Effects and Solutions to Climate Change - Essay Example

Reflection On Writing An Essay On Effects And Solutions To Climate Change In my studies I was required to write about the effects and recommend solutions to climate change. From the start I knew that climate change has been a global topic and is actually a calamity that is bound to change the way that we know life as being. From the introduction part I knew that I was going to be treated to a lot of knowledge on this subject. This was quiet a satisfaction as I like challenging topics that will not only enable me to get good grades but also grow my brain and thinking capacity. This was one of those topics that was going to do that. The topic also being on a relevant issue of the current times was also encouraging. I was excited to studying this new phenomenon that had the potential of changing our livelihood. To begin with I had to define the technical definition of climate change or global warming. From my research I found that Climate change is the happening where the temperatures of the earth have drastically increased over the years from a myriad of reasons either naturally of through man related activities (Baer and Singer, 3). This research was in line with my expectations as I was aware that climate change was as a result of the changing environmental conditions in the world. I discovered that there were many definitions but the one by Baer and Singer was direct to the point thereby making more sense. When doing research on the topic, I was astonished to find that I was wrong in several issues on climate change. One of the things that I was wrong about was the fact that I believed humans to be the primary cause of climate change. Part of this prejudice thought I believe has been due to the focus by the media and other news outlets. No one speaks about the other causes of climate change except that it is human driven. In my research I found out that some natural reactions were also contributing to climate change. A good example that I also used in my paper was volcanic eruptions. I learnt that volcanic eruptions release large amounts of carbon dioxide and ash into the atmosphere. Due to their severity and force, human beings have no control over these eruptions and therefore cannot be blamed for them. I also learnt a new term for these occasions that man has no control over, they were vehemently being referred to as “acts of God”. Another source of climate change that was not being done by human beings was other events such as landfills and compost from animals and other living creatures. Despite the realization that there were other causes of climate change also known as global warming, I was still focused on human beings as the primary source of this menace. I therefore did not do much research on the other causes of climate change and therefore veered into what I was primarily focused in. I guess that my prejudice was very immense in that even after learning something new I was not curious enough to find out more details into it. I should have gone into details on matters such as the percentage contribution of this new contributor of climate change, ways of tackling it or reducing its effects among other issues. I therefore went straight to what I deemed to be right. I started researching on human activities that led to global warming. The research materials found was astounding as there were many articles, journals and books on the topic. Seemed like even the previous researchers who had written on the topic also shared my prejudice. I learnt that human activities contributed significantly to the increase in climate change much more than the natural causes. One of the historic period in the world that led to this contribution is the industrial revolution where coal was the main source of energy. From that period it has been a downhill for climate change. I sought to find out some of the industrial activities that led to climate change. One of them was the use of fossil fuels to power machines, transportation machines, deforestation as a result of agriculture and other activities and urban migration. I thought to myself that it would be important to delve deeper into the issue of deforestation as it seemed to be off the topic. I therefore wrote on how deforestation led to climate change. From biology, trees are known to breathe carbon di oxide which is the primary contributor of climate change. I therefore wrote on how cutting down trees for economic reasons leads to increased carbon di oxide which then leads to climate change. In this I exemplified the importance of planting more trees due to the fact that their use was growing day by day. The demand for trees is increasing due to the increasing number of people in the world. These people all need shelter, paper and cooking which all use trees. Having established the definition and sources of global warming I then researched on the effects of global warming. This was important as it was the core of the paper. I was therefore inclined towards a thorough research on this topic due to it being the main topic to talk about. Already I had some ideas on the popular effects on global warming but wanted research to proof that this was the case to avoid any surprises like had happened with the causes earlier on . Just like I had seen in the news the melting of polar ice was one of the effects that came up from a simple search. Having heard a lot about it and seen pictures of the polar region before and now I delved deeper into how the melting of the ice was affecting human beings. I learnt that the melting of polar ice was due to increased greenhouse gases which led to increased temperatures in the globe. The melted ice (water) would then get into oceans increasing sea levels and subsequent likelihood of floods. This was well explained by Hamilton, 2011. I was astonished to learn that this phenomenon was catastrophic to the extent that some countries like the Netherlands face total extinction due to rising waters. Baer and Singer went further to explain that some animals and plants that lived in the polar were also at a risk of extinction. This showed to me how climate change is a calamity that needs to be fought by all of us. I also discovered how our economic system can be affected by climate warming. I learnt that climate change was a lead cause to billions of dollars losses globally. This was as a result of the various hurricanes witnessed that leave behind devastating situation. A lot of property is destroyed as a result of these hurricanes, and repairs were also needed after the same. The flooding caused by climate change also lead to spread of diseases especially those that are water borne. This leads to use of billions of money as treatment and other ways of controlling the diseases. Having discussed the two main effects of global warming being economic and fatal consequences I then went to the third part of the paper which included researching the possible solutions for global warming. I knew that I needed to propose solutions that were actionable and that were creative enough so as to distinguish my research from other people. Otherwise, I would just be repeating what others had already written about. I therefore did an in-depth research to find out some of the solutions proposed by other writers that had not Solutions to global warming With the increasing irrefutable results of global warming being witnessed world over, it is imperative that measures be put in place to curtail and contain this situation for the sake of the future generations. If this scenario were allowed to continue the way it is then we could as well be seeing the destruction of the earth happening right before our very own eyes. Several countries have realized this growing concern of climate change and through the United Nations have been party to various treaties that have been signed to contain the problem of climate change (Nordhaus, 8). One of the earlier treaties that was ratified was the Kyoto Protocol which would bolster the global response to climate change by binding the signatories to reduce their emission capacities of greenhouse gases. The Paris agreement was a landmark international agreement having the largest number of nations to ever sign a binding international treaty on a single day (Nordhaus, 10). Such pacts are important to enabling the world combat the emission of greenhouse gases especially for the developed countries which are then compelled to minimize their carbon emissions. It is from such agreements that countries such as Canada have committed to totally wipe out their use of coal by the year 2030, a positive step towards containing climate change. Another way to reduce climate change is through planting of trees. As stated earlier, trees have the capacity to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and as such increasing the forest cover would ensure that move carbon dioxide is taken out from the air. Recycling and reuse especially of plastic materials can also be an effective way to reduce climate change (Baer and Singer, 16). These materials are non-biodegradable and in most cases burning them releases gases into the air which would compound the effects of global warming. As such basic things such as reusing of plastic bottles can go a long way in ensuring that this problem is contained. Other countries around the world have even gone a step further and banned the use of plastic bags which was a major contributor to climate change from release of greenhouse gases when burnt. The world should also move towards more friendly sources of energy such as solar power and wind power which is naturally and does not possess risks to the environment. The same can be said about moving towards a dispensation of electric cars hence cutting down on emission of carbon dioxide coming from vehicle exhaust. In conclusion, it is imperative that all countries join hands in the fight against global warming. The effects witnessed from the impacts of climate change have so far caused immense damages throughout the world. Interestingly, it is not the countries that cause the highest emissions that suffer the greatest brunt of this happening but the whole globe both developed and developing countries. The success of this initiative cannot be left to a single country or a single organization like the United Nations to handle but should be a collective effort that all countries participate in to help secure the future generations. Like the common adage goes, we have not inherited this earth from our forefathers but have rather borrowed it from the future generations and as such it is important that we leave it in a better condition that would ensure the survival for the next generations. Works Cited Baer, Hans, and Merrill Singer. Global warming and the political ecology of health: Emerging crises and systemic solutions. Routledge, (2016): 3-16. Hamilton, Lawrence C. "Education, politics and opinions about climate change evidence for interaction effects." Climatic Change 104.2 (2011): 231-242. Nordhaus, William D. A question of balance: Weighing the options on global warming policies. Yale University Press, 2014. 6-10 Read More