Amongst the biggest problems that are being recognized is the phenomenon of global warming. This is an alarming issue for the environmentalists as they believe that the sustainability, worse yet, the livability of the planet is at stake because of it. Because of the economic and industrial conditions of the planet, the climate of the earth is changing rapidly. The average temperatures that are being measured are increasing very quickly, and it is feared that in a short period of time, the temperature of the planet will rise higher than what is comfortable (Root).
The problem of rising temperatures is a very small issue on its own, but the real problem is from the issues that it gives rise to. There are found glaciers all over the world especially on the poles of the planet; i.e. the north and the south poles. These glacial caps are not meant for bearing high temperatures, and as the temperature rises above their endurance level, the ice starts to melt, and the water level, as a result, starts to rise. As this happens, the area covered by seas is increased, and the oceans start to take land underneath them. Although the polar ice melts and falls into the sea directly, the ice molten on the mountains and the glaciers located in landlocked areas, there is altogether a new dimension of problems.
As these ice caps melt, water rushes down into the rivers that can only contain so much water, excessive water causes flooding in the region, and a loss of life and resources takes place. These floods wash away crop and cattle with them and cause devastation to the areas that are affected by it. Furthermore, as the temperatures rise, “the ideal temperatures for growing crop and fruit becomes rare, and it becomes more and more difficult to grow fields with high yield” (Lambeck & Chappell).
The excessive usage of fuels is considered to be one of the biggest causes of global warming and climate change. Diels and jet fuel are the largest contributors towards the production of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and these are used by ships and air places. There are several thousand take off and landings made every day, and this is causing the upper atmosphere polluted very quickly. Similarly, ships voyage for several weeks and they bear heavy duty engines that combust a lot of fuel hence emitting a large amount of smoke in the process. These emissions erode the Ozone layer very quickly and cause the temperatures to get raised.
Additionally, there are several million vehicles in the use of people all over the world and despite the fact that now a day they are being made ecology friendly, and low emission engines, they still cause a lot of carbon dioxide emission. As Chappman writes, “these emissions cause devastation to the cities as it makes the lower atmosphere greatly polluted and makes breathing difficult. It also gives rise to certain breathing issues and difficulties” (Chappman 355). Factories’ chimneys are also responsible for the emission of unhealthy elements in the atmosphere. The nuclear plants and aerosol emitting processes have devastated the climate of the planet greatly as they increase the level of radiation in the atmosphere and also increase the absorption of solar radiation that increases the temperatures.
Solar activity has been attributed to having caused global warming as it has been hypothesized that the sun’s emission of heat and radiation is causing the planet’s temperatures to rise. However, it has been found that the radiation activity of Sun has not increased since past 30 years and hence the Sun is not responsible for the increasing global temperature. It is however studied that solar storms and the occasional outburst of heat and energy coming from the explosions that take place on the surface of Sun could have caused the temperature of the planet to rise. There is being carried out an extensive amount of research in order to study the relationship between earth’s rise in temperature and solar activity.
Another possible explanation of why is the temperature of the planet is rising comes from the claim that the orbital movement of the planet is changing and has variations associated with it. Having said this, it does not maintain an equal distance from the surface of the Sun all the times, and this distance varies. “When the orbit is in it shortest, the temperature of the globe rises because of lesser distance” (Rycroft, Israelsson & Price 1564).
It is important that the environmental protection agencies and the authorities ensure that the level of pollution being spread and the emissions being caused either by movement or industrial activity are brought down so that the temperature of the earth could be stabilized. Otherwise, in a matter of a few decades, there will take immense climate changes and the human race will have to face difficulties in surviving harsh weathers and climatic situations like floods. It is on the part of all the global citizens to reduce their part in the polluting of earth’s environment (Wheeler).
As per statistics, “the global temperature has risen approximately by 0.6 degrees Celsius in the past 100 years, and it is gradually on the rise” (Root et al., 57). The problem caused by such a climate rise is primarily for the species which are unaccustomed to high temperatures. These would include polar bears, fish, and animals living in extreme weather because it is against their nature to survive in the hot climes.
Research conducted on the effect of the temperature-related shift in the presence of various species around the globe covers all living creatures from mammals to trees and grasses. Studies have shown that over 80% of the species are showing a shift in the opposite direction to their living conditions in the colder areas to the hotter ones. The climate change due to global warming is responsible for causing a dramatic shift in the habitats and populations of animals and plant life. This, in turn, imbalances the delicate balance of the ecosystem, resulting in environmental disturbances and disconnection of the communities of the species as well as changes and alterations in their natural course. The end result of such drastic changes is the endangerment and possible extinction of these species with the temperature rise. “There are several climatic cycles and scales that need to be kept in the measure when trying to study the influence of global warming on the exact areas on earth, which include the North Atlantic Oscillation and Southern Oscillation (Lambeck & Chappell 679). These serve as determinants of weather change, according to wind velocity and temperature of the winds as they travel across the regions that are supposedly most affected by global warming.
Therefore, according to these results, global warming can directly alter the way living things have been accustomed to being on earth and how Nature influences their various characteristics and growth. With rising temperatures the resistance of many species of plants and animals experiences death or decay due to which their numbers begin to decrease. An excessive decrease leads to the threat of endangered species and eventual extinction. Moreover, today scientists are able to measure the extent to which winds and hemispheric oscillations can vary in accordance with the change in climate due to global warming. Warmer winds will carry away moisture leaving behind dryness, which is the ultimate reason why plantation suffers the most from this phenomenon.
North Atlantic Oscillation
and El Nin
˜
o/Southern Oscillation.
North Atlantic Oscillation
and El Nin
˜
o/Southern Oscillation.
North Atlantic Oscillation
and El Nin
˜
o/Southern Oscillation.
The rising sea level is an alarming issue which concerns the world. As recorded, the sea level changes periodically on Earth. This is done by its encroachment on coastal plains on land which shows the rise in sea level. What happens is the changes recorded in the distance between the sea and land’s level are an estimate of how much the sea has swelled up, and the rising water level is a danger to existing life on land. “Recorded sea levels of many places have shown that there has been a gradual rise in sea level such as in Southern England, where the sea level has risen in the considerable 7000 years of elapsed time” (Lambeck & Chappell 680). However at the same time, the Australian margin has seen a drop in the sea level as well. According to the authors, glaciers are an important measure of global warming. The change in glacial heights is an indicator that the ice is melting, and the temperature is too high for the snow to sustain itself.
Sea levelly is not difficult to deduce. It can be interpreted through two main processes: the observational evidence or the physical processes. Observational evidence is the way in which the water supersedes certain structures in the coastal area such as passing over or lower than the coral reefs. Physical processes include the way in which the melting of the glaciers and their decreasing size is responsible for the increase in sea level and the rise of the water level. This relation is directly proportional.
According to the given information, global warming is one reason why the Earth’s sea level is rising. More exposure to the sun means that more heat penetrates the Earth’s atmosphere. This, topped with the depleting ozone adds up to a lot of excessive heat penetrating which melts the lofty snow caps and glaciers, causing them to melt and add more water to the volume of the seas and oceans. When consistent with heavy rainfall, these can cause floods, which can be frequent in nature.
The main reason for the existence of global warming is the presence of an excess of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The gas which is known to increase the temperature of the globe is present in abundance mainly due to transportation. “Every country in the world uses transport to locate people from one place to another, and every vehicle is run on fuel, transportation makes up about 26% of the total carbon dioxide emissions in the world (Wheeler). Therefore all kinds of transport like cars, planes, trains run on coal are all the emitters of greenhouse gases which aid in global warming, increasing the global temperature with the passing years.
In the past, the problem with global warming rose with the invention of the coal-run steam engine and then burning coal for other automobiles as well. With growing awareness of the seriousness of the problem and the issues related to global warming, manufacturers have been in a constant struggle to manufacture such alternative fuels on which transport can function with a minimum of greenhouse gas emission. “The 1997 Kyoto Protocol clearly sketched the need to reduce carbon dioxide emission because it was the main gas released by transportation” (Wheeler).
Solutions to overcome the carbon dioxide crisis and the battle against global warming came in the form of plausible solutions such as owning less number of cars per household, in order to lower the emissions. The other measure is also a preventative one where eco-friendly options such as walking, riding a bicycle or using the public transport could serve as alternative modes of transport. There are also cases of congestion on the roads due to excess traffic stuck at a place, and this can be overcome by people sharing cars if they work at a similar place. Another plausible solution to solve the transport problem is to make the best use of technological advancement.
Technology in the form of the internet, with its benefits of email, video calling, Skyping and various other options makes it the best alternative to using transport to attend meetings or work that only requires talk or meeting. It can not only help to save time but in return, help to save the environment as well. However, even today people are not very prone to working at home which mainly becomes the reason why global warming is on the rise (Wheeler).
However, it would be wrong if said that technology has not evolved, and the problem with the fuel and carbon dioxide mission has not been looked into. A car which runs on the road today has much lower carbon dioxide emission than a car driven a decade ago. The size of the engine of the car has been a major precursor in reducing the emission of the gas. The size of the car is also a consideration. The smaller a car, the smaller its engine, and the lower its fuel usage and better prevention of global warming. Moreover, such cars are also built to lower air friction resistance so that the vehicle will travel faster. “Alternative fuels are also being made such as using electricity or solar energy in order to charge the car for running” (Wheeler). The main reason why the rate of carbon dioxide emission does not go down is because every person in the world cannot be provided with the latest, environment-friendly car. People own new and old models according to their affordability and when transport is used on such a high level, then the rate of emissions quality as the same as before.
Hence, global warming is a challenge for the present world, because it presents a condition of the rising temperature of the Earth, which results in elevated sea level, increased temperature and exposure to the Sun and melting glacial caps. The results are damaging to crops, species of animals and general well-being of people. It can be solved by using an efficient transport that reduced the emission of greenhouse gases and helped to control the amount of cars being driven. Alternative energy must be produced if the emissions are to be controlled, and the temperature is prevented from rising too high.
Work Cited
Chapman, Lee. "Transport and climate change: a review." Journal of transport geography 15.5 (2007): 354-367.
Lambeck, Kurt, and John Chappell. "Sea level change through the last glacial cycle." Science 292.5517 (2001): 679-686.
Root, Terry L., et al. "Fingerprints of global warming on wild animals and plants." Nature 421.6918 (2003): 57-60.
Rycroft, M. J., Sven Israelsson, and Colin Price. "The global atmospheric electric circuit, solar activity and climate change." Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics 62.17 (2000): 1563-1576.
Wheeler, Stephen M. Planning for sustainability: creating livable, equitable and ecological communities. Routledge, 2013. Print.
