Global Warming and Climate Change - Essay Example

Global Warming and Climate Change Climate change refers to the permanent shifts in the traditional space-time patterns of climate, outside the normal range of natural climate variability regardless of the causes, According to UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change , climate change is likely to have numerous effects in the global environment. Climate change has become a global phenomenon that requires all nations to take initiatives to mitigate its devastating effects, human activities like the use of energy that is by far the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, form the bulk of what causes the climate change in the current world. There is now clear evidence that there has been a marked change in the composition of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that currently stands at 390ppm and even higher levels have been recorded at 400ppm at Mauna Loa, Hawaii in May 2013. Increasing average temperatures of the earth and oceans is referred to as global warming, it started at the beginning of the nineteenth century and it might continue for a very long time to come (Hansen 17). At the beginning of the twentieth century, the average temperature of the earth has risen by an average of 0.8°C and it is predicted that it will continue rising. Due to effects associated with climate change and global warming, there will be an average probable increase in the temperature ranging in the region of 1.8°C and 4°C, with a possible temperature rise between 1.1°C and 6.4°C (Black). The sea level is likely to rise by a figure of twenty eight to forty three centimeters and the Arctic sea is likely to disappear towards the second half of the twenty-first century. The world is also likely to experience increased incidences of heat waves, droughts, acidification of the oceans as well as increased intensity of tropical storms (Emanuel 686). The effects of global warming and climate change significant to human beings include incidences of food security problems brought about by decreasing yields and loss of habitats due to inundation or floods. There is also the likelihood of extinction of certain plant and animal species due to the loss of their habitats occasioned by the shifts in temperature regimes. Large-scale impacts of climate change can also be experienced in the natural and social systems in the society. For example, due to effects associated with global warming and climate change, there has been a marked acidification of oceans due to the increased atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and the melting of ice that ultimately leads to the rise in the level of the seas and the oceans. These changes occasioned by global warming could occur abruptly and may be difficult to reverse such as the release of methane from permafrost that increases the temperatures in the atmosphere. The effects of global warming, considering its impact on human health, infrastructure, human health, agriculture, also directly affect human beings and water resources are profound. There are harmful effects such as drought, reduced river flows due to loss of catchment areas, extinction of certain animal species, and decrease in the availability of food globally. In addition, there is disappearance of coastlines and coastal wetlands and increase in storm severity accompanied by flooding, in turn, there is increased spread of infectious diseases, and problems associated with the environment such as heat stress will also increase and so will the cases of malnutrition globally. All these additional strain on the society leads to conflict, the rise in cases of infectious diseases will be witnessed worldwide as has been the history whenever there are warmer temperatures. It can be remembered, that there was an outbreak of the West Nile Virus in the winter of 1999 due to unexpected warmer temperatures in New York. The Hantavirus which is spread by rodents might become an issue of concern due to the alternating drought and floods which create very favorable conditions for this virus to thrive (Hjelle and Glass 367), in East Africa, cases of Rift Valley fever might be on the increase due to the wet conditions. Other affliction such as diarrhea, cardio-respiratory infections and allergies might increase due higher levels of pollen in the atmosphere; concentration of ozone might worsen air pollution that irritates the human lung in lower temperatures. Functionalist Perspective The functionalist theory posits that no human custom, institution or set of behaviors that exists in a vacuum and that there is interplay between the components of the social system, in this case the environment and interdependence between them occurs at different levels. The functionalist approach states that the survival of human beings depends on their ability to maintain a balance among the living and those things that are not living in the atmosphere. Therefore, mitigating the effects of climate change as an environmental problem, functionalists believe that human beings must be sensitive to the recognizable consequences of climate change and global warming as well as those that are not recognizable or intended. The Conflict Perspective Under this theory, attention is focused on the society as a whole through its structures and institutions. In this case, the power and the ability to control the behavior of others are core in the determination of how a society or a system is run. Therefore, its main concerns are usually how some particular groups have acquired power and how they are able to dominate others, affecting their will in terms of efforts put in place by human beings. In matters relating to the environment, some conflict theorists link the problem of global warming and climate change to the distribution of the often-limited resources in the world. Consequently, matters of climate change and global warming can be made not in the interest of present and future generations but in the interests of those who can impose their will on others. There are those who favor economic development and growth notwithstanding the fact that it may lead to factors that may lead to climate change and global warming. According to conflict theorists, the increase in human economic activities has put pressures on the environment such as the need for land to cultivate leading to destruction of forests that play a key role in keeping climate change in check. The Interactionist Perspective Symbolic interactionist perspective takes cognizant of the meanings that come out of various forms of interactions focusing on how the meanings of phenomenon emerge through interaction. It is concerned with how human beings react to their feelings, actions and the contexts they live in as well as the emergence of processes. It also focuses on the fact that the social world is interactive and the fact that interactionists go beyond the processes, symbols and interactions in order to determine the patterns of life in the social context. Environmentally or in the context of global warming, the symbolic interactionists consider the difference between the actions of and attitudes of people and the disparity between expert and the general views of threats. In the determination of the difference between people’s attitudes and their actions, these theorists take into consideration the possibility of people being ready to either take action or not. This leads to a clear distinction of two groups of people, first those who believe that we take actions to preserve the sanctity of the environment and that the protection of the environment is more important than the economic gains and those that believe that economic gains should precede any efforts aimed at protection of the environment. From the symbolic interactionist’s point of view the environmental issues associated with climate change and global warming are social in nature as they involve judgment, decisions and judgments as well as choices and they involve exercise of power. The society is coming to terms with the threats that change in climate and global warming is presenting, efforts are being made in the world over to try to bring some balance in the ecosystem. For there to be a decrease in greenhouse emissions globally, the demand for the energy that leads to these emissions must be decreased, this is not easy to do because energy is demanded on almost all sectors of the modern life. People can make personal changes that will contribute to the overall reduction in energy use; these changes can have other benefits to the people including better health, improved quality of life lesser expenses in energy and conservation of natural resources. Measures such as better insulation, passive solar heating and opening windows instead of using fans decrease the energy requirement in winter heating and cooling during summer. Another step that has been taken up and is still being implemented is the replacing of older bulbs that use to consume a lot of power with new energy saving or compact fluorescent bulbs. Processing of new raw materials is also one of the biggest consumers of energy but through recycling of disposables such as newspaper, cans, bottles, plastic containers, cardboard boxes and waste paper, a significant amount of energy can be saved. The other measures such as changing how people commute would do the environment a lot of good, the use of bicycles or walking is not only energy effective but also pocket friendly and healthy. Reduced vehicles on the road means reduced consumption of gasoline, through carpooling and public transport there will be lesser congestion on the roads therefore improving the quality of air. Even greater impact can be felt if organizations and the government provide education on how to conserve energy and reward those that are making strides in this sector. Conclusion In recent times climate change and global warming has been accepted as a social problem and the awareness of this has reinforced the public belief of the environmental problem posed by climate change that has resulted in efforts to address the global warming. Climate change and global warming require policies that enable those concerned to take mitigation efforts that can be planned, reactionary or participatory in nature. These are carried out because future mitigation strategies that do not take the fact that the continued emission of greenhouse gases can in the long-term likely to exceed the capacity of humans coupled with the systems to adapt to the effects of climate change and global warming. The literature available about global climate change as viewed in a sociological context states that the risks that global warming present are uncertain as compared with the risks that can be found economically. Therefore, there should be efforts made to reconcile the economic aspect as compared with the need to take care of the environment in order to mitigate against the risks associated with climate change. Works Cited Hansen, James et al., “Global Temperature Change,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103; 2006: 14288–293. Hjelle, Brian and Glass, Gregory “Outbreak of Hantavirus Infection in the Four Corners Region of the United States in the Wake of the 1997–1998 El Nino–Southern Oscillation,” Journal of Infectious Diseases 181; 2000: 1569–73. Black, Richard. Humans blamed for climate change. BBC News. 2007. Web. June 15, 2013. < http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6321351.stm > Emanuel, Kerry. “Increasing Destructiveness of Tropical Cyclones over the Past 30 Years,” Nature 436. 2005: 686–88. Read More