Evidence of global warming can no longer be ignored

Climate change is real and the question is no longer whether the negative effects associated with it will occur but at what rate, with what impact, and if there is anything that can be done about it. Globally, the biggest cause of climate change is the increase in the atmospheric carbon dioxide, which is generated primarily through burning of fossil fuels.

 To control this, we need to reduce the amount of carbon generated every year, reduce deforestation, and replace fossil fuels with alternative renewable sources of energy. We need to reduce negative human activities that facilitate the release and increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and eventually cause global warming.

 This can be achieved by controlling logging and the burning of forests. We need to control emissions from automobiles, which is a major cause of air pollution in urban centres. Global warming has made plants to leaf and bloom earlier than they should.

Birds and butterflies are breeding and migrating earlier, disrupting their important role as pollinator to plant connections, hence causing food insecurity. We have seen the expansion of invasive plant and animal species since they are able to take advantage of the weakened ecosystem to out-compete native species. As global warming continues, many species will undoubtedly become extinct.

We have also seen the spread of malaria, leading the World Health Organisation to recommend the use of DDT, which has negative effects on the environment. The national and the county governments must be ready to spend more resources on climate change policies to positively influence the implementation of adaptation and mitigation measures related to climate change. Mwari Maina, Nyeri