Two Points of View Associated with Environmentalist Approaches To Energy - Report Example

Two points of view commonly associated with environmentalist approaches to energy. Introduction Climate change is not a new phenomenon nowadays. There is a great variation in today’s climatic patterns compared to the past patterns. The major causes of climate change are the changes in green house gases concentration, shift in the earth’s orbit and variations in solar radiation. Fossil fuels are the major sources of energy for most machinery including vehicles and industries. These fuels emit carbon dioxide to the atmosphere having an effect on the temperature and thus causes change in climatic patterns. The changes being witnessed are enormous and their consequences are starting to bite in some nations. Consequences involve degradation of the environment, health effects on humans, the economy and social systems are compromised as well. This has aroused the attention of the environmentalists who have always advocated for the conservation of the environment. Most governments are also following this trend. Environment is important for our survival and therefore it has to be protected accordingly. Reduction of the climate change effects would play a major role in fruitful conservation of the environment. This can be facilitated by making and implementing sustainable development policies. There is need to make and implement these policies for sustainability of the environment, mitigate the effects of green house effects and to ensure the well being of the general population. Statement Global climate change is the talk of the day around the world. There are many variations in the environmental patterns. These changes have been occurring periodically but they are being sped up by our activities. There are natural causes and artificial causes of climate change. Continental drift had an effect on climate change as there was change in physical features and this caused variations in climate between two continents that were initially together for instance South America and Africa. Climatic conditions of Africa and South America are not the same. However, it is believed that when they were joined together millions of years ago, the climatic conditions were the same. Volcanoes have an effect on climate change as sulphur dioxide is released in to the atmosphere whenever there is a volcanic eruption. Tilting of the earth and ocean currents can also have an effect on climate change though not very widespread. The other causes of the climatic change are the human factors. Since the start of the industrial revolution, many forests have been cleared to create space for erecting industries. People have been moving from the rural areas to the urban centers to look for job in the industries located there. Increase in population in the urban areas have led to clearing of the natural resources for building of houses, transportation systems and other amenities to support the increasing population in the urban areas. This has had a lot of negative effect on the environment. Environmentalists have raised an alarm on this issue in order to mitigate the effects of climate change. Fossil fuels are the major sources of energy in most industries until recently. Fossil fuels like petroleum and coal release a lot of gases to the atmosphere which have an effect on the environment. These gases degrade the environment indirectly for instance the forests and other natural vegetations. Increase in the emissions in the environment has effects on the climatic changes as they interfere with the sun radiation and variations in the temperature. This has had an effect on the current climatic consequences for instance floods, drought, tornados and hurricanes. There are many effects of climate change affecting the environment, social systems, the economy and compromises our security. These effects from a sociological perspective are already being felt in many places. Developing nations and less privileged societies are at more risks than the industrialized nations. Policy makes have a challenge of making a policy that will ensure equality between these societies. Inequality issue is a major concern as those nations that contribute less to these effects are the ones at risk of being doomed by this pandemic. Poor nations have a larger burden to combat the effects of the climate change. Health issues and implementation of policies in these nations is a major concern as there are many limitations (UNDP, 2008). Economy is not spared by these effects. Many people especially the farming societies are unable to produce their agricultural products effectively. Changes in temperature have led to situations such as floods and droughts. These factors lead to reduced food production. This has an effect on the prices of agricultural products because their prices will be higher. There are adverse health effects on the health of people who are victims of climatic change such as pollution. The cost of health care shoots up as a result and at times this may strain personal and national budgets. If people are not healthy after their well being is compromised by the climate change effects, they are unable to work having an effect on the economy. This can have an effect on food production as well increasing the cost of food products. Coastal areas in some nations have been damaged by these effects having an influence on fish and other sea food production. Recreational areas and parks have been lost in some areas through the adverse effects of the climate change. Increased costs are being witnessed in many places across the globe because of these effects. The funds that would have otherwise been used for other purposes are spent on the effects of climate change. Many studies have been done on the effects of climate change. The main objective of these studies is to find out if there are actual effects of climate change or it’s just a myth. Nowadays, there are many natural disasters occurring in practically all corners of the globe. Careful studies have shown that these disasters are caused by changes in the atmospheric temperature. The carbon emitted by industries and other sources such as vehicles is absorbed by the earth’s surface warming it. There is an increase in temperature as a result and this is what causes the natural disasters with time. Glaciers of many mountains around the world are drying because of the increased temperatures leading to water shortage. Insecurity is one of the threats that will be caused by continued climate change effects. In future, people will move from their homelands due to adverse effects of climate change. Since most people are expected to move illegally, more funds will be required to tighten border security. Some key facilities for instance defense are located near the ocean or by the sea. Due to the rising levels of the sea as a result of melting of glaciers, these facilities will have to be relocated. Some people are in the risk of being killed by the rising levels of ocean. Small islands may be submerged by the rising waters and therefore these people will have to look for alternative homes. Of course they will have to migrate to other areas where they might cause pressure to the environment. Climate change sparked the need to mitigate the effects associated with this pandemic. Most governments are strategizing on the ways of conserving the environment and mitigating the effects related to climate change. Policies have been made through partnerships between several governments. The main objective is to come up with clean energy, save endangered animal species, curb climate change and its effects and to reduce the costs incurred. This can be achieved through several ways. Production of green or clean energy would play a pivotal role in reducing the effects of climate change. Renewable energy is gaining popularity in many nations around the world. This is with the realization that the effects of climate change are adverse and they can not be reversed if they exceed the threshold level. These forms of energy produce less or no emissions to the atmosphere decreasing health risks and threat to the economy and social systems. Some byproducts of green energy production are carbon negative and would help in the reduction of carbon in the atmosphere. It is possible to reverse the effects of climate change if carbon in the atmosphere can be reduced. Sustainable development policies can be made and implemented to reduce the effects of climate change. Taxation on the use of carbon emitters such as the carbon taxation policy has proved to be very effective. Since most industries would not like to incur a lot of expenditures on taxes because of using fossil fuels, they are turning to other sources of energy for instance the renewable energy. Adaptation of this policy is vital in the reduction of emissions to the atmosphere. The government can also be involved in the implementation of policies. They can dictate on how policies can be made and enforced. However, the government has to strategize properly as this has proved futile in most areas. Policies have been made by the coming together of the world’s industrialized nations which are the largest emitters of green house gases. The Kyoto protocol is one policy that was made by coming together of these nations. The main aim of this protocol is to monitor the levels of emission in the nations of the world. This follows three mechanisms namely emission trading, clean development mechanism and joint implementation. This protocol does not only encourage industrialized nations to stabilize the green house gases emission but also commits these nations to adapting these measures (Kyoto protocol, 1997). If these goals are strategized properly, they can be easily achieved. The environment would be more sustainable and so would be the economy and the social systems. Cost of energy and health care would reduce drastically. Since there would be low or no emissions, the health of people would not be compromised. Healthy people would spend less on health care and they would also ensure increased production of food. This would play a major role in the reduction of food prices and the other costs associated with climate change would not be incurred. Environmentalists have been on the look out to ensure that the environment is conserved and used properly. Bad management and misuse of the environment led to climate change. This made the environmentalists to raise alarm and advocate for the conservation of the environment. They came up with different approaches of curbing these effects. The main principle however was good management of the environment. One of the major approaches is the integrated synergistic approach. This approach is based on the maximum utilization of facilities, raw materials and the waste materials. This approach increases environment conservation, reduces environmental and societal costs at the same time meeting the demand of the population (National Institute of Building Sciences, 2009). In this approach, two facilities can be set up near each other. One produces a certain product and the waste is passed on to the other facility where another product can be made from waste. Nowadays, some fuels for instance the bio fuels are produced this way. Bio fuels are mostly produced from waste materials like the biomass. These fuels are important in the realization of sustainable environment. They are renewable and they do not emit any green house gases and little if any. Environmentalists advocate for making of strong sustainable polices which can be implemented with ease. Sustainability policies can be made to ensure sustainable development. These policies are aimed at reducing the effects of green house gases for sustainable environment. Several policies have been made with the agreement of the nations that are considered as the most emitters of the green houses. The global carbon tax and the regulatory changes policies are examples of the policies made in a quest to reduce the green house gases emissions. Improved energy efficiency would also be realized as a result of implementation of these policies.       Taxation on the carbon dioxide has made many industries to look for other means of producing energy for their usage. Some of these alternatives include the use of renewable sources of energy for instance the solar energy and bio fuels. Regulation of the usage of some fuels would play a pivotal role in the reduction of green house gases. However, there are difficulties in enacting these laws as they are capable of leading to undesired consequences. Sometimes the governments dictate the usage of some fuels through some policies. Dictated policies have proved futile in their implementation and so these policies would be difficult to enact. Many economic issues that are common in this era of fossil fuels would be a thing of the past. Reduced costs of energy production would be of great help as the funds saved can be used for other purposes. In the approach by the environmentalists, there would be a good management of waste as most of it would be used for production of other products. Recycling would also be an effective method of good management of wastes produced. Less effects of climate change would lead to increased production of food products and reduction in their prices. Some areas which have been lost because of the climate change effects can be recovered like the recreational areas. Industries would have a new approach in the management of waste materials and production of renewable energy. This would have little or no harm to the environment and to humans. If only industries were to be involved in these approaches, the world would be a better place to live in. Also, innovations would be made in most of these industries. Industries would be able to embrace new technologies in way that they would be able to mitigate the common effects of climate change. It is encouraging that this trend is already being used in some areas especially in the production of bio fuels. New technologies on the extraction of oils and sugars from plants have already been utilized in the production of these fuels. The goals of environmentalists are conservation of the environment and to see to it that the environment is managed properly. These factors have in the past caused a conflict of interest between the environment, the government and industrialists. Most industrialists are insensitive about the environment as they do not manage the environment as required. Others dispose their wastes any how leading to pollution of the environment. Nowadays, the relationship between the government and the environmentalists is strengthening as the government has realized the importance of the environment. In most nations, governments have been supporting the environmentalists by funding them. This has made the environmentalists to achieve some of their goals through the mass awareness programs being organized all over the world. A lot needs to be done to mitigate the effects of climate change. If this issue is not addressed accordingly, our future generations might as well be doomed. There are several approaches in which this can be achieved. It is the responsibility of every one to follow the policies made on the reduction of climate change effects. The Kyoto protocol guidelines should be embraced by all nations. This can only be achieved if all people take responsibility in their day to day chores. Viable policies on environment have to made and implemented if climate change effects have to be reduced. Most nations are losing billions of dollars alone to effects related to climate change and it would be of great help if policies are made and implemented accordingly. Strategic awareness programs should be organized around the world. Environment programs can also be introduced in institutions of higher learning as this would help the future generations in acknowledging the importance of the environment. If everyone knew the importance of the environment through the awareness programs, climate change effects would be drastically reduced. Conclusion Climate change effects are being felt around the world. The consequences are not pleasant to the economy, social systems and the environment. There is great need therefore to address these issues if we have to live in harmony with our environment. All stake holders have to be involved accordingly if this goal has to be achieved. If only every one acknowledged the importance of this and played his/ her role accordingly, this would not be a problem any more. References United Nations Development Program. (2008). 'Fighting climate change—human solidarity in a divided world'. UNDP. Parliament of Australia: department of the parliamentary library. 2009. Effects of climate change. Retrieved on 12th September 2009 from, http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/ClimateChange/effects/effects.htm UNFCCC. 1997. Kyoto protocol. Retrieved on 12th September 2009 from, http://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/items/2830.php Read More