Many have described global warming as a hoax. Think-tanks in Washington have benefited from corporate lobby money to create theories and hypothesizes that global warming does not exist. Despite the sharp differences that exist between environmentalists and skeptics, the fact remains that some of the effects of global warming are evident in the world today. This paper uses the environmental changes discovered in the Island of Easter by Jared Diamond to illustrate the fact that global warming is something that really exists.
First it is important to note that global warming is not something that happens in the short-term. The effects of human activities cannot be felt in the short-term but over a prolonged period of time. One thing that is worth noting is that the eco-system is organized in such a way that every member has a function within the environment. The environment cannot be complete if any of the members is absent. Scientists have argued that there are functions that can be only addressed by one species of organism. These organisms have come to be known as keystone organism. Without these organisms there is a great likelihood that the stability of the processes within the environment will not follow the same trajectory that was followed initially. Using this concept to look at the problems that surround the Island of Easter, it is clear that the water levels around this island have risen over time. One thing to note is that trees and forests within any given environment controls the hydrological cycle. The continued cutting of trees in this Island might have created a situation whereby the process of water cycling is affected meaning that instead of the overflow water being consumed by the forest eco-systems in this Island, the water leaches into the soil structure of this island causing it to continue sinking below the water over time. This occurs for reason why the author takes a long time to spot the Island during his first expedition to the Easter Island.
It is fundamental to realize that global warming in the universe today, as environmentalist claim, is caused by the presence of greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases are caused by the accumulation of carbon-dioxide over the earth’s surface which over time creates a blanket causing the heat from the earth’s not to be released in to the atmosphere. The accumulation of carbon dioxide comes from the fact that heterotrophs which are mostly animal life forms release carbon dioxide to the atmosphere as waste products of both their respiratory and excretory processes. Autotrophs, which are mostly plants, are supposed to take up this carbon-dioxide and use it to create energy through a process known as photosynthesis. However, the supposed deforestation that has taken place in areas like the Easter Island has created a scenario whereby the balance and flux of nature are affected (Diamond 118).This is because the carbon dioxide in the environment is not cycled effectively. This leads to an accumulation in the atmosphere of the same due to the alteration created by the massive cutting down of the forest cover. This is because the level at which carbon dioxide is released to the atmosphere is not the same rate at which it is consumed by plant matter in the Island of Easter.
In conclusion, the text is also clear that the Island of Easter is underdeveloped which means that there is no high level of carbon emissions in the Island as a result of increased industrialization. It is therefore important to conclude that the effects of global warming that are evident in the Island of Easter are caused by the increased deforestation of the Island’s forest cover by its inhabitants.
Works Cited
Diamond, Jared M. Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail Or Succeed. New York:
Penguin Books, 2006. Print.
