The Danger of Global Warming - Essay Example

Global Warming –Not Just a Myth According to the Cato Handbook warming for Policy Makers “Leading Politicians and media figures are insisting that congress make global warming a very high priority. Global warming is indeed real, and human activity has been contributor since 1975.” Global warming is a real thing and it is happening. It took a lot of time for the scientists to admit that it is result of human activities. There have been continuing changes in the Earth’s climate that has led to the gradual increase in its temperature and ocean warming. “ The term global warming was probably first used in its modern sense on 8 August 1975 in a science paper by Wally Broecker in the journal Science called Are we on the brink of a pronounced global warming?".Skeptics consider global warming a myth, a fantasy or a Western agenda, but they might have no answer for the present Tsunami in Japan and floods in Australia, or the frequent droughts in any other part of the world. The global warming started since Industrial revolution. Industrial growth, automated transportation, mechanized agriculture since industrial revolution has lead to the production of poisonous gases like chloro fluoro carbons, which have formed a thick layer on the upper atmosphere of earth leading to the rise in temperature. Industrial wastes, deforestation, burning of coal and petroleum products, green house gases emission have aggravated the effects. GREEN HOUSE GASES: Greenhouse gases have the ability to absorb and hold the heat of the atmosphere, this phenomenon is called green house effect. Green house Writer 2 gases form a sort of warm air blanket that actually helps in sustaining the present ecosystem. Major Green house gases are Carbon dioxide, (CO2), Methane (CH4), Nitrous Oxide (N2o) and fluorinated gases. Carbon dioxide is produced by burning of fossil fuels, solid waste and wood products whereas methane is emitted during coal, natural gas and oil production, methane emissions are also produced from livestock and other agricultural practices, and nitrous oxide is the product of agricultural and industrial activities whereas fluorinated carbons contribute in depletion of ozone layer. As the earth’s climate is variable it is not exactly possible to determine the cause of damage – Is it the human activities or the rising concentration of green house gases- however. A National Research Council study dated May 2001, stated, “Greenhouse gases are accumulating in Earth’s atmosphere as a result of human activities, causing surface air temperatures and sub-surface ocean temperatures to rise. Temperatures are, in fact, rising. The changes observed over the last several decades are likely mostly due to human activities, but we cannot rule out that some significant part of these changes is also a reflection of natural variability.” THE CARBONDIOXIDE EMISSON: Carbon dioxide is the main constituent in the carbon cycle known as photosynthesis- Plants, algae, cynobacteria absorb CO2, sunlight, and water to produce carbohydrate energy for their survival in which oxygen is generated as a waste product. Living beings emit CO2 in their respiratory process. It is also produced as by-product of combustion, by volcanoes, hot springs and natural geysers. The content of CO2 in the atmosphere is 388ppm by volume that varies with the changing season; human activities have definitely increased the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere. Charles D Keeling was a pioneer in the monitoring of carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere. He explains, “Atmospheric mixing ratios for carbon dioxide are now higher than at any time in Writer 3 The last 800,000 years, standing at 380 parts per million (ppm) compared to a pre-industrial high of 280ppm. The current rate of increase is around 2ppm per year” (Keeling Curve) INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION AND ITS IMPACT: Man has tremendous potential for construction and –Destruction as well. He has tried to become a God by trying to bring changes in the natural processes of nature. These alterations in the natural changes by man are becoming the cause of his destruction. At many occasions the authorities have expressed their concerns on the present issue, “A UN Conference on climate change held in Kyoto, Japan in1997 resulted in the international agreement to fight global warming, which called for the reductions in emission of green house gases by industrialized nations...” (Kyoto Protocol, UNFCC). Developing countries are the main contributors in the global warming and increased carbon dioxide emissions. The strange part of the entire story is that people are unaware that global warming is happening. The recent happenings that have confirmed the speculations about Global warming .The recent Tsunamis in Japan and in Queensland, Australia have established that the mother earth is retaliating. The Scientist in Australia believes the latest floods in Queensland are the result of El Nino and global warming as the pacific oceans are facing rising temperatures. "What we can say about the Queensland floods is there is a strong La Nina, which tends to give this heavy rainfall, but in addition to that there are very high sea surface temperatures."(Reuters) "Global warming is above all global climatic destabilization," says Edward Goldsmith, editor of the Ecologist, "with extremes of cold and heat when you don't expect it. You cannot predict climate any more. You get terrible droughts in certain cases; sometimes you get downpours. In Egypt, I think, they had a rainfall for the first time in history — they suddenly had an incredible downpour. Water pouring down in places where it is never Writer 4 rained before. Then you get droughts in another area. So it's going to be extremely unpredictable." However, the Mother Earth does provide an ample means for climate change without the help of man.  Minor changes in the Earth’s orbit and tilt bring significant changes in atmosphere. The sun itself has varied in intensity, causing warming or cooling. Volcanic activity throws debris into the atmosphere along with gases (including CO2). In prehistoric times, volcanic eruptions were a major source of CO2 and other greenhouse gases contributing to global warming. In recent times, major volcanic eruptions have caused short-term climate changes, often causing cooling due to debris caught in the upper atmosphere reflecting the sun’s rays. In a very recent article, Prof. Larry Bell of University of Houston, writes, “It took virtually no time at all for some to attribute the tragic earthquake and tsunami that devastated lives and property in Japan to global warming. Only hours later the president of the European and Social Committee, Staffan Nilsson, issued a statement that “Some islands affected by climate change have been hit. Has not the time come to demonstrate on solidarity — not least solidarity in combating and adapting to climate change and global warming? Mother Nature has again given us a sign that is what we need to do.”He says such assumptions come as a surprise to those who believe natural collisions are the result of collisions of constantly shifting earth’s tectonic plates. Global warming is much-hyped Western agenda. The environmentalists are blamed of imposing their views on the Third World nation and causing lot of troubles in this process. Frank Furred argues that this new focus on the environmental issues is turning the societies into theme parks .According to him, “"They are very attractive for the voyeuristic Western imagination, but actually doom people in those societies to a life of poverty."He further Writer 5 adds that it is not the people of Africa and Asia or Latin America that are demanding the environmental policies rather these policies are being pushed by the West. Gregg Easterbrook emphasizes the hypocrisy of attitudes in the West “It's still possible in affluent circles in the United States or Europe to see people sitting in an air-conditioned room eating free-range chicken and sipping Chablis, talking amongst themselves about how farmers in Africa shouldn't have tractors, because it might disrupt the soil, or how peasants in India shouldn't be allowed to have hydroelectric power, because it's not appropriate to their culture. What would really be immoral is if we insisted on keeping material affluence for ourselves and try to deny it to the billions of others in the world who want and deserve exactly the same thing."The Developing countries, all over the world are criticized for squandering the natural resources. The people of West have failed to realize this vital fact that most people around the world are denied the basic requirements of life and good health and education. These people are still struggling with poverty and squalor, ignorance and disease .For them dependence on nature for the basic resources is the only option. Roy Spensor ,a principal research scientist at the University of Alabama in Huntsville remarked at Lexington symposium held in Virginia on 6th April 2011 that United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, are wrong in saying that human activity is the driving force behind global warming. He further adds, how can many scientist be wrong, “"The vast majority repeat what they hear.”The phenomenon of Global warming is “highly politicized” and majority of scientists are "just parroting what they have heard." He, however agrees that global warming is happening, He further added that his research shows that it is mostly natural, and that the earth's climate system is not as sensitive to Writer 6 Greenhouse gas emissions as most scientists would suggest. Carbon dioxide accounts for only 39 of every 100,000 molecules of air in the earth's atmosphere. Spencer also pointed to fluctuating temperature trends, from as long ago as the ice age to more recent shifts brought on by the El Nino and La Nina climate patterns."Global warming and global cooling is something that happens every century," he told his audience. "It's not something that was invented since you were born." In an article, The Absurdity of trying to Cool the Climate ,by Jonathan H. Adler, it is mentioned that it is the environmentalists who are increasing the heat on the policy makers to do something about global warming before it is too late. They charge that human activity is warming the climate yet climate is not cooperating. The real question facing the world's people is not "is warming real?" but "what, if anything, should be done about it?" Future events are becoming indeterminate, and given the magnitude of human activity, this means there will be uncertainty about the impacts of civilization. Natural disasters will strike randomly whether modern industrial society warms the earth or not. Even the most sophisticated computers will be forever unable to forecast future events with anything approaching certitude. Human being has a tremendous potential of construction and-destruction. From Early man to the modern man –man has undergone a drastic development, which has become abhorrent to his own eyes as well. He has tried to become a God by trying to bring changes in the natural processes of nature but the nature has its own way to revive and resurrect. These alterations in the natural changes by man are becoming the cause of his destruction. The strange part of the entire story is that people are unaware that it is happening. “Over a third of the world's population was unaware of global warming, with people in developing countries less aware than those in developed, and those in Africa the least aware. Of those Writer 7 aware, Latin America leads in belief that temperature changes are a result of human activities while Africa, parts of Asia and the Middle East, and a few countries from the Former Soviet Union lead in the opposite belief. In the Western world, opinions over the concept and the appropriate responses are divided. Nick Pidgeon of Cardiff University said that "results show the different stages of engagement about global warming on each side of the Atlantic", adding, "The debate in Europe is about what action needs to be taken, while many in the U.S. still debate whether climate change is happening." Floods, droughts, famine can be considered a recurring features of the climate but the increased frequency of the natural calamities surely raises the question, what went wrong and where? The most pertinent thing that appears now is to spread awareness about global warming. The people need to be educated that the changes happening around them are the results of their own activities -the ocean warming, increased periods of heat, coastal flooding, increased sea levels, glaciers melting, Arctic and Antarctic warming are all the consequences of global warming. These in turn are the harbingers of unknown diseases, floods, droughts, coral reef bleaching etc. But, the saddest part of entire discussion is that, this subject has become a dining table discussion with no one really doing a single effort to solve this issue .In the poorer nations where a common man is toiling hard to get a full day meal, at the end of the day would be burning coal only, to make his meal as it is the cheapest and available source. Ultimately, it is up to human beings to understand the ways to minimize the everyday energy usage, conserve electricity and stop poisonous gases emission. Work Cited Cato Handbook for Policy Makers, Cato Institute, 7th Edition. Web.9.April.2011. Got Problems? Blame Global Warming, Mar. 29 2011. Web10. April.2011. Easterbrook, The Lack of Scientific Rigor in Environmentalist Ideology.Web.9th April.2011 Frank Furred, The Lack of Scientific Rigor in Environmentalist Ideology.Web.9th April.2011 The Absurdity of Trying To Control Climate Cool Climate' by Jonathan H. Adler, Jul 1996 The Kyoto Protocol .Web.25 Feb 2011. Nick Pidgeon, Cardiff University. understanding .risk.org Charles D Keeling (The Keeling Curve) Atmospheric CO2 concentrations measured at Mauna Loa observatory. Roy Spencer, Lexington symposium, Virginia, By Laurence Hammack .Web 10 April.2011. Read More