Climatic Change in the United Kingdom - Term Paper Example

Climatic change in UK By Name Institution: Course Date Statement of the Problem Climatic change has resulted in numerous cases of negative health effects among many people around the world. UK has not been spared in this. It has been identified that human actions have been the main cause of these changes over the last 100 years. 30B tonnes of carbon dioxide have been estimated to be released at the global level every year. In this century, global temperatures have increased from 1.1°C to 6.4°C The main concern is how much effort individuals are putting forward towards reduction of the green house effects in UK. 40% of green house gases in UK have been estimated to be released by individuals though air travel, driving and during the use of energy in their homes. According to the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climatic Change), human behavior stands as the major cause of climatic change. Research approach The research approach which will be used is qualitative because the research involves an estimation of the relationship that exists between variables. According to Cresswell, this approach will adopt the necessary characteristics of qualitative research approach. To start with it will be exploratory and will obtain a detailed description of what will be studied. It will also use human being as the instrument of information. Qualitative methods of data collection will be used to collect data (Cresswell 1994). Research question This research will be aimed at investigating the major health impacts caused by climate change. Research objectives 1. To determine the causes of climatic changes. 2. To identify the health effects of global warming. 3. To determine the how individuals contribute to the climate change. Significance of the study There has been a drastic increase of greenhouse gases since the industrial revolution which has led to an increase in the warming of the planet. This study is aimed at providing information to the various environmental and health departments in various organizations of the UK so that they can have a better understanding of the impact of global warming if something is not done soon. According to a report by the British Government in 2007, the UK will endure more devastating effects of global warming as a result of complications from malaria, heat waves and contaminated water by 2012. Therefore, this is study is a wake up call, for unity and combined efforts from everyone in mitigating global warming and its effects. This study will address the issues of climate change and give possible dynamic suggestions solutions to reduce the impacts of global warming. The research will enlighten the readers on the ways in they should do to reduce global climate change (IPCC 2007). Literature review The literature review has indicated that Change in climate has become one of the biggest global and political issues in the world. There is a big debate on the solution of climate change. Causes of climate change There are many factors contributing to climate change both at global and at national level, industries pollution, fossil fuels burning, methane from animals’ farm, deforestation, decayed vegetation and many other actives have contributed to increase of greenhouse gases here in UK. Health effects of global warming. UK has developed Climate Impact Programme (CIP) which shows the climate change projections and scenarios in the UK. It has provided scenarios that show how climate might change in UK and has carried out research on how to handle these changes. UKCIP has give out its information to various institutions and originations in the public and commercial sectors to assist them prepare for the climate change impact in UK. Key players in climate change policy in UK include the Intergovernmental Panel on climate Change (IPCC), which was formed in 1988. Its main aim was to evaluate human risk in relation to climate change, its potential impact and provide mitigation measures to the impacts. The UK Climate Impact Programme (UKCIP) provides incidences showing how climate in UK might change and carries out researches on the mitigation measures. The information given by UKCIP to the public and commercial sectors is useful in preparation for the impacts of climate change. The third party is the Department for environment and food and rural affair (Defra). This sector gives a strategic plan on how the country is going to achieve is set target for cutting down the emission of greenhouse gases in UK. The publication which they published in November 2000 has shown how UK is going to achieve it target of cutting down the greenhouse gas emission by this year 2010 (IPCC 2007). The other party is Hadley Centre (Met office) which focuses on scientific issues related with climate change in UK. It monitors national and global climate change and develops climate models which are used to predict how the climate is likely to change over a time frame of 100 years to come. The DoH which is a Health department has an expert group to deal with health and climate change issues in UK. The Health Protection Agency (HPA) gives government advice on (PHP) public health protection, they also give NHS and other relevant agencies with support and services to guard people from diseases infections i.e. they have a coordination unit which protects people from zoonoses infection. Environmental Agency (HPA) is a body which assesses the future potential impacts of climate change and then develops a precautionary strategy (IPCC 2007). The 2002 UKCIP published scenarios on climate changes based on the four scenarios of emissions namely; temperature, precipitation, change in see level, cloud cover and UV radiation. It also published the 1998 and 2002 climate scenarios. This provided the DoH experts with basic information for assessment of potential health impacts. The national assessment of UK has identified a number of possible health impacts by the year 2050s. These health impacts include: Extreme temperatures Extreme, UV exposure, flooding, Vector borne diseases, Water-borne disease temperatures lead s to increased rate of heat related death to about 2,800 incidences per year. Recent analysis on flooding in UK has shown that mental health problems are very common with flood victims. This is due to personal and economic stress experienced incase of a flood. Sunnier summers, cloud cover decline and depletion of ozone lead to increased UV exposure. According to the assessment by DoH, there is a prediction that by 2050, there will be an increase of 5,000 extra skin cancer cases and 2,000 cataract cases per year. Food poisoning is also an issue in UK during summer. The higher temperatures during summer are likely to cause an estimated extra 10,000 cases of salmonella infection yearly (Schellnhuber et al. 2006). Vector borne diseases are diseases transmitted through ticks or mosquitoes. They are sensitive to climate and can be introduced or increase by climate change. In UK this health impact can be localized. However, more incidence are common in people who are returning to UK .The issues of Water-borne disease in UK is also associated with climate change. Change of climate might lead to increase in campylobacter and cryptosporidium level in water. It is possible that contaminated storm water outflow might carry disease into the nearby rivers hence affecting the resident’s health and the river functions. There are also issues related with storms occurrence in UK. Increased frequency of severe winter storms can lead to an increase in individual injuries from the falling tresses and flying debris. An overall increase in the amount of summer ozone has been associated with increased death premature death rate in UK (Nordhaus 2005). Individual contribution Reduction in emissions of green house gases in any place has a positive result on the climate change in that it scales down the global warmth. There are three major sources of greenhouse gasses emissions which come from homes. These are heating, electricity use and heating. Emissions from electricity generation occur at the power plants that supply our electricity. The greenhouse gases linked with waste generated from our home is produced at the landfill after garbage disposal (Murphy et al. 2004). During fuels and coal burning so as to produce electricity, there is an emission of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. Throughout the winter, people use boilers and furnaces to warm their homes. Most of the boilers and furnaces do burn fossil fuels which give out greenhouse gases. The wastes we dispose contribute to green house gases. Every pound of waste thrown away emits about 0.94 pounds of CO2 the same case with methane. The used products can be reused instead of being disposed to avoid wastage since production of these products requires a lot of energy. The decomposed waste in landfills produces (LFG) landfill gas. These gases contain about fifty percent (50%) methane and 50% CO2. Landfill gas (LFG) is given out during natural bacterial decomposition of the organic material like food leftover, grass clippings paper (Edenhofer, Carraro, Kohler & Grubb, 2006). METHODOLOGY Research Design The research design applied is descriptive research design because the research involves an estimation of the relationship that exists between variables. This is because the data being collected is qualitative data. The time frame for this research is six months ensure a wide coverage. Only past scientific researches will be used since they are objective, precise and have a high accuracy level. This information will then be reviewed to come up with final conclusion. Participants The study population comprises of all persons aged 18 and above from all nationalities and races based in UK. It will include both citizens and non citizens. The study population will not be selected on the basis of educational level, monthly income or educational level. All persons who will be used in the pre-test will have the same characteristics with the study population but will not be involved in the actual study. The findings will be drawn from researches done in the period between 2006, 2007 and 2008. However, data collected in other years will also be utilized so as to draw comparison. The research will completely depend on the samples collected for the past researches. Research Setting The research study will take place in the UK, referring to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It is off coast in the northwestern region of continental Europe. It is an island that consists of four countries, namely; Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The UK is a large area. To enhance ease in data collection and analysis, information will be collected from the main cities of the four countries. Data collection instrument Secondary data will be used in this research and it will be analyzed to come up with a conclusion. This will involve making request for data to be made available on large population surveys. Confidentiality of information collected will be observed. Past articles will be used to identify whether the data obtained is objective or not. A questionnaire will be used to collect information from the participants. Data analysis The data will be analyzed using SPSS so as to obtain synergetic relationships. This will involve coding of data to enable analysis and interpretation. Tables and pie charts are the formants in which data will be presented and conclusions will then be drawn. This will ensure precision and accuracy in data analysis and presentation. Conclusions will be drawn depending on formulated objectives. Ethical considerations Ethical consideration is a very important domain that has to be kept into mind especially when carrying out a research. To start with, it is important for one to get approval letters that will enable him or her to carry out the research. I will get a letter of clearance from the university so that I can have a go ahead in carrying out my research. In addition, I will have to acquire a gate pass letter from the administrator in charge of the area site under study. In this case, I will obtain a letter from the relevant authorities permitting me to carry out my research. Before collecting information using the questionnaire, I will have to obtain the informed consent of the respondent. In this case, I will explicitly introduce myself by saying who I am and giving details of the purpose of my research. I will also explain why I need information from him or her. I will request the respondent to allow me to proceed by asking him or her a few questions. I will also tell him or her that she is free to withdraw from engaging in the research process. Privacy and confidentiality are some of the psychological risk factors of participants. A respondent may feel as if she or he is being investigated for some malicious or lawful purpose and this may exert psychological pressure on the respondents. I will therefore explain that the information given is solely for research and will not be provided to any other person. I will also explain the essence of privacy and confidentiality as a value of research. Therefore, I will explain to the respondent how it will not be appropriate and ethical if I gave out the information that I had obtained from them to other people. After the entire research process is complete and validated, the questionnaires will be burned since their will have ceased to function. An agreement in writing between the respondent and I will be prepared to confirm this if necessary. Questionnaire Serial Number ___________ Name of respondent ______________ Gender ____________ Date _________________ 1. What do you understand by the term global warming? 2. What are the effects of global warming? To an individual To the society (UK) To the world 3. Name the various health effects brought about by global warming 4. What do you think is the cause of global warming________ 5. What brings about climate change? 6. Do you think that by mitigating global warming, climatic weather conditions will improve? (Yes) (No) 7. Explain answer given 8. What are some of the international efforts that can be proposed to deal with this menace of global warming? 9. What is the role of the governments in as far as global warming is concerned? 10. What role does an individual have in mitigating global warming? 11. What interventions can be put forth to ensure a stable climatic weather pattern is attained? 12. How do you think global warming has resulted in climatic change in the UK? 13. What specific intervention measures, can be implemented by the UK to mitigate global warming hence improve the climatic weather condition? 14. What are the benefits of a stable and predictable climate? References Cresswell, JW 1994, Research Design: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. Sage Publications. Edenhofer, O, Carraro, C, Kohler, J & Grubb, M (eds.) 2006, ‘Endogenous Technological Change and the Economics of Atmospheric Stabilization’. The Energy Journal Special Issue, 27, 243-350. IPCC 2007, Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Murphy, J, Sexton, DMH, Barnett, D, Jones, GS, Webb, MJ, Collins, M, Matthew S & David, A 2004, ‘Quantification of Modeling Uncertainties in a Large Ensemble of Climate Change Simulations’. Nature, 430: 12, 540-613. Nordhaus, WD 2005, ‘Life after Kyoto: Alternative Approaches to Global Warming’, Yale University and NBER Working Paper No.W11889 Schellnhuber, HJ, Cramer, W, Nakicenovic, C and Wrigley, T (eds.) 2006, Avoiding Dangerous Climate Change, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Read More