The biggest issue with the environment is climate change. Everyone has an opinion on how to fix the gradual warming of the earth’s temperature. According to the MSN online dictionary climate change is a “change in global weather patterns: long-term alteration in global weather patterns, especially increase in temperature and storm activity, regarded as a potential consequence of the greenhouse effect.”
Greenhouse gases such as: water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and ozone greatly affect the earth’s temperature, by trapping heat in the atmosphere. The problem then lies in the extra amount of mostly carbon dioxide and methane that human activities produce. Due to the overall net warming it is difficult to predict the future. All of this can be found on the earth encyclopedia.
Solutions: Some superhero will not come in to save the world. Scientists are busy researching and looking for solutions. Most ideas revolve around decreasing the amount of greenhouse gas emissions and finding alternative resources. Geo-engineering is defined as man-made environmental change according to Dr. Alan Gadian, a senior research lecturer at the School of Earth and the Environment at the University of Leeds, UK.
Why should any of this matter to you? We are all individuals living on one earth. When the earth is polluted or heated, we have to live with the consequences. The temperature change affects precipitation which affects crops. What if there is a massive flood that destroys land? There are over 6.7 billion people on the earth that need food. What happens when there is not enough to go around?
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Climate is different than weather because climate spans over a long period of time whereas weather mostly encompasses the present. Yes, it takes time for harmful effects to show in the environment, but it also takes time to reverse these harmful effects. No change in reducing greenhouse gases will immediately improve the situation. Acting now is a good idea, but how exactly will the plan work? Sometimes people do not listen to laws and break them anyway, despite the consequences. Is it worth it to enact an environmental law? If so, rewards for followers can be an incentive instead of consequences for breaking laws. People tend to want what is good for them, and rewards usually draw attention. However, rewards can only go so far and for a certain amount of time. Nothing is everlasting.
ReplyDeleteYes, there are over 6.7 billion people on Earth that need food. You ask what happens when there is not enough to go around. Just look at some underdeveloped countries today...how are they coping? Land damage destroying crops will blow this situation up ecumenically, not just locally.
You have made a lot of good points that I had not thought about.
ReplyDeleteI think that climate and weather are linked. All of the climate changes are affecting the types of weather we experience.
Solutions are a big topic. I am looking at geo-engineering right now.
More research is to come and thanks for the ideas!!