15th commentary - Global Warming
This commentary is for Week 5, and is on the question: Reflect on the causes of global warming, its consequences, the solutions and the problems that hinder the solutions attempted. The commentary will be based on the given articles in the GP Times, as well as my own background information.
As countless reports over the years have stated, the world is facing the worsening problem of global warming, and that if nothing is done to improve the situation, life on Earth could run into major problems. Some of the possible problems that scientists have predicted include a rise in sea levels that could be between half a meter to seven meters, more powerful and destructive hurricanes, greater droughts, and even a new ice age. Some of these problems may seem far fetched now, but research models have shown that many of these scenarios are actually possible, depending on the extent of global warming.
In fact there have already been some evidence that these scenarios could be starting to occur. A recent news article claimed that 2005 was the hottest, driest and stormiest year on record. Other articles have highlighted the melting of the polar ice, both in the north and the south poles. Chunks of ice, larger than ever before have been breaking off the ice shelves of Antarctic; the sea ice of the Arctic has become much thinner than ever before. The hurricane season of 2005 produced more Category 5 hurricanes than all other hurricane seasons, and it also produced the most number of hurricanes within a single season, and the duration of the season was actually longer than many of the recent years. The Amazon has been stated to be much drier than usual as well.
Where would all these problems be coming from? Well, scientists have also found that the levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases is much higher than ever before. Levels of carbon dioxide had already been increasing since the industrial revolution in the 19th century. However, with more of the countries in the world becoming industrialized, and with larger quantities of energy needed, the levels of greenhouse gases have been increasing very rapidly. The industries of many developing countries produce great amounts of pollution that add to the already serious problem. The use of non-renewable resources like coal, oil and natural gas to generate electricity also contributes to air pollution. Amongst the three, coal is by far the most polluting. With many countries using coal due to its cheap monetary cost, the amount of air pollution contributed from this source alone is very great.
The consequences of global warming are actually very varied. The immediate problems that result would be the climatic changes that were mentioned in a earlier paragraph. But from those problems, more would result. Melting ice and rising sea levels would cause widespread flooding across many low-lying areas around the world, especially if the rise is of several meters. Countries like Bangladesh and the Maldives could see large amounts of land becoming submerged by the sea. If this occurred, many people could become displaced, losing both their homes and their livelihood. Droughts could kill thousands of people, due to starvation when crops failed. Hurricanes and storms could cause greater damage to the land than before, wrecking havoc around the world. Animals could lose their habitats; flora and fauna that failed to adapt to changes in the climate could become extinct. One example of this could be the polar bears of Canada, who face diminishing hunting grounds due to the earlier melting of sea ice in Hudson Bay. Coral, which are extremely sensitive to temperature changes, would become bleached due to rising sea temperatures.
The worst case scenario that may occur would probably be the onset of a new ice age. This scenario is explored in the movie "The day after tomorrow", where global warming caused too much polar ice to melt, halting the Gulf Stream and causing a massive temperature drop across much of the northern hemisphere, leading to superstorms that heralded the ice age. Obviously, climate shifts of such a sudden occurrence would not occur. However, the change could be much faster than ever before, due to global warming. Thus, I would not dismiss the scenario shown in the movie as pure fiction. If a climate shift does occur, humans would be in a great deal of trouble. Millions would die, and people would need to learn to adapt to a whole new environment.
How can we prevent the problems from occurring? Is anything being done to resolve the issue of global warming? This are questions one would ask after seeing the possible consequences of uncontrolled global warming. Well, the good thing is that many countries and organizations have started taking steps in attempts to slow down global warming. Some companies are switching to the use of environmentally friendly products, while others use recycled materials; Governments are taking steps to make their countries "greener"; International treaties have been drawn up to curb pollution... But how successful are these steps?
Well, there have been both positive effects from the attempts, but also negative ones. One such example would be the Kyoto Protocol, which is an international treaty aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions. Many countries have signed and rectified it and have taken steps to curb greenhouse gas emissions. However, many are finding the targets hard to meet. Furthermore, the fact that developing countries like China and India are exempt from the curbs makes the Protocol quite ineffective. This is due to the fact that both China and India are major contributors of greenhouse gas emissions. Another problem of the Protocol is that the US, which is the world's largest contributor of greenhouse gases, refused to rectify it. Without the participation of the US, the Protocol does seem very unlike to achieve great successes. The US also seems unlikely to sign any other treaty that could hurt its economy.
Another problem with the attempt to reduce emissions would be the fact that many developing countries are not able to afford the more expensive cleaner technology. For example, countries would not want to rely on Solar power for electricity generation when there is coal, which is far cheaper, to use. Some companies do not want to spend the extra costs as they want to maximize their profits. Some people do not conserve because they find it too troublesome to do so.
With such hindrances among many more, it is therefore unsurprising that the global effort to slow global warming has not gone far. However, all is not lost, as some governments have finally started to see the dangers global warming could bring. Furthermore, some people have taken their own initiatives to be more environmentally friendly, providing a small but important boost to the effort of slowing global warming. In this battle for the environment, every step, no matter how small, counts.
As countless reports over the years have stated, the world is facing the worsening problem of global warming, and that if nothing is done to improve the situation, life on Earth could run into major problems. Some of the possible problems that scientists have predicted include a rise in sea levels that could be between half a meter to seven meters, more powerful and destructive hurricanes, greater droughts, and even a new ice age. Some of these problems may seem far fetched now, but research models have shown that many of these scenarios are actually possible, depending on the extent of global warming.
In fact there have already been some evidence that these scenarios could be starting to occur. A recent news article claimed that 2005 was the hottest, driest and stormiest year on record. Other articles have highlighted the melting of the polar ice, both in the north and the south poles. Chunks of ice, larger than ever before have been breaking off the ice shelves of Antarctic; the sea ice of the Arctic has become much thinner than ever before. The hurricane season of 2005 produced more Category 5 hurricanes than all other hurricane seasons, and it also produced the most number of hurricanes within a single season, and the duration of the season was actually longer than many of the recent years. The Amazon has been stated to be much drier than usual as well.
Where would all these problems be coming from? Well, scientists have also found that the levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases is much higher than ever before. Levels of carbon dioxide had already been increasing since the industrial revolution in the 19th century. However, with more of the countries in the world becoming industrialized, and with larger quantities of energy needed, the levels of greenhouse gases have been increasing very rapidly. The industries of many developing countries produce great amounts of pollution that add to the already serious problem. The use of non-renewable resources like coal, oil and natural gas to generate electricity also contributes to air pollution. Amongst the three, coal is by far the most polluting. With many countries using coal due to its cheap monetary cost, the amount of air pollution contributed from this source alone is very great.
The consequences of global warming are actually very varied. The immediate problems that result would be the climatic changes that were mentioned in a earlier paragraph. But from those problems, more would result. Melting ice and rising sea levels would cause widespread flooding across many low-lying areas around the world, especially if the rise is of several meters. Countries like Bangladesh and the Maldives could see large amounts of land becoming submerged by the sea. If this occurred, many people could become displaced, losing both their homes and their livelihood. Droughts could kill thousands of people, due to starvation when crops failed. Hurricanes and storms could cause greater damage to the land than before, wrecking havoc around the world. Animals could lose their habitats; flora and fauna that failed to adapt to changes in the climate could become extinct. One example of this could be the polar bears of Canada, who face diminishing hunting grounds due to the earlier melting of sea ice in Hudson Bay. Coral, which are extremely sensitive to temperature changes, would become bleached due to rising sea temperatures.
The worst case scenario that may occur would probably be the onset of a new ice age. This scenario is explored in the movie "The day after tomorrow", where global warming caused too much polar ice to melt, halting the Gulf Stream and causing a massive temperature drop across much of the northern hemisphere, leading to superstorms that heralded the ice age. Obviously, climate shifts of such a sudden occurrence would not occur. However, the change could be much faster than ever before, due to global warming. Thus, I would not dismiss the scenario shown in the movie as pure fiction. If a climate shift does occur, humans would be in a great deal of trouble. Millions would die, and people would need to learn to adapt to a whole new environment.
How can we prevent the problems from occurring? Is anything being done to resolve the issue of global warming? This are questions one would ask after seeing the possible consequences of uncontrolled global warming. Well, the good thing is that many countries and organizations have started taking steps in attempts to slow down global warming. Some companies are switching to the use of environmentally friendly products, while others use recycled materials; Governments are taking steps to make their countries "greener"; International treaties have been drawn up to curb pollution... But how successful are these steps?
Well, there have been both positive effects from the attempts, but also negative ones. One such example would be the Kyoto Protocol, which is an international treaty aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions. Many countries have signed and rectified it and have taken steps to curb greenhouse gas emissions. However, many are finding the targets hard to meet. Furthermore, the fact that developing countries like China and India are exempt from the curbs makes the Protocol quite ineffective. This is due to the fact that both China and India are major contributors of greenhouse gas emissions. Another problem of the Protocol is that the US, which is the world's largest contributor of greenhouse gases, refused to rectify it. Without the participation of the US, the Protocol does seem very unlike to achieve great successes. The US also seems unlikely to sign any other treaty that could hurt its economy.
Another problem with the attempt to reduce emissions would be the fact that many developing countries are not able to afford the more expensive cleaner technology. For example, countries would not want to rely on Solar power for electricity generation when there is coal, which is far cheaper, to use. Some companies do not want to spend the extra costs as they want to maximize their profits. Some people do not conserve because they find it too troublesome to do so.
With such hindrances among many more, it is therefore unsurprising that the global effort to slow global warming has not gone far. However, all is not lost, as some governments have finally started to see the dangers global warming could bring. Furthermore, some people have taken their own initiatives to be more environmentally friendly, providing a small but important boost to the effort of slowing global warming. In this battle for the environment, every step, no matter how small, counts.
posted by Raylen at 10:56 PM
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