Climate Change and Global Warming - Essay Example

Global warming Climate change is the effect brought about by the production and emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, into the atmosphere, which causes entrapment of heat, which is fleeing the earth, thus causing overall rise in regular temperatures of the earth (Seymour 15). It is one of the most pressing issues in today’s world as it affects the natural settings and balance of the earth’s ecosystem, which is consequently, affects human beings (Houghton 44). They are various causes of this global warming, natural and man-made with the latter being highly blamed, but how do human actions impact global warming? The human factor is highly credible in causing this climate change. One of the human causes is the ever-growing population. This trend has been observed all over the world from census statistics. The increasing number of people results in a growing need for more space and demand for usage of natural resources to sustain them. In these modern times of the 21st century, more settlement will be needed. The process of building houses releases gases from machines. Settlement brings about purchase of cars, use of electricity brings about release of vehicle gases, and the process by which electricity is created causes pollution of the air. Overpopulation also contributes to deforestation to create space for settlement and farming activities. Deforestation decelerates rate of carbon dioxide-oxygen conversion (Seymour 23). Pollution is another major factor contributing to global warming. It falls under the broad categories of air and land pollution. The glasshouse effect affects the atmosphere where the expulsion of greenhouse gases whose high concentration entraps heat in the earth’s atmosphere. The gases are released from automobiles, residential areas, and industrial plants, which are the major contributor. Because the human race is highly dependent on energy, constant production requires high combustion of coal, generally fossil fuels, to meet the high demand. A higher percentage is taken by vehicle emissions, and in overall the transportation industry. Fields contain landfills, which are nowadays occupied by garbage waste. The erosion of compost soils, together with the burning of this waste releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. In addition to this, clearing of trees or deforestation increases amount of carbon dioxide in the air (McKibben 30). Although many may argue that agricultural farming is a life-sustenance practice, it is a surprising fact that it is a contributing factor to global warming. The ever-growing usage of chemically made fertilizers to promote food production has a negative impact on the atmosphere due to release of nitrogen from farmlands. The supplementary chemicals are disposed of to water bodies as run off. The evaporation from the bodies will add nitrogen gases to the air. The digestive tracts of domesticated animals as well as the waste they produce give rise to methane. The effects are already being seen and felt worldwide and the media has covered it broadly. The increase in temperatures causes large boulders of ice to melt and form water, which flows to large water bodies. As a result, there is a rise in sea level all over the globe. The Antarctic regions is a good example, as the melted ice masses causes displacement of people and the consequence is causing a strain on land space (Singer 59). The scientific groups have already predicted the nature’s backlash in form of natural disasters. Due to the rising temperatures of water bodies, cyclones will become a common occurrence. Flooding, droughts and hurricanes in tropical regions have already been witnessed. Nature will turn on its own kind, as endangered species will become extinct, as their habitats will be no more, for instance, the polar bears whose habitats are in icy regions. The eventual increase in atmospheric wind speeds caused by the ascension of global temperatures destroys crops in large tracts of farmland. This increases the epidemic of hunger and starvation and poses great risks to food security on countries whose people and economy is highly dependent on agriculture (Seymour 81). The impact of global warming in Canada is evident in most parts of the country. For instance, the sea ice in Canada is taking long time to appear during the months of winter, which in turn negatively affects the polar bear this is because the polar bear are spending too much time on land decreasing the time they spend hunting in the sea ice. Polar bear can hunt effectively in sea ice not on land, and as a result, the population of this creature is rapidly decreasing. In addition, the issue of deforestation in Canada is on the rise, which also is affecting the animals living the forests and the environment (Weber, 2012). It is significant to note that despite the fact that generation of hydro electricity produces less carbon than energy produced by burning fossil fuels; the distinction is not big as initially thought. The concentrations of production of hydropower in Canada emit carbon on daily basis because new dams bury plants and forests making them to decompose and store CO2 in large quantity. This in turn leads to increased emissions of greenhouse gases as the plants and forests decompose, the carbon kept is produced or released (Robinson 82). Economic effects will also be seen due to the impact of global warming to the tourism sector. Diminishing population of endangered animals, loss of habitat due to deforestation and disappearance of coral reefs in coastal regions deters tourists from visiting their preferred destinations for relaxation and exploration. Icy regions, which are a favorite region for skiers, are melting away and have a negative impact on the future of skiing sport. The fact that trees attract rainfall, destruction of forests causes shortage of rainfall, which is essential for growing of both commercial and food crops. This heavily influences the decline of the economy of countries. Environmental organizations have called for the immediate action to be undertaken to save the human life and the earth. Various responses have already been taken such as worldwide legal regulations have been formulated and implemented on industries. Scientists have also formed technological ways and advancements to reduce production of gases into the atmosphere. Although industries are still needed to produce goods and services for the population, stringent policies, and measures have been introduced to curb their pollution effect, such as the Kyoto Protocol (Archer 46). Participation by government is an integral part in reducing global warming effects. They have an important role to investing alternative sources of energy in their countries, such as wind and solar energy. The overdependence on fossil fuel energy needs to be lessened. Global funding organizations would have to work hand in hand with these states in order to realize this objective, for instance, UNEP (Darwall 52-53). Public education is required to ensure the citizens are fully aware of the causes and effects of global warming.Research shows that most people are not conscious of the serious issue of global warming; therefore, adequate education of the public on this matter will be of great significance (McKibben 63). The public should also be actively taking action to be involved in mitigating the effects of global warming, for instance, when one cuts down a tree, two should be planted. This will protect the future of coming generations. Although the effects of global warming are in astounding proportions, we have been the cause of its progressive advance. We hold the key in reducing the global warming and all stakeholders must be actively engaged. Works Cited Archer, David. Global Warming: Understanding the Forecast. New York: Wiley, 2011. Print. Darwall, Rupert. The Age of Global Warming: A History. Virginia: Interlink, 2014. Print. Maslin, Mark. Global Warming: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. Print. McKibben, Brian. The Global Warming Reader: A century of writing about climate change. New York: Penguin Books, 2012. Print. Houghton, John. Global Warming: The Complete Briefing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009. Print. Seymour, Simon. Global warming. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 2010. Print. Singer, Fred. Unstoppable Global Warming: Every 1,500 Years. New York: Rowman & Littlefield Pub, 2007. Print. Robinson, Dedrick. Global Warming: Alarmists, Skeptics & Deniers; A Geoscientist looks at the Science of Climate Change. Boston: Moonshine Cove Pub, 2013. Print. Weber, B. (1 January 2012). Climate change Canada: Carbon emissions from hydro Drastically underestimated. The Canadian Press. Read More