Many scientists have concluded that the world is undergoing detrimental climate changes through global warming. Many scientists from across the globe are working in different countries in order to understand all the aspects of the global warming. From satellite images, one can see that sea level is rising, weather patterns are changing and even ice is meting at an alarming rate. The average temperature of the atmosphere that surrounds the Earth and oceans has been increasing steadily ever since the late 19th century (Lynas 30). The trend has been increasing over the years and right now, every country is concerned about climatic changes and global warming.
The following paper describes the state of global warming and climatic changes that seems to be a vital topic among the nations across the globe. It describes the risks and impacts that global-warming has on the environment, and the negative effects it has on the future economy.
The state of global warming is at a hazardous state because of its adverse influence on climate. It is evident that the expansion of greenhouse effect is the cause of global warming on the Earth (Palanichamy 204). When a greenhouse effect is created, the atmosphere absorbs the heat that comes from the ground into the space. Carbon dioxide gas is one of the causes of greenhouse effect, resulting from human activities such as deforestation and fossil burning. Also carbon dioxide can be released into the atmosphere through natural ways such as volcanic activities and respiration processes. The other type of gas that causes greenhouse effect is methane gas which is a hydrocarbon produced through decomposition of wastes, rice cultivation, and manure management. There is more carbon dioxide than methane gas in the atmosphere although methane can be termed as the more active greenhouse gas of the two. Water vapor is another abundant gas that has greenhouse effect by increasing heat in the atmosphere. Water vapor causes feedback mechanism when it comes to green house effects since it leads to creation of clouds or precipitation, thus completing the feedback loop. The other strong greenhouse gas is nitrous oxide that usually originates from certain fertilizers, farming practices, fuel combustion. Also, some processes that lead to production of nitric acid may cause production of nitrous oxide, as well as biomass burning. The other major cause of global warming is the emission of chloro-hydrocarbons into the atmosphere, usually originating from industrial processes. Hydrocarbons are nowadays highly regulated by the international community due to their ability of destroying the ozone layer (Palanichamy 204).
The greenhouse gases discussed result in numerous risks and impacts on the environment. The risks have serious effects on the environment through weather and climate changes. The most significant changes that have been noted are to do with the frequency, intensity, type and quantities of precipitation. In some areas, there has been an increased amount of precipitation even when the rains have decreased over time. According to Weart (42), global warming has caused an occurrence of extreme weather conditions such as increased summer dryness that causes a risk of droughts in various regions in the world. In winter, the weather has changed dramatically such that there is increased wetness causing greater risks in floods occurrence. In areas around the tropics and high latitudes, there has been a notable increase in precipitation rates, and a reduction in precipitation has been noted in the sub tropical regions. Extreme weather conditions have been witnessed in various regions in the world especially the occurrences of tsunamis, droughts and tropical cyclone activity.
Ice has been melting at an alarming rate such that the Earth’s poles covering the Antarctica and green land, whereby all mountain glaciers and ice sheets have been melting away. Global warming has also been affecting animals especially penguins that are found around the Antarctica. The penguins have reduced at a very high rate over the past three decades and the cause has been seen to be the global- warming effect in the world (Weart 49). The same trend has been noted with some animals such as butterflies and foxes that have started moving towards the cooler higher-regions in the north. Global warming will also lead to less availability of fresh water, a trend that will intensify problems associated with lack of water. For example, many people will suffer due to lack of fresh water and lack of electricity sources. The changes in the ecosystem will lead to an increased spread of diseases by mosquitos, and the posed risk on animals will continue to increase such that animals and sea life may decrease significantly.
Therefore, the impact on climate and weather is feared to have adverse effects on the future economy. The negative future effects of the economy can be said to be a sincere concern for every human being. The impacts of global warming usually affect the economic life of people by harming the human activities and infrastructures. Global warming will continue to harm the agricultural sector by decreasing the size of arable land across the globe, and through increased floods and droughts (Easterbrook 55). Also, agriculture will be affected due to the constant changes in weather and climate that will continue to harm the world especially disruptions of rainfall patterns. Through economic studies, it has been predicted that economic effects that will occur will be unevenly distributed in various nations and within the societies. Global economy depends on agriculture and several other sectors that are essential in human survival and development. Global warming will have a detrimental effect on the marine life and the entire fishing industry.
Scientists have also predicted that global warming will significantly affect infrastructure in various parts of the world. For example, when the sea level rises, the impact is largely felt on infrastructure and human activities in those areas. Destruction of infrastructure and low rates of recovery from extreme weather conditions will largely affect the economy of the world due to degraded transport services (Easterbrook 63). Also, diseases and poor health will lead to low productivity of people in their daily jobs such that human resources will be wasted. Too much destruction and ill health will negatively affect insurance companies and bank institutions. Global warming will continue to increase loss of the global GPD by up to 1% according to economists (Lynas 30). All these factors will lead to a negative effect on the future economy.
In conclusion, the issue of global warming is a shocking reality that can largely impact on the whole world at large if mitigation strategies are not put in place. Scientists have increase their research on global warming and climate change with an aim of understanding the risks and impacts that it has on the world. In other arenas, economists are trying to predict the negative effects that global warming will have on the economy in the years to come. Considering the effects that global warming already has on health, agriculture, animals, plants and infrastructure, it is clear that the national and global economy will be harmed greatly. The loss of global GDP will continue to increase each year such that the economy will suffer a great deal.
Works Cited
Easterbrook, Gregg. "GLOBAL WARMING: Who Loses--And Who Wins?." Atlantic Monthly (10727825) 299.3 (2007): 52-64. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 3 May 2012.
Lynas, Mark. "Global Warming: Is It Already Too Late?." New Statesman 133.4688 (2004): 28-31. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 3 May 2012.
Palanichamy, A. P. "Global Warming-Green House Effect." Indian Journal Of Science & Technology 4.3 (2011): 204. EDS Foundation Index. Web. 3 May 2012.
Weart, Spencer. "Global Warming: How Skepticism Became Denial." Bulletin Of The Atomic Scientists 67.1 (2011): 41-50. Academic Search Premier. Web. 3 May 2012.
