Effects of Climate Change

Natural versus anthropogenic forces in climate change are a common topic for discussion. Some people believe that the global warming experienced now is part of a natural cycle while other others believe it is accelerated thanks to human evolution on earth. Although there is a natural cycle on the planet concerning global warming, this is not the case regarding the information provided from scientific data on the effects of human-generated global warming. Natural global warming takes long periods of time to develop.

People that have analyzed previous global warming trends have noted the rise in temperatures occurred over a prolonged period, like thousands of years. However, human-caused global warming has produced a warming trend at a faster rate. Instead of thousands of years, it is decades. Secondly, humans were not around for the previous global warming trends and if they were, they were much smaller in number than they are now. The Last Ice Age for example, humans numbered in the thousands versus the billions that are on the planet today.

That ice age, which was around 70,000 years ago, was helped by something that occurs naturally on earth with no intervention by humans, volcanoes. The Toba super volcano erupted and set off natural climate change that would create a colder ice age for years. " . . . it's a safe guess that Toba "dimmed the sun for six years, disrupted seasonal rains, choked off streams and scattered whole cubic miles of hot ash (imagine wading through a giant ashtray) across acres and acres of plants" (KRULWICH, 2012). This climate change may have resulted in a potential bottleneck of the human population and an altered state of weather that created twenty plus degree drops in certain places.

The same can be said of the younger dryas era hypothesis where some researchers suggest a comet hit earth and caused a second rapid cooling that lasted for one thousand years. "Recently, scientific discoveries suggest the onset of abrupt cooling during the Younger Dryas was triggered by the impact of fragmented comets exploding in the atmosphere over North America at 10,900 BC" (Gross, 2016, p. 40). Although there is no proof yet of a comet hitting earth at the time, there is proof that the rapid cooling did exist and did last for one thousand years. This evidence shows that natural disasters can trigger global climate changes without human intervention. However, anthropogenic climate changes do occur.

For example, during the colonial times of the United States, the amount of deforestation that occurred thanks to the coming of new settlers, led to increased rainfall according to some historians. " . . . described a change in climatic conditions in the North American colonies, and linked this favorable change to the ongoing settlement that produced increased drainage and deforestation" (Storch, 2012, p. 268). Although there is no real example of anthropogenic climate changes because of the limited data available for analysis, many do believe a good example of such effects is if the increased carbon dioxide in the earth thanks to human evolution. The increase in technology has led to a use of chemicals and machines that increase the output of greenhouse emissions. These gases could lead to and have led to rising sea levels within the last century (Storch, 2012).

When discussing global warming, I personally believe it is taking place and human evolution has put the earth in a predicament that could lead to dramatic shifts in global climate in the next few decades. Although natural events like volcanoes and comets could dramatically change the climate of the earth, I believe, so can humans. Big changes have already taken place regarding the general warming of the seas and the reintroduction of black water.

For example, the coral reefs are dying. " . . . destruction of coastal coral reefs is increasing (e.g., up to 50% in the last 15 years in some Asian countries). ... nutrient concentration during the recovery period after a natural disturbance, and from global warming that generates increased bleaching events" (Jorgensen & Fath, 2014, p. 635). The appearance of bleached coral comes from the warmer waters experienced throughout the world. The increased appearance of 'black water' or Sulphur-eating bacteria is also on the rise. The Florida coast has seen a large area of black water surface with images taken in March of 2002" (Jorgensen & Fath, 2014). This black water, caused by such bacteria, led to the Permian mass extinction event. Such an event could be replicated thanks to the oil drilling that allows such bacteria to escape to the surface of oceans and seas and replicate due to the favorable environment such oil activity produces (McElhiney & Hardy, 1996).

The last bit of evidence that suggests anthropogenic climate changes have already taken place is the overall increase in hurricanes, earthquakes, and other storms within the last few decades. Oil fracking has been documented to lead to earthquakes in the areas where there is fracking (Kaden & Rose, 2015). Thanks to increased greenhouse gases, the warmer waters have led to easier conditions for hurricanes and thus discernable changes in climate.

Efforts are being made to mitigate the dangerous effects of climate change. One such strategy is implementation of clean coal technology. Such technology comes in the form of carbon capture and storage (CCS). The basic premise of this is that harmful carbon dioxide would be bottled and buried to avoid it being added into the atmosphere and contributing to global warming. The downside to this method is the expense (Kloor, 2012). Although the technology exists, because of costs, it does not seem like it would be implemented.

Another strategy is use of natural gas. Although natural gas has its own downsides it does lead to decreased use of coal, especially in major countries like the United States (Kloor, 2012). It may be an alternative just because it is cheaper and that is what many businesses want, to reduce costs and increase profits. Clean technology may steer towards what costs less to mitigate the damage coal inflicts on the atmosphere.

China and the United States are responsible for much of the environmental problems seen in recent times. They are two major world powers and they need to be placed on strict policy changes to allow for less use of coal and introduction of more renewable energy. Some of these policy changes could be as simple as limiting the amount of livestock allowed to be raised in those countries and providing financial incentives to businesses in the form of tax breaks for using alternative, renewable energy forms like solar power and wind energy to fuel their factories and offices.

These policy changes are simple and easy to implement as long as enough control is exerted in certain directions. Livestock is a major contributor to greenhouse emissions in the form of methane and should be addressed. The same can be said of fish as well. Fish farming leads to increased pollution and can make waters already experiencing problems, even more toxic. "Pollution by fish farms Fish farms, especially those for trout, are increasing rapidly in number in the EEC as their commercial advantages are demonstrated" (Haslam & Wolseley, 2014, p. 471). If something is done to curb the cultivation of animals as food, it can help decrease some of the negative effects seen from methane and polluted waters.

References

Gross, J. L. (2016). Waipi'o Valley: A Polynesian journey from Eden to Eden. Xlibris Corporation.

Haslam, S. M., & Wolseley, P. A. (2014). River plants of Western Europe: The macrophytic vegetation of watercourses of the European Economic Community. Cambridge University Press.

Jorgensen, S. E., & Fath, B. (2014). Encyclopedia of Ecology. Saint Louis: Newnes.

Kaden, D. A., & Rose, T. L. (2015). Environmental and Health Issues in Unconventional Oil and Gas Development. Elsevier Science.

Kloor, K. (2012, November 8). Clean coal technology: Carbon capture and sequestration is trapped in a valley of death. Retrieved from http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/coal/2012/11/clean_coal_technology_carbon_capture_and_sequestration_is_trapped_in_a_valley.html

KRULWICH, R. (2012, October 22). How Human Beings Almost Vanished From Earth In 70,000 B.C. : Krulwich Wonders... : NPR. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/sections/krulwich/2012/10/22/163397584/how-human-beings-almost-vanished-from-earth-in-70-000-b-c

McElhiney, J. E., & Hardy, J. A. (1996). Study examines sulfate-reducing bacteria activity. Retrieved from http://www.ogj.com/articles/print/volume-94/issue-50/in-this-issue/production/study-examines-sulfate-reducing-bacteria-activity.html

Storch, H. V. (2012). Anthropogenic climate change. Place of publication not identified: Springer Science & Business Media.