Global Warming: Causes, Effects and Recommendations - Assignment Example

Global Warming: Causes, Effects and Recommendations In the recent years with the modernization of this world, new and grave problems are arising for the people living in this world. With the help of modern science different types of troubles are being discovered in the globe on a daily basis. Most of the problems being found in the world are related to the environmental factors. One such environmental problem which has created a political spark all over the world is ‘Global Warming’. Global Warming can be defined as, the increase of the overall temperature prevailing in this world. However the word can be said to possess a broader meaning as it is directly or indirectly related to the whole atmosphere of this world. Green house gases are the direct source of the problem identified as Global Warming. Carbon Dioxide and Methane form a larger part of these greenhouse gases. These greenhouse gases further lead to an effect known as the greenhouse effect which causes the whole atmosphere in this world to lower down (Global Warming in 21st Century Causes Effects & Future, 2008). Greenhouse effect has an impact on the whole system of Global Warming and is considered as an important ingredient which works towards this problem. However differing views have been put forward regarding human actions and nature’s own actions on the causes of global warming. Over the years Global Warming has become an issue for the whole world and it is seen that many demographic and temperature changes have occurred throughout the world. The study of Earth and its climate is of immense importance and beyond any doubt the reason for such extreme climatic changes should be known. In order to evaluate the reasons behind the changing climate of the Earth, the studies regarding global warming and the arguments against it are helpful. Regardless of all the arguments presented, I believe that humans contribute to the climatic changes and extreme weather conditions. The increased CO2 levels and rising temperature do have a link. The link between greenhouse effect and global warming are valid as put down by one set of the researchers. Although the studies and climatic researches are not invalid and the continuous debate over this topic does carry an important place in the Earth’s study. According to my point of view, it is not valid to judge the climatic change just by examining or considering the weather patterns of a small region. Global warming does not talk about a particular region, city or country. It is an overall analysis of the Earth’s temperature. Hence, claims that are based on the study of a single region are invalid and must not be relied upon. The study of NCDC, however, clearly asserts against that claim by ranking the temperature for January 2004 as the 4th warmest on record (NCDC, Climate of 2004, 2004). This further disproves the claim of the other group. I also agree with the statement that carbon emissions are of the major cause of the problem of Global Warming. The factories which are using the fossil fuels during their manufacturing process are giving out a huge amount of carbon and this contributes greatly in making the climate warmer (CBO, 1990). The trees planted in the world are believed to be of paramount significance in preventing the issue of global warming to increase. In the process of the growth of a tree carbon dioxide is used. This carbon dioxide helps in the growth of the tree until its final stages of death and decomposition eventually. This decomposition on the other hand again causes the tree to release carbon dioxide in the environment. Deforestation is one important cause which increases the green house gases in this world. And one set of scientists believe that these green house gases have been causing an impounding effect on the temperature of this world. Deforestation can be counted as one of the important cause of global warming but it cannot be counted as the only one. Global warming is caused by many other substances and gases such as emissions from car, industrial reactions and burning of wood. Thus it can be said that global warming is reaching its alarming stages because of the activities carried out by the human beings themselves. It is said that the greenhouse gases which are released in the atmosphere are giving a way to the sunrays to be stored. According to Baliunas this leads the temperature of this world to increase by approximately 2 degrees (Cooper, 1996). The temperature which the green house gases tend to rise is so alarming that the glaciers in the world are reaching their melting level. For e.g. Clemmitt affirms that the Montana Glacier Park had a total of 150 glaciers in 1910. It is said that the green house gases do not pass the surfaces of the earth and stay in the troposphere of the earth. And basically these green house gases cause the troposphere to have an increase in temperature. The melting of glaciers and polar ice can have an effect on the whole structure of the world. The sea levels will be increased with the melting of the ice of these glaciers. And due to this many small islands could be wiped out from the map of this world. Wigley states that in the end of the century the level of the ocean can rise up to 39 inches and the temperature of this earth can rise by 7 Fahrenheit (Cooper, 2001). If such a situation occurs coastal flooding would get common throughout the world. Due to this many coastal hazards have occurred in South Louisiana and Florida. It is not only limited to coastal hazards as the rising sea levels have a direct effect on the forests also. Clemmitt discovered that the sea levels in the country of Bermuda have caused many Mangrove forests to die. This has leaded the issue of Global Warming to rise. It has created an atmospheric belt over the whole world which scatters the heat given off by the sun. This scattering is the cause of the increasing temperature throughout the world. The climatic conditions prevailing in the world can be term as ‘in stabilized’. This unstable climatic condition throughout the world has sparked out new diseases. The floods caused by global warming can lead to an increase in the disease of malaria. The harming effect of the changing climatic conditions in the world can be clearly evidenced by the increasing number of floods throughout the world. In 1998 the number of countries which received flood was 55 (Bhargava, 2004). The heat waves throughout the world have increased since the 1950s and have killed a billion people. In 2003 a heat wave that hit Europe killed around 35000 people. Similarly coral reefs form an important part of the environment but recently they also have been affected by the climatic conditions. In March 2006 it was found that a whole colony of Caribbean corals was lost. The increasing population leads to increased demand of food, shelter and other resources. In order to make up for the increasing demands, the deforestation is increasing. Forests are cut off and utilized to meet the demands of the overly populated society. Furniture, houses, doors and many other products that people use in their daily routine are made up of wood and natural resources. The deforestation as a result of this increased population demand is leading to the reduction of forests and natural resources which are combating against the increased greenhouse effects. Trees are the lungs of our planet, and we are currently destroying them. In order to curb the issue of global warming, investment in renewable energy is a preferred strategy for most industrialized countries that aim to reduce their carbon emissions. $173 billion were invested into developing sustainable energy in 2009, a figure that fell after the global recession affected the financial situation of most of the involved countries (UNEP 2010 p 11-13). Some countries, like Iceland produce electricity using entirely from renewable resources, thereby leaving a minimal carbon imprint. Most countries, developed and developing possess the environmental conditions required to produce such energy; however, in the case of the latter, they do not possess the financial resources to exploit these conditions. The Kyoto Protocol aims to rectify that by encouraging developed countries to invest in reducing the carbon emission of developing countries, through such projects (UNFCC, n.d.). However, the effectiveness of this strategy does not take into account the agendas of some countries that will be harmed if the world forgoes the use of non-renewable resources in favor of renewable resources, such as the Middle Eastern countries that depend heavily on oil exports to support their economies (King, J., 2007 p 30-35). Such countries have a strong incentive to prevent the world from switching to eco-friendly ways of producing energy; some sources blame OPEC for keeping the price of oil down in order to make it more feasible than renewable energy (Haab, 2005). The switch from oil and similar sources to alternative energy will also have a major impact on world economics, since a lot of the world’s economies will have to adapt and unemployment threatens to be a problem too. However, with new jobs being created in the alternative energy sector, that problem will probably sort itself out. A strategy used by countries revolves around preventing deforestation and encouraging reforestation. Some countries do this by encouraging recycling of products such as paper while others do this by imposing heavy fines on companies that take part in the act. Reforestation is encouraged with tax breaks to corporations or individuals that help in reclaiming and restoring deforested lands. However, the effectiveness of this strategy is compromised by conflicting reports that propose that replanting forests will not actually mitigate global warming to the extent as to what was originally expected. Most countries still believe in the importance of forests in preventing/reducing Climate Change with developing countries proposing that industrialized countries take the initiative in reforestation themselves, rather than just forcing less developed countries to maintain their current forests. Deforestation, for developing countries is an economic necessity and developed countries should make a similar sacrifice by reforesting their own lands. Another strategy is the trend towards population control, an idea that has been proposed especially for third-world countries that suffer from extremely high population. Human population is one of the most important environmental problems that we suffer from (Zuckerman and Jefferson, 1996 p 6-9). A high population requires more resources to survive than is possible for the Earth to sustain without sustaining high damage which is why most countries advocate population control. In this respect, industrialized countries have been successful with the government taking active interest in spreading awareness about family planning, with countries like Japan and Germany’s population growth rate slightly in the negative. Third world countries, such as in Africa and South Asia (Pakistan/India) have suffered due to cultural and social taboos and stigmas attached to the concept of family planning In conclusion, it is easy to see that the industrialized world has been more successful in introducing measures to prevent and fight Climate Change. International agreements such as Kyoto Protocol have proved to be helpful in ensuring that the developed world does its part in undoing some of the environmental damages that it incurred during its industrialization. Such an agreement has also made it necessary for countries to undertake different strategies to mitigate Climate Change, such as those mentioned above. However, after the recent economic crisis, even the industrialized world has found it difficult to treat Climate Change with the seriousness that it deserves, cutting back funding on some of the projects related to it. Bibliography (2010). Global Trends in Sustainable Energy Development. United Nations Environment Programme, 10. Kyoto Protocol. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Retrieved August 25, 2011, from http://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/items/2830.php King, J. (2005). Oil in the Middle East. Chicago: Heinemann-Raintree. Haab, T. (2005, August 15). OPEC sees threat from alternative energy. Environmental Economics. Retrieved August 26, 2011, from http://www.env-econ.net/2005/08/opec_sees_threa.html Zuckerman, B., & Jefferson, D. (1996). Human population and the environmental crisis. Massachussets: Jones & Bartlett Learning. (2008). Global Warming in 21st Century Causes, Effects & Future. MD Pub Pvt Ltd. BHARGAVA, G. (2004). Global warming and climate changes: transparency and accountability. Delhi, Isha Books. COOPER, M. H. (1996). Global warming. CQ researcher, v. 6, no. 41. Washington, D.C., CQ Press. http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre1996110100. COOPER, M. H. (2001). Global warming treaty. CQ researcher, v. 11, no. 3. Washington, D.C., CQ Press. http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2001012600. National Climatic Data Center (NCDC). 2004. Climate of 2004: Climate Perspectives Reports, http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/2004/perspectives.html. UNITED STATES. (1990). Carbon charges as a response to global warming: the effects of taxing fossil fuels. A CBO study. Washington, D.C., Congress of the U.S., Congressional Budget Office. Read More