What makes the earth a furnace?

The furnace can melt everything and smoulder every life on the Earth. We may see it becoming a planet with little space for any life soon.

Earth is rich as it is for human life, with all resources for everyone and everything. To live, however, means only living like any other animal. But today, we can’t even imagine simply living since we need so many things to live a healthy life. Whatever we do to the Earth, we do it against the earthly rules. Those are misdeeds, and we lost count of them. Our actions have accelerated our pace to our extinction because we have made the livable Earth an unlivable place. Now the Earth is the only planet humans can live on.

In recent years, expanded energy consumption and industrialisation changed human life. Until a few years ago, people didn’t have big houses, and energy wasn’t an issue. As we explored more sources of transport infrastructure and for accommodating the urban dwellers, we built underground transportation and high-rise buildings. While arranging a cosier place for life without bothering long-term consequences, we never knew the slow rise in temperature from 0.25 and 2.5 degrees Celsius. We found new ways to remain safe while outside our shelter the sun is blazing.

When the ground melts, it deforms with expansion and contraction destabilising the foundation of the building and leaving on it dangerous cracks. It affects the durability of the buildings. Unregulated high-rise and high-dense structures make cities warmer than rural areas. The underground parking facilities, tunnels, roads, etc. make Earth warmer. The earth has enough space for all of us to live but urbanisation has deprived us of that opportunity.

The soil retains the rainwater for every life to thrive. When we abuse underground water and build more dams with hidden agendas, the Earth turns warmer. Rivers need underground water to maintain their flow. Groundwater is an asset. Nature maintains a healthy ecosystem for every life. But every country now harnesses the ecosystem for industrial purposes. Rain recharges the Earth with water. In a cycle, the heat vaporizes the surplus water and returns it as rain. That is an infinitive process. Our unhealthy practices since the beginning of the industrial era resulted in an imbalance in the process. Consequently, we are facing rising summer and winter temperatures. By 2050, according to experts’ forecasts, the summer temperature will increase by 2.5°C and winter by 2.1°C. Rainfalls may rise 13% in winter and 16% in summer. It may impact the nature-attuned traditional farming and result in a food crisis with high inflation that impoverished ones cannot afford.  

Some countries have oil and gas deposits. They are rich and more influential. We know what they are selling makes them richer at others’ expense. As we extract more oil and gas, the soil becomes voids to fill with water making it less effective as an insulator. That accumulates more heat on the surface. Eventually the surface, including the ocean surface, becomes warmer. Hitherto an estimated 135 billion tonnes of crude oil has been extracted since the first commercial drilling began in 1850. The oil industry also spills a lot of waste, such as salt, hydrocarbons, heavy metals, toxic chemicals, etc. and contributes to air pollution.

What humans have discovered hitherto proves to be threats to our existence? Human greed for better comfort ruins the Earth and makes it, an otherwise livable, an unlivable melting pot.