The Real Enemy: Global Warming

Within the past 40 years global warming has been watched and recorded to see what is changing.  Global warming is occurring not just in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, but all over the globe.  The common trends that are occurring are increase in temperature, wildfires, floods, and landslides.

Out of these four treads Pittsburgh sees three of them more frequently.  The three that Pittsburgh sees is the increase in temperature, landslides, and floods.  For example, the increase in temperature may not seem like something bad. But the temperature is slowly rising, and this is soon going to cause longer summers and shorter winters. In addition, the higher temperatures lead to glaciers melting.  While this might not seem like it should matter to us, it really does. Over the last 20 years glaciers have started to melt at an exponential rate. A main issue with that is the rising of the sea level. If the glaciers continue to melt, we are expected to see massive changes in the world as we know it. Cities Like Miami and New Orleans could completely be covered in water.

Landslide have also been seen in Pittsburgh.  A landslide is generally caused by an increase in rainfall.  This causes the ground to become unstable and move. These can become extremely dangerous as they cause a lot of damage very quickly. We see this one the sides of our roads and hilly landscapes. It seems like I see a new spot were stuff has fallen every week.

Floods are something that occur in Pittsburgh as well. A flood usually occurs when there is an increase in rainfall. This causes the water levels to rise above their normal levels. Once there occurs, excess water can flow anywhere. Streets, homes, and parks are just a few of the areas that can easily be affected by flooding. Since Pittsburgh has three rivers flowing through it, when an increased rainfall occurs, it causes the water to rise and potentially flood the areas around it. The point flooded this year and showed us that Pittsburgh isn’t impervious to the elements. We need to know this for the future to be ready in case this happens again.

Global warming is going to cause people’s lives to change. People can lose their homes and loved ones in wildfires and in floods.  Once someone lives through an event like that they become scared.  Global warming is not going away, and it is something to fear.  The main way to fight fear is knowledge. People need to know about the dangers associated with global warming and be prepared to face them. We need to take the fight to global warming before it claims everything that we care about.

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