Most people push the issues of the environment to the back of their day-to-day activities. It is impossible to deny that human beings cannot continue to ignore the issues arising from poor environmental management. Entire cities stand at the risk of destruction while millions are poised to lose their livelihood and their lives. This writing seeks to explore the environmental issues in relation to climate change. The essay will discuss in detail the impact of human activities and the resulting consequences. It will finalize by suggesting literal solutions, which could be, used to reverse the negative impact of climate change. The time for following the path of environmental awareness is right. The days when a person or people would move around with little or no consideration to the environment do not exist. As the human population increases and civilization takes hold the expense on earth is becoming costly and thus needs to be, addressed with urgency. Currently, the world has seen environmental conflicts that are of great concern repeatedly surfacing throughout history. Most people have only known or heard about political and cultural conflict; environmental conflict has always been with us, and may people have lost their homes, livelihoods, and lives; as a result. In London alone the smog season starting from 1900, got worse in 1952, 1953, 1956 and 1966 got worse depending on the weather. With thermal inversions, which contained dangerous pollutants the pollution in London enclosed regions lead to thousands of death (Wallace and Kunziq, 57). Later on the cars joined the streets across the world, and the severity started changing weather conditions, and seasonal patterns changed. However, still man got more civilized his lust for things only took more and more from the environment leading us to today. Today the climate is changing floods and storms are taking over putting the human race at the brink of extinction with every pollutant produced it is a certainty the world will not hold for long. Climate change is the phrase that the environmentalists now use. At every turn, scientists have warned of coming changes and shared their concern. For a long time the politicians ignored this call, but owing to the huge evidence provided on climate change presidents across the globe have realized the inevitable. Climate change is no longer just a matter of a good environment but of human existence and extinction. Explaining what climate change is Wallace and Kunzig, (201) observes that climate change is the distribution of weather patterns statistically for an extended time i.e. decades, centuries or millions of years. Discussing further Wallace and Kunzig (201) indicates that climate change refers to average weather conditions leading to extreme weather conditions. Climate change results from biotic factors, solar radiation variants received on earth, volcanic eruptions, and plate tectonics. Unfortunately, scientists have proved that climate is also seriously a cause of man. Man activities have throughout led to global warming an additional factor to climate change (Eve & Meshbesher, 244). Global warming is the century scale showing rising in average earth temperature. Global warming is the century scale showing rising in average earth temperature. Scientist state since 1971 most of the increased temperature has gone to the oceans ranging from zero to 700m. As a result, the sea surface has showed increased 0.8 °C. These have led to melting of snow in the arctic leading to increased sea levels. As at the moment there are entire countries, which could go extinct with rising sea levels. Almost twenty countries stand the risk of having major sections of their regions sinking under seawater. Countries like the Netherlands, Bangladesh, Vietnam, and the Philippines are at risk of losing lives and livelihood.
Susan et al. (229) observes that out of 20 largest cities 13 stand at risk of total reclaim by the sea. These means that nearly 25% of the world population would be at risk of having their lives destroyed. These makes up 600 million people who live just 10metres above the sea level. Ernest (91) states that approximately 33% of the coastal land are likely to be, lost. Additional climate changes are leading to warmer seasons destroying farming in the inland. In sub-Saharan Africa millions currently rely on food programs as weather patterns change and destroy farmlands (Ton, 111). The result is poverty and unnecessary death caused by years of poor nutrition and resulting sicknesses. Why care is the question that forces itself to everyone’s mind at some stage in the climate change discussion. Apart from others going hungry in regions far from where we live there is the possibility of storms and hurricanes. These means that houses that built using decade’s worth of savings could go up in minutes. Floods could show up and sweep us out of our livelihoods leaving millions dead and hopeless. These would just be the beginning as world economies suddenly get affected by destruction and loss of usable skill force, workforce freshwater and agricultural land. The floods would lead to huge inflations that would strike even the safest man and woman financially.
Money could suddenly lose its worth as trading gets destroyed in the devastation. Multinational companies have tried to come together in carbon trading. While it is a deterrent carbon, trading has seriously failed in achieving its goals. Reason being carbon trading remains the care of a few companies and group of people compared to the huge environmental pollution (Susan et al. 302). Countries have also tried to come up with agreements of reducing carbon emissions. However, this too has not been as effective as the need to economic might precedes governments concern for environmental issues (Ton, 57). In the case of failure to address climate change destruction is an inevitable result in scientifically proven devastations. More people will have to relocate from their current homes; even more will go hungry across the world as seasons change. Worse still world economies will be devastated increasing the poor and unfortunately unnecessary deaths. The reason for failure currently in dealing with climate change banks on what the majority of people think. Most people think that climate change is the responsibility of the governments and major companies. However, this reasoning is untrue and unfounded on the basis that each of us is responsible. The question then is not “who needs to do something” but “what as individuals can do to stop climate change". Among the solutions given by scholars, apply to both countries and individuals. One is stopping the usage of fossil fuel, which plays a huge part of changes in climate (Al, 107).
Another solution is the reduction of greenhouse gasses. Individually people can start by changing the way they build and unplugging their machines from electricity, that alone is a reason to why the climate is changing (Thomas 92). These calls for efficiency, discipline in using only what we need, eating smart by reducing the amount of meat eaten and the biggest of all stopping cutting of trees. Additionally people could configure themselves to one child to put a cup in the 6.6 billion people existing today (Eve & Meshbesher, 255). However, innovation and commitment to changing our perspective and activity to ensure reduced wastage and consumption is the most vital element in winning against climate change.
Conclusion
It is evident that the human activity is the major cause of climate change. These, unfortunately does not come without consequences. Currently, the world is experiencing increased temperatures that are causing the arctic ice to melt. These means if nothing gets done in the short future millions will have to relocate to higher grounds as cities getup in sea water. Millions more will lose cultivatable grounds resulting with widespread hunger. Economies will be seriously affected reducing the economic success experienced. More people will be poorer and before long people will die from depression, hunger, and sickness. To mitigate these countries and individuals will have to change how each person or company carryout their day to day activities. These means reducing carbon emissions at all cost including change to how people eat. The good news is if each person becomes responsible to the environment all the mentioned devastating occurrences can be, averted permanently.
Works Cited
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Gore, Al. An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do about It. New York: Rodale, 2006. Print.
Hartman, Eve, and Wendy Meshbesher. Climate Change. Chicago, Ill.: Raintree, 2010. 233 - 257. Print.
Koger, Susan M., Kerry E. Leslie, and Erica D. Hayes. "Climate Change: Psychological Solutions and Strategies for Change." Ecopsychology: 227-35. Print.
Kuhn, Thomas R. "Generating Solutions for Climate Change." The Electricity Journal: 87-96. Print.
Njau, Ernest C. Modern Science of Climate Changes. New York: Nova Science, 2011. 89 - 156. Print.
