Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Energy Consumption by Power Source - Coursework Example

Name: Tutor: Title: Course: Date: Abstract This proposition focuses on carbon emissions in the atmosphere, role of carbon on climate change particularly oceanic variability. The objective of this analysis is to propose ways through which oceanic variability could be stabilized through management of global carbon emissions. This is important because oceans play a central role in the ecosystem such that if the seas are altered through climate change, there will be far reaching implications on the equilibrium. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change-IPCC (2007) indicates that of the global greenhouse emissions, carbon compounds (methane and carbon dioxide) take the largest part in the global scale. Precisely, carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuel stand at 57%, deforestation and decay of biomass at 17%, and 3% from other sources. On the other hand, methane gas emission was established to be 14% at the global scale (Figure 1.1). These findings therefore prove that carbon is a major contributor to global warming hence the ocean variability. If the carbon emission could be stabilized, then the challenges we face in the ocean could be mitigated for a sustainable coastal ecosystem as well as sustaining the socio-economic life of the people on the Earth. Introduction Climate change is a serious global challenge. Atmospheric greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations have increased significantly from pre‐industrial levels as a result of human activities. Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice, and rising global average sea level (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 2007). Studies show that carbon emission plays a major role in increasing the greenhouse effect. Carbon is released in the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide and methane. Major sources of carbon are from burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, agricultural activities and wastes decay. Figure 1.1 Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Gas Green house gases do not interfere to any great extent with the incoming solar energy. But once that energy is directed on the Earth’s surface, it is absorbed, warms the land and ocean surface of the planet, and then is re-emitted. The amount of heat re-emitted and eventually lost to space must equal the amount gained from the sun if the temperature of the planet is to remain constant. The greenhouse gases interfere with the so-called terrestrial energy streams, which have longer wavelength than the incoming solar energy as the earth is cooler than the sun. The greenhouse gases absorb the outgoing terrestrial energy thereby trapping it near the earth’s surface and causing even more warming (Oliver et.al 2013). How Global Warming affect oceanic variability Global warming has affected oceans in several ways. For instance, sea levels and coastlines, ocean acidification and ocean currents, sea water, sea surface temperatures, the sea floor, weather, all of which have effects on the functioning of the society. Coasts The rise in sea levels and thermal expansion of sea water as well as the melting of glaciers and ice sheets occur as a result of many factors. Cazenave and Llovel (2010) examine that bout 30% of the sea level rises has overtime been due to the thermal expansion, while 55% are caused by continental ice melt, and due to warming global temperatures. From the melting glaciers and ice sheets point of view, global warming can be seen to have an enormous impact. Slivka (2012) notes that higher global temperatures melt the glaciers, for instance, in Greenland and this cause it to flow into the oceans, and thus raising the amount of seawater. Therefore, a high rise within the global sea levels causes many threats to human activities. Titus (1989) examines that “such a rise would make the coastal wetlands and lowlands to flood, increasing the erode effects on beaches and other risks associated with flooding as well as cause high salinity of estuaries, aquifers, and wetlands. Studies show that frequent rise within the sea level along the coastal regions affects the habitats and inhabitants in several ways. For example, rise in sea level causes a serious impact on beaches yet this is a place where humans visit time and again for recreational purposes. Beaches are also significant places or location for real estate. However, the threat associated with the rising sea level has made the property owners as well as the local government to be ready for the worst. Maine is such one important place that has enacted a policy which declares that shorefront buildings must be shifted to enable beaches and wetlands to leave inland to higher ground” (Titus 1989). Wetlands is also a threat resulting from the rising of sea level that take place along the margins of estuaries as well as other shore regions that are protected from the harm of open ocean such as swamps, tidal flats, coastal marshes and bayous (Trujillo & Thurman 2005). Furthermore, the rise in sea level largely affects the supply of fresh water to human beings residing the place. Titus (1989) clearly states that “Raising in sea level increases the salinity of not only surface water, but also ground water in the form of salt water intrusion”, coastal estuaries and aquifers. The water in these regions becomes too saline due to rising sea levels. Areas like along the Atlantic and the Gulf coasts will become uninhabitable caused by rising sea levels and decreasing amounts of fresh water. A number of economists argue that global warming will become one of the main economic threats to West Coast, especially in California. In particular, low-lying coastal areas like along the Gulf Coast, are considered to be vulnerable to the effects of sea-level rise as well as stronger storms-and the risks are indirectly faced in the rising insurance rates or premiums (Coplin 2009). Ocean currents The changing latitudes of the Earth make the temperature to vary which in turn leads to currents within the world’s oceans. On the other hand, global warming disrupts such currents when the oceans are warmed, causing subsequent melting of glaciers as well as the polar ice caps. As a result, fresher water is forced into the high latitude region, places where deep water is created. It should be noted that the extra water contaminates the contents of the water flowing from the lower latitudes, and thus lowering the density of the surface water. This clearly explains the reason as to why the water sinks slowly than it is normally expected (Roach 2005). According to Trujillo and Thurman (2008), ocean currents offer the necessary nutrients needed for life particularly in the lower latitudes. This suggests that if the currents slow down, it means that fewer nutrients would be made accessible to sustain ocean life. Over and above, such condition will mean crumbling of food chain and causing severe damage to the marine ecosystem. It is also necessary to point out that slower currents would not cause much carbon fixation because oceans are perceived to be the naturally the largest sinks through which carbon is stored. This implies that saturation of water with carbon will make the excess carbon have no exit as it would be clear that currents are not activated to move enough fresh water to clean the excess. All these conditions lead to a rise in the atmospheric carbon, resulting in positive feedback that can minimize the effect of greenhouse (Canadell, et al 2007). Ocean acidification Ocean acidification is considered a major factor effecting global warming. Basically, when the ocean and the atmosphere continuously struggle to maintain a state of equilibrium, it means that a rise within atmospheric carbon will naturally cause a rise in the oceanic carbon. This implies that dissolving carbon in water will give in return, hydrogen and bicarbonate ions that decomposes to form hydrogen and carbonate ions (Trujillo and Thurman 2008). Furthermore, the hydrogen leads to high acidity of the ocean into addition to making survival harder for underprivileged that frequently use calcium carbonate to form their shells. They will also suffer a decrease in food supply. If photosynthetic organisms found at the surface of the oceans are controlled, it means that less carbon will be changed to oxygen, and thus allowing the greenhouse gases to increase. Sea floor The ocean floor has diverse sediments varying in their origin. One such sediment are the biogenous material which was developed from the hard parts of sea animals living at the bottom of the sea. Changes in climate, for instance, global warming causes an effect on the sea floor. In the presence of the greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide, this warming will affect the bicarbonate buffer of the ocean, yet this keeps the acidity of the ocean (Tripati 2012). Addition of carbon to the ocean water makes the ocean more acidic. Acidic conditions lead to easier dissolving of the calcium cells of plank tonic organisms. High ocean temperatures increase the greenhouse gas and methane in the atmosphere. For example, methane gas is released in form of methane hydrate, frozen methane and water and all these occupy the ocean floor. When the ocean warming takes place, therefore, the methane hydrate will eventually melt to release methane gas, and thus contributing to global warming. It is also important to note that high water temperature will as well cause a devastating effect on the various oceanic ecosystems such as, coral reefs. Studies show that the direct effect is what is referred to as the coral bleaching of the reefs. This survives only in a narrow temperature margin, which clearly indicates that any slight increase in temperature would cause drastic effects within such environments. Research shows that the bleaching of corals is as a result of the coral loosing 60-90% of its zooxanthellae caused by various stressors, where ocean temperature is considered as one of the major factors. This implies that long prolonged bleaching will make the coral host to die (University of Wyoming 2004). How can carbon emissions be managed? From the discussion above, it is clear that the ocean is an important part of the ecosystem. As such, it demands measures to be undertaken to protect the oceans if sustainability is to be achieved. Therefore, by managing the emissions of greenhouse gases, we shall be making successful steps towards protecting the oceans. Carbon emissions are manageable as evidenced by a decrease in global CO2 emissions (Oliver, et al. 2013). In 2012, the emissions increased by only 1.1% (including a downward correction of 0.3% for it being a leap year), which is less than half of the average annual increase of 2.9% seen over the last decade. Therefore, global warming can be managed through switching to low-carbon energy sources which include the renewable and nuclear energy. In addition, forests should be expanded as well as other “sinks” to minimize the amounts of carbon dioxide exhausted in the atmosphere (IPCC 2007). Energy consumption by power source To create lasting climate change mitigation, the replacement of high carbon emission intensity power sources, such as conventional fossil fuels-oil, coal and natural gas- with low-carbon power source is required. Presently fossil fuels supply humanity with the vast majority of our energy demands, and at a growing rate. In 2012 the International Energy Agency conducted a research and found that in the past decades, coal has been the most used energy, greatly used as compared to other renewable energy sources. Both hydroelectricity and nuclear power together provide a majority of the generated low-carbon power fraction of global total power consumption (IEA 2012). Use of renewable energy IEA (2012) notes that “A steady increase in hydropower and the rapid expansion of wind and solar power has cemented the position of renewable as an indispensable part of the global energy mix; by 2035, renewable account for almost one-third of total electricity output.” The use of wind, tidal, geothermal power and solar energy sources will reduce the amount of carbon emissions to a great extent hence help to mitigate the climatic changes in ocean variability. Other means as proposed by IPCC (2007) are energy conservation, encouraging fuel economy in the use of automobiles by utilizing electric hybrids as well as charging plug-in hybrids, considering to change lifestyle at individual level (Kahn et al 2007), and changing business practices Conclusion It is evident that global warming which is mostly caused by greenhouse gas emission has a direct impact on ocean variability. As this paper has discussed, oceans form an important part of our socio-economic lives thereby requiring proper maintenance if sustainability is to be achieved. To achieve stable oceanic conditions, therefore, it means that carbon levels within the atmosphere must be stabilized by way of reducing emissions of carbon through use of renewable energy sources, use of low-carbon generating power sources like nuclear energy, as well as changing business processes among other mitigating means. By so doing we shall have a sustainable ocean and global environment for us and generations to come. List of references Canadell, J., Quere, M., Raupach, C., 2007, ‘Is the ocean carbon sink sinking?’ Real Climate, 1 September, Available at: [20 August 2014]. Cazenave, A. & Llovel, W., 2010, Contemporary Sea Level Rise, Ann. Rev. Mar. Sci., 2, 145-173 DOI:10.1146/annualrev-marine-120308-081105 Coplin, K., 2009, ‘How Climate Change Will Affect Home Value: Essential Answer,’ Stanford Alumni, September/October 2009, Available at: [20 August 2014]. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2007, Fourth Assessment Report (AR4), p.30, Available at: [20-08-2014] International Energy Agency, 2012, World Energy Outlook, Available at: [20 August 2014]. Kahn, R., et al., 2007, “Ch 5: Transport and its infrastructure”, Non-motorized transport (NMT), in: Sec 5.3.1.5 Road transport: mode shifts, in IPCC AR4SYR 2007. Roach, J., 2005, “Global warming may alter Atlantic currents, study says, National Geographic News, 27 June”, Available at: August 2014]. Slivka, K., 2012, ‘Rare Burst of Melting Ice Sheet’, New York Times, 24 July. Available at: [20 August 2014]. Titus, J., 1989, The Potential Effects of Global Climate Change on the United States. Report to Congress. Washington, D.C.:U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. EPA 230-05-89-052, Available at: [20 August 2014]. Tripati, A., 2012, Lab 5-Ocean pH, Ocean pH Reading, E&SSCI15-1, UCLA. Trujillo, A & Thurman, H., 2005, Essentials of Oceanography (8th ed.), New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc., p.335. Trujillo, A & Thurman, H., 2008, Essentials of Oceanography (9th ed.), New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc., p.336. University of Wyoming, 2004, ‘Ocean Floor Reveals Clues to Global Warming,’ Science Daily, January, Available at: [20 August 2014]. Oliver, JGJ, Janssens-Maenhout, G., Muntean, M. & Peters, J., 2013, Trends in global CO2 emissions; 2013 Report, The Hague: PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency; Ispra: Joint Research Centre. Read More