Restoring Greenland: Containing Global Warming - Research Paper Example

June 28, Climate change has become an everyday topic in today’s world; however, there are many places, which have been affected by this issue all over the world. One of the areas that have experienced significant impact of climate change is green land. Green land has a substantial effect to the world since its ice cap holds almost 10% of the whole world’s fresh water. This implies that the rate at which the ice cap melts affects the amount of fresh water in the sea as well as the amount of water there is in total. Climate change in Greenland and the surrounding areas can be measured as per the remaining ice cap and the sea level. There are three key effects of climate change in Greenland consist of melting of the ice cap, thinner ice in the sea and permafrost. There are fears that if the ice cap continues melting at the same rate at some point there will be no more ice in green land (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, 1). The effects so due to the ice cap meting far include glaciers spitting large amount of icebergs into the ocean. Moreover, there are lakes that have recently been forming on the ice leading to water plunging in the ice sheet leading to sliding of water to the seaside. The rate at which ice is melting at the green land cannot be compared with the ice gained or formed during winter (Church et al 136). This means that a lot of water remains in the sea even after solidification during winter. The question many people ask is whether human beings are purely to blame for the occurrence of global warming and its effects (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research 1). However, since many countries today have signed Kyoto protocol it is clear that they have accepted that human activities have many negative effects to the environment (University of Alaska Fairbanks, 1). This is mainly because emissions of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere have led to temperature rise, which has led to melting of the ice. The ice cap at Greenland is essential to humanity existence in various ways one major role that it plays is regulating temperature, as almost ninety percent of the sunrays that hit the ice cap are reflected back. This ensures that the temperature in the atmosphere as well as in the ocean is regulated. Thus, if the ice cap melts then this regulation will no longer be available making the ocean and atmosphere be warmer (Witze, 799). Although, it may take many generations for all the ice to melt down, this is not a consolation since there would be many negative effects caused by the excess fresh water in the ocean resulting from the melted ice. Studies have proven that it is possible for all the ice to melt, hence if the current global warming rate continues. This is because it is the significant rise of temperature, which has caused the increased melting of the ice. Greenhouse effect causes most of the damage relating to global warming, as carbon dioxide absorbs heat from the sun making it impossible to be reflected back to the sun. This leads to the atmosphere becoming hot and given that the warmth is trapped in the atmosphere, the rise of temperature occurs. There are many effects of melting of Greenland ice; one is that it leads to loss of water bodies this is because the enclosed lakes in the ice are freed when ice melts. The other effect is to the animals that live in the ice caps this is because, over the years, they have adapted to the climate of Greenland and have created their eating habits and migration patterns. However, hunting for food becomes hard without the ice and high sea level. Global warming may cause melting of ice in Greenland, but it also causes global warming (Witze, 800). This is because loss of ice leads to sun rays being absorbed by the ocean increasing ocean temperature, which leads to increase of temperature in the atmosphere, which leads to increase of warmth leading to more ice melting. Rising of the sea level is one of the aftermaths of climate change in the Greenland since when the ice melts the fresh water ends up in the ocean. Greenland contains a large amount of ice if it melts completely then the sea level will rise, notably this will expose the areas and islands that are low lying to the danger. Moreover, weather patterns will also be affected by the climate change in Greenland since it leads to warmer summers that lead to drier soil. There has also been extreme weather patterns such as the hurricanes and extreme rainstorms (O'Rourke, 6), which puts the lives of people in danger and leads to property destruction. Global warming caused by the melting of the ice at Greenland leads to lower production of crops causing food shortages, which puts the lives of people living in Greenland in danger. The other effect of climate change on the Greenland is flooding, which leads to buildings near the sea and in low-lying areas to be at risk. Moreover, Permafrost will also melt in the process this posses a disaster to the buildings that are built on permafrost. In addition, many roads and airports will be in danger of being destroyed if permafrost melts. In some areas ice acts as connection among villages, therefore, its melting will make it impossible for different villages to be accessible or connected. On the other hand, there are studies that have concluded that global warming is beneficial to the people of Greenland. High temperatures in the recent years have led to extension of grass growing period implying that animals that feed on grass can now survive sufficiently in the Greenland. Recently there has been an introduction of sheep and lamb farm as well as dairy cows. This is very important in milk and meat production, and this has been a boost in crop farming. Taking into account that fishing has been a means of survival for residents of Greenland for a long time, the current change of climate has led to a positive effect to this industry. On the northern side, fishermen can easily capture fish now than before global warming started taking place. The other major positive effect is the fact that now there are many minerals that were below the ice that can be accessed nowadays, recently many oil companies are trying to scramble to exploit oil that has been discovered in the Greenland. In addition, mining companies also hope to get various minerals that were previously covered with ice; this will make Greenland wealthy and capable of being independent of Denmark. The water melting from the ice can also be used to tap hydroelectric power that will enable various industries to operate effectively in Greenland. This may lead to Greenland gaining full sovereignty because of its economic independence (Schlegel, 12). However, even with all the positive effects of global warming to the Greenland, residents do not take it as a blessing. This is especially true to the people of Inuit who are hunters, according to them global warming will lead to extinction of their native culture of hunting. This is because they have always depended on ice in order to hunt animals, thus, if the sea ice ceases this will affect their tradition of hunting tremendously. Moreover, the ice that have used for years since their hunting ground is no longer strong enough, and many people are at risk of losing their lives if they attempt to step on it. There are also fears that just like other places the original people of Greenland will be marginalized if the economy develops. The main issue now is what steps are being taken to restore Greenland. This can only be done by containing global warming to reduce further increase in temperature. This is being done through various ways; one of the many means used is by encouraging the use of natural sources of energy. For instance, hydroelectric power is capable of meeting people’s energy needs and is more efficient than use of oil. The only limitation is that many hydroelectric projects are located in remote areas making it hard for construction since it is very expensive. Greenland has a low population and people live far from each other; therefore, it is hard to build lines for transmission. There has been a lot of discussion concerning global warming in Greenland, which has made the population aware on its various impacts. Politicians and other public servants have shown their willingness to act towards regulating global warming. This has had a huge effect in creating public awareness enabling the population to act towards trying to control global warming, however, no major actions that have been taken towards reducing the effects of global warming (Ward, 45). Mostly the main actions that have been taken are investigations, writing of reports and well as research. There is much more that need to be done to deal with the issues facing Greenland. One important issue that should be addressed is the fact that the amount of ice that has already melted cannot be reversed and, therefore, the population should make the best out of what has already happened. This means that the population should be mobilized to take advantage of the advantages of the ice melting that has already taken place. This should include taking advantage of the minerals that have been exposed. Greenland has a huge opportunity of achieving its economic freedom and even becoming a sovereign country. However, the responsible parties should ensure that extraction of these minerals would not lead to more global warming by ensuring that hydroelectric energy is used. The original Greenlanders who are hunters should embrace other means of food production such as domestic animals farming or agriculture. Evidence shows that the current environment is more conducive to agriculture; thus, the population should take advantage of this fact. This will increase food production in Greenland and can even enable them the export and earn revenues. There has also been an increase in tourists who visit Greenland to see the ice cap and the effects of global warming, acting as a source of revenue. On the other hand, relevant authorities needs to take action towards ensuring that there are no more sources of greenhouse emissions in Green land and its surrounding. This can be done by creating relevant laws and regulations concerning the use of energy that emits carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Actions need to be taken by the international community as well since ice melting in Greenland will affect other countries. This is because if all the ice melts it will lead to the rise of the sea level to a significant amount. This will endanger the countries that have parts, which are low lying such shanghai this means that the Greenland’s problem is an international problem. International community should make a move towards helping Greenland regulate greenhouse emissions. Greenland population should also be mobilized to act against industries that are using sources of energy that emit greenhouse gases. This way the population can hold a peaceful demonstration and insist that the authorities take action on these industries. The authorities should also cooperate so that they can be able to save the remaining amount of ice. Global warming in Greenland may have some positive effects but the negative effects outdo the positive effects. This means that as much as much as global warming may help the Greenland population to improve their economy the risk of more ice melting is greater. In conclusion, it is clear that the effects of global warming caused by human activities, both positive and negative, have started to be felt on Greenland. Therefore, it is imperative to note that the most significant thing is to make sure that global warming is regulated. Thus, use of energy that is friendly to the environment should also be encouraged to ensure that global warming is regulated. However, the main problem is that even if Greenland succeeds in regulating its greenhouse, emissions the surrounding areas will still be emitting, and in this case, Greenland will still be affected. Therefore, the best way to deal with this issue is to ensure that the international community cooperates in the fight against global warming. Works Cited Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). "Greenland ice sheet may melt completely with 1.6 degrees of global warming." ScienceDaily, 12 Mar. 2012. Web. 28 Jun. 2012. University of Alaska Fairbanks. "Greenland Ice Sheet Melting Faster Than Expected; Larger Contributor To Sea-level Rise Than Thought." ScienceDaily, 12 Jun. 2009. Web. 28 Jun. 2012. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090612092741.htm Witze, Alexandra. “Climate change: Losing Greenland." International Journal of Science. (2008): doi:10.1038/452798a. Print. O'Rourke, Ronald. Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress. Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress, 2010. Web. 28 June 2012. Schlegel, Nicole-Jeanne. Determining Greenland Ice Sheet Sensitivity to Regional Climate Change: One-way Coupling of a 3-D Thermo-Mechanical Ice Sheet Model with a Mesoscale Climate Model. Berkeley, CA, 2011. Web. 28 June 2012 Ward, Peter D. The Flooded Earth: Our Future in a World Without Ice Caps. New York: Basic Books, 2010. Print. Church, J.A., J.M. Gregory, N.J. White, S.M. Platten, and J.X. Mitrovica. Understanding and projecting sea level change. Oceanography 24(2):130–143, doi:10.5670/oceanog.2011.33. Print. Read More