Global warming and climatic changes Essay

Global warming and climatic changes have a synergistic relationship-one leads to the other. Climatic changes are substantial alterations in the earth’s climate that lasts for an extended period of time and can be as a result of global warming. Global warming is defined as a change of climate that causes an increase in the average temperature of the lower atmosphere. This is attributed to human interferences especially the release of excessive amounts of green house gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor and other fluorinated gases. Global warming is on the rise but in the last century the rate of increase has been alarming. This has prompted world leaders to seek ways of thwarting the rise. It has been revealed that the average temperature of the atmosphere has risen by between 0. 74-0. 18oC. , in a span of one century . This paper tries to identify the solutions to global warming as well as highlighting the positions taken by opponents of the identified solutions. The impacts of global warming on the youths in future as well as the effects of hydrogen and fuel cell on warming are also discussed. Solutions to Global Warming Researches indicate that there is no immediate solution to global warming but there are a number of measures which if followed will retard the development and even reduce the rate of global warming. Some of the measures include; investing a lot in renewable energy, and reduction of the amount of heat trapping gases such as carbondioxide, methane, and ozone emitted to the environment. Much of these gases are from the burning of fossil fuels leading to the emission of carbon dioxide, nevertheless, investing in renewable source of energy, energy efficiency and increasing the efficiency of the vehicles we drive can serve as a great step towards the reduction of overdependence on oil and other fossils fuels that are the source of greenhouse gases and thus global warming. Efficient use of the available energy coupled with the shift to renewable forms of energy such as wind, solar geothermal and bio-energy may significantly reduce the release of heat trapping gases. Nations should plant palm plants and corn plants which are later processed to release alcohol (ethernol) which when burnt releases only energy and water which do not contribute to global warming. The developed countries as well as the newly industrialized economies are the major contributors of green house gases , the U. S in particular produces 70% of all its electricity from fossil fuel such as coal natural gas oil and only 2% of renewable source. The usage of electricity from renewable source offers the most effective way towards the reduction of global warming. De-privatizing (socializing) the US power companies will also serve as an essential step towards solving global warming. This is because de-privatization will allow faster transition from the use of fossil fuel to renewable forms of energy without much consideration to private profits however this calls for serious round table discussions between governments and power companies to reach a consensus. The public also play active role in the fight to contain global warming. The public more than the companies form the larger proportion of the global inhabitants and unless they are involved in the quest for its solution, all will be in vain. They should be educated in regard to green house gases. Leaders worldwide should also be informed of their role in the fight against global warming and should represent their governments effectively on the transition to renewable energy (John J Berger pp. 97). The public should be conversant with the effective use of renewable energy such as solar and wind energy and bio-ethernol. United States and other industrialized nations should be pressurized into the adoption of international treaties to reduce green house gas emission this is because they are a major contributor of carbon dioxide and other heat trapping gases in the environment. It should be noted that the newly industrialized economies and other developing countries are keeping close watch on the developments taken by the U. S and if they are not in harmony with the international treaties, these countries will also violate the rules and thus blowing out of proportion the effects of global warming. Demerits of the proposed solutions to global warming Despite the aforementioned solutions to global warming, different individuals and groups are very skeptical because they feel that solutions are far from being practical. They argue that the conversion to renewable energy will face a lot of challenges since it negates the previous policies that aimed at helping infant industries in developing countries. In addition, they feel that the shift to renewable energy will hinder the development of other nations thus increasing inequality within nations as has been the case in the last two decades. This they argue will aggravate the social and political tensions. The diversion of the worlds leading grain crop to the production of fuel may affect food prices everywhere. In the event world corn prices rise, so will those of wheat and rice both because of consumer substitution. The crops will also compete for land. This will ultimately hinder the fight against food insecurity and hunger which are perennial problems affecting most of the developing countries. The conversion of agricultural land and forests into farms growing crops suitable for bio-ethernol and other natural sources of renewable energy will have far reaching repercussions. Key among them is the risk of environmental pollution and accumulation of carbon dioxide which will otherwise worsen the situation instead of improving the global climate. This has been evidenced in south East Asia especially Indonesia. When the European Union decided to promote bio-fuel to counter global warming and rain forests were destroyed and replaced with palm trees that make palm oil for fuel. Many plantations were based on highly organic soil and when the farmers burned the land to clear it they dumped millions of tons of carbon dioxide in to the atmosphere. A bio-fuel scheme designed to slow global warming actually wound up accelerating the phenomenon. Similarly non-renewable sources of energy are cheaper to produce compared to the renewable alternatives. This will ultimately hinder industrial development in developing countries as well as reduce crop production increasing food insecurity. Problems the Youth Are Likely To Face Due To Global Warming Global warming and climatic changes are believed to pose serious threats not only to the youths but also to the entire future generations (NAST 2001 pp. 620). This is because it poses an exceptional environmental and ecological misfortune to the habitats all species. Some of the adverse effects of climate change that the youth are likely to face in future include; hunger, thirst, floods and diseases. Change in temperature and precipitation patterns have a direct relationship with the frequency duration and intensity of other extreme weather conditions such as floods, droughts heat, waves and tornadoes. Other effects of global warming include higher or lower agricultural yields, further glacial retreat reduced stream flows and species extinction. As a further effect of global warming, diseases like malaria are returning in to areas where they were previously extinct. As result of all the energies will be directed to addressing these problems putting the youths at bay. The youths will be jobless since industries will shut down and poverty levels increase. The youths will turn into crimes in order to make ends meet thus predisposing them to many dangers. Effects of Hydrogen and Fuel Cells on Global Warming Hydrogen fuel cells work by allowing oxygen treat with natural gas methanol or hydrogen to produce electricity without combustion. In hydrogen fuel cells, water and heat are the only by products other than energy. Fuel cells serve as clean alternative for not only electricity generation but also usage by automobiles. Water and heat are harmless products and therefore reducing global warming. Conclusion: Green house gases such as carbon dioxide ozone and methane are the leading contributor of global warming and the solution to global warming must first of all begin with the reduction of the emission of these greenhouse gases and other heat trapping gases. However the naturally occurring gases have insignificant effects on global warming and therefore the control of artificial generation is the main concern. These gases are the leading causes of global warming. Although the developed countries bear the greatest burden towards limiting global warming, the newly industrialized countries are the major emitters of carbon dioxide and all of them must be in agreement to solve the problem. The international treaties in global warming should not be applied selectively for the fight to be won since it would promote suspicion and mistrust. Meanwhile the solution to reduction of green house gases is the shifting to renewable source of energy such as gasoline, bio-ethernol, solar, and wind energy other than the use of fossil fuel and oil. Emphasizing on energy efficiency and renewable energy will reduce the human contribution to global warming while creating a strong healthier and more secure nation The possibility of utilizing both heat and electricity from all sources of energy makes a significant contribution to reducing atmospheric emissions Reference: John J Berger beating the heat why and how we must combat global warming. Berkeley Hills book, 2000. pp. 97. NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). Global Temperature Trends: 2002 Summation. Goddard institute for space studies New York, New York Accessed online on November 14th 2007. www. giss. nasa. gov/research/observe/surftemp. 3pp NAST (National Assessment Synthesis Team) climate change impacts on the United States, The potential consequences of climate variability and change, foundation Report for the US global change research program, 2001. Cambridge University Press U. K. pp 620 J. T Houghton L. G Meira, Filho D. J gigs and K. Maskell. IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel On Climate Change) stabilization of atmospheric greenhouse gases physical biological and social-economic implications. IPCC technical paper iii 1997 IPCC, Geneva Switzerland pp. 52 Alcohol: cool solution to global warming? The why files. 2007. Retrieved online on 14 November 2007. http://whyfilesorg/253ethanal Global warming and energy, clean energy solution. Fuel cells. Sierra club. Accessed online on November 14th 2007. http://www. sierraclub. org/globalwarming/solutions/fuelcells. asp Lisa Bushby: hydrogen fuel cells: energy of the future environmental chemistry. http://environmentalchemistry. com/yogi/environmental/200408hydrogenfuelcells. html