Environmental Politics - Essay Example

Global Warming Introduction Global warming represents global environmental issue many researchers, scientists and politicians are concerned with. Thepreventive measures are the top priority of the government of many countries. The issue is worth-discussing, thus the given work will be focused on the problems caused by global warming and its possible causes. Many experts claim that global warming is the issue, which represents a real threat for human life, flora and fauna. “A growing body of literature is pointing to the emergence of a range of non-nation state actors, such as multinational companies, carbon trading and offset organizations, and global cities that have entered this policy arena and have developed their own initiatives and approaches to addressing this [global warming] issue” (Schroeder 2009). Thus, the preventive measures against the phenomenon under consideration are being developing by global community. Global warming is a widely discussed topic. There are many scientific works, which discuss the phenomenon and its consequences. Some scientists recognize the fact of global warming, while a great part considers the issue to be a myth. The change of climate on the planet is evident, but the question is if it can be called “global warming”. Thus, the theory of global warning is rather controversial. According to the web research results, the phenomenon under consideration seems rather a myth than reality and the myths about it are created by press. Mass media creates false representation of global warming. In 1990s very few experts believed in this phenomenon. Cook argues: “scientific skepticism is healthy. In fact, science by its very nature is skeptical. Genuine skepticism means considering the full body of evidence before coming to a conclusion. However, when you take a close look at arguments expressing climate ‘skepticism’, what you often observe is cherry picking of pieces of evidence while rejecting any data that don’t fit the desired picture. This isn’t skepticism. It is ignoring facts and the science” (Cook). Many countries signed Kyoto protocol in addition to Framework Convention on Climate Change, but it did not mean that the points of it were fully accepted and followed. Framework Convention on Climate Change is the agreement signed by more than 180 countries of the world including all the countries of the former USSR and all the developed countries. The document is about the common principles of the countries’ activity on the issue of climate change. The Convention was accepted in 1992 and came into force on March 21, 1994. Famous Kyoto protocol was signed in 1997 as an addition to Framework Convention on Climate Change. According to it, all the countries should reduce the greenhouse gases emissions. This was done due to the fact that “the currently favored hypothesis of dangerous global warming includes the presumption that the late 20th century warming was substantially caused by human emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide” (Carter, 2001, p.62). There are many different myths around the issue of global warming. They appear first of all due to the corresponding governmental activity. It is not proved that industrial activity represents the main reason of global warming. However, many bureaucrats want to impose corresponding taxes on the activity in order to gain profit. (McFarland, 2009). Thus, global warming is sometimes considered to be an invention of. bureaucrats to gain more profit intimidating the global community. Now people can check the climate shift and its consequences themselves with the help of interactive map (fig. 1). On the map everybody can find his place of residence and make the conclusion about the change of weather in order to prevent false facts distribution. According to the some scientists, it is necessary to make investments in negative consequences of such phenomenon as global warming. Carbon Capture and Storage Industry in Australia decided to advance the condition of storage in accordance with Australian Guide and the IOGCC Guide. It is possible to reduce expenses for storage and make public consider global warming prevention in case if the consequences of global warming cause any harm (Rodenhouse, et al 2009). The governments of some states also consider the positive impact of global warming. For example, agricultural sector in southern Canada can benefit from the phenomenon under consideration. Therefore, the efforts should be taken in order to resolve the problems connected with global warming in every country individually. The main thing is to provide the ecosystem’s safety to prevent undesirable effect as the positive impact of global warming is also very: “to claim that global warming will be good for humanity is to turn a blind eye to the many negative impacts. The most common argument along these lines is that carbon dioxide is ‘plant food’, implying that CO emissions are a good thing. This ignores the fact that plants rely on more than CO to survive. The “CO fertilizer” effect is limited and will be quickly overwhelmed by the negative effects of heat stress and drought, which are expected to increase in the future” (Cook). Different countries treat the problem of global warming differently. Since the end of the 1980s when the problem of global warming became the one of the main concerns of the global community, Japan took an active part in finding the solution for it. It is not surprising as the vulnerability to natural catastrophes, lack of natural resources formed the respectful, thrifty attitude to nature, the eagerness to economize the resources. According to the interrogations held in the middle of 2000 87% of interrogated Japanese put the care about the environmental protection on the first place. Now Japan represents the country with advanced ecological awareness. The president Barack Obama presented his own plan on the struggle with climate change. He considers the problem of global warming to be very serious: “unless and until we do more to combat carbon pollution that causes climate change, this trend is going to get worse” (cited in Obama Takes Another Step Toward Reducing Actions Blamed For Global Warming) The head of the United States proposed to introduce the limitations on the carbonic dioxide emissions as well as to increase the use of renewable resources of energy. Besides, Obama approved the construction of the oil pipelines between the USA and Canada, Keystone XL. “Obama will also renew his appeal for Congress to end $4 billion a year in subsidies to the oil and gas industry and urge lawmakers to establish a $2 billion "energy security trust" to support development of advanced vehicles that run on electricity, homegrown biofuels, hydrogen, and domestically produced natural gas” (Obama Takes Another Step Toward Reducing Actions Blamed For Global Warming). Conclusion Now global warming represents one of the most widely discussed themes. Much attention is paid to it in literature and press. Notwithstanding that many resources consider global warming to be a myth, the governments of the majority of the world’s countries take care in order to prevent the negative consequences of this phenomenon. Public awareness about the issue should be improved as the false facts provided by mass media prevent people from turning to real information provided by scientific research. It is necessary for media and scientists to work collaboratively in order to make people aware about the real problem and real threat: “over the past century, drought severity has increased globally and is predicted to intensify in the future. Plants cannot take advantage of extra CO if they’re dying of thirst. There are many climate change impacts that have no positive aspects. Between 18 to 35% of plant and animal species could be committed to extinction by 2050. Oceans are absorbing much of the CO in the air, which leads to ocean acidification. This is predicted to have severe destabilising effects on the entire oceanic food-chain, on top of the negative effects of coral bleaching from warming waters” (Cook). The truth can be revealed only by scientific research and definite confirmed facts. The conclusion can be made that the majority of the states take the same strategic measures. The most important measure is the reduction of greenhouse gases emission. The second not less important step is the protection of flora and fauna. The third essential measure is the improvement of ecosystem safety. The issue of global warming should be paid special attention not only by the government but by the whole community: “to date, most analysis has focused on the role of nation-states in the design, promotion, and implementation of various "post-2012" policy architectures and instruments” (Schroeder, 2009). Therefore, global warming represents one of the most important serious problems of the modern world and the investigators, scientists, politicians and economists should focus on developing global warming prevention measures. Fig 1 (Extreme Weather Map 2012) Works cited Kulshreshtha, S. N. “Climate Change, Prairie Agriculture, and Prairie Economy”. Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics 59, 2011: 19–44. Logan, T. J. “Carbon Down Under-Lessons from Australia: Two Recommendations for Clarifying Subsurface Property Rights to Facilitate Onshore Geologic Carbon Sequestration in the United States”. San Diego Intl L.J. 561, 2009-2010: 562-598. McFarland, Jeffrey M. "Warming Up to Climate Change Risk Disclosure." Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law 14.2 (2009): 281+.  Rodenhouse, N. L., Christenson, L.M., Parry,D., Green, L.E. “Climate Change Effects on Native Fauna of Northeastern Forests”. Can. J. For. Res. 39, 2009: 249-263. Schroeder, Heike, and Harriet Bulkeley. "Global Cities and the Governance of Climate Change: What Is the Role of Law in Cities?" Fordham Urban Law Journal 36.2, 2009: 313+.  Carter, R.M. “The Myth of Dangerous Human-Caused Climate Change.” The AusIMM New Leaders’ Conference, 2 May 2007. Web. 03 November 2011. Robinson, Arthur B. & Zachary W. Robinson. “Global Warming Is a Myth.” The Wall Street Journal, 4 Dec 1997. Web. 03 November 2011. Obama Takes Another Step Toward Reducing Actions Blamed For Global Warming. accessed March 6, 2014 at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/18/obama-fuel-standards_n_4807138.html Extreme Weather Map 2012 accessed March 6, 2014 accessed March 6, 2014 at http://www.nrdc.org/health/extremeweather/ Cook, John. The Scientific Guide to Global Warming Skepticism. scepticalscience.com Read More