Global Warming Solutions Essay Research Paper Natural

Global Warming Solutions Essay, Research Paper

Natural Resources and ecology.

Coursework.

Since the mid nineteen sixties, environmentalism has exploded as a movement. Many environmentalists view modern industrial society as unsustainable and the way that western society functions as damaging the earth’s natural biosphere and cycles.

There is a growing body of evidence to support the belief that our consumer culture and industrial processes are in fact destroying the delicate balance and complex interrelationships that nature has forged and upon which we still rely. The biggest worry of most ‘green’ groups at present is the well documented ‘global warming’ effect in which it is believed the earth’s average temperature is rising, causing sea levels to rise (more to do with thermal expansion of water than ice cap melting), destruction of natural habitats and most worryingly to humans; climate change. However it would be ignorant to believe that the earth has always been as it is now, indeed rapid climate change is a natural phenomenon which has occurred countless times in the earths history; ice ages and warm periods mark definite periods in earths living history, a period of extreme warmth for example marked the Cretaceous / Tertiary era boundary where over 90% of the land species of the earth became extinct allowing mammals to become the dominant class of species. Ice age and periods of warmth are common and a feuture of a dynamic planet. Despite this, geology and anthropology have discovered fresh evidence that suggests this latest climate change event may be different. Only in times of extreme volcanic activity or celestial change has a climate change period been so quick in taking effect, and this present one is accompanied by neither.

Evidence to suggest that it is indeed human activity which is causing environmental disaster is growing. Statistical and historical evidence suggests there is a direct link between the actions of humans and environmental destruction. Although conclusive proof can easily be found for acid rain and deforestation as well as loss of habitat and desertification, clear concise proof that man is directly responsible for global warming is hard to find. However a document recently signed by 1500 scientists and over + of living Nobel prize winners was written to support the belief that global warming is the product of mans disequilibria with nature. Other evidence such as tree rings and ice boar holes does show conclusively that Co2, CFC and So4 have risen faster than at any other period in the earths recent history, (globwarm.com 2001) without the aide of volcanic activity which accounts for far more Sulphur emissions than fossil fuel burning. (Exxon Mobil 2001). Recent Ice samples from Greenland show that in just this past century, these gases increased to their highest level in 220,000 years and led the research scientists to conclude this increase resulted from industrial activity, deforestation, and agriculture. (globalwarming.envirweb.org). 2000 year old tree ring samples from Tasmania taken in 1975 concurred with this analysis showing a marked increase in temperature at 1900 and continuing temperature rises since, although before 1900 temperatures had been reletively steady since 525BC.

Other statistics show the level of destruction in recent times since industrialisation, 150.000 sq. Km of tropical rainforest, equivalent to the size of Wales, was being destroyed every year between 1950 and 1990. (http://www.tree4life.com/ingles/deforest3.htm).

Over 60 million tons of CO2 is released into the atmosphere daily (Green Peace 2000), CO2 being the major greenhouse gas (although CFCs trap 1200 more heat than CO2). Many more things show how our society over consumes, from over packaged products, throw away plastic toys, masses of unread newspaper supplements, wasted resources on advertising, disposable nappies, non returnable bottles and of course the private car which not only pollutes the air but uses up huge areas of land in the form of roads.

The independent government funded Hadley Research Centre has carried out very extensive prediction studies on what will be the effect of global warming on the global environment. They predict that sea levels will rise by 30 cm by 2070 rendering huge areas of land becoming sea, and that global temperatures will rise by 3′c by 2030. Although rainfall will on the whole be reduced, western Britain’s rainfall is likely to increase by as much as 2mm per day. These statistics make terrible reading but when the consequences are considered the seriousness of what will happen to our world especially in such a time of high population are genuinely horrifying. Sea rises will mean the very map of the globe will change, parts of western Europe and East Anglia will be waterlogged but more disasterous will large parts of Africa and Asia especially the countries of Bangladesh and India who already experience extreme flooding. Florida and the southern states of America are also at risk, as well as many smaller areas of the world and individual atolls and islands. Extreme weather will become more likely as jet streams and atmospheric cells are altered, leading to higher damage costs in the west and poverty in the south. The picture is bleak, one of famine and war, droughts and floods, disease and pestilence. The worst affected; those who are struggling to provide