Solving the Problem of the Global Warming - Essay Example

Deftones Global Warming [Type the document sub [Type the [Pick the Global warming The term” Global Warming” is used to describe the gradual process that takes place as the earth’s temperatures increase. The increase in the earth’s temperature also brings about other changes such as rising water levels in the world’s oceans and unfreezing in the Arctic and Atlantic. This also causes increased acidity of the oceans, which affects marine life (Barnett, 2001). Many scientists hold the opinion that global warming has caused climate change. (Archer, 2011) The gas called carbon dioxide that traps heat in the earth’s atmosphere has caused this change (Bolin, 1960). Climate change is considered by many scientists as the biggest environmental crises in the history of the earth’s existence as a planet. It is also considered as a humanitarian crisis because the effects of climate change have caused a lot of human suffering such as hunger from drought. The changes that come with global warming are considered permanent and irreversible and the only hope prescribed by many scientists is an effort to curb and stall it. Scientists have warned that humanity risk cooking them in as in a microwave if global warming is allowed to continue unimpeded (Bolin, 1981)this is possible as heat and sunlight from the sun, which has, contains harmful radiation maybe able to pass through when the protective ozone layer is destroyed. Scientist has long taken interest in the activity of the sun and the earth observing the way both interact. (G.Abbot & F.E. Fowle, 1908). Extent The extent of climatic change can be traced around the world (Aston & Helm, 2005). This is because there has been an increase in extreme weather changes. Many metrological departments have recorded never before seen high and low temperature changes across the world. The occurrences of droughts, floods, storms, forest fires, cyclones and hurricanes have increased not only numerically but also in veracity (Atwood, 2009). No continent has been spared of the effects of global warming. There is also a rise in sea levels cause by ice melting in permafrost areas (NASA, 2015). This reduction of permafrost areas is harmful to the wildlife, plants and marine life that thrive on the cold freezing temperatures. These life forms do not have time to adapt to the climatic changes and will die off and become extinct. The destruction of the permafrost zones will bring an imbalance in the ecological systems there and other ecological systems because they are all mutually interdependent. NASA has warned that areas that have previously been under permanent ice cover are now undergoing changes: “The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have decreased in mass. Data from NASAs Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment show Greenland lost 150 to 250 cubic kilometers (36 to 60 cubic miles) of ice per year between 2002 and 2006, while Antarctica lost about 152 cubic kilometers (36 cubic miles) of ice between 2002 and 2005 ” (NASA, 2015). There mountains and glaciers that used to have snow cover around the whole year have also not been spared which is affecting their ecological systems. These mountains are the sources of many rivers and therefore reduction in snow and trees cover translates to less water for the rivers. This situation naturally leads to the reduction of water capacity for the (Andersen, Brack, & Lepledge, 2015)rivers, which affects water supply for human settlements. (NSIDC, 2015). Solutions The world needs to cut down its production of carbon, which is what is polluting the atmosphere. It can do this by cutting down on fossil fuels, which produces carbons as by products. There also needs to be a transition and permanent use of clean and renewable sources of energy such as solar and wind. This call for policy making that encourages the use of renewable energy and discourages the use of fossil fuels by making them unprofitable (Andersen, Brack, & Lepledge, 2015). There also needs to be a proactive shift towards disaster preparedness in order to counter the damages caused by flooding, storms, hurricanes, cyclones and drought .Continents, nations and local authorities need to seriously address the problem of global warming and create awareness. It has been the practice of most authorities to leave the activates of awareness and education of most issues to interests groups until it becomes too pressing to ignore. The first fight that is necessary in order to counter and hopefully stop global warming is the “fight against misinformation”. There are those who are fighting the anti- global warming campaigns. They say global warming as a phenomenon is natural and that the earth ecology is perfectly capable of self-regulation. They have also labeled the warnings on global warming as alarmist, misinformed and even hysterical. Misinformation can only be countered by correct and factual information using irrefutable and scientifically verifiable evidence. The effects of global warming such as rising sea levels increase of severe heat waves and extreme weather events are verifiable good evidence that prove that global warming is indeed affecting the earth. The second important solution to slowing global warming is stopping deforest in the worlds forest. It also means taking a proactive role in the planting new trees and expanding forest cover in the earth. The third solution is to prepare to manage the unavoidable effects of what has already been caused by global warming in terms of climate change. It also means that authorities need to be more prepared to handle the avoid disasters by predicting them in time. Every person can contribute to saving the earth from global warming. In the home front, one can change from the use of regular bulbs to energy saving ones. The heating and the cooling equipment in homes will run more efficiently if regularly serviced and maintained which will end up reducing consumption. (Andersen, Brack, & Lepledge, 2015) Properly insulating homes also helps in saving energy as it pushes the need for higher power. There are also many things that can be recycled and reused in the home such as plastic containers, which will reduce the demand for more plastic. Challenges There are negative campaigns that seek to deter awareness of global warming and its negative impact in the earth. Those who stand to lose the most if fossil fuels are done away with fund them (Andersen, Brack, & Lepledge, 2015). These groups look at the short-term gains that benefit them only and ignore the long-term benefits of a cleaner and better earth for all. Misinformation is the result of these negative campaigns, which confuses the public into a state of inaction as they lack the expertise to determine the truth. Misinformation is a powerful tool for these groups since inaction form the public in terms of lack of pressure to governments and relevant authorities creates a vacuum for them to thrive. There is also the fear among developing nations that the developed nations are in a conspiracy to slow down their development by using the global warming as a scare. The emerging/ developing economies are of the opinion that the developed world made the mess if at all it exists for many feel that it is just a fraud and a colonial tool to stop their development. This can be demonstrated by an excerpt from an African daily “The never ending global campaign on global warming and the recent article by my well respected colleague Wisdom Mdzungairi in Newsday of January 12, 2015 questioning whether President Robert Mugabe and Environment, Water and Climate minister Saviour Kasukuwere were reluctant warriors in trying to reduce human effects on climate change have awakened me from my literary hibernation and slumber just to pose the question – Is global warming a farce or reality?” (NewsDay, 2015). This digital paper from Harare, Zimbabwe is an example of what merging economies may really think about the issue of global warning. The writer does not all out rebuke President Mugabe on his stance on global warming as a farce. This is important since most newspapers are bound to take a swipe at him as he is seen as an African dictator who is anti progress. This position was challenged by President Barak Obama of America during the Climate Summit “ UNITED NATIONS, Sept 23 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama said on Tuesday a new global agreement on climate change must include strong commitments from emerging economies and move past the rich-poor country divide that has hampered progress in United Nations negotiations” (Reuters, 2015) Conclusion The problem of global warming is not just one that should be handled by scientists or government agencies alone (NASA, 2015). It is a problem that affects the whole earth and so every citizen of this planet should be involved in solving it. The simplest of everyday things like a light bulb can make a difference by changing from the use of regular bulbs to energy saving ones that save up-to seventy five percent in electricity (Andersen, Brack, & Lepledge, 2015). Governments must lead the way by ensuring that legislation that limits the use of HFC’s is put in place in their countries. They must also put pressure on other countries in forums using diplomacy, international relations and intergovernmental forums by routing for change and a fight against global warming. “As GHGs, HFCs fall under the purview of the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and are explicitly listed under the UNFCCC’s 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which controls emissions of HFCs and other GHGs. They are not, however, subject to any specific measures under the climate agreements, and this is unlikely to change in the near future. Accordingly, the last five years have seen proposals to amend the Montreal Protocol to phase down the production and consumption of HFCs” (Andersen, Brack, & Lepledge, 2015). There also needs to be more education on our consumption patterns of foods such as meat, which produces many greenhouse gases in its processing, and production, which is roughly equivalent to that produced by the transportation sector. The relevant agencies need to engage in education that is more public so that they can make choices that are more informed not only in the transport sector but also in such areas as food consumption since it also equally affects the earth through the emission of green house gases. There is also the question of powering plants with either nuclear or coal energy as both affect the climate through the emission of green house gases. Developed countries and emerging economies need to arrive at some form of consensus as to how to solve the global warming problem as an urgent matter rather than engaging in a tag of war in diplomacy about it. It is the feeling of most emerging counties that they are being asked to sacrifice development while the developed countries already ruined the planet in order to reach where they have. The scientific community are of the opinion that this stalemate can be solved by developed countries aiding developing ones in using renewable energy which will help reduce greenhouse emissions. Works Cited Andersen, S. O., Brack, d., & Lepledge, D. (2015, january 14). Research Paper: A Global Response to HFC"s Through Fair and effective Ozone and Climate Policies. Retrieved from CHATAM HOUSE: THE ROYAL INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS: http://www.chathamhouse.org/publication/global-response-hfcs Archer, D. a. (2011). The Warming Papers: The Scientific Foundation for the Climate Change Forecast (eds ed.). New Jersey: Wiley-Blackwell. Aston, A., & Helm, B. (2005, December 12). The Race against Climate Change . Business Week, pp. pp. 59-66. Atwood, M. (2009). The Year of the Flood. Garden City, New York: Doubleday. Barnett, T. P. (2001). "Detection of Anthropogenic Climate Change in the Worlds Oceans. . Science 292, 270-74. Bolin, B. (1960). On the Exchange of Carbon Dioxide between the Atmosphere and the Sea . Tellus 12, 274-81. Bolin, B. (1981). Carbon Cycle Modeling. SCOPE Report No. 16. New York: John Wiley. G.Abbot, C., & F.E. Fowle, J. (1908). "Income and Outgo of Heat from the Earth, and the Dependence of Its Temperature Thereon. " Annals of the Astrophysical Observatory , 2((Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC) ), 2: 159-176. NASA. (2015, January 14). Global Climate Change. Retrieved from Vital Signs of the Planet: http://climate.nasa.gov/evidence NewsDay. (2015, march 15). Column: Stephen Kasere. Retrieved from NewsDay digital: https://www.newsday.co.zw/2015/02/02/columnist-global-warming-farce-reality/ NSIDC. (2015, january 14). World Glacier Monitoring service. Retrieved from National Snow and Ice Data Cente: http://nsidc.org/sotc/glacier_balance.html Reuters. (2015, March 15). Thomas Reuters Fondation. Retrieved from On Climate change: http://www.trust.org/item/20140923220526-qtolu/?source=spotlight Read More