Global Change Biology describes global change as any consistent tendency in the surroundings that affects a substantial part of the globe. In this regard, I will discuss three major changes that in my opinion have occurred as a result of climate change in my part of the world. My ancestral home is in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia to be specific. Notably, one of the main characteristics that I have to accept about my home town is the heat. The desert-like weather contributes towards making this region standout. I have come to love it, respective of some of the negative elements that have started to arise, resulting from global warming. The first problem that will be addressed is pollution. The impacts of pollution have been immensely felt here, with air and water pollution leading. Manufacturers have been known to dump industrial waste into rivers, totally disregarding the existing laws that prohibit such actions. They have also been known to be the leading culprits when it comes to air pollution when they release fumes and emissions that congest the air and pose a great risk to the people who inhale it. Another prominent change would be desertification. In the recent past, the relative stability in the environment ensured that there was a balance in the atmospheric levels. Thus, different species of plants and animals could be sufficiently sustained. With the emerging instability and changes in these levels, mankind has turned to forests for survival in one way or another. This evidently leads to low forest cover. It also leads to loss of biodiversity since when paving way for say, housing, indigenous plants are cut off, and animals are removed from their natural habitats. In my opinion, this might be tragic as the plants and animals might never find another place to belong and eventually become extinct. However, global change has not always brought forth negative results. Thanks to it, there has been great technological, cultural, economic and even legal advancements. Unlike thirty years ago, goods, services, people and ideas move around the world with so much ease and transparency. This, for instance, has led to the elimination of barbaric notions and beliefs.
Works Cited
Will Steffen, Regina Angelina Sanderson, Peter D. Tyson, Jill Jäger, Pamela A. Matson, Berrien Moore III, Frank Oldfield, Katherine Richardson, Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, Billie L. Turner, Robert J. Wasson. Global Change and the Earth System: A Planet Under Pressure. Berlin: Springer Science & Business Media, 2006. Print.
