Concern of People about Global Warming Effects - Essay Example

Topic: Why People Should be Concern about Global Warming Effects Introduction "Everything is connected to everyone else",(De Castro, p.6) one of theprinciples of nature in Ecology. Due to too much progression in technology that made human activities easy, there are a lot of changes happening that affects this world. Such improvise things are though helpful but yet harmful for every living organisms on earth. As a result damages in our nature have been imparted to our surroundings. There are a lot of environmental issues and problems nowadays, alarming everyindividual to be much attentive because the nature is coming to get to loss things, those humans have destroyed, but it seems that people don't put much of concerns about the said issue. Among the environmental issues today is Global Warming. This is the effect of releasing too much Carbon Dioxide to the air. This compound will break up the bonds of the layer of compound that protects our atmosphere from UV rays and too much heat of the sun. When there is a lot of Carbon Dioxide in the air, it will thin up the ozone layer that protects all inhabitants in the earth. The ozone layer in the earth's atmosphere serves as protection from the sun's heat and radiation. Without this layer of gasses, Sun's heat penetrates much and it will be impossible for life to exist. The Case There are a lot that causes of global warming. One of the causes of this environmental issue is the gasses released by power plants. This is the cause of more than a third of U. S. Carbon Dioxide emission (Public Interests Research, 2001). Another cause also is from the trucks and vehicles gasses. It has been known that a third of U. S. CO2 emission is due to these vehicles. Among the other causes are CFC's from aerosols and refrigerators, burning of fossil fuel, and burning of plastic (Save the Environment p.2). Big plants and companies around the world has been spending million or even billion of dollars just to get away about this issue. They had spent a lot just to discredit those scientific researches that prove that they cause harmful effects not just on human's health but to our environment directly. Some of these power coalitions are powerful and known oil, power, and auto companies who followed the lead of tobacco companies. Not only are those companies that contributed this present issue of global warming. Aside from those we are to blame also our trucks and vehicles for contributing for this problem. CFC or Chlorofluorocarbon that are present in aerosol spray, air-conditioning unit and refrigerators is one of the major causes of global warming. Almost residences in earth do have refrigerators; we use refrigerators to avoid spoilage of our food or food preservations. Air-conditioning unit is known also to offices and other establishments for cooling the surrounding. Aerosols are rampantly used for hair spray, air freshener and even spray paints (Webster Encyclopedia, p. 28). Another major cause of global warming is burning of fossil fuels. The gasses produced of this burning can largely cause global warming and may even leads to greenhouse effects. Burning fossil fuels somehow can't be avoided since a lot of us are dependent in this kind of energy or power source. This will cause the heating up of the earth's surface because these gasses accumulate to the upper atmosphere. Solar radiation can then passes through and reach the earth but heat is prevented from radiating back. This will then cause to the increase of Earth's atmospheric temperature. Plastic burning or incineration is even not excused on the problem of global warming. The burning of this synthesized material can also contribute to the said issue. Since plastics are inorganic materials and therefore do not decay (Webster Encyclopedia p. 654) there a lot of us burn it to dispose. Some do these because even if you burry or put plastics in compose pits, it never decay and disintegrate. As we look at our lifestyle today people love to use those trendy plastic bags and forgot the effect it may give to our environmental issues. The Earth's climate has altered in the past, and will continue to change naturally in the future. Ice ages, long warm periods, and short-term fluctuations in temperature and precipitation are all elements of the global climate's natural variability. But considering the case of the earth's situation today is this still natural Today, the average global temperature is climbing up. Though some of this is caused naturally as part of nature's own cycle, we can never deny the fact that there is a maximal and sudden change of the earth's increase of temperature. Many of the scientists believe that parts of the warming trend we are experiencing are caused mainly by us, humans. Average global temperatures at the Earth's surface have increased 0.6-1.2F since the late 19th century. The 10 warmest years in the 20th century all occurred in the last 15 years (Patz, p310). What happened after the earth's temperature has been increased rapidly What will happen to the earth's surface and inhabitants After the heating up or the rising up of temperature in earth's surface, what will happen next Will it do any harm to us Do we have to be alarmed on this These are the questions we should be afraid of the answers. Recently, there were alarming events happening around us. The prediction of scientists about the effects of earth's changing temperature has been consistently true and is really happening. Evidences about this environmental issue are popping out. "The balance of the evidence suggests a human influence on the global climate" Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), an officially appointed international panel of over 2,500 of the worlds leading scientific experts commented. Below is a copied list of evidences gathered by IPCC confronting global warming issue. The following are events which are consistent with scientist's predictions of the effects of global warming: The past two decades have witnessed a stream of new heat and precipitation records. The 10 hottest years on record have all occurred since 1980, the hottest year ever on record is 1997, and the hottest January through July on record occurred in 1998. Glaciers are melting around the world. There has been a 50 percent reduction in glacier ice in the European Alps since 1900. Alaska's Columbia Glacier has retreated more than eight miles in the last 16 years while temperatures there have increased. A section of an Antarctic ice shelf as big as the District of Columbia broke off. Some scientists think this may be the beginning of the end for the Larsen B ice shelf, which is about the size of Connecticut. Severe floods like the devastating Midwestern floods of 1993 and 1997 are becoming more common. Infectious diseases are moving into new areas as seen in the recent outbreaks of Dengue fever in Texas and Malaria in New Jersey. Among those evidences presented, the very alarming effect is the melting of glaciers. Today, the glaciers of Glacier National Park are shrinking. The park's largest glacier recorded today is only one third of its original size as they were in 1850. It was also found out that small glacier mountains had been disappearing during the past 150 years. The national parks' area has been decreased by 73 percent from 1850 to 1993. Babbitt (1998), Secretary of the Interior, even commented "It's increasingly hard to understand why it's called Glacier National Park, because the glaciers are getting hard to find." Arctic region not only is having decrease of ice thickness but also decreasing its ice covers. Ice thickness in this region as measured by submarine sonar decreased 4 feet (1.2m) compared to its thickness 20 to 40 years ago. Satellite measurements indicate the area of perennial ice cover has decreased by about 7% per decade since 1978 (The Impact of Global Warming in Europe and Russia, 1999). Not only is the Arctic region is affected so with North's Americas largest glacier has lost 7 miles of its lengths and had lost 20 to 25 percent of its glacier parts. Research supports other studies that demonstrated a dramatic decline in water levels of glacier-fed rivers, and that the high elevations are warming much more than the global average (one degree F). Mosley-Thompson (2000) says, "For these rivers to continue to flow year-round, they have to be fed by ice in the high mountains. The question then is where will the river flow come from during the dry season" Not only will river overflow even if it's dry season so as the sea level will rise also. Even Greenland's glaciers are moving more rapidly to the sea, caused, perhaps, by melt water lubricating the base of the glaciers. Aside from the glacier melting due to this problem, there are other phenomenon arising. To enumerate a few of them are species extinction, disease outbreak, great floods, and drought. Due to global warming this causes also extinction of species also resulted. Nature, January 8, 2004 issue has released an article, "Extinction risk from climate change," pp. 145-148, written by 16 scientists from the US, the UK, the Netherlands, Mexico, Brazil South Africa, and Australia. They estimated the risks of extinction as a result of climate changes over the next 50 years in six diverse regions representing 20% of the Earth's land area and a range of terrestrial environments. Projections of three scenarios of climate change led to a midrange estimate that 24% of plants and animals will be extinct or committed to extinction by the year 2050. The authors bring to a close that climate change, and its resulting loss of suitable habitat "is likely to be the most threat (to species survival) in many if not most regions." According to Wilson (2002), a biologist, there has been a sudden change of temperature and these causes to habitat destruction and climate change. He predicted also that almost half of the world's species of plants and animals will be gone with in the 21st century. Not only the plants and animals are in great danger. Even we humans are in great danger. Due to this phenomenon there has been an increasing death occurrence among us. World Health Organization study showed that climate changes that have occurred in the last 30 years had caused 150, 000 deaths per year world wide. There has been a greater outbreak of disease cases due to this environmental problem. Epidemics of malaria and Rift Valley fever, dengue hemorrhagic fever in Thailand, Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome in the Desert Southwest, Waterborne diseases in Peru, Cholera in Bangladesh, etc. are among the disease outbreak cause by this global warming (Patz, J., et al, p.311) A recent study by New Zealand doctors, researchers at the Wellington School of Medicine's public health department said outbreaks of dengue fever in South Pacific islands are directly related to global warming. Global warming is expected to notably increase the range conducive to the transmission of both dengue and yellow fevers. Not only through this disease are we in great danger but also to the calamities that will follow. Heavy precipitation can cause great floods that can damage our sources of livelihood that will soon result to famine. Drought can also occur and will therefore kill our planted rice and vegetables that will of course result also to famine. Analysis These are just a few issues to tackle about the effects of global warming. With the evidences provided, this is the right moment for all of us to be alarmed and do something for the solution for this issue. Actions should be done for this. Since this problem has come to reality already and had caused damages to our mother earth, we need to cure it. We should bring back the balance. We should be all environmentalists and put back what we have taken from nature and environmentalists should cast Nature and Mother Earth as victims, the blame falls to the 'evil humans' (Allen & Freeman, p.214). When we don't stop damaging our living planet soon it will not be called "living again". It will not be far that our cities will look like that of the cities seen in Kevin Costner's movie "Waterworld". No land to step on and no land to plant trees and vegetables for food. If we don't want this to happen then now is the right time to be alarmed and do something to cure our world and prevent other things to happen. Here is the list the U.S. should do to cut global warming emissions (Public Interest Research Group, 2001). Increasing fuel efficiency standards to 45 miles per gallon for cars and 34 miles per gallons for light trucks would cut millions of tons of CO2 pollution as well as decreasing dependence on foreign oil. Putting a cap on CO2 from power plants would cut millions of tons of CO2 pollution as well as decreasing pollution that causes acid rain, smog, and respiratory illness. Shifting investment from fossil fuels like coal and oil to renewable energy and energy efficiency would allow cleaner, more sustainable sources of energy to take their rightful place as market leaders. Ratification of the Kyoto Protocol would be a modest but important first step toward international emissions reductions. Not only is the U.S. obliged to do something but as well as other country. One thing we can do is to plant more trees and stop illegal logging. Alastair Fitter, a University of York ecologist, said that today's chief extinction culprits are deforestation and the impact of invasive species. Trees can absorb Carbon Dioxide as part of food process called photosynthesis. If we plant more trees we can be able to get rid of too much Carbon Dioxide and can get Oxygen in exchange (Staple & Gamlin, 1993). If we can be able to plant trees we can restore our water reservoir. Trees will also give us a cool environment and more shade for other inhabitants. Second thing to do is to impose laws and ethics to those factories and vehicle owner. Factories should be checked for their waste disposal management (discourage incineration). Same thing should be done also to vehicles. Fines and punishments should be imposed to those who will not abide the rules. The governments of each country should be conscious about this issue and should strictly implement the rules. A study issue has been launched by UUA (2004-2006). A Study/Action Issue (SAI) is an invitation for congregations and districts to acquire a topic of alarm and tackle it, reflect on it, learn about it, react to it, comment on it and take action - each in their own way about the global warming issue. They even list down practices to avoid contribution on global warming. Here are the lists of personal practices: Reduce our use of energy and our consumption of the products of energy use; Use alternative sources of energy to encourage their further development; Walk, bike, carpool, and use mass transit, as well as limit travel by using communication technologies; Reduce waste and recycle; Plant and preserve trees; and Model these practices by committing to a life of voluntary simplicity and earth stewardship. These practices will serve as an example or model to each and everyone. Through studies and campaigns like this, it will let people understand more and comprehend what it takes if we keep on abusing our environment. They will see the cause and effect about this issue. They can even modify ways to avoid plastic burning and aerosol sprays. Issues like this should also be discussed in schools. It is on the children whom we will pass this problem. In early age, they can be educated well and be informed well about what's going on in our environment. They should be taught about recycling plastics, planting of trees, and also minimizing the use of energy. Government should also support those local agencies that are concerned about environment preservation. These agencies should encourage more people to join them and practice what is not harmful to the environment. They should promote campaigns and lectures to the community informing about global warming. Not just the government these agencies but it should also provide employment to those loggers. They can put up other kinds of livelihood for them. If not possible, those loggers should be educated about the consequences about cutting trees. In this way, they will be able to replace the tree they cut. Community should also be encouraged to use paper bags instead of plastic bags. Use only plastic bags in purpose. They should be encouraged also of minimizing their use of energy and learn to conserve and innovate other ways to get energy. Without the community making effort for this, there will a continuous increase of global warming. Climate continues to change, drought will be experienced, animals and plants will vanish and who's next to disappear Us In the near future, when no action seen, there will be no more planet and there will be no more human race. We should be alarmed already of the happenings about global warming. Tomorrow maybe too late to take actions and may lead to our planets destruction. We should take care of earth for our children's, children's future. Works Cited Alastair Fitter in Allen & Freeman. The Petition: A global Warming Case Study. Bufalo State University: New York,2005. Allen & Freeman., The Petition: A global Warming Case Study. Bufalo State University: New York, 2005. Babbit, B. , Melting Glaciers and Changing Ecosystem .,1998. De Castro PJ. War Between Man and Nature, 2006, p.6 Grolier Encyclopedia. Global Warming. Grisewood & Dempesy Publishing: Italy,1998. Mosley-Thompson. A Research on Global Warming and Retreating Glaciers. Ohio University: Ohio, 2000. Nature. Extinction caused by Global Warming;2004, pp. 145-148. Patz, J., et al.,. Impact of regional climate change on human health. Nature, 438, 310-317, 2005. Public Interests Research Group .Global Warming, 2001. Staple & Gamlin , An Issue on Global Warming. 2003. The Impact of Global Warming in Europe and Russia. , 2003. Threats to The Earth due to Global Warming < http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co./Save_The_Environment/page2.html>.(2003).23 April 2006. Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations (2006). Threat to Global Warming. .23 April, 2006. Universal Encyclopedia . Global Warming. Regency Publishing Works: Singapore. 1993. Wilson . The Extinction of Species. 2002. Read More