Hydrocarbons: The Love Affair Needs to End

It was before World War I that countries like Britain and the United States started to make the switch from coal to hydrocarbons as a fuel source. A hydrocarbon is an organic compound containing hydrogen and carbon.

It was before World War I that countries like Britain and the United States started to make the switch from coal to hydrocarbons as a fuel source. A hydrocarbon is an organic compound containing hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons have immense economic importance. The shift from coal fired steam engines to oil and petroleum to make day-to day products such as gasoline, pesticides, refrigerators, vehicle tires, plastics, industrial chemicals and even life jackets show our twenty-first century lifestyle is heavily dependent on excessive consumption of hydrocarbon resources. These hydrocarbons release toxic gases and carbon dioxide into the Earth’s atmosphere. We live on a planet that loves to balance and that naturally releases carbon to help regulate the Earth's atmospheric temperature, however, adding to that natural balance through the burning of fossil fuels has adverse effects on Earth's climate. The natural Earth cycle regulates carbon through the atmosphere, the ocean, the terrestrial biosphere, and the lithosphere. Animals and plants expel CO2 through respiration while plants absorb it through photosynthesis. During the ocean's cycle, CO2 is exchanged with the atmosphere. Typically, CO2 molecules spend five years in the atmosphere due to this process. In contrast, carbon dioxide from greenhouse emissions stays in the atmosphere for 300 to 1000 years, which means as humans continue to release these volatile hydrocarbons we can expect to see changes in the Earth’s atmosphere for generations to come. Various weather phenomena such as temperature changes, precipitation and storms, along with ocean currents and the atmosphere's chemical composition have been observed and measured by climate scientists since the mid-20th century. This data confirms large amounts of CO2 induce global warming and indicates Earth’s climate has changed. As a result, many serious changes to the environment and the climate are occurring and will begin to worsen.       Loss of sea ice, melting glaciers and ice sheets       Rising sea levels leading to the loss of coastal land       Changes in precipitation patterns       Intense heat waves       Increased risks of droughts and floods       Wildfires       Threats to biodiversity  Global climate change is not a future problem. The effects of anthropogenic global warming are already being felt across the globe. The time to act is now, whether it's contacting your local MP or reducing your energy bills and walking or riding your bicycle to work instead of driving. In the end, reducing carbon emissions will benefit our environment, Earth's atmosphere, and human health.