Environmental Problem And Solution - Research Paper Example

The most common and damaging greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide, also called CO2. Unfortunately, we are currently destroying the best known carbon regulators- plants. Deforestation not only impedes carbon capture, but the dead and decayed flora further releases CO2 into the environment. As the climate keeps getting warmer the various species in their respective ecosystems are exposed to threatening adaptability challenges as a result of which their number and diversity is rapidly on decline. A proper understanding and control of CO2 is pivotal to prevent an unstoppable catastrophic warming of the Earth.

Environmental Problem and Solution For the purpose of better understanding the alarming situation we are in, I have picked a news article from BBC News, Washington by Jane O’Brien, 4 November 2010, “The World’s longest running carbon dioxide experiment”. One of the most pressing challenges on global warming is the fact that nobody exactly knows how the earth will react to the progressive climate change. This article provides an insight to some of the most imperative concerns about the effects of global warming, and some hypothetical suggestions of handling it.

Every year the rising sea levels engulf humongous hectares of land thereby threatening the existence of heavily populated coastlines (Sarwar & Khan, 2007). Other impacts of global climate change include melting glaciers, stronger storms, higher floods, less snow north and more drought south (IPCC, 2007). Several greenhouse gases are responsible for climate warming, but CO2 forms the herculean contributor as the concentration of the other gases is much lower. The buildup of CO2 in the atmosphere is mainly from the combustion of fossil fuels in car, factories and electricity production (Miller, 2004).

In the longest running CO2 experiment, carried out on the shore of Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay, scientists have created a unique salt marsh that simulates the situation of the future (O’Brien, 2010). One characteristic of CO2 is that it acts as a fertilizer on some plants making it grow appreciably faster, building new soil and hence tacking the problem of rising sea levels. The scientists in this study have tailored the condition our planet will be exposed to by the year 2100 by setting up a patch of marshland and covering it with atmospherically controlled CO2 chambers which have roughly double the CO2 content of what we have today.

However other environmental peril like pollution can have a huge dampening effect on the growth promoting property of CO2. Another aspect which this living laboratory has exploited is the susceptibility of the marsh to a variety of weed, Phragmites australis. The growth of this plant is fortified by high CO2 levels. The expeditious growth of such unwanted flora can displace the native habitats and the organisms which populate it. A better understanding of how these ecosystems behave under altered condition would help in planning the future.

Being enlightened of the increasing CO2 levels, we can be prepared to control the invasive species like Phragmites australis, which thrive on CO2 and degrade the biodiversity of the ecosystem. Another aspect of these invasive plant species is that they may help counterbalance the problem of soil erosion. Having cognizance of this dual purview it can be decided whether or not to allow these plant species to thrive. Discussion The ongoing CO2 experiment began in 1987 with the aim of examining the