The Devastating Effects of Climate Change - Essay Example

? Global Warming al Affiliation Climate change is one of the most disturbing environmental problems facing the world today. Environmentalists have shown that no planet or country is spared of the devastating effects of climate change. The climate change has mainly been blamed on the global warming effects. Research shows that the change in climate being witnessed in the world today is attributed to the excessive emissions of greenhouse gases that cause global warming. The effects of global warming has resulted in an increase in temperatures, rise of sea level, increased droughts and flooding among other. Researchers have warned that if the global warming effect is not contained, then life will be virtually impossible in the next three decades to come. As a result, urgent action to mitigate the global warming effect is in the offing. This discourse explores the global warming as an environmental issue in light of the situation, consequences, and solution. The paper will conclude by providing recommendations for the world leaders. Table of Contents Table of Contents 3 Introduction 4 Situation 4 Effects of Global Warming 6 Solution 7 Conclusion and Recommendation 7 References 8 Global Warming Introduction Stoyles, Pentland, and Demant (2003) argue that climate change is one of the most disturbing environmental problems facing the world today. Environmentalists have shown that no planet or country is spared of the devastating effects of climate change. The climate change has mainly been blamed on the global warming effects. Maslin (2007) noted that the change in climate being witnessed in the world today is attributed to the excessive emissions of greenhouse gases that cause global warming. Scientists have shown that greenhouse gases produced from fossil fuels once released to the atmosphere blocks the ozone layer thereby resulting in global warming (Maslin 2007). The impacts of global warming are a big problem to the world today. As a result, world leaders are grappling with ways of finding an amicable solution to the problem. This discourse explores the global warming as an environmental issue in light of the situation, consequences, and solution. The paper will conclude by providing recommendations for the world leaders. Situation The world is suffering from the devastating effects of climate change. The problem is attributed to global warming that has seen the planet’s average temperatures warm up at an alarming rate. Several studies indicate that the last two decades have been the hottest in four millennia. The global warming problem has resulted in extreme weather patterns, including strong tropical storms, wildfires, prolonged drought, rising sea levels and heat waves just to name but a few (Natural Resources Defense Council, 2012). In fact, the global warming menace has made prediction of weather patterns extremely difficult for weathermen today. According to Ploutz (2011), the level of greenhouse, emissions have increased by at least 70% between 1970 and 2004 due to human activities. This huge increase in pollutants has caused a very big problem to the planet’s natural temperatures. The level of carbon dioxide emissions, for example, has increased by over 80% during the same period. Union of Concerned Scientists (2013) noted that the society is emitting more carbon into the atmosphere more than oceans and plants can absorb. According to Shah, the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is currently about 385 parts per million (PPM) and keeps increasing by about 2 PPM annually due to the excessive burning of fossil fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas and burning of forests (Ploutz, 2011). The point of no return, according to experts is 450-500 PPM. This implies that we are left by only about three decades before it becomes extremely difficult to breathe natural air. Despite the fact that this may sound a long time, so many people will still be alive by that time. Another report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2007 projected that the earth’s surface temperatures could increase from 1.1 to 2.9 oC in the 21st century (UNEP, 2013). The increase is also expected to continue unless measures are instituted to reduce or stop activities perceived to cause global warming. A report by the BBC also indicated that the world would be six and a half degrees warmer than it is today by the time a child born today reaches 80 years (Shah, 2012). This is a damning report that ought to be taken seriously and urgent needs to be action taken to mitigate the global warming problem. Fig. 1: Picture showing greenhouse emission from one of the U.S. industrial plants Courtesy of UNEP Effects of Global Warming The problem of climate change has far-reaching negative effects on the environment. Shah (2012) notes that the global warming menace has affected many parts of the world negatively. The first negative impact of global warming is that it causes a rise in sea levels. Once the sea level has risen, the waters spread to the low land island, which causes havoc people, plants, and animals on planet. As waters, cover plants, these results in death of most of them. Consequently, the disappearance of plants makes animals lose their source of food and the habitat, resulting in their death (Maslin, 2007). The disappearance of animals and plants due to rising sea levels also make people lose their source of food and sometimes homes. As a result, some people may have to vacate the area of die in the process. The global warming effect has also resulted in adverse weather patterns being experienced in different parts of the world today. Such adverse weather patterns include flooding like the one witnessed in China recently. Perennial flooding in different parts of the world has resulted in the destruction of properties and death in many cases. Drought and super-storm are also other big problems that have resulted from global warming. Many parts of the world currently experience prolonged droughts. This impacts negatively on countries that depend much on agriculture. Other problems of climate change include wildfires, such as those experienced in Australia and recently in the U.S. (Shah, 2012). Fig 2: Pictures showing the effects of global warming Courtesy the of Natural Resources Defense Council Solution The problem of global warming can be solved by employing a raft of measures. One such is through moving away from the use fossil as a source of energy. In this regard, the world should adopt the use of alternative sources of energy such as wind power, solar, hydroelectric power, biogas, and nuclear power (UNEP, 2013). The other solution to the problem is by avoiding human activities that releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, such as burning of forests or charcoal. In addition, solving the problem might also require controlling population growth that puts strain on resources and adding more carbon into the atmosphere. Further, industries should also reduce their levels of greenhouse emissions to as low level as possible. Conclusion and Recommendation Global warming is having an adverse effect on the planet today. However, the problem can be solved with the commitment of the entire world. It is worth noting that the problem cannot be solved by just one country, rather it requires the combined effort of all countries in the planet. Therefore, it will be highly recommendable for all world leaders to come together to fight this problem. Countries such as the U.S. and China, which are the leading emitters of greenhouse gases, should take the lead role in the fight against global warming effect. The active involvement of the two countries will see a significant reduction in the level of emissions thereby mitigating the global warming effect. References Maslin, M. (2007). Global warming: Causes, effects, and the future. London: MBI Publishing Company. Natural Resources Defense Council (2012). Global warming. Retrieved from http://www.nrdc.org/globalwarming/ Ploutz, P.F. (2011). Global warming: handbook of ecological Issues. London: Xlibris Corporation. Shah, A. (2012). Climate change and global warming introduction. Retrieved from http://www.globalissues.org/article/233/climate-change-and-global-warming-introduction Stoyles, P., Pentland, P., & Demant, D. (2003). Global warming. Mankato, MN: Black Rabbit Books. UNEP (2013). Climate change. Retrieved from http://www.unep.org/climatechange/ Union of Concerned Scientists (2013). Global warming: Confronting the realities of climate change. Retrieved from http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/ Read More