Global climate change is the increase in the level of temperature in the earth’s atmosphere resulting into a condition known as the greenhouse effect. In the recent years global climate change has been increasing rapidly this is due to factors that have been briefly discussed in this paper (McCaffrey, 2006). Global climate change poses a threat to the livelihood of the inhabitants of the planet earth. The increase in global climate change makes the planet earth to be more inhospitable as more organization continues polluting the environment hence causing the climate change.
Global temperature can be measured using four methods namely: proxy measurements, weather balloons, satellites and surface measurement at weather stations. It is imperative to note that according to McGlothlin & Spray (2002) three of the four methods of measurement of global climate change show no signal of global climate change. This study shows that global climate change mainly occurs close to humans. According to (Zebrowski, 2011) there is solid evidence that global climate change is taking place. This is mainly due to human activities and due to natural patterns. The following activities of humans greatly contribute towards global climate change. Deforestation without replanting of trees, emission of harmful waste materials by industries into the atmosphere, the release of exhaust fumes by automobiles, poor methods of agriculture and overfishing.
Global climate change is not a serious concern to many people despite posing such a formidable threat to humanity. According to Parson & Dessler(2010), global climate change is mainly caused by emissions from industries throughout the world. Global climate change causes the obliteration of the ozone layer which averts the penetration of harmful rays of the sun into the earth’s atmosphere. The rise in global climate change has led to significant damages to the ozone layer. This allows harmful rays of sunlight to penetrate into the earth’s atmosphere. This in turn, causes many people to experience sun burns and heat rushes, which result to skin cancer. During global climate change, the heat that is radiated into the earth by the sun is trapped within the earth’s atmosphere by their greenhouse gases that are emitted by industries. This is because these gases form a layer on the cloud that prevents the earth from losing heat. The rise in temperatures, in the earth which is a product of global climate change leads to the melting of glaciers thus leading to unexpected and undesirable change in seasons. This change in seasons has led to an increase in droughts and floods throughout the world mainly in regions which experience high levels of global climate change.
Human activities also lead to the pollution of water bodies. Most of the natural water bodies contain fish and other living organisms that thrive in aquatic conditions. Over the years, most of the industries used to dispose their toxic wastes into this water bodies. Toxic materials are not only disposed into water bodies by industries they are also disposed by the regular habits of man such as farming. Whenever farmers use fertilizers or chemical substances that are not environmentally friendly, they lead to the pollution of water bodies. This is because most of the farming takes place in areas where there are water bodies such as rivers and lakes that serve as a source of water to these farms (McCaffrey, 2006). This has brought about the demise of millions of fish and organisms that live in water.
It is important to take note that rain is as a result of the condensation of water that is evaporating from the face of the earth. Water rises from the earth in the form of water vapour then it condenses to form clouds. This implies after factories and humans have dumped waste materials into the water bodies it is this toxic water that rises in the form of vapour. The condensation of toxic vapour leads to the formation of acidic rainfall. Whenever acidic rain falls onto plants and water bodies, it causes destruction of plants, as well as organisms living in water. Acidic rainfall may also lead to the formation of deformities in plants.
The manufacturing of radioactive materials also contributes to global climate change. This is because they are non-biodegradable thus the method of disposal matters a lot. Commonly, the equipment and materials used in manufacturing of radioactive materials are buried underneath the ground (Parson & Dessler, 2010). However in some instances there are those materials that are not properly disposed according to the environmental protection act. The poor disposal of such materials contributes to global climate change.
Over time, there has been a substantial increase in the number of motor vehicles that are being produced. This is mainly due to the increase in the demand for motor vehicles. As a result of this, there has been an increase in the levels of pollution in terms of air, water and soil pollution. This is because most of the engines in these cars are powered by petroleum products, which contain high levels of carbon.
There has also been a rise in the destruction of water catchment areas. Many people are destroying water catchment areas and constructing factories and residential homes. This leads to a situation whereby there is an increase in soil erosion, and reduction in the levels of rainfall (Parson & Dessler, 2010). The decline in rainfall and increase, in soil erosion leads to a situation whereby many there is a decline in the productivity of the soil thus contributing to global climate change.
Deforestation is one of the leading causes of global climate change. This results from the fact that many people are cutting down trees for commercial purposes such as selling charcoal and making furniture (McCaffrey, 2006). The main disadvantage of deforestation is that many people are cutting trees, whereas very few people are planting trees. On the other hand, the people that are cutting trees are rarely making any effort to plant new trees.
Global climate change can be prevented and reduced in the following ways. Increasing the population of trees is a process known as forestation. People should strive to increase the population of trees within their region this is because according to (Zebrowski 2011) trees stop the energy of the sun from reaching the earth’s surface, preventing the soil from losing water. The leaves of trees form a canopy which prevent the energy radiated from the sun from reaching the surface of the earth thus absorption takes place within the atmosphere.
Governments should reduce global climate change pollution by advocating for increase in use of renewable energies. This is due to the fact that they are bio-degradable thus they do not pose a threat to the environment. According to (McCaffrey, 2006) global climate change can also be significantly reduced by recycling of waste products and treatment of industries waste before their release into the atmosphere. He argues that it is important to recycle trees by cutting down dry tree, and this because dry trees can cause forest fires. The fire can result, in burning of green trees and the release of harmful gases into the atmosphere. He also proposes that people should reduce the consumption of electricity as solar energy and wind energy is still expensive.
Projects from the public and private sectors should be subject to the same Environmental Impact Assessment process. The assessment of projects enables the countries to preserve their environment by preventing high levels of biodegradation (Parson & Dessler, 2010). High levels of biodegradation have adverse effects of the prevailing ecological conditions. Change of ecological conditions as a result of biodegrading result in changes of seasons, changes in the plant cover and it may also lead to rise in the level of temperatures. Such changes could lead to failure of crops in the farm and the death of many living organisms.
Despite global climate change posing a threat to the existence of man, it is imperative that people appreciate that is mainly as a result of the activities of human beings (McGlothlin & Spray, 2002). This means that by changing their behaviours and embracing eco-friendliness as part of our livelihood people make the earth more hospitable for us and many generations to come. Global climate change is inevitable thus people should make a collective effort to minimise its cause and impacts. Therefore, it is evident that human activity plays a substantial role in climate change in both positive, as well as negative ways. This means that human beings should strive to conduct behaviours that lead to improvement of climate.
References
McCaffrey, P. (2006). Global climate change, Volume 78. New York: H.W. Wilson Company.
McGlothlin, K. L., & Spray, S. L. (2002). Global Climate Change. Boston: Rowman & Litterfeild Publishers.
Parson, E. A., & Dessler, A. (2010). The Science and Politics of Global Climate Change: A Guide to the Debate. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Zebrowski, E. (2011). Global Climate Change. New York: Charlesbridge Publishing.
