Changes Prevailing in Global Environment - Essay Example

One of the most discussed issues of recent times has been the changes prevailing in global environment. It is high time that every one should understand their responsibility in creating a better environment, both for the present and future. It is necessary to understand how each action taken by us bears a consequence on the environment and in turn, how the changes affect us. Loss of biodiversity, scarcity in supply of fresh water, ozone depletion and drastic changes in climate has a direct effect on human health. Adding to this, global warming has already affected many lives and poses to endanger many more in the future, if failed to act. The governing bodies all over the world are in need of having a new perspective on this depleting ecosystem, to preserve it, to provide long term good health for all the people, all over the world. The continued stability of the life supporting systems of the biosphere weighs heavily on the actions taken by the government. With temperatures rising everyday and with pollution going overboard, it is time for the UK government to start taking steps to minimize the rate of depletion, the environment is going through. Thereby, a better future can be ensured in the coming years. What is environmental change? Environmental changes refer to the drastic change taking place in air, water, climate and other natural activities, globally. Though climate change has been widely acknowledged, there is still an uncertainty on how large and how fast the predicted effects will be on the environment. Several events in the recent past such as the hurricane Katrina in South Atlantic and the heat waves which took hundreds of lives in Europe, certainly raised questions over stability of climate. All of these cannot be attributed only to climate change. But certainly, it becomes the frontrunner when these events are predicted to occur more in future. Global warming Global warming is the main cause for the climate change happening all over the world. Upon closely scrutinizing the available data on climate, it clearly indicates that there is a rapid increase in temperature over the past decade. From the beginning of twentieth century, earth’s surface temperature has increased to 1.4oF (0.7oC) and in this, about 0.9oF (0.5oC) has occurred since 1978. This striking increase in temperature is definitely due to global warming which is further pronounced with the emission of green house gases and air pollution. Global warming is further pronounced with the depletion of ozone layer. It has resulted in the penetration of UV rays into earth and thereby causing damages to human health causing skin diseases. Greenhouse effect happens because of gases being trapped by certain gases in the atmosphere. The above figure (National academic Reports, 2006) indicates one point of view of how the green house gases increase the surface temperature. The green house gases, Carbon Dioxide and Chloro Fluro Carbons when released into air, cause warming of the earth which evaporates the ocean water. But the fact that water vapour itself is a green house gas adds to global warming. A large quantity of water vapour acts as a blanket which covers the earth. This in turn shields the sunlight entering into earth and thereby cools the temperature on earth. Whereas less vapour, increases the temperature further more. Temperature acts as one of the critical characteristic for climate in identifying the distribution effects in physical and biological systems. Contemporary effects of Climate change The changes taking place in climate is likely to pose huge differences in natural resources and assets of different countries. It is one of the key factors to determine the characteristics of natural systems which include the biosphere, agriculture, forestry, terrestrial biological systems and water resources. Climate changes are known to influence the distribution and abundance patterns of both plants and animals, due to the physiological constraints of each species. Melting Glaciers Apart from aspects which are based upon climate, there are non climatic criterions which affect the environmental systems. These include degradation of land, deforestation, pollution in air, soil and water and last but not least, urbanization. These factors act independently or together to affect the ecological systems directly or indirectly through climate. The mountains, ice covers glaciers, and springs which form a part of the cryosphere are on the verge of shrinking due to the warming. The observed decline in glaciers was larger in last century than 5000 years before. Most of the old ice shelves which persisted for several hundred years have started to collapse. It is becoming consistent and also enhanced with global warming. The sea levels keep on rising and there has been an increased rock fall since the summer of 2003. Cracks on earth have become wider with sudden earthquakes looming large in several countries. These observed effects due to changes in cryosphere include enhanced winter seasons, modifications of rivers, decrease in the time taken to travel through frozen roads in Arctic, sea level rise changes in livelihoods, decrease in tourism, glacier hazards and instability of mountains and solid rocks. An ample example An example of recessing glaciers can be provided with the Chacaltaya glacier, Bolivia. It had the highest skiing station in the world. There is an increased emergency of catastrophic floods in near future due to ice break up. Due to global warming, the glaciers started melting in the 90’s and now it has lost its only skiing site. The dramatic changes that took place in that region are shown below. Areal extent of Chacaltaya Glacier, Bolivia, from 1940 to 2005 (IPCC, 2007). By 2005, the glacier had separated into three distinct small bodies. The position of the ski hut, which did not exist in 1940, is indicated with a red cross. The ski lift covered a major portion of the glacier, as indicated with a continuous line. The original location of the ski lift in 1940 is indicated with a segmented line in subsequent epochs. Certainly no better evidence could be given to show global warming and its effects. Effects on natural resources In marine and fresh water systems, climate changes have impacted on distribution of species due to rising sea water temperature. Coral reefs, which are the basic source of income for many lives are under huge threat. They hugely depend on the oxygen present in the oceans. When the temperature rises, the oxygen level in oceans get reduced causing damage to coral reefs. This is further aggravated with over fishing and pollution. Changes in temperature are definitely affecting the functions of marine water and ecosystems. In the case of plants and animals, their existence hugely depends upon the climatic and environmental conditions. The seasonal activities of plants and animals are undergoing a major change. The ripening of fruits is happening earlier than expected, the migrating birds are returning early to their hive and many small animals have shortened their hibernating period so that they could breed earlier Agriculture and forestry depends heavily on climate and environment. But there is little evidence showing the effect of climate change in these fields. This is because of the development of technology in producing high quality food products and efficient management practices. Danger to human health The human health and its adaptation to climate changes have become vulnerable with lot of fatal incidents resulting in loss of human lives. This includes the heat wave that swept across Europe in 2003. Winter conditions incurred only less damage since many have acclimatized themselves to cold conditions. Pollen and dust related diseases, flood and water borne diseases have an increased impact on human health in recent years. Due to natural floods and calamities, the expenditures spent on recovery have gone past the expected economy levels leaving several countries in a tantalizing situation. Supply of Energy Energy consumption has raised twice as much as it was in previous decade. With increase in technological equipments and devices, the use of energy to do each and every work is almost inevitable. It has become an integral part of our day to day living. This has resulted in adverse effect on natural resources. Most of energy resources are depleting consistently. It could lead to the use of nuclear energy. Nuclear energy is surely the answer to the ever increasing consumption of energy but it actually has the capability to destroy the environment and has several side effects which could pose a threat to human life. Mitigation of climate change Clearly, environmental changes are the consequences of changes in climate, which in turn is the result of the non climatic factors. Pollution, changes in land-use, changes in human habitat and demographic shifts are all those that act along with climate, the non climatic factors imparting environmental change. So, in order to protect the environment and minimize the loss of resources, these non climatic factors have to be properly managed and used efficiently. Several policies have been formed in order to regulate the use of external and natural resources. Practically, how a system or government handles the current climate risks, provides a basis for adapting to environmental change. As a step taken to mitigate climate change, the UK government passed a bill on climate change in March 2007. As the initial step towards the long term goal, the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) has been created to control emissions before 2050. Despite its actions there are certain principles to be followed by the government, ringing in some effective mitigation policies in different sectors of the society. Things to consider Mitigation measures for climate change must be made by the government with short term goals in order to achieve mid-term and long-term goals which would serve for decades to come. While the measures are formed, the irreversible nature of certain aspects of environment needed to be taken into account before any action is done so that time and cost could be saved. The use of existing technologies and the rate of global diffusion determine how efficient and effective the mitigation measures will be in the next 50 years. Mitigation policies for climate change The European Union has taken several steps in the past to combat climate change, performing key roles in the signing up of pacts and policies like the 1992 United Nations framework Convention on Climate Change and its Kyoto Protocol (1997). The stabilization of the greenhouse gases in atmosphere for the next 20 to 30 years requires implications which go beyond the agreements made in the Kyoto Protocol. The expenditure involved in reducing greenhouse gases is expensive but also comes with an added advantage of mitigating climate change. So the cost spent for controlling climate change can be used efficiently. A policy can be established to stabilize greenhouse gases by specifying a price for each unit of carbon released through greenhouse emissions. Thereby, the society of producers and investors could benefit from developing technologies which emit minimal amount of greenhouse gases. This mitigation policy could stabilize the concentration of greenhouse gases over the next 50 years. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has launched a campaign ‘Plant for the Planet’ through which they have determined to plant one billion trees each year. The UK government can take steps to promote this campaign in order to achieve this target. Afforestation helps in mitigating the climate changes and the amount of Carbon dioxide present in atmosphere could be reduced by a slight percentage. This ensures efficient functioning of the market with all sectors benefiting as well as contributing to mitigation efforts. The lifestyle of human beings plays a larger role in avoiding these ramifications. Severe laws have to be passed on excessive and unnecessary use of power and water. Currently, people have got more comfortable with the usage of air conditioners and refrigerators, the main culprits of greenhouse gas emissions. The UK government should strive for developing a ‘low-carbon economy’, where the use of air conditioners and refrigerators become eco-friendly. It should also take notice about the ineffective market taxes and subsidies. Proper education about climate changes and its effects should be given in schools and institutions. Instilling changes in consumer behaviour and cultural patterns can work towards mitigating environmental changes. Public should be made aware of the benefits of using the public transport rather than individual automobiles. Role of Science and the UK Government: Mitigation measures for climate change can be done through several sectors of the society. Energy: Investments in energy infrastructures to improve the energy producing as well as energy consuming equipments can help reduce green house emissions. Using technology and next generation equipments which uses eco-friendly fuels can create opportunities to control the emissions in the coming years. Nuclear power with safety constraints and renewable energy sources does sound promising for a better future if implemented in a proactive manner. Transport: As briefed in lifestyle, transport facilities must have to opt for automobile that run on solar power. Technology, can act both for and against transport. The government can take steps in promoting the use of unleaded petrol which is pollution free and does not cause any harm to the society. Though the innovation of pollution free cars help in controlling emissions, the unstoppable advancement of other sectors have conflicted with the mitigation policies of this field. Industry: Though the mitigation policies when implied in this sector are financially constrained, it is all the more effective than in any other field. Since industries account for large part of environmental pollution, steps taken to produce machineries which use renewable sources of energies are more in favour of society. Agriculture: Practices involving less Methane and Nitrous oxide consumption can be more valuable with using soils that store carbon inside them. Increase in cultivation of rice and other products which reduce emission of Nitrous oxide should be encouraged with the government providing adequate incentives. Buildings: Buildings which are to be constructed and old ones should be provided with eco-friendly hard wares which consume less energy and cause harm to the atmosphere. These hard wares include lights, air conditioners, coolers, heaters etc. Providing these products at affordable rates is the sole responsibility of the government. Wastes: The after consumption wastes consists of both decomposable products as well as non decomposable products. The latter could well act as sufficient source for polluting the environment. It is the responsibility of the government to use innovative technologies which reuses the wastes, benefiting the society. Plastics act as a cover on the soil. They do not decompose and does not allow air to enter into the soil. This reduces the strength of solid particles on earth surface. Use of plastics should be strictly prohibited by people. They should be educated about the disastrous effects of plastic on climate. Strict laws have to be passed. Recycling provides important mitigation benefits for the society in controlling changes and providing a healthy environment for the people. Role of Media in voicing public opinion on climate change and on governance: Media can be used to frame environmental reporting and fume the discussion in public sphere. People from all ages have taken global warming as a serious threat to earth. The media should propagate and promote environment friendly activities. It should publicize the new laws and proposals introduced by the government on environment change. With people getting more exposure about the effects of global warming, several organizations and communities have been found to fight against the global change. Media has done some recent coverage and studies about protests by people against climate change which includes 2007 ‘Global day action’, ‘Climate Carnival’ in June 2007 and ‘Climate Conference’, May 2007. This clearly shows that the government should take this awareness among people in its stride and support them. A mutual trust has to be built between the government, the people and of course, the media. America did just that with its Apollo program, and its now the UK government’s turn to solidly embark itself on the world’s fight against environmental change. The policies implemented by the government such as reducing the emission by 20 % before 2012 have to show a sustainable development in order to meet the long term goals of 2050. The actions taken by the government to protect the environment should also benefit people in housing and economic growth. A safe environment can be realized only by acting from different fronts which include saving every individual life from poor air and toxic wastes. The government should include humans in its vision while forecasting on future actions. This would ensure a broader vision and a political success. Also working on basis of conservation will result in much of earth’s potential left unused. So the government should aim to build vision for a place we value the most in the next 50 years. References B. Metz, O.R. Davidson, P.R. Bosch, R. Dave, L.A. Meyer (eds). 2007. IPCC: Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2007: Mitigation, Contribution of Working Group III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA. pp. 9-15. Environment- Climate Change. Dec. 2007. 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Hanson, Eds., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, pp. 79-90. Read More