What is Ethereum Merge and why is it important?

Internet searches for the phrase ‘Ethereum merge’ have skyrocketed. I also searched for what the term represents, I wasn't sure, but here's what I found. It essentially refers to the impending merger between ETHs mainnet and the beacon chain proof-of-stake system. The ‘merge’ will mark the end of proof-of-work (PoW) for ETH, in favor of the proof-of-stake (PoS) mechanism.

So, ETH's main network presently employs the PoW consensus algorithm. A consensus mechanism is a technique by which the various nodes of a network modify the state of a blockchain network by reaching a mutual agreement. It is the fundamental notion underlying blockchain technology.

The PoW consensus mechanism has been used by the network from its beginning. In PoW, nodes in the network use their processing capacity to solve complicated mathematical puzzles, resulting in increased energy consumption. This became an issue since the dominant source of energy is fossil fuels, which contribute to global warming.

As the world has become more environmentally concerned, the high-energy usage model of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and ETH has come under worldwide criticism from lawmakers. Considering the inefficiencies of PoW in network scalability and transaction rate, which led us all to choose some solution wheater that was L2 like Metis or using some of the numerous types of gas tokens, the Ethereum Foundation chose to switch to PoS, which does not demand large amounts of processing power and hence energy.