Global Warming and Human Actions - Term Paper Example

Running Head: Global Warming and Human Actions Global Warming and Human Actions Name Course Tutor Date Introduction Global warming refers to the augmented intensity of carbon dioxide gas in the earth’s atmosphere resulting in increased global temperatures leading to climatic changes. The Earth’s temperature is controlled via a balance of the sun’s input energy and its subsequent loss into the atmosphere. There are some atmospheric gases, referred to as greenhouse gases, which are very important to the atmospheric temperature balance. The sun releases energy to the atmosphere in form of radiations and some scientists argue that approximately a third of the energy released by the sun to the earth are reflected to the space upon hitting the earth’s surface (Houghton, 1997). The remaining portion of solar energy released to the earth is absorbed by the oceans and land. Consequently, the surface of the earth gets heated and becomes warm, emitting infrared rations, which are considered as long-wave. The greenhouse gases in the atmosphere tap part of the long-wave radiations, leading to the warming of the atmosphere. The gases that naturally occur as greenhouse gases consist of methane, nitrous oxide, ozone, water vapor, and carbon dioxide. Together, these gases form a natural greenhouse, which increasingly warms the Earth (Maslin, 2006). Scientists have hypothesized and are increasingly researching on the contribution of the solar energy output’s variation and its possible cause in increasing the earth’s temperature (Harding, n.d). However, there is an increased consensus on the role played by human beings in increasing the problem of global warming. Scientific researchers have concluded increasingly that global warming is fundamentally linked to the rising level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, mainly methane, and carbon dioxide, as a result of fossil fuel combustion, farming, deforestation, and industrial activities by human beings. This paper critically analyzes whether global warming is due to human actions or not and if there is a possibility of the human race taking actions to stop the effects of global warming or not. Is Global Warming Due Do Human Actions? Global Warming Not Because of the Human Actions The question whether the actions of human beings contribute towards global warming has long been a debate by the scientists with others refuting the assertion whereas others acknowledge it as a fact. Guy Callender, in 1938, established that the trends in global warming contributed to the 10% rise in the level of atmospheric carbon dioxide as a result of combustion of fossil fuels. However, some scientists threw away the suggested findings of Callender arguing that large amounts of carbon dioxide gas that humans emit are dissolved safely in oceans. Later, Roger Revelle, and Hans Suess dispelled this school of thought by discovering that there was a complex chemical buffering system preventing the sea water from absorbing large volumes of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Since then, the potential of humans contributing to global warming was raised (Harding, n.d). Human beings should not be blamed for the ever-increasing levels of global warming. The increase in atmospheric temperatures may be attributed to the more vigorous solar energy’s output. A section of scientists researching on the causes of global warming have postulated that the solar activity have increased rapidly over the past decades as well as the amount of carbon dioxide from the volcanic emissions, and this may have potentially contributed to the increased amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere leading to a rise in global warming (Harding, n.d). According to the theory on solar variation, scientists assert that the sun is continually gaining strength and as a result it is as the strongest point as compared to the past years. The increased amount of radiation from the sun is therefore hypothesized as the contributing factor toward the increasing global warming phenomenon. The amount of radiant energy that the sun emits continually changes and this phenomenon is known as solar variation. Consequently, according to scientists, the changes in the temperature and climate of the earth have been linked to the solar variation effects (Haldar, 2011). Furthermore there have been scientific works of the researchers highlighting the cause of global warming to be due to sunspots, which are argued to have enhanced global warming. The scientific reports state that the population of sunspots in a particular region directly affects the time span that the nearby earth takes to cool. The earth primarily gets its energy from the sun. This concept is established in that the earth absorbs approximately two-thirds of the solar flux of the earth. Therefore, solar flux raises the temperature of the atmosphere of the oceans, land, and earth (Haldar, 2011). In addition, the other natural cause of global warming is orbital forcing. Scientific research reports have demonstrated that the slow tilting of the axis of the earth has some considerable effects on the climate of the earth (Gray, et al., 2010). When the shape of the orbit of the earth around the sun changes or the axis of the slightly changes, there is a significant possibility that the total amount of the solar energy that the earth receives from the sun would change. As a result, the temperature of the earth will change definitely and lead to climatic change and global warming effects (Haldar, 2011). According to a research by Hunt (2011), the climatic system’s internal variability is affected by the cooling episodes. The variations in the warming episodes of the climate influence the temperatures of the earth to increase and lead to global warming effects. Therefore, the internal variations of the climatic systems also contribute toward global warming. Volcanic eruptions do occur naturally without influence from human beings. Similarly, they are also attributed to causing and enhancing the global warming on earth. When volcanic eruptions occur, particulates, and several gases are emitted into the atmosphere. These volcanic eruptions may affect the climate and contribute to global warming such that they cause cooling by blocking the radiations of the sun from reaching the earth’s surface. The carbon dioxide gas released from the eruptions also finds their way into the atmosphere and increasing the greenhouse gases, eventually contributing the problem of global warming (Wolfe, 2000). Global Warming Because of the Human Actions The human actions, which cause, and enhance global warming generally, include the types of energy and technologies used to power the industrialized lifestyles in addition to the way humans use their land, leading to pollutions, and raising levels of global warming. The effects of the human actions and the consequences largely influence global warming. The natural carbon cycle of the earth requires carbon dioxide for very important roles. Carbon dioxide gas is emitted naturally by the volcanic eruptions, animal, and human exhalation, and decaying animals, and plants. However, the earth’s atmosphere needs a balance in the atmospheric level of carbon dioxide. This process is naturally accomplished through carbon dioxide absorption via carbon sinks (Saliken, Clarke, Reynolds, & Kordic, 2009). According to research scientists, human actions contribute more significantly toward the problem of global warming, more than any other natural cause. Humans began enhancing and contributing immensely toward global warming many decades ago through their agricultural practices, such as deforestation. When human beings clear fields, bushes, forests, and vegetation around them to create space for their agricultural practices, the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere considerably increased as the excess gas could not be used by the plants (Houghton, 1997). Trees are known to have high carbon levels and when fell, the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere largely increases. Moreover, burning of the trees cleared to give room for agriculture emits carbon dioxide gas to the atmosphere, add to the increasing level of imbalance in the greenhouse effect. Industrialization is also among the major contributors to global warming. Industrialization is majorly driven by human actions. However, research scientists have established that human actions involved in industrialization lead to emission of different gases, such as methane and carbon dioxide, which affects the greenhouse balance and eventually results in global warming. During industrial revolution, humans significantly contributed toward global warming because the rate at which they released carbon dioxide gas into the atmosphere was very high that natural systems could not balance the levels as required for sustainable life on earth. Therefore, several carbons accumulated in earth’s atmosphere resulting in global warming (Houghton, 1997). Burning fossil fuel by humans increases the amount of carbon dioxide emitted in the atmosphere. Scientists are convinced that the combustion of the fossil fuels by humans is the primary reason behind the increase in carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. Human beings require energy to accomplish several activities to sustain their daily lives. Energy is needed in several human applications, such as manufacturing processes, generation of electricity, transportation, cooling, and heating, all of which are formed via burning fossil fuels like coal, natural gas, and oil. When these fossil fuels are burned, huge amounts of carbon dioxide is produced into the atmosphere, increasing the level of the greenhouse gases (Haldar, 2011). Can The Human Race Take Action To Stop Global Warming? Yes They Can The human race can succeed to stop the global warming through making informed choices on the wastes they process, the transport means they use, and the amount of electricity they consume. These choices will help in ensuring that humans continue prospering economically and at the same time they protect the earth’s natural systems to offer the inhabitants high quality of life. The choice of the energy used by humans should be the renewable source (Newton, n.d). Human beings can conserve energy and help in reducing the amount of carbon dioxide emissions into the earth’s atmosphere, reducing the effects of global warming. Energy conservations can be accomplished through purchasing green power and changing the light bulbs used to more comprehensive energy saver bulbs. The amount of energy consumed by each household and person can be largely reduced by turning off appliances and lights when not in use. Instead of using conventional sources of energy, such as natural gas, large-scale hydropower, nuclear power, coal, and oil, humans can opt for green sources of energy including solar power, hydropower, biomass, and geothermal power generated from renewable energy sources (Newton, n.d). The governments should make policies that help in conserving energy and promoting the use of renewable sources of energy. For instance, the government can make tougher fuel-economy standards on conventional energy sources like coal and oil. Solar and wind energy sources, among others, ought to be subsidized to promote their use and lower the level of using fossil fuels. In addition, the remaining forest covers should be preserved and maintained to ensure that they help in consuming excess carbon available in the atmosphere (David, 2006). To enhance the carbon sink and reduce the amount of carbon dioxide gas in the atmosphere, human beings need to plant many trees and avoid cutting the vegetation. The plants through transpiration breakdown carbon dioxide and store the resultant carbons in their cells. The forests and trees act as stores of large volumes of carbon. Therefore, it is necessary that humans plant more trees to help in balancing the carbon emissions in the atmosphere. The carbon dioxide gas emitted through human actions will be soaked up by the trees. Moreover, when the trees die, human beings should take the responsibility of immediately replacing the trees by planting new ones (Langholz & Turner, 2008). Apart from reducing the use of fossil fuel, the fossil fuel industry should be slowly transformed into renewable energy industry, completely eliminating the use of fossil fuel on earth (Langholz & Turner, 2008). Through this initiative, the large volumes of carbon dioxide emitted in the atmosphere would be completely eliminated and the level of greenhouse gases drastically reduced to ensure the balanced is maintained. The responsibility of every individual on earth should be to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions and the government creating policy frameworks to motivate investments in renewable energy sources and tighten rules on the fossil fuel sources. Through these measures, the amount of carbon dioxide gas emission into the atmosphere would be reduced and eventually global warming would be a thing of the past. Why They Cannot Because global warming is linked to some natural causes, of which humans have no control over, it is impossible for the human race to stop global warming. Some scientists have hypothesized that the natural causes of global warming, such as solar variations and the solar hotspots will continue taking place over the coming years, resulting in higher temperatures on earth. The scientists cautioned that these observations would take place despite that human beings reduce their human activities that immensely contribute toward global warming. Planting many trees to act as carbon sinks is not attainable. Therefore, the issue of global warming may still persists. The current world population is approximately seven billion and it continues to grow. Because of this, there are no spaces and land to plant more trees and increase the forest cover. Instead, there has been increased encroachment in the forest covers. Enough trees to help maintain the required balance of greenhouse gases cannot be planted because there is less space in the world for this to happen (Langholz & Turner, 2008). Science reveals that oceans have higher levels of carbon dioxide than the amount contained in the atmosphere. Through increased global warming, the carbon dioxide gas contained in the ocean bodies is released into the atmosphere. Therefore, it can be argued that even if human beings stop their activities that contribute to the emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, the ocean bodies would still contribute to the effect. Global warming is thus regarded by certain scientists as a natural factor that cannot be stopped through human intervention. The Impact of Global Warming on a Sustainable World: A Critical Analysis of the Current Issue The increasing global warming trend has affected the climatic conditions such that the increase in the global temperatures of both the sea, and the air would result in more frequent and powerful hurricanes along the coastal lines. Therefore, the sustainable development projects of the coastal communities would be negatively affected and hindered (McDonald, 2006). In regions where natural hazards are common, sustainable development is unattainable because the critical facilities, the natural resources, the structures, and infrastructures are all exposed to the dangers of natural calamities because of global warming effects. The ecosystem will change for the worse and will not be able to support life to the quality desired. As a result several species of plants and animals may not be able to adapt to the changing ecological conditions caused by the climatic change. Currently, polar ice sheets are melting because of increased heat levels, flooding the low islands and the coastal regions. Weather systems are more extreme with increasing occurrence of storms and floods. The changes in weather system would translate in difficulties in cultivating the conventional crops, leading to famines, and economic meltdown. From the consequences of global warming on the earth, human will not be able to engage in meaningful developments, which attains the demands of the present ecosystem without compromising on the capability of the future generations in accomplishing their needs. The present life of this generation is negatively affected just like the future capabilities are worsened (Maslin, 2006). Finally, it is important that human beings carefully take caution on their actions that may contribute toward increasing global warming. There are several activities that can be avoided in a measure to help reduce the effects of global warming. It would be quite tasking for the human race to do away completely with the global warming and maintain sustainable development. Mitigating the causes and the effects is the most appropriate solution. Conclusion According to the discussion on global warming and its causes, it is evident that several scientists have demonstrated that human activities are the principal cause of global warming. The human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels to be used in industries for transportation, manufacturing, heating, and cooling increases the level of carbon dioxide gas deposited in earth’s atmosphere, promoting global warming. Additional human activities that lead to global warming include deforestation for agricultural purposes reducing the number of carbon sinks. Consequently, the amount of carbon in the atmosphere raises and leads to global warming. It is realistic that the human race cannot completely stop the global warming but careful choice of energy sources, energy conservations, and gradual transformation from the use of conventional sources of energy comprising fossil fuels to more renewable energy sources would help in greatly mitigating the effects, and reducing the negative effects currently witnessed because of global warming. In addition, currently, the increasing trend of global warming has affected negatively sustainable development, such that developments inform of structures, facilities, and infrastructures along the low island and the coastal regions have been destroyed because of floods and hurricanes, which have resulted from the effects of global warming. The current generation therefore cannot lead a quality life within the ecosystem and the effects of global warming affects the next generation and their developments. Famines have increased and crops have failed. Life is unbearable for some species of plants and animals in such ecosystem. It is therefore important that to ensure sustainable development, human beings should ensure that their actions do not contribute to global warming and degrade life in the ecosystem. References David, L. (2006). Stop Global Warming: The Solution Is You! Golden, Colorado: Fulcrum Publishers. Gray, L. J., Beer, J., Geller, M., Haigh, J. D., Lockwood, M., Matthes, K., et al. (2010). Solar influences on climate. Reviews of Geophysics , 48, 1-53. Haldar, I. (2011). Global Warming: The Causes and Consequences. New Delhi: Mind Melodies. Harding, S. (n.d). Climate Change. Retrieved March 30, 2012, from www.ceh.ac.uk/staffwebpages/DrRichardJHarding.html Houghton, J. T. (1997). Global Warming : The Complete Briefing. Port Chester, NY: Cambridge University Press,. Hunt, B. G. (2011). The role of natural climatic variation in perturbing the observed global mean temperature trend. Climate Dynamics , 36, 509–521. Langholz, J., & Turner, K. (2008). You Can Prevent Global Warming (and Save Money!): 51 Easy Ways. Kansas City: Andrews McMeel Publishers. Maslin, M. (2006). Global Warming: Causes, Effects, and the Future. Stillwater, MN : Voyageur Press. McDonald, C. T. (2006). The Impact of Global Warming on Sustainable Developments Mitigating the Impact: Natural Hazard Mitigation. 2nd International Solar Cities Congress 2006, (pp. 1-5). Oxford, England . Newton, I. (n.d). 200 Ways To Fight Global Warming. Ian Newton . Saliken, A., Clarke, M. G., Reynolds, L., & Kordic, L. (2009). Cocktail party guide to global warming : everything you need to know to converse intelligently about global warming in any social situation. Surrey, BC : Heritage House Publishers. 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