Global Climate Change: A Consequence of Human Activity - Research Paper Example

Inserts His/her Inserts Inserts Grade (11, 03, Global Climate Change: A Consequence of Human Activity Introduction With the advent of industrialization the world has seen an increase in the level of pollution. Factories and industries started to pollute air, land and seas in the early parts of 20th century. At first the damage done to the environment was limited but contamination of earth’s atmosphere continued and the situation has come to a tipping point now. The world’s climate is changing and this is a serious issue. Any long term change in world’s climate can have disastrous consequences for everyone. Glaciers will melt if earth’s average temperature continues to increase. This will cause floods and rainfalls so global climate change is not something that is desirable. Global climate change is not something natural and is a consequence of reckless behavior of human beings with regards to the environment. People have disregarded environment for a very long time and it was only when the damage was done that the world realized that the problem is severe. This paper will argue that global climate change is a result of human activities. Human actions, inefficient use of scientific technology and lack of pragmatic policies have contributed in change of global climate. Human actions and Global Climatic Change Global climatic change is also referred to as global warming. Greenhouse cases like carbon dioxide trap the solar heat in the earth’s surface causing climatic changes (Griffin, J. 2003). The earth is also surrounded by layer called Ozone layer. This layer protects us from harmful radiations of sun but the emission of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide also damages this layer and this makes the earth more prone to the harmful radiations that are coming from the sun. So it is clear that emission of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, halo carbons, nitrous oxide have a direct effect in global warming and human beings have been working very hard to emit all these gases in the atmosphere. Coal is used as a source of energy still today and factories burn coal to get energy. In the process they pollute our atmosphere. Also other environmental friendly methods of production are used that contribute to global warming. Human beings have over a century played a direct role in the global climatic change by emitting harmful gases and using environmental damaging ways (McCarthy, L. 2008). Burning of fossil fuels has also contributed to this climate change and human beings are the only one to be blamed for it (Karling, H. 2001). These fuels damage our atmosphere but still they are used. The cost of environment is actually considered very low by people all over the world. Alternative methods are available but due to relatively high costs associated with these methods, they are not used. Another way human beings damage the environment is by polluting lands. Solid waste is dumped inside the land and this waste emits deadly gases for a long period. Industrial waste is usually dumped inside the earth’s surface simply to save cost associated with using efficient eco friendly waste disposal methods. Industrial waste usually consists of harmful chemicals that damage the fertility of the land. They contain harmful chemicals and dumping them below the earth’s surface causes lands to become less fertile. Also waste damages the under soil animal life and that is damaging too. The whole ecological system is affected by such practices. Some warms play a vital role in the fertility of soil so any negative human intervention in the natural process has grave consequences for all of us. Household waste is also burnt and that damages the atmosphere as well. These wastes include plastic bags and other things that release carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. These gases have disastrous impact on the ecology of the earth. Increase of these gases damages the ozone and makes us more prone to the harmful radiations that are coming from the sun. These rays are very dangerous for human beings as well and can cause skin cancer and many other diseases. Our ecological system is dependent on seas and oceans. Any damage done to seas will disrupt the natural process of ecology and that can be very harmful. Oil spills and dumping of wastes in seas are also damaging the world’s environment. The sea life is getting damaged in the process. These natural resources are limited and any imbalance in them will directly reflect upon the climate of the world. All these activities have direct and indirect effect on the change of global climate. It is clear from that human beings are the only ones to be blamed for a problem that is staring us right in the face. A change in global climate will affect the whole world but even this fact is not stopping human beings to stop polluting oceans, lands and atmosphere. Inadequate Use of Scientific Technology Science has developed today so much so that newer products are coming out daily and world has developed so much so that the word impossible has been erased from dictionary. Even in the age of technology innovation regarding methods of producing energy in an environment friendly way is almost negligible. It seems as saving the planet is something for which science is not being used. Energy needs of the world are increasing on a daily basis and that need is met by using coal and oil. This results in pollution and in turn damages our atmosphere. Science, although has developed so much, but still is not able to find ways through which cleaner energy can be generated. The work done in this regard is very less and this is the reason why inadequate use of scientific technology can be blamed for global climatic change. Imagine a child who is suffering from a deadly disease. The child is suffering and doctors can save the child by giving him medicine but still the child is not taken care of and finally dies. Who are we going to blame in this situation? Of course the doctor who didn’t save the suffering child. Our world is like that suffering child who is not been taken care of by scientists who can save the world by producing technology that can produce environmental friendly energy but still nothing is being done. Now who you will blame for such a situation??? There are avenues that are known to produce clean energy but they are not researched upon. The focus is not on producing technology that is friendly towards environment. This gives an impression that scientists are not interested in coming up with technology that can control global climate change. Researchers say that wind energy, solar energy, nuclear fission, and geo-engineering are ways in which cleaner energy can be produced and environment can be protected but there is a significant lack of research in these areas (Hoffert, et al. 2002). This clearly indicates that the scientific technology is available that can control the global climatic change but unfortunately this technology is not been made to use. Non fossil fuel energy is urgently needed in order to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (Houghton, J. 2005). Technology is within the reach but there is a lack of will among the scientific community. The role of science has been limited to areas where profitable gains can be realized. Because of this reason newer products come into the market. Technology is used by corporations to earn profits but when it comes to environment there is no planning or intent to introduce environmental friendly ways of producing cleaner energy for the world. Another reason why energy efficient technologies are not used is because they are not const efficient. It is expensive to produce energy by cleaner methods so that is why these methods are not used. This argument is given by governments and companies all over the world for not using clean energy. The main problem is that the cost of environment is not realized as something important. Global climatic change will have disastrous future implications on the planet but this cost is less important than the cost of producing clear energy for governments and large corporations. This is the reason why technology and scientific resources are not devoted towards finding cleaner and environmentally friendly ways of producing energy. Clean energy will remain expensive if research is not done in this regard. Lack of Workable Policies Apart from human role in environmental degradation and inadequate scientific technology for producing cleaner energy, there is another important cause that is contributing to global warming and that is lack of pragmatic policies. Powerful countries in the world are doing nothing in order to stop or even curb the emission of greenhouse gases and there are almost no policies that deal with production of clean energy, even if there are some policies than they are not forcefully implemented. United Nations is being trying to curb the emission of greenhouse gases but as it evident that these steps are not nearly enough to protect the world from global increase in temperature. Steps have been taken by nongovernmental organizations in order to educate people regarding the use of environmental friendly ways (The Economist, 2011). These organizations are also pressing world governments for more stern policies regarding the use of hydro carbons. They also call for use of clean energy in order to protect the environment. These organizations are the only ones who are arguing for use of renewable energy that will be not cause pollution in the atmosphere. The problem is that large governments like USA have high requirement for energy. These governments cannot ban the use of oil and coal to generate energy because they are the largest consumers of energy. There are corporations who benefit from use of coal and oil. These corporations are oil companies, energy companies and automobile companies. Their profits are associated with use of oil. They also have established a monopoly power over the natural oil reserves of the world. If any new renewable energy is introduced then their monopoly power will remain no more. This is why they try very hard to fight reforms and because of their pressure governments are not able to make policies that can curb the use of environmentally damaging sources of energy. What is more depressing is the fact that the many coal power plants are being introduced every year and this trend is expected to continue in future as well (Walsh, B. 2008). If this is the case then global warming will reach to new heights and the world will suffer greatly. The agricultural land and sea water will be the first ones to suffer and it will immediately cut down the food supplies of the world. We are talking about a world whose population is increasing but its food production decreasing. This shows how pathetic the policies are against fighting global warming. Even if use of oil and coal cannot be banned totally but future plants can be stopped so that future levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere can be reduced. These policies are nowhere to find and even if they exist they are not functioning properly. The world requires an immediate focus on environment. The intent of large government should be honest and strong if we are to protect the world form crisis. For this strong policies are needed which at present are not sufficient to curb the emission of harmful gases. Also the governments have to force these large corporations to invest in environmentally friendly technology. This can be done if long term policies are implemented. Government can impose taxes on use of oil and can give tax benefits for using environmental friendly methods of energy production. This can seriously work and the global warming can be reduced and our planet can be saved. Conclusion The world today is facing serious threat from global warming. Climatic changes all over the globe will come with disastrous consequences for mankind. It is therefore important that steps are taken and policies are made to fight this problem but unfortunately human beings have themselves caused this crisis and even now no one of willing to seriously consider ways in which global warming can be reduced. Lack of scientific innovation with regards to the use of environmentally friendly means of energy and non pragmatic policies about the emission of greenhouse gases are directly causing global climatic change. Works Cited Page Climate Change in Black and White. The Economist, 2011. Web. 11 March, 2011. Griffin, J. Global Climate Change: the science, economics and politics. London: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2003. Print Hoffert, et.al. Advanced Technology Paths to Global Climate Stability: Energy for a Greenhouse Planet. Science 298. 5595 (2002): 981-987. Web 11 March, 2011. Houghton, J. Global Warming. Reports on Progress in Physics, 68.6 (2005). Web 11 March, 2011. < http://iopscience.iop.org/0034-4885/68/6/R02> Karling, H. Global Climate Change. New York: Nova Publisher, 2001. Print McCarthy, L. Earth Impacts Linked to Human-Caused Climate Change. NASA, 2008. Web 11 March, 2011. < http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2008/human_impact.html> Walsh, Bryan. Plan B- How to stop Global Warming. Time, 2008. Web. 11 March, 2011. Read More