Environmental Policies: Global Warming - Research Paper Example

? Environmental Policies: Global Warming al Affiliation) Introduction Environmental policies are commitments set by different organizations worldwide to protect the environment (Archer, 2012). They include the rules, regulations and policies which govern the environmental organizations globally to ensure environmental ethics and security of the future generations. Environmental issues include global warming, air pollution, solid waste management, protection of natural resources, and regulation of endangered species and maintenance of biodiversity among others (Cline, 2007). However, in this article’s focus will be on global warming with respect to environmental issues. It will also entail the impacts, problems and solutions of global warming. Global warming Global warming is change in the mean of the earth’s atmospheric and oceanic temperature (Houghton, 2003). It has been an ongoing process since the 19th century after most of the man made activities contributed the changes. These changes include those that caused the economic revolutions in most parts of the earth. They included the economic, social and political changes that accrue communities irrespective of their locations. According to scientists, the earth’s surface temperature has increased since 1980 with an average of about 0.8 °C (1.4 °F). In 2007, reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change indicate that the 22nd century’s surface temperate will rises with a margin of 1.1 to 2.9 °C (2 to 5.2 °F). These results are based on research in green houses’ gas concentrations. However, changes in the global warming impacts in the future will vary with the location and their contributions to global warming. According to most scientists, more of the man made causes cause global warming. This means that in most location without human populations the impacts will be lowers as compared to those with human population. Remarkably, the whole impact will be felt worldwide irrespective of the location. The only thing that varies is the magnitude of the impact. Additionally, these changes in global warming have harmful or deadly effects to human beings. Such impacts include a threat to food and water security which is essential for human survival. To other animal species, there is also the change in habitats to facilitate their survival due to the negative changes in global warming. Environmental policies and global warming Environmental policies have helped in the regulation of companies and firms that contribute to causes of global warming. However, the most of the policies depend on sources of causes. These polices reduce in the involvement of human and natural causes in global warming. Additionally, biophysical environment and other natural resources have been involved in most of the causes to prevent global warming. This affects the type of impacts that global warming has on the larger population. Most of the global warming cases have caused the green house effect. This effect is the process where the absorption and emission of radiations from gases have been used to warm the earth’s surface. It was one of the great ideas from scholars in the 1800s. John Tyndall is one of the elites contributing to knowledge on the green house effect. Additionally, causes of global warming such high rates of gas emissions affecting the atmosphere will be explained further in the research. There have been various causes of global warming and scientists contributed to solutions. Global warming has been causes by both human natural causes. Since man-made causes are the major contributions to global warming, scientist have come up with ways to come up with solutions to this man made causes. According to most environmental scientists, synthetic causes are part of the major contribution to global warming. Pollution which is caused by human activities is on of the major sources of global warming. It has been caused through the introduction of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. This is through various activities such as burning of fossil fuels. Fuels that contribute to crumble of the atmosphere and the ozone layer which protects human beings from harmful radiations from the sun. When most of the fossil fuels are burnt, they are release carbon dioxide which one of the causes of the greenhouse effect. These fossils can be used in fuels which help in the production of energy inmost machines. They also help in the provision of energy such as electrical energy which is obtained from generators running on petrol of diesel which are part of the fossil fuels. According to the scientists, global warming has been caused by many natural activities and artificial activities occurring in the planet earth. The natural causes are the activities caused by nature and man has no contribution whatsoever to their occurrence. Some of the natural causes are a major threat to the climate of the planet. These natural causes include the release of the methane gas from the wetlands and Arctic Tundra. Natural causes of global warming The emission of the methane gas the source been animals and agriculture. Methane gas is an extreme intoxicating green house gas. The gas is produced when organic bacteria break down matter such as rice paddies in oxygen-starved circumstances a process referred to as anaerobic decomposition. The process of methane production also takes place in the body systems of the herbivorous animals. Due to the increase in number of livestock in many societies, this has in turn increased the release of the methane gas in the atmosphere. Clathrate is another source of methane gas .it is a compound that contains large levels of methane gas trapped in the ice crystal. When the methane gas escapes from the Arctic seabed, it will consequently affect the atmospheric pressure in the planet that has effects in global warming causing it to increase. Man made causes of global warming Man made causes have played the largest role in global warming. The man-made causes are the causes whose occurrence has been fully influenced by humankind. According to the scientists, humankind activities have largely caused global warming by disrupting the ozone layer with gases and chemicals. This impact of the ozone layer has in turn caused the natural calamities that have occurred on planet earth. Deforestation Deforestation is one of the causes of global warming. Deforestation involves the cutting down of trees by the humankind. Plants produce oxygen which is vital for the existence of humankind and other living creatures. Through the process of photosynthesis plants give out oxygen to the living creatures and take in carbon dioxide in order for them to make food. Therefore, if humankind proceeds with cutting down the trees the oxygen level will decrease as the carbon dioxide level increases. Carbon dioxide being one of the green house gases will affect the ozone layer causing the global warming. However, the reduction of cutting down of trees will be a positive effect in the control of the global warming. Use of chemicals and fertilizers The increase in usage of chemical fertilizers in agricultural activities has contributed to global warming. The increase usage of fertilizers that have been scientifically proven to be rich in nitrogen has the effect of the heat storage on the agricultural products. According to scientists, this is because nitrogen oxide poses more than 300 times heat trapping capacity per volume compared to carbon dioxide. The escape of the nitrate gas creates zones in the water levels that can affect the human health. However, there is a solution on the chemical products being used on farms. The farmers have been advised to use the chemical fertilizers that are not rich in nitrogen this will reduce the nitrate levels in the water. The atmospheric aerosols, which have been greatly caused by human kind through the agricultural activities. Its effect to global warming is realized through biomass burning which produces organic droplets and particles. The aerosols can either be produced from the emissions from vehicles and the industrial processes. These chemical reactions have a large negative impact on the atmosphere. The adoption of fuels from fossils has led to the relation of poisonous gases to the atmosphere where most of them lead to the degradation of the ozone layer (Goldstein, 2009). This later leads to global warming since earth does dot have a protective shield anymore from radiations and other poisonous gases from outer space. These gases include carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. Most of them are released from industries and other manufacturing plants which produce products to help in human survival such as plastics. Some studies have been carried out to help know the level of damage that these gases have to the atmosphere. Nitrous oxide has been found out to be powerful about 300 times as compared to carbon dioxide. Increase in release of carbon dioxide has been caused by different causes. One is the rapid increase in population globally. Since human beings and animals breath out carbon dioxide, the increase in population has an equal increase in the amount of carbon dioxide released to the atmosphere. Alternatively, increase in population has no had the same level of increase in the number of trees being planted globally. In fact, deforestation has been a major issue concerning the environment. Trees, which help in the reduction carbon dioxide, are being cut to have a way for land to settle the increasing population. Advancement in technology has led to the increase in the number of electrical gadgets in the markets. These gadgets have to use electrical energy and most of the energy sources get their energy from fossil fuels. This issue increases the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. To provide a solution to this problem, scientists have come up with ways to reduce human activities that lead to increase in carbon dioxide levels. There is the introduction of green energy production which ensures production of clean energy. Alternative sources of energy have been discovered such as the use of wind and tidal energy. Wind energy is attained through the use of wind turbines. Tides in oceans have also contributed to energy grids through the use of natural causes to produce energy. When individual economies adopt these ways of energy provision, they will help reduce cases of global warming. This has been part environmental ethics to help individual know what is good and dangerous for the environment. Other countries have also come up with electric vehicles which use electrical energy instead of energy from fossil fuels. International firms such as Google and Microsoft have also helped in reducing rates of global warming through on the introduction of strategies which help produce low levels of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. The have invested in use of green energy. Impacts of global warming and solutions Global warming has many effects which include climate change, rise in sea levels, extinction of endangered species, more killer storms, massive crop failure and the disappearance of the coral reefs among others (Goldstein, 2009). Additionally, global warming has had other negative effects such as the increase in seas levels and increase in storms (Fern, 2009). Scientists have discovered and predicted the meltdown of ice plates in Antarctica and Greenland. This has led to the increase in sea levels since these ice plates have melted increasing the amount of water in most of the rivers. Since the rivers drain their water in seas and oceans around the globe, there is an increase in their levels. This impact could lead to displacements of the larger population which may occur individual governments costs. An example of this is the relocation of the population in Maldives due to the increasing water levels. Another impact is the massive crop failure which has bee caused by changes in climate. Farmers can no longer monitor weather patterns since global warming has led to change in weather patterns. There is the presence of little rains which lower the survival rates of crops used to fed millions of populations. In the near future, scientists have found famines because of global warming. Severe storms have also been caused by increased rates of global warming (Oxlade, 2004). This has been evident through increased hurricanes and cyclones. Most of these impacts have been caused by increased sea and ocean levels. Wind speeds from these storms have increased as compared to the past. Storms can now have maximum speeds of about 250 miles per hours. Increased temperatures have also increased the number of killer stones through melting of the ice plates in the Arctic Circle. Global warming has a major effect on climate change. In the past few years, these climate changes have greatly proven to be quite dangerous. This is evident in the sense that the large amounts of carbon dioxide are released to the atmosphere. This has caused an increase in global heat levels. The meltdown increases water levels in seas and oceans leading to climate changes. Conclusion Environmental policies and ethics have helped in the reduction of global warming. Ethics have been used to cause awareness of global warming. There has been an increase in international conservation organizations to help in protection of the planet for the future generations. Policies have helped manage solutions to most of the problems. References Cline, W. (2007). Global Warming and Agriculture: Impact Estimates by Country. Washington, DC: Peterson Institute. Archer, D. (2012). Global warming: understanding the forecast (2nd ed.). Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons. Fern, S. (2009). Global warming. Huntington Beach, Calif.: Creative Teaching Press. Goldstein, N. (2009). Global warming. New York: Facts On File. Houghton, J. T. (2004). Global warming: the complete briefing (3rd ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University. Oxlade, C. (2003). Global warming. Mankato, MN: Bridgestone Books. Read More