Issues of Global Warming

This paper’s research includes a thorough explanation of the state of our understanding and an analysis of how global warming’s effects and related policies have been addressed. The advantages and disadvantages of climate change and its policies are thoroughly discussed. Additionally, it makes an effort to offer sensible advice and solutions for resolving the issue of global warming and its consequences.

Global Warming Issues and Policies: Environmental Protection Agency

Introduction

The cancerous infection that is steadily draining the life from our planet is being recognized by the planet. There is no argument that our planet is alarmingly warming up. The increased temperatures experienced today on the planet are as a result of global Warming and its effects. Global warming is the gradual increase of the earth’s internal atmosphere caused by the greenhouse effect which is as a result of increased carbon dioxide levels and pollution. Since the agrarian revolution of industries, there has been a significant rise in the rate of emission of greenhouse gasses. However, the industrial contribution of carbon dioxide emission is only a third of the total emissions that contribute to global warming. There exist other disreputable contributors to global warming like the use of coal, fossil fuel and nuclear energy. Burning of coal is responsible for production of over 40 percent of electricity in the United States alone. Therefore, there is consequently very high rate of carbon dioxide emissions from coal. Fossil fuel however is at the acme of all giants in contributing to global warming. The use of oil as energy solutions is the last thing the world needs despite existing solutions of safe alternative energy. The use of oil as a life support to energy solutions is a double edged sword being utilised by majority of people in the planet. Leaders have notoriously leaned to the ignorant slope against fighting the dependence on oil as an energy source. The use of nuclear energy in no option either to ensure a sustainable, safe and global warming free environment. The risk of a nuclear meltdown is both very dangerous and unimaginable considering the contribution it would make global warming increase. Notwithstanding the existence of global warming, initiative has been taken to counter the rapidly rising concern in the effects of global warming. Organisations such as the Environmental Protection Agency have been initiated to prevent and deal with the global warming issues and Policies.

Pros of Global Warming

Regardless of global warming being considered as a negative progression, there exist some positive impacts resulting from the effects of global warming. Global warming results into increasing temperatures in some the planet’s regions has favoured various climatic areas. Global warming can be considered as a blessing in disguise to the Arctic and Antarctic Siberia regions of the earth. Since these regions experienced very low temperatures that could hardly support any plant growth, hostile climatic conditions strained proper plant growth. The plant growth rate has been conveniently increased due to milder climatic conditions for plant survival. Significant plant increase has been made possible by increased regional temperatures as a result of global warming. There has also been a significant increase of forest growth due to global warming. On the other hand, the biomass of planktons in the Northern Pacific Subtropical areas has immensely increased hence providing more food to marine life. Global warming tremendously decreased the possibility of an occurrence of the ice age. An ice age is an increased drastic drop in the climatic temperatures hence resulting into emergence of long periods glaciers in the Arctic’s. Such long periods of glaciers cause extremely low temperatures that can result to the extinction of various plant and animal life. Global warming helps to control extreme cold temperature fluctuations experienced in some regions of the earth thus preventing formation of glaciers that can result to the occurrence of an ice age. Considering the dwellers of the cold regions of the earth constantly battle with the adverse effects of freezing cold temperatures, global warming has immensely contributed to the warming of these low climatic regions. The effect of warmer temperatures is the reduction of the amount of energy consumption. Less deaths and injuries due to the cold weather is an advantage of warmer weather in the cold regions. Subsequently, the increase and benefits of warm temperatures is a result of the effects of global warming. (Bernard, 2015,72)

Global warming has been attributed to result to elongation of seasonal periods. For farmers, this would mean a longer period to engage in farming activities. Longer growing season’s means increased agricultural production in some areas such as the Greenland. Increased agricultural produce consequently reflects an increased food production for nutritional and sustainability of people in some local regions. There has been a recorded increase in the plantation of the sour orange trees since the notable increase in global warming. Mountains have also been observed to increase in height due to subsequent melting of glaciers as a result of global warming. The glaciers on the mountain peaks melt as a result of global warming hence mountains rebound against the displaced weight of the ice. The boundaries between countries over low lying islands will disappear as a result of global warming. The rise in sea levels as a result of global warming submerges low lying islands which may be a cause of conflict between countries. The transportation sector is also a beneficiary of the effects of global warming. Sea passages in the Arctic’s have often been a risky venture to navigate. Sea passages such as the Northwest Passage in Canada’s formerly icy north is now opened up due to the melting effect caused by global warming. Opening up of the northern passage has greatly benefited the transportation sector as it has offered up a shorter route between the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans. (Rathod, 2016, 16)

Cons of Global Warming

The negative implications of global warming are alive to people but has been widely undervalued for appropriate action. The existing deserts become drier due to global warming hence increase the rate of desertification. The long term effects of desertification result to starvation, malnutrition and increased deaths due to food and crop shortages. Increased immigration is an after effect of desertification due to global warming. People will tend to move from poorer countries that ignorantly deal with the effects of global warming to wealthier countries in search for better daily conditions. The effects of global warming will also result to un-conducive daily living environments where extreme heat results to heatstroke’s and subsequently cause more deaths. Global warming also results to changes to the agricultural food production due to very high temperatures of the climate resulting to food shortages. The food shortages are complimentary to availability of water to ensure the survival of life. Global warming is also responsible for water shortages in regions where water is scarce. Increased temperatures result to increased convectional conversion of water reserves hence reducing the availability of water to sustain an increasing population of a given region. Consequently, the effect of high temperatures due to global warming in regions in proximity to large water bodies and forests will experience flooding. As a result of high rainfall caused by increased convectional water precipitation, flooding will be inevitable resulting to unnumbered losses and environmental degradation. Flooding will cause soil erosion which will affect the landscape structures of a region as a long term effect. (Dinçer, 2013, 30)

The ocean circulation is also disrupted by global warming. The nature of currents and water flow is dictated by the variations in temperatures at sea. Rise in temperature due to global warming results to changes in the flow and predictability of currents and circulation of water in the oceans. Disruption of ocean circulation affects the migration patterns of marine life for food and reproduction resulting to loss of marine life. The climatic structure of the ocean is thus interrupted by global warming hence resulting to catastrophic climatic calamities. Frequent storms are a result of global warming effect in the oceans. Increased extreme weather and climatic conditions are experienced across the world due to the effects of global warming. The unpredictability of the storms disrupts the safety of travel hence affect sea travel and trade. Global warming also results into higher sea levels causing flooding of low lying lands. Flooding amounts to deaths and diseases amounting from flood evacuation. The increase in heat and temperature sue to global warming contributes to providing enabling conditions for diseases and airborne virus to be spread across the world. The rise of the effects of global warming measures to facilitate the loss of animal and plant life. In this regard to loss of life, the threat of complete extinction of additional animal and plant life is evident. (Ploutz, 2012, 48)

Conclusions and Recommendations

The world needs to be conscious about the eminent threat posed by global warming and its effects. It is sad that the urgency and plan of spearheading the fight against global warming is not as elaborate and proactive as its effects demand. From the research, recommendations need to be taken up promptly before the global warming situation gets out of hand. There should be vigorous compulsory education and awareness about global warming and its effects being integrated into the education systems world over. The number of organisations and scope of contact in implementing the policies that prevent and govern global warming should be increased to cover local areas from state and international policy implementation. A clean renewable power plans should be adopted by every individual through the initiative of the international communities and the governments of various states. International climate negotiations need to take place more robustly to enable the speedy influence of climate change policies. Forestation should also be a key concern in the world over to help clean the carbon emissions from fossil fuels that already exist. It is very important to have a self-awareness initiative as an individual in contributing to the fight against global warming and its effects. It is well known that charity begins at home. The effort upon realisation of the urgency of the matter of global warming should be self-driven to consequently prompt the joint effort of other people. Together we are able to achieve anything as the people living and benefiting from the planet earth. Therefore, we should protect our planet against global warming to ensure the survival of the future generations and the human species.

References

İbrahim Dinçer, Can Ozgur Colpan, and Fethi Kadioglu. 2013. Causes, impacts and solutions to global warming. New York, NY: Springer pub. http://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=159287

In Bernard, L., & In Semmler, W. (2015). The Oxford handbook of the macroeconomics of global warming. Oxford: Oxford University Press

Ploutz, P. (2012). Global warming: Handbook of ecological issues. Bloomington, Indiana: Xlibris Corp publishers.

Rathod, D. G. (2016). Environmental and global warming: Issues and challenges. Agra, U.P., India: Current Publications