Global warming is the term used for a rise in temperature of the earth due to greenhouse effect where the heat from unwanted gasses is trapped inside the earth. This in turn has adverse effect on weather patterns and climatic conditions. Some of the gasses that lead to the greenhouse effect are methane, carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons and nitrous oxide.
Studies have suggested that human activities are hugely responsible for releasing such gasses.
Here are some ways in which human activities are adversely affecting the environment
- Commuting
The biggest contributor in environmental pollution is the way we commute to our offices or anywhere else. 
There is a rise in number of private cars on the roads everyday. The fuels used in cars release carbon dioxide that contaminate the environment. Even for a short distance, we tend to give in to the comforts of driving a vehicle that choosing the healthier option of walking. Most of us do not shut our engines in signals and this wastes a lot of energy unnecessarily.
- Cooking
Our cooking style too consumes a lot of energy. We waste a lot of energy when we cook the food with out covering them. With developments of microwaves, we have become more dependent on micro-wave cooking that consumes a hell lot of electricity. Sometimes, a lot of food goes waste as we do not measure the right quantity to be cooked.
- Use of electrical appliances
More often than not, our televisions are switched on even when we are not watching it. Instead of shutting and unplugging the electrical appliances, we tend to keep it on the stand-by mode and leave it that way even overnight. This consumes a lot of energy that could otherwise have been saved.
- Use of plastics
While we are aware the plastics are non-degradable products, we tend to ignore this important fact and use it practically all the time. Being a non-biodegradable product, it doesn’t integrate with the earth and consequently makes the earth barren and non-cultivable. They also tend to block the drainage system and pipes and affect the recycling process.
- Smoking
Smoking is as injurious to the environment as it is to our health. In spite of cigarette packets having an advisory about the harms of smoking, the smokers hardly quit. Cigarette smoke release gasses that contribute to the greenhouse effect and directly result in global warming. Because the cigarette industry brings in a lot of revenue, thanks to incorrigible smokers, there hasn’t been a ban on the same except for a ban in their use in public places. That too, is not properly implemented or checked.
- Insensitive consumerism
With a better purchasing power than ever before, we tend to shop without giving much thought about how green a product is, what are its effects on environment, whether it was produced in a way that was least harmful to the environment and related issues. To meet our consumerist demands, there are lands that are being deforested to set up factories, farmers are being deprived of their only source of livelihood as their agricultural lands are being taken up for setting up Special Economic Zones or MNCs like Coca Cola are using the local water for production, creating a scarcity of the same for the local people.
- Expanding areas for human beings
Many natural areas and the habitats of various flora and fauna are being taken up to create space for the ever-increasing population. As a result, eco-systems are being disturbed, resulting in adverse effect on the environment.
- No policy interventions
Governments are not taking serious action to reduce carbon emissions. Both the developed and the developing nations are not ready to take the initiative. Consequently, there has been no breakthrough on environmental concerns among nations. Both the Kyoto Protocol and the Copenhagen summit have failed to get on a solution for governments. Everyone’s running in a race for being most developed, without focusing on sustainability.
There is an urgent need for people to be aware and sensitive to the environment and do our bit to check global warming.
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