Climate Change Essay: A Growing Menace!
Question
Task: Write a Climate Change essay highlighting its different causes and the impacts on the daily lives of human population.
Answer
Climate change is a phenomenon which can be caused by different activities. Change in the climatic conditions may lead to different temperatures, mostly a rise in the temperature. The rise in temperature brings different changes on Earth, like frequent floods, severe heat waves, heavy rainfall and drought. There is a change in the oceans and glaciers. The oceans are becoming too warm and acidic, and the glaciers are melting at a rapid pace which is increasing the level of water in water bodies. If the change mentioned in this climate change essay persists, then it may pose a challenge for our future generations and hamper the environment. The topic of climate change is one of the defining issues at present. We need to take some drastic steps; otherwise, we will not be able to adapt to these conditions in the near future.
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In general, the word climate denotes the weather conditions of a region or a place over the years. When there is a notable variation in the weather conditions, then it is known as climate change like weather becoming warmer as compared to previous years, happening of more rainfall or weather becoming dryer are some examples of climate change (Clayton, 2020). Global warming is one of the aspects of climate change, as discussed in this climate change essay.
The climate and weather conditions are generally predicted by the satellites orbiting around the planet or by any meteorological station. The data collected through palaeoclimatology helps in understanding the climatic changes that were not there in previous years. The data is derived from tree rings, corals, ice cores, sediments from lakes and from oceans. The data is fed by the scientists in a certain climate model which helps in predicting the climatic trends in future (Mi et al., 2019).
It has been seen in the past that certain activities performed by humans escalated the release of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The majority of the gases released at the time of burning fossil fuel for the generation of power. The greenhouse gases cover the Earth and trap the energy within it, thereby increasing the temperature and warming the atmosphere. The process is natural and known as the greenhouse effect. It is an essential process to maintain life on the planet. However, the building of the greenhouse gases is affecting the climate, which is dangerous for humans and affecting the ecosystem as well (Seidl et al., 2017). Agriculture and road construction also plays an important role in reflective activity. It can be derived from this climate change essay that the emission of greenhouse gases is one of the major reasons behind the increasing temperature and the fast-changing climate.
The people are adapted to a stable climate since the ice age, but due to the increasing temperature, adjustments in the living are being made. However, while writing this climate change essay, it can be said that the increasing heat will bring changes in the supply of water, affect the agriculture, bring changes to power and transportations, and affect the environment we live in along with affecting our health. Some of the changes in the climate cannot be controlled or avoided by any means which includes the existence of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It is said that the gas can be there in the atmosphere for almost a century, so there is no stopping of the Earth being warmer in the near future (Seidl et al., 2017).
Since the last century, global warming has been increasingly affecting the world. It has been so caused due to the gradual increase in Earth's temperature since the last century. There is a huge emission of greenhouse gases due to the burning of fossil fuels by the people living in this world. The growing greenhouse emission is getting stored in the environment, which is increasing the temperature of the Earth’s surface. There are certain gases which have the capacity to influence the atmosphere, which includes methane, water vapour, nitrogen oxide, and carbon dioxide. It has been reported that 30% of the sunlight coming on the Earth’s surface is reflected back by the clouds and the ice (Climate Change, 2020). Bright surfaces tend to reflect back the light that falls onto them. The remaining sunlight is absorbed by the seas and oceans, including the land and the atmosphere which heats up the Earth’s surface. While searching for different facts related to climate change essay, it can be said that the absorbed heat and heat radiation by the atmosphere is not harmful rather it is beneficial for all the living beings residing on the Earth.
Source: (Denchak, 2020)
The atmosphere today consists of increased greenhouse gas molecules which lead to greater emission of infrared energy being released by the Earth's surface, which is absorbed by the Earth’s atmosphere. There are many reasons behind the changing climatic conditions. The sudden cooling and increased warming have not been a regular phenomenon in history, and this sudden change is very abnormal for our planet. As per the climate change essay, the factors that have led to the change include volcanic eruptions, the changing amount of solar energy, etc. The amount of solar energy being received by the Earth can easily change the climatic conditions (Mi et al., 2019). Similarly, during volcanic eruptions, it is not only the lava and the ashes that comes with it; rather, there are other substances as well, which affects the climate. The substances include small particles of sulphur dioxide which is released in the atmosphere. The particles get in touch with the stratosphere, which reflects back the solar radiation into space. The climate change essay also reveals that the melting of snow and ice also contributes to the changing climate.
Melting snow and icebergs increases the temperature of the Earth; there is a reduction in the energy being reflected which ultimately leads to a warmer climate. The glaciers from the mountains are retreating at an alarming rate, but still, we can find the drying of rivers and lakes. As the atmosphere heats up, more water will retain back, and ultimately it will drop in the form of rain. Some places will become wetter, and some will remain dry. The phenomena can already be seen in today's world, where one place in a particular state is receiving rainfall, and others receive no or very less rainfall. The climate gets affected not only due to the above reasons, but there are other reasons as well, which includes plants, people and animal living on the planet. Amongst these, there are some who can produce and enhance greenhouse gases which can easily trap the heat inside the atmosphere and in turn affecting the climate. Carbon dioxide is important for plants while preparing their food in the form of photosynthesis (Seidl et al., 2017). In the night, the atmosphere receives some carbon dioxide from certain plants. Going through the climate change essay, it can be said that methane is a type of gas which is produced when the animals digest their foods. Vehicles such as cars and trucks also affect climate when they release carbon dioxide. Fossil fuel is used to provide the power to run, which is a huge contributor to the changing climate. At the time of wildfires, a huge amount of carbon dioxide gets released into the atmosphere, which is uncontrollable. But if in case there is a growth in the size of the forest, it can balance the amount of damage which has been done by the wildfire.
While reviewing the data for this climate change essay, it was found that there were some scientists who had already predicted the effects of the changing climate conditions which include melting of ice, rising sea levels and increased heat waves (Denchak, 2020). They are of the opinion that this rising temperature will not calm down in the near future due to the activities being conducted by humans which are leading to the production of greenhouse gases. One of the leading organizations, Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change had stated that the effects of climate change would not be constant on the mankind, it will change with time, and it is the responsibility of the society and the bodies related to environment protection to find solutions to mitigate or to adjust and live with these changes. It has been said that this decade is one of the warmest decades since 1880 (Climate Change, 2020). It has been stated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that 2010 and 2005 was one of the warmest years. The Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change has also claimed that the Earth may get warmer by 7.2 degrees in the coming 21st century if in case the emission of fossil fuel s not reduced (Auffhammer, 2018).
Source: (Denchak, 2020)
Today, we are more inclined toward industries in order to get a modern living, but we are unable to see the contribution these industries are making to increase the level of carbon dioxide. There is an increase of 280 to 379 per million in the level of carbon dioxide being released in the atmosphere since the last 150 years (Denchak, 2020).
In case we fail to address the concerns mentioned in this climate change essay related to climatic changes, then it will have a major impact on the generations to come. The weather conditions will be unbearable, and people will not feel safe while going out. Due to the changing temperatures, the pollution level will increase, and it will lead to many allergic air pollutants. A report from the World Health Organization has stated that due to the changing climate, it is expected that at least 2 lakh 50 thousand people may die every year (Climate Change, 2020). These fatalities may increase as and when the climatic conditions worsen. People will die from heatstroke, kidney diseases or due to cardiac arrest. There will be respiratory related diseases, contaminated water-related diseases, etc.
It is said that the oceans and other water bodies absorb ¼ to 1/3 of fossil fuel emissions which but now they are becoming more acidic. The aquatic animals are facing more threat due to rising ocean temperatures and due to bleaching coral reefs. Different animals are unable to survive in this changing temperature, so they prefer changing their positions to some cooler places (Denchak, 2020). As claimed previously in this climate change essay, the shifting can hamper the ecosystem and the life of the species, which depends on such migrated animals. When the ecosystems are affected, it will not only affect the atmosphere we live in, but it will also affect the water we drink and the air we breathe. According to the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change, the changing climatic conditions will lead to the extinction of many species. One of their reports published in 2015 stated that mammals, reptiles, birds and fishes along with other such species are extinguishing at a faster rate as compared to their normal extinction (Auffhammer, 2018).
It can be seen from this climate change essay that is simply debating on the reasons behind the climate change will not change anything; it is a reality which is leading to many observed and unprecedented changes. It was said that the last decade 2000 to 2009 was the hottest decade in the last 1300 years. Certain data reflects that 2016 was hotter than in 2015 and 2014. It is our responsibility to reverse this trend as 97% of scientists are of the opinion that humans have the upper hand in damaging the climate and the main cause is the emission of greenhouse gases (Denchak, 2020).
The Paris climate agreement in 2015 was one such agreement where each nation committed to taking any action on controlling the emission of greenhouse gases and shifting from fossil fuels so that they can at least curb down the temperatures by 2 or 1.5 degrees. The United States is the second-largest contributors to global emissions after China. The former had wowed to cut down 26 to 28% of its emissions by 2025 (Climate Change, 2020). But to be on that path, the country has to limit its carbon emission from its power plants. The country has to implement its clean power plan. As per the climate change essay, the country is also required to follow the plan made by the former president, Barack Obama, during his administration related to the climate action plan. The plan tried to promote the usage of renewable energy, increase fuel economy standards, efficient energy usage and reduction in emission of greenhouse gases by curbing methane outflow. But Donald Trump has his own ways to control the climatic changes. He threatened to leave the Paris agreement and also rejected the plan made by Barack Obama (Clayton, 2020). By doing this, the president is taking the country towards more pollution excretion and more fossil fuel.
There are certain states which are putting in efforts to clean the energy-producing industries. States like California, Iowa, etc. are propagating the usage of solar and wind energy. In November 2016, many American companies asked for some policies to be implemented related to lower emissions, and they also showed their concern in support of the Paris climate agreement (Denchak, 2020). People need to support renewable energy projects and come up with ideas which can reduce the growing emissions of harmful gases in the atmosphere.
As per the points mentioned in this climate change essay, the people need to take steps and be a part of an initiative to curb and control global warming in order to stop the ever-changing climatic conditions. If the situation persists in future, there will be a time when a number of species living on the planet will become extinct due to high temperatures. As per the details mentioned in this climate change essay different organizational bodies and people should come up to control the rising pollution and to curb the human activities which are adding to the building up of greenhouse gases. The contribution will bring back the climate in its original form, which was there before the industrialization and people will feel safe and enjoy living on this planet.
Reference
Auffhammer, M. (2018). Quantifying Economic Damages from Climate Change. Journal Of Economic Perspectives, 32(4), 33-52. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.32.4.33
Clayton, S. (2020). Climate anxiety: Psychological responses to climate change. Journal Of Anxiety Disorders, 74, 102263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2020.102263
Climate Change. (2020). Retrieved 29 October 2020, from https://www.un.org/en/sections/issues-depth/climate-change/
Denchak, M. (2020). Global Climate Change: What You Need to Know. Retrieved 29 October 2020, from https://www.nrdc.org/stories/global-climate-change-what-you-need-know
Mi, Z., Guan, D., Liu, Z., Liu, J., Viguié, V., Fromer, N., & Wang, Y. (2019). Cities: The core of climate change mitigation. Journal Of Cleaner Production, 207, 582-589. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.10.034
Seidl, R., Thom, D., Kautz, M. et al. (2017). Forest disturbances under climate change. Nature Clim Change 7, 395–402. https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate3303
