The Problem of Global Warming and Causes of It - Coursework Example

Global Warming Environmental concerns continue to exacerbate across the globe due to the observed scenario in relation to global warming and climate change in general. Global warming refers to a persistent rise in the average global temperatures as a result of climate change (Roy 116). Cultural, social, economic, and political factors have become intertwined in the global warming debate. Arguments for and against global warming continue to emerge, amid countless efforts to contain global warming. Lobby groups and related environmental agencies have aired their concerns and expressed the need to reverse climate change trends across the globe. The concerns surrounding global warming revolve around human activities in all productive sectors that are aimed at enhancing the livelihood of the people and the global economies. In the process, the environment has suffered immense damage, and the situation seems to worsen every single day. Dating back to the 19th Century when global warming debates began hitting global headlines, the magnitude and extent of global warming and climate change has persistently moved from bad to worse. The average global temperatures have kept rising, amid interests, campaigns and efforts to reduce climate change in order to contain global warming. Contributing factors to the persistence of global warming are diverse and dynamic. This means that the already existing drivers of global warming continue to worsen the situation, as more emerging factors are realized in the same line. Global warming is seemingly the worst case factor in the climate change context. Causes Global warming and climate change in general is triggered by a number of factors, both existing and newly emerging. As a matter of fact, global warming did not start today, nor did it start few years ago. Global warming has become a realized outcome from a long-lived process, significantly dating back to the 19th Century. The causes of global warming vary from one country to another, but all these causes summed up influence global warming as a whole across the globe. One of the most critical causes of global warming is the greenhouse effect (Filter & Ringward 32). Horticultural agriculture has essentially become a global undertaking due to the ever rising global demand for agricultural produce. Greenhouse effects have resulted in the depletion of the ozone layer, causing persistent increase in global average temperatures over time. Although the extent of greenhouse effects varies from one country to another, the effects are spread across the globe. Global environment seems to succumb to the causes of global warming due to the fact that agricultural products are universally demanded. Global economies have experienced immense growth and development over the years. Industrial revolution has been the basis of economic growth and development, and it has subsequently revolutionized social and political stature of economies of the different countries in the world. Massive industrialization activities have led to increased pollution of water, air and land. This pollution has further contributed to increased damage on the ozone layer that is responsible for regulating global temperatures. Depletion of the ozone layer exposes and subjects the earth to intense temperature that consequently results in rise in global temperatures. Human activity away from industrialization pursuits also account for global warming. These activities relate to mining, deforestation, intensive and extensive farming, excessive human settlement, and use of sources of energy that cause environmental pollution (Dovers 167). These activities cause global warming in one way or another. To start with, mining has been ongoing for centuries, and there are no signs that it will be coming to an end any time soon. Encroachment and exploitation of natural resources have caused environmental degradation, resulting in environmental processes that trigger global warming. Farming and deforestation have also been critically integrated into the global warming debate. Forests have cleared to pave way for agricultural activities, thereby exposing vast chunks of land. This process has interfered with the natural mechanism of temperature regulation by nature, thereby causing a rise in average global temperatures. An activity that has worked in the same line is human settlements that have caused clearance of uninhabited areas, thereby triggering environmental pollution. The outcome of this process has encompassed global warming. Increase of carbon deposits in the air has not evaded the interest of lobby groups for the reduction of global warming. Environmental agencies have raised their concerns on the use of energy sources that have led to the increased global warming. Today, there are millions of cars around the globe, all of which emit harmful gases to the air. On the same note, wild fires have led to the increase of carbon gases in the air. These aspects combined contribute to climate change, one of the most critical aspects in that respect being global warming. General Effects Global warming continues to generate numerous effects around the world as its magnitude rise. The general effects of global warming are basically social, economic, environmental and political in nature. Societies are realizing heightened extents of global warming in the various aspects that constitute them. For instance, rainfall trends have significantly changed since the onset of global warming. The implication of this has spread to the social lives of different people across the globe. Farming that relied on rainfall is now done using irrigation, all because of global warming. Environmental effects are far reaching and highly consequential. The ever rising global temperatures have resulted in hot and dry weather across the globe. Desert-like conditions have increased all over the world, and this has worsened the persistence of global warming. Another critical environmental effect of global warming is melting of ice in the Arctic and Antarctic regions of the world, as well as in other regions that are covered in ice across the globe. Consequently, water levels in oceans are rising as a result, while in others the water levels are declining following persistent water evaporation. This implies that global warming is a core concern in the environmental debate surrounding climate change debates. In the political arena, global warming has triggered international collaboration of global leaders in a bid to address the underlying concerns (Walsh 38). Climate change conferences have been undertaken in the past, and others have been planned to take place in future. The most current activity in this line is the Rio, Brazil climate change conference that took place sometime this year. Such efforts show that the effects of global warming constitute a worldwide concern, taking into account arguments for and against climate change, and specifically global warming. The general effects of global warming entail an all-round consideration of what causes global warming, and the consequent results of such causes. Arguments and counter-arguments have emerged in that respect, but what is evident is that global warming is a pertinent issue in relation to environmental concerns across the globe. Every single economy in the world has to come to terms with the trends and consequences of global warming. As a result, the issue of global warming in the global context can be uniquely addressed as an independent aspect of global warming. Global Warming and the Global Economy The effects of global warming are diverse and dynamic, and they also vary from one economy to another. These effects, however, have not spared any world economy. In this regard, all the countries in the world have been mobilized into a common course of addressing environmental issues, and specifically reducing global warming in order to curb its effects. The global economy has, therefore, become fully integrated into the global warming debate. The global economy is made up of individual economies of every country in the world. Although not all countries are contributing to this course, majority countries understand the underlying threats and dangers posed by climate change (Roy 174). International kitties have been set up in order to raise funds and mobilize enough resources to take care of the global warming concerns. It is important to note that global warming is one of the primary aspects of climate change that the global economy is trying to address. This means that the global economy is in dire need for resources in order to reverse the condition of the global climate. Another notable activity that the global economy is engaging in is carbon trading. Due to high industrialization levels around the globe, pollution of air, water, and land has tremendously increased. Some other countries pollute the environment more than others, thereby subjecting the low polluters to the same risks as those experienced by high environmental polluters. This difference has resulted in carbon trade, where high polluters compensate low polluters relative to carbon levels produced. The global economy has also reacted by commissioning research into the ways through which global warming can be reduced or alleviated. This has been realized from the relative effects of global warming on the global economy. The global economy has plunged into several financial crises among other difficulties since global warming took an ever rising trend. Inflation has become evident due to changes in pricing policies for both products and services. Such changes have been triggered increase in production costs, as global warming spreads its effects in manufacturing and production plants. Specifically, sanctions relating to pollution have been imposed on firms, resulting in controlled production and manufacturing activities (Handmer & Dovers 213). In a nutshell, all other effects of global warming can be integrated into the global economy in one way or another. Arguments against Global Warming As far as global warming is concerned, there are beliefs that global warming does not exist. Arguments against the existence of global warming have it that global warming is a hoax. The arguments for and against global warming have divided the global population over the issue, thereby affecting the pursuit of reducing global warming; if at all it exists. The people who do not believe in global warming argue that efforts to reduce deal with global warming are fraudulent. They claim that environmental lobby groups have fooled the global population into a scam. One of the most critical arguments against global warming relates to the Al Gore debate. The U.S government was lured to mobilize and direct thousands of dollars to projects designed to address global warming concerns. Opposers to global warming efforts argued that Al Gore was pushing for the global warming agenda in order to benefit companies that he had a significant stake in. The involvement of U.S government in global warming projects was to primarily finance the proposed policies and programs. Green companies submitted their game plans in addressing global warming concerns, after which they would receive funding for their relative projects (Esty 91). Al Gore was said to be an active figure in most of the green companies that were set to benefit from government resources, and would, therefore, profit from the agenda he was pushing for. Over and above this opposition, different countries around the globe have showed no concern for global warming. While others have no capacity to deal with global warming, others have remained ignorant of the situation. Reducing Global Warming Reducing global warming will take a collaborative effort between all stakeholders involved across the globe. Cultural, social, economic, political, and environmental factors will have to be accounted for in the process. To start with, the industrial aspect of the world needs to be changed and environmentally revolutionized. This means that global industrial processes need to be more environmental sensitive. As earlier identified, pollution is a primary contributing factor in global warming. Industries significantly contribute to environmental pollution across the globe. Taking relevant measures and having strict laws against pollution can help reduce global warming (Dovers 227). In the event that such laws are already available, they need to be strictly enforced in order to achieve the desired results. Another way that global warming can be reduced is through afforestation and responsible settlement. Deforestation need to be controlled and managed for the purpose of reducing the underlying threats that global warming pose. On the same note, human settlement are becoming exceedingly persistent, thereby pressuring the environment through degradation. The effects of environmental degradation subsequently translate to variables that trigger global warming. This process should be avoided if global warming is to be reduced. Greenhouse effect and carbon levels in the air cannot go unnoticed. They are primarily responsible for the depletion of the ozone layer. Horticultural activities should be redesigned in such a way that minimizes triggering global warming. On the other hand, carbon trade is seemingly increasing, thereby reducing the cautious aspect of polluters. Instead of carbon trading, sanctions should be imposed on polluters in order to mobilize them towards becoming pollution-cautious. This will result in low levels of pollution and subsequently reduce global warming. Works Cited Filter, Mario & Ringward, Alexis. The Green Trade. Business World, SEP 22, 2008, p 32. Handmer, Norton & Dovers, Stevens. Ecology, uncertainty and policy: managing ecosystems for Sustainability. Harlow: Prentice-Hall, 2001. Dovers, Smith. Environmental history and policy: still settling Australia. Oxford University Press, 2000. Esty, Daniel & Winston, Andrew. Green to gold: how smart companies use environmental strategy to innovate, create value and build competitive advantage. Yale: Yale University Press, 2006. Roy, Spencer. The Great Global Warming Blunder. New York: Encounter Books, 2010. Walsh, Bryan. Turning Up the House. TIME, MAY 19, 2008, p 38. Read More