The Boon Or Bane Of Global Warming Environmental Sciences Essay

The stratosphere ozone (o3) is a product of billions of years of the photochemical process catlalyzed by the solar radiation . The ozone screen provides a shield for living creatures by filtering out dangerous ultra-violet rays from sunlight . ultra violet radiation causes sun burn , skin cancer , cataracts and can suppress the immune system . Since 1973 it has been increasingly recognized that the ozone umbrella is being ripped off by the industrial activities of man which release chemicals like chlorofluorocarbons (CFC’s)

The main problem with the CFC’s is their long life in the atmosphere ranging from 75 to 125 years . Also one molecule of CFC can destroy 1,00,000 molecules of ozone .

Also rockets which take off vertically carry ozone killers (Chlorine containing chemicals and nitrogen oxides )

Eg : The American Delta booster, the author’s rate it as a second ozone killer which destroys 8 million tonnes of the earth shielding gas during every take-off

SOLUTION –

Coming to the question of stopping launchings of space ships to obviate thinning of the ozone layer , the soviet experts are of the view the problem can be tackled by taking positive steps like minimizing production of ozone-killing chemicals , banning solid fuel fired rockets , and setting international restrictions for the frequency of launches .

A BRITISH ORGANIZATION , Ozone Help (OH ) has come out with a programme to produce ozone in the upper atmosphere . A solar powered machine is carried to high altitudes by balloons over the antartica , where the ozone depletion has reached its highest .

This “ozonator” is a simple electronic unit about the size of a large microphone and generates a charge of more than 15,000 volts . When this charge is emitted into the air , it produces a significant amount of ozone by converting the oxygen of the air.

GLOBAL WARMING (due to greenhouse gases ) –

The large scale burning of fossil fuels in modern industry and transport systems increases the concentration of greenhouse gases such as CO2 , O3 , CH4, CFC3 and N2O in the atmosphere . These greenhouse gases allow sun’s rays to penetrate the earth surface but retard the return flow of the infra-red radiation. Thus the sun’s heat would be trapped near the earth’s surface, raising the earth’s surface temperature over a period of time. Among all the gases CO2 alone plays a major role in creating greenhouse effect. There are many reasons to be cautious about accepting CO2 as the causative agent if there really is warming. This is highlighted by 2 papers published in March 2008. Scafetta and West showed that up to 69% of observed warming is from the sun and Ramanathan and Carmichael show that soot has 60% of the warming power of CO2

The fluctuations in the composition of the atmosphere and changes in the temperature over the past two lakh years can be determined by analysis of tiny air bubbles trapped in ice that has accreted year by year in arctic and Antarctic. All scenarios on global warming show that significant climate change will occur over a period of time.

There are many other issues of environmental concern too like radioactive fallouts , phenomenon of acid rain , large scale deforestation and large scale use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers in modern agriculture and so on .

Here are some ways for the prevention of global warming –

Clean or replace filters on your furnace and air conditioner

Cleaning a dirty air filter can save 350 pounds of carbon dioxide a year..

Do not leave appliances on standby

Use the “on/off” function on the machine itself. A TV set that’s switched on for 3 hours a day (the average time Europeans spend watching TV) and in standby mode during the remaining 21 hours uses about 40% of its energy in standby mode

Plant a tree

A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime. Shade provided by trees can also reduce your air conditioning bill by 10 to 15%.

Encourage the switch to renewable energy

Successfully combating global warming requires a national transition to renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and biomass. These technologies are ready to be deployed more widely but there are regulatory barriers impeding them

Try car sharing

Need a car but don’t want to buy one? Community car sharing organizations provide access to a car and your membership fee covers gas, maintenance and insurance.

Is Global Warming Bad?

The IPCC 2007 Reports Suggest There Will be More Losers than Winners with Warming.

The IPCC process includes many unlikely scenarios. These worst-case estimates also have associated impacts, from benign to worst-case. Thus we get the 5% worst impacts that have a 5% chance of happening (a combined 0.25% likelihood) equally discussed with benign changes that are reasonable to expect. By the time summaries are written, and press releases, only the bad effects are presented.  This leads to a gross exaggeration of the problems.

Global Warming Will Actually Have More Winners then Losers.

Throughout the history of human life, the Earth’s livability has always been better when the climate has been warmer than cooler. Human populations have expanded the most when the Earth warmed and turned greener, whether during the middle ages or during the last 2 decades. Whether it is a  fish in the ocean, a shrimp in an aquaculture pond, or a bean on a  vine, it will grow faster when it is warmer, all things being equal. Humans will  be quick to take advantage of a warmer climate and to adjust if it gets too warm in an area. More crops grow where it is warm or hot than in frozen ground, and CO2 is a primary food of plants – basic facts that  seem forgotten. Even now, NASA satellites show that the Earth has become 6% greener as the world has warmed over the past 20 years

(In the layman’s approach, ozone depletion and global warming is mostly the same thing . However if you take a closer look you’ll know they are completely different . Although the two are different, activities leading to one always have some impact on the other )

Read more: Difference Between Ozone Depletion and Global Warming | Difference Between | Ozone Depletion vs Global Warming http://www.differencebetween.net/science/nature/difference-between-ozone-depletion-and-global-warming/#ixzz1AiNbKbQO

Facts about climate change

This chart looks ominous until put into the context that the average temperature for 1901-2000 is 13.9C (57.0F), so we are talking about a change from about 13.5 to 14.3 C or 56.3 to 57. 7 F.

Not only is Earth’s surface warming, but the troposphere — the lowest level of the atmosphere, where weather occurs — is heating up too, U.S. and British meteorologists reported

The EPA is set to regulate greenhouse gases next year for the first time, after the Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that it could treat heat-trapping gases such as carbon dioxide as pollutants.EPA spokesman Brendan Gilfillan responded: “The commonsense and transparent steps we’ve taken are already proving doomsayers wrong, as evidenced by the fact that 98 percent of states have stated they’re in a position to comply (times of india)

Democrats established the committee in 2007, after taking control of the House. At the time, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, called global warming possibly “the greatest challenge of our time, setting at risk our economy, environment and national security.

Scientists across the globe are toiling to perfect newer sources of energy that would end reliance on fossil fuels and threat of global warming. Those at citybased National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (Neeri) have joined the pack. They have developed a process of producing biofuel from four different species of micro-algae (plants that can’t be seen with naked eye).

The climate is changing. The earth is warming up, and there is now overwhelming scientific consensus that it is happening .. With global warming on the increase and species and their habitats on the decrease, chances for ecosystems to adapt naturally are diminishing.

Many have agreed that climate change may be one of the greatest threats facing the planet. Recent years show increasing temperatures in various regions, and/or increasing extremities in weather patterns.

Climate change, in the absence of mitigation policies would in all likelihood lead to:

1 Possible disappearance of sea ice by the latter part of the 21st century

2 Increase in freqency of hot extremes, heat waves and heavy precipitation

3 Increase in tropical cyclone intensity

4 Decrease in water resources due to climate change in many semi-arid areas,

such as the Mediterranean Basin, western United States, southern Africa and

north-eastern Brazil.

5 Possible elimination of the Greenland ice sheet and a resulting contribution to

sea level rise of about 7 metres. Without mitigation future temperatures in

Greenland would compare with levels estimated for 125,000 years ago when

palaeoclimate information suggests 4 to 6 m of sea level rise.

6 Approximately 20 to 30% of species assessed so far are likely to be at

increased risk of extinction if increases in global average warming exceed 1.5

to 2.5 degrees C.

In Africa, by 2020, between 75 and 250 million people are projected to be exposed to water

stress due to climate change, and in some countries yields from rainfed agriculture could be

reduced by up to 50%. The impacts of climate change would be disproportionately severe

on some of the poorest regions and communities of the world. My own analysis suggests

that at least 12 countries are likely to tend towards becoming failed states and communities

in several other states would show potential for serious conflict due to scarcity of food,, water stress and soil degradation.

UN Summit on Climate Change, 22 September 2009

STATEMENT OF DR. R. K. PACHAURI

Chairman, IPCC

Director General, The Energy and Resources Institute

Director, Yale Climate and Energy Institute

“Warming of the climate system is unequivocal as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice and rising global sea level”, and that “Most of the observed increase in temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic GHG concentrations”. In the twentieth century average global temperature increased by 0.740 C while sea level rise resulting from thermal expansion of the ocean and melting of ice across the globe amounted to 17 cms. With this increase the Maldive Islands with land surface barely a metre or two above sea level, every storm surge and major upwelling of the seas represents a major danger to life and property. But this is not all. Climate change is already resulting in an increase in the frequency, intensity and duration of floods, droughts and heat waves. Precipitation has increased significantly in eastern parts of North and South America, northern Europe and northern and central Asia, whereas it declined in the Sahel, the Mediterranean, southern Africa and parts of south Asia. Globally the area affected by drought has increased since the 1970s

If we take no action to stabilize the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere,

then average temperature by the end of this century would increase anywhere from 1.1

degrees to 6.4 degrees C. The world is increasing its emissions at a rate that may take us

to the upper end of the range projected, which implies a total increase in these two

centuries of over 7 degrees C, that is, over 12 degrees Fahrenheit. Yet between 1970 and

2004 global GHG emissions increased by 70% and carbon dioxide by 80%. We must halt

this unacceptable trend.

It is heartening that the G8 leaders have recognized the broad scientific view of limiting

increase in global average temperature to 2° C. But, we have clearly specified that if

temperature increase is to be limited to between 2.0 and 2.4° C, global emissions must

peak no later than 2015. That is only six years from now. And the 2.0° ceiling too would

lead to sea-level rise on account of thermal expansion alone of 0.4 to 1.4 meters. This

increase added to the effect melting of snow and ice across the globe, could submerge

several small island states and Bangladesh.

CONCLUSION

Like Michael Jackson said ” Heal the world make it a better place for you and for me and the entire human race . There are people dying if we care enough for the living , make it a better place for you and for me ‘

While this is just the tip of the iceberg, many, many issues need addressing regarding the extinction of plant and animal species, polar bears and their natural habitat and as times of india has mentioned that the lakes are heating faster than the air There are many such questions that need to be answered. .It is more important now than ever before to pull heads out of the sand and make a change for the better to our mother earth before it becomes too late. The earth is something we borrowed from our future generation hence we must do what we can in our capacity to preserve it . where the question of global warming arises it is seen as a detriment to us hence we should take measures to counter its growth or to our peril .