The Human Impact Of Climate Change

Climate change concerns to a statistically momentous deviation in either the mean state of the climate or in its variability, remaining for an extensive period (normally decades or longer) (What is climate change, 2001). Climate change is term that adverts to any major and long-term change in average weather in a specified region or whole Earth. Fundamentally important variability of average weather over longer time period can be depicted as climate change. Climate change is due to natural internal procedures or external pressures, or to relentless anthropogenic alterations in the composition of the atmosphere or in land utilization.

Earlier in the beginnings of earth’s history climate changes were normally induced by different vibrant processes on earth but recently it is caused by human activities. This is the reason that in our everyday talks the term climate change refers to climate change caused by global warming. The most disposed signs of climate change are glaciers that are presently melting at rapid level which entails climate change has already began. This time, climate change is only due to the recent human activities and had resulted in global warming process.

Today, Global warming has become synonym for climate change due to its role in climate change. Undue emission of injurious greenhouse gases into atmosphere is causing a raise in average temperature that in turn is affecting the climate on Earth (What is climate change, 2001). The use of fossil fuels as a dominant aspect is continuing to emit CO2 and other greenhouse gases into atmosphere that is causing even more grave effects to climate change.

With the rise in temperature globally effects like severe changes in weather patterns, climbing sea levels and increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather is been experienced. The world’ most susceptible areas are around Earth’s poles and Africa and these areas had already started experiencing momentous increase in average temperature.

The depressing fact is that one can’t stop climate change and can only make attempt to adjust to it and not making it worse with its own activities. Our own activities induced global warming and at this time all of us are confronted with the climate change as our most prominent environmental challenge. Although, all of us are already aware of climate change but still lacking in our activities to stop further increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. For dealing with this present environmental challenge, there is a need to work vigorously for a global agreement to control climate change and to take possible domestic actions to attain satisfying diminutions in our own contribution.

Discussion

Significance & Scope of the Issue

The management of the severe environmental challenge is essential as otherwise it could direct us towards drastic results. Already climate change is responsible for 300,000 deaths a year in accordance to former UN secretary general Kofi Annan’s think tank, the Global Humanitarian Forum. The study generated by the Global Humanitarian Forum also claims that approximate 300 million people in a year are affected by the outcomes of climate change (The Human Impact of Climate Change, 2009).

Climate change is not only an all-encompassing menace but it is also an arbitrary threat-multiplier. With the affects of climate change a number of vulnerable communities of this planet can get destroyed (2009 Forum-Human Impact of Climate Change, 2009). The devastating effects of our development and measures for national, regional and global security are not measurable presently, but slowly or gradually its affects will start appearing along with destruction. The different studies done in this field projects that the increasing severity of events, like flooding and storms due to climate change will be accountable for approximately 500,000 deaths a year by 2030.

Currently climate change is stimulating losses of over $125bn a year that is greater than the last year total of world aid. Anticipations exhibit that by 2030, losses could be around $600bn a year. With this weather related disasters problems like hunger, disease, poverty and lost livelihoods can increase (The Human Impact of Climate Change, 2009). If within coming 25 years, emissions are not brought under control the 310 million more people will start suffering with unfavourable health consequences connected to temperature gains, 20 million more people will fall under poverty and 5 million more people will be expatriate by climate change (The Human Impact of Climate Change, 2009).

These statistics regarding the effect of climate change demonstrates that in present this is most significant environmental challenge that the world is facing. This need to be managed as soon as possible for everyone as otherwise it could lead to pressurize food production, decrease sanitation, and block economic development and degradation of ecosystems.

Specific causes of Climate Change

Climate change is the result of both the natural and human factors, but from some past decades it is mainly due to the subsequent human factors:

The most prominent reason of climate change is releasing of greenhouse gases and aerosols into the atmosphere. From last two hundred and fifty years, the concentrations of greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide have increased due to the burning of fossil fuels for energy production. The more the countries are moving towards industrialization and development, the more they are affecting their environment, which is resulting in the climate change (Climate Change, n.d.).

Another prominent reason of climate change is deforestation, which is related with agriculture and urban development and harvesting timber for fuel, construction and paper. When the ecosystems are altered and vegetation is either burned or took out, the carbon stored in them is relinquished to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide (What causes global climate change, 2005).

Sulphate Aerosols and Black Carbon are other two crucial instances of anthropogenic forcings. Current industrial activities have recently increased the concentration of sulphate aerosols and black carbon in the atmosphere that is making imperative effect on our climate in the form of drastic weather events.

Critical Analysis & Evaluation of Environmental and Ecological Consequences

Earlier, the Earth’s atmosphere was changed very little. The temperature and the equilibrium of heat-trapping greenhouse gases were appropriate for humans, animals and plants to stay alive but presently everyone is confronting problems in maintaining the balance due to increasing industrialization and development activities. For our own comfort of life and economic development, all of us are making increasing use of fossil fuels from heating our homes to creating energy (Shah, 2009). This is adding more and more greenhouse gases to the atmosphere that in turn is raising the warming potentiality of the natural greenhouse effect.

This enhanced greenhouse effect is causing environmental and ecological concerns as it has the potency to warm the planet at a range that has never been went through in human history. This warming of the climate is resulting in more extreme weather patterns, chances for several ecosystems to adapt naturally are decreasing, sea levels are rising, glaciers are melting, ocean acidification is increasing and agricultural outputs are failing resulting in hunger.

All these consequences are related with the use of fossil fuels that is the significant reason for CO2 emissions. The use of fossil fuels in turn is closely linked to economic growth, lifestyle and our culture. In present every human being is contributing to the CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere (Climate Change, n.d.). Though, the person’s lifestyle and culture determines the amount emitted by him. The more flourishing a country’s economy is the superior is its fossil fuel consumption, ensuing in higher greenhouse gas emissions.

Success of Solutions’ Proposed & Applied

Climate change is affecting the whole world. Number of developed and developing countries are working together to discover the solution of environmental challenge of climate change. From the time, this issues has emerged a number of efforts had been done some of which had attained success and some had failed. In June 1992, 154 countries signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) that corresponded to alleviate the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere at levels that would not cause destruction.

In Kyoto, in December 1997, Japan, Canada and 160 other industrialized nations committed to cut down their greenhouse gas emissions, as component of an international agreement on climate change identified as the Kyoto Protocol. This eventually came into force throughout 2005 (Climate Change, n.d.). Till the time these efforts had not attained immense success but with these efforts modest emission reductions had been encountered from industrialised countries. Countries are trying to reduce their emissions as now they had become aware with its severe results.

Conclusion

With the detailed discussion it can be said that in present climate change is with us. A decade ago, it was only an assumption but currently the future is unveiling before our eyes. Canada is experiencing it in the form of vanishing Arctic ice and permafrost. Latin America and Southern Asia is seeing it in lethal storms and floods whereas Europeans are experiencing it in melting glaciers, forest fires and disastrous heat waves (Pearce, 2006). All these experiences of different countries disclose that the consideration regarding this environmental challenge is imperative as otherwise more and more countries of the world will start experiencing its effects.

The present drastic change in the climate needs to be controlled for assuring an appropriate level of CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere as otherwise it could bring unpredictable changes in our environment and ecological system. For controlling this environmental challenge staying educated about climate change and supporting attempts to deliberate its progress are the things that everyone can do and should do. Our efforts regarding the climate change could make our economy more internationally competitive by creating expansion and jobs while raising less waste, pollution and greenhouse gases.