New Zealand's Building Industry and the Climate Change - Essay Example

Former U.S. vice president and Senator Al Gore (1992) relate how his former college professor, Roger Revelle, initiated sampling and research on the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere in 1958. Revelle showed in 1960 that the increase in the level of CO2 in the atmosphere contributes to the Greenhouse effect. These series of studies by Revelle sparked awareness among people about the dangers of global warming and since then it has been quite an issue among environmentalists, scientists and common people alike.

 According to The Earth Works Group (1989), The Greenhouse Effect is not all that destructive. In fact, it is a natural, beneficial process that prevents the Earth from freezing. The natural greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere prevent heat from escaping into space thus warming the Earth. However, throughout the years, industry and other human activities have increased the volume of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, resulting into the destruction of the ozone layer and the eventual superheating of the Earth's surface.

 There are many variants of the modern global warming theory; among these is the theory that states that the so-called global warming that the Earth is experiencing right now is within tolerable boundaries. .  and for fossil fuels and the increased rate of industrialization has accelerated the release of huge amounts of carbon dioxide, methane, carbon monoxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The office also noted that due to these circumstances, the Earth's surface temperatures predicted to rise anywhere from 1.4 to 5.8 C, which could lead to other drastic climatic changes such as droughts, sea level rise, great variances in temperature, flash floods etc.

Climate Change Group, on the other hand, states that in New Zealand, temperatures are likely to increase faster in the Northern parts than those in the South through the increase in temperature is less than in other parts of the Earth. Other climate changes that are predicted by the group are increased the volume of rainfall, fewer cold days in the winter and hotter days during the summer. The Climate Change Group has also noted the direct impacts of agricultural practices on climate changes.

As new concepts in agriculture are introduced, the risk of flood, droughts and pestilence increase leading to more agricultural loses. Gore (1992) elaborated the effects of agriculture on the climate, claiming that although the world's population has increased in direct proportion to the rate of increase in the development of agriculture. In 1992 for example, the world's population has ballooned to 5.5 billion people in that year alone and is expected to grow to up to 9 billion in the year 2032.

More people equal more food and another resource would have to be consumed and by this, some do equate resource acquisition with resource abuse and environmental degradation.