radiated again. But then, the heat has to go around the Earth, although not simultaneously.
The greenhouse gases are responsible for the heat distribution across the Earth, while the unused energy goes back into space. The greenhouse gases consist of water vapour, methane, carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide. These greenhouse gases trap and emit infrared radiation. The intensity of the heat the greenhouse gases absorb depends on the human activity on the Earth. As man began to innovate and develop ideas, which led to several industrial revolutions, many fossil fuels were generated and released to the Earth. The trees which ought to trap these gases are non-existent as deforestation is already at its peak. With many harmful gases in the air and no trees to absorb them, the Ozone Layer is all we have left for protection.
Source: Climate Central
The Ozone Layer, which houses Ozone in the stratosphere, protects life from the sun’s scorching rays. Over the years, the Ozone Layer had depleted massive, with the most historical increase in September 2000 when the hole grew to 28.4 million square kilometres (28,400,000 KM2). Without a solid protective layer, the sun, which supports life on Earth, is now endangering humans.
Source: European Environment Agency
What Damage Has Been Done to the Earth?
Without the Ozone Layer operating at its total capacity, the Earth has nothing to fully protect it. Our actions have made it defenceless against the sun. This means increased temperature and a warmer Earth. The Earth now feels the impact of ultraviolent radiations more than ever, and so do we. This means evaporation will increase, so the crops and animals might run out of water to grow and drink. Increased precipitation will also occur, which could lead to flooding and erosion. The most significant damage would be the heating of the ocean. As the ocean heats up, especially in the arctic area, the glaciers would melt and lead to the disintegration of ice, resulting in the rise of the sea level. A predominant surge in sea level is impending doom for water-logged countries as hurricanes become a frequent occurrence.
The Earth can heal, but not by itself. It is left to us humans, who caused this in the first place, to begin to find solutions to reduce the Earth’s anger. The Earth has always been friendly to us; we turned our backs against it. Now is the time to apologize and do the right thing.
Moyinoluwa Awosika is a consulting business analyst, business writer, CV/resume, and career profile writer for c-suite and senior executives.
He has interned at a management consulting firm and a health tech startup, participated in the BCG Strategy Consulting Virtual Experience Program, attended a business analysis Bootcamp, completed the McKinsey Forward Program, and completed several relevant certification courses.
Moyinoluwa currently works as a business analyst. He also works with agencies and individuals on business writing gigs on a contract basis.