Global Warming and the Future of the World - Essay Example

GLOBAL WARMING AND THE FUTURE OF THE WORLD This world had been recognized as a haven of peace and tranquillity in days of yore. However, it has undergone momentous changes with the passage of time. The current phenomenon of global warming is not hidden from anyone and it has catastrophic consequences on the environment and human life. Nevertheless, the predicted consequences made by the academicians are conservative and there can be more terrible dangers associated with it. The term global warming implies that the world has experienced an average increase in temperature after the 20th century. Observations collected by different researchers over the last century suggest that the average land surface temperature has risen 0.45-0.6°C (0.8-1.0°F) in the last century (Griffith, 2000). The oft-quoted reason cited for this phenomenon is the effect due to greenhouse gases. Theses gases mainly comprise of carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons, nitrous oxide, and methane, and they function to warm the atmosphere of the earth. Table 1: Average rise in temperature due to global warming Since, major economies have gone through industrialization, there has been a marked increase in the usage of fossil fuels such as oil, coal and gas and other carbon fuels. The increasing use of these materials has added into the level of pollution and greenhouse gases particularly the carbon dioxide gas. It is estimated that 70% of global warming is the effect of Carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide functions as a coating around the earth restraining the escape of heat. The more carbon dioxide is produced the more heat will be trapped in the atmosphere near the earth. As a result of this process the radiation of heat is reducing from the Earth and is raising the average levels of temperatures on the Earth (Tisdell, 2008). Since the inception of this world there have been natural variations in the average level of temperature but what is conspicuous about this period is that the degree of human activities involved in increasing emissions of greenhouse gases and more importantly these activities are taking place at a blistering pace which were never there before in any of the era. For instance after the advancement of technological infrastructure and industrial revolution, a massive amount of automobiles were manufactured and sold to the consumers. These automobiles emit large quantities of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. It is believed that an average American car driven 10,000 miles a year emits its own weight of carbon into the atmosphere each year. This underlines the critical importance of industrialization on the global warming. There are other cogent reasons beside greenhouse gases described by the scientists which give rise to global warming. Depletion of ozone layer is also giving rise to global warming. The ozone layer is the bottom layer of the earth approximately 15-25 km away from the verge of the earth. It functions as a blanket protecting the earth from scorching sunrays and deleterious ultraviolet radiation. If there would have been no ozone layer then all living beings would have burned to a crisp. Deforestation is also described as one of the specific cause leading to global warming. Plants through their natural capabilities often clean off carbon dioxide from the atmosphere during the process of photosynthesis. When plants are cut down, there paucity causes a halt to the process of photosynthesis which then magnifies the magnitude of carbon dioxide present in the atmosphere. Now what are the impacts and consequences of the global warming on the future of the world? This question is of critical importance and it often trembles the people with fright. There is no doubt that there are grave consequences linked with global warming but there impact is not known with certainty. However, it is quite confirmed that the developing countries would hover on an extremer brink of risk than the developed countries. The global warming would have fatal consequences on the human lives in the time ahead. The rise in temperature would cause the ice sheet to defrost at the poles. Hence this would trigger the sea levels to rise above there normal level. The rise in seal levels have serious implications on the low-lying regions dwelling near the coastal areas. Small islands like Maldives and Tauvalu can be easily engulfed by the sea. As we know that many of the major cities, ports, and industries are located in coastal regions therefore the rising sea level impact will have significant social and economic repercussions. Developing countries would suffer from dreadful conditions and it would be extremely difficult for them to recover from adverse circumstances because they do not have considerable budgets and hence they are not able to afford exorbitant flood protection schemes. The economy of countries like Egypt and Bangladesh hinges upon their fertile coastal plains to feed their growing populations and they would suffer adversely from the inundation if the sea-levels are to rise. Egypt would lose 15% of its habitable land, 14% of GNP and 14% of its population would be displaced if this phenomenon occurred which again confirms the hypothesis that developing countries are more prone to global warming (Nelson, 2003). The change in climatic conditions brought by global warming will also result in severe drought and desertification which will further cause the people to migrate from there local places. The dust bowl in North America can be thought of as an example where a rapid desertification process was mainly caused by exploitative agriculture systems (global warming). We know that there is a scarcity of resources in many of the region of the worlds. When people leave their homes and seek for better living and sustenance in the migrating areas, the competition for resources becomes stiff and insecurity over the natural resources causes conflict and hostility between communities. If all the factors are taken into account, such as inundation, drought, water shortages and soil degradation than it is estimated that the environmentally displaced persons would reach 200 million by year 2010 (Myers and Kent, 1995). In addition to that researchers have found a direct link between number of environmentally displaced persons and the poverty level of their home areas. Therefore, the cost to society for human displacements can be prohibitive in both financial and human terms, because of the resulting social, political, and economic agitations. A refuge strategy would even exacerbate the situation by creating new obstacles and problems in the host areas. Hence it is more suitable for socioeconomic and ecological reasons to ameliorate the condition of the people in their native or home area rather than tackling the issues of forced migration. The excess of carbon dioxide gas in the atmosphere would have a negative impact on the yield of the crops. This would further tighten the situation due to the imbalance created between the supply and demand of the countries. Changing climatic conditions would aggravate the weather systems and hence producing more of the hurricanes and blizzards. Human and plants would suffer from widespread epidemics which would further deteriorate the conditions of the globe. Global warming will also raise the extinction rates due to the loss of habitats. Finally, there are high chances that the ski industry would suffer from it severely. The triggering of this global environmental crisis has raised nagging questions for the human beings to how to tackle this thorny problem. Since this is a global dilemma therefore all the countries need to participate equally in order to devise strategies and policies for dealing with this serious issue. All the participants need to reduce the level of carbon emission up to an extent which can create a balance between industrialization and the global warming. WORKS CITED Griffith, Gwen. GLOBAL WARMING—FACTS AND PREDICTIONS, 2000 Retrieved December 16, 2008, from Myers, Norman. and Kent, Jennifer. Environmental Exodus. An Emergent Crisis in the Global Arena. 1995 Washington, D.C.: The Climate Institute. Nelson, Njmansi. GLOBAL WARMING AND ITS CONSEQUENCES IN THE DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, 2003 Retrieved December 16, 2008, from Tisdell, Clem. “Global warming and the future of Pacific Island countries.” International Journal of Social Economics 35. 12 (2008); 889-903 Read More