How humans impact global warming and overall climate change

The issue of global warning has recently become a very polarizing and contentious issues within the overall discourse of society. For one, this issue has become highly politicized creating a much more antagonistic view of global warming and its impact on the lives of civilization. Within the United States, some political parties outright deny the existence of global warning, often calling it a “Chinese Hoax.” Those on the opposite end of the political spectrum are actively pursing avenues in which to limit the overall impact of global warming on the lives of others. This includes heavy tax incentives of innovations in renewable energy, gas emission requirements for vehicles, and even a “carbon tax.” All of these elements are designed to help protect citizens but often come with unintended consequences for society at large. It is this push and pull related to global warming, the facts that substantiate it, and the best manner in which to deal with it, that has created the combative discourse. Even more alarming, the casualties from an incorrect decision from humanity can be cataclysmic. For one, changing weather patterns can create an adverse impact on wildlife and the surrounding ecosystems. The melting of glaciers in the northern hemisphere can have a very large impact on land masses located at or near sea level. States along the eastern coast of the United States, such as Florida, could be adversely affected by rising sea levels. Beach homes and businesses alongside these areas could all be destroyed causing large amounts of economic demand to the state and surrounding communities. In other countries such as China, air quality has deteriorated to such an extent that smog can permeates the sky harming the ability of residents to even see the sun. The consequences of global warming are vast. To properly combat these issues, it is important for society to have cooperative and collaborative working relationship with one another.

The science behind global warming is nearly universal. Here the scientific consensus is that the earths climate is warming. Chart 1 below indicates the degree to which the earth is warming. The data is from NASA, and indicates that the Earth is currently the warmest it has been since 1880. Multiple peer-reviewed studies show that roughly 97% of climate scientists believe the global warming trends are likely attributed to the economic activities of mankind (Cook, 2016).

Chart 1

To begin human decisions have had a profound impact on environmental systems. This has created both positive and negative attributes related to global warming. A positive development has been the creative of entirely new industries related to global warming. These industries not only help to mitigate the influence of global warming on society, but they have also enabled a large amount of job creation within society itself. These businesses which were once fledging and often insignificant, have now become very viable and self-sustaining industries. By leveraging capitalism and the profit incentive, humans contributions have developed businesses designed to lower carbon emission while also improving society. Tesla has been a very well documented result of human ingenuity as it relates to combating global warming. Here, the company manufactures electric vehicles that not only limit carbon emissions but also provide high quality vehicles to consumers. These vehicles heavily reduce carbon emissions while also provide a much safer riding experience for consumers. Leveraging its technology, the company has also diversified its product offering to harness renewable energy sources such as solar panels and battery storage capabilities. Here, not only can consumers power their homes through solar energy, they can also store this energy for use once the sun is not shinning. Each of these innovations help to lower global warming through the establishment of products that are either better or comparable to their oil and gas counterparts. The success of Tesla is strong example of how human contributions can be a positive example in the fight against global warming. The success of Tesla has also spawned other electronic vehicle companies around the world attempting to replicate the companies business model. This is ultimately a positive for the world and its fight against global warming. Here, the profit motive combined with capitalism has allowed innovative businesses to flourish while providing the world with much needed products (Agrawala, 1999)

The Tesla example also illustrates the contributions of government on combating global warming. This too is a positive human contribution to global warming. Here, governments around the world have supported various initiatives to help cool the planet and mitigate the negative consequences of global warming. These initiatives, as noted in the Tesla example above have provided a large benefit to the world in terms of reducing carbon emissions. For example, the United States government instituted tax credits for the manufacture and sale of electronic vehicles. These tax credits where designed to deliver on two initiatives. First, it made electric vehicles must more price competitive with their combustion engine counterparts. This allowed manufactures to better compete while also helping to drive sales of electric vehicles to the public. With higher adoption rates, electric vehicles can become much more ubiquitous around the nation. As Tesla and other electronic vehicles permeate the consumer marketplace, it may encourage others to adopt these purchasing behaviors. This is particularly beneficial as electric vehicles are must cheaper to operate than their oil and gas counterparts. Through government initiatives, consumers can begin purchasing electric vehicles in large quantities. Government intervention is also needed to stop global warming as it requires very large infrastructure investments. Although vehicle manufactures can develop the cars demanded by society, government is needed to create the infrastructure to properly operated them. One such element is charging stations. To properly combat global warming, infrastructure is heavily required. Governments around the world have collaborated in an effort to create a strong and robust infrastructure network to help contribute to the mitigation efforts around global warming. This infrastructure includes a nationwide network of charging stations that can assist consumers who need to charge their vehicles, particularly on long trips. Infrastructure imitative also include land grants to allows for development of renewable energy projects such as wind, hydro, and solar projects. Finally, these initiatives include public private partnerships designed to further innovate with the renewable energy industry, thus reducing the reliance on fossil fuels. Each of these elements are positive human contributions as it relates to global warming. These initiatives are positive as they first align all stakeholders involved with a common objective which to combat global warming. It also aligns resources, both from a capital perspective and innovative perspective (Alvarez, 2018)

The negative contributions are vast as it relates to global warming. Much in the same manner that capitalism can be leveraged to help the fight against global warming it is also used to harm it as well. In many instances the harm can far outpace the good being done in this regard. For one, economic growth, particularly in third world countries often requires the use of antiquated methods of energy production. The most egregious example is China. The country is by far the largest emitter of greenhouse gasses, with the primary culprit being coal. However, on a per capita basis, these carbon emissions are actually lower than most developed nations around the world. The problem here is due in part to China’s rapid economic growth and its large population base. Due in part to capitalism, the country has developed rapidly over the recent decade. It GDP has grown at an average rate of 7% per year, which is nearly double that of the United States. This large economic growth will need to be fostered by large investments in energy and energy infrastructure. Unfortunately, the country heavily utilizes coal-powered energy production. It also utilized blast furnaces to product iron and steel needed for its infrastructure requirements. These requirements are heavily related to the large economic growth the country is experiencing. Elements such as road, bridges, dams, and housing all require large infrastructure investments that are largely produced by coal. As of 2020 nearly 30% of the worlds greenhouse gas emissions are from China. Unfortunately, China has recently suffered a large host of climate related disasters including droughts and floods which have created serious repercussions for the environment. As noted in the introduction, these repercussions can vary in magnitude, but taken together, they result in a large amount of negative consequences. For example, in China, those working in outdoor jobs, older individuals or those living in poverty had to endure an additional 13 days of heatwave just last year alone (Abbott, 2016). Agricultural products have been impacted due to drought as nearly 20% of Chinas, soybean crop was damaged or destroyed last year. Even marine life has suffered as the south china sea is currently experiencing a lack of diversity within its fishing industry. Here, coral reefs in the South China see are dying, fisheries cannot catch the amount of fish they have historically, thus impacted the economic production of the industry (Abraham, 2013).

To summarize, human contributions towards global warming have been varied. From a positive perspective, governments and communities around the world have recognized its importance to civilization. The positive human contributions have been related to development of government standards to address greenhouse gas emissions. These standards include regulations related to automobiles, carbon taxes, and renewable energy legislations. Likewise, the capital markets have recognized the severity of this issue and have generated large amounts of capital that have been used to fund efforts to lower the prevalence of global warming around the world. Unfortunately, many of these initiatives have been counteracted by the negative elements of human contribution to global warming. For one, economic development, particularly in third world countries have increased their dependency on fossil fuels. Coal in particularly, is heavily utilized in China which contributes nearly 30% of the worlds greenhouse gas emissions. Elements such as deforestation in Brazil has also created large environmental consequences due to expanding capitalistic systems. The consequences of such human behavior are far reaching. For example, in many areas around the world, there is a higher degree of drought and natural disasters. Marine life has been threatened impacting the environment ecosystem and economic development tied to them (Abelmann, 2006). Land due to ice caps melting may also be impacted. All of these negative influences can adversely impact society. Hopefully these positive influences can overwhelm the negative elements presented above.