Climate Change Essay Example for Free

Climate Change Essay Today we can not question the realism of the climate change because the evidences of its effects to nature are already manifesting. The melting of the ice in north pole; the hurricanes this past years; the recurring drought; extreme weather changes; the rising of sea levels; and, the strong typhoons are only a few of these evidences. Even if we continue to ignore the threats associated with climate change, we can not deny nor alter the fact that it’s really happening. Despite the global buzz about climate change and its consequences, many individuals are still unaware of this phenomenon. So what then is climate change? How does it affect the planet we are living in? What can we do to alleviate this problem? Giving light to these aforementioned questions is the aim of this part of my paper. The climate of the earth is continuously changing but these changes are minimal and are often due to natural etiologies. However, recently the activities of mankind have brought about rigorous alterations in the earth’s climate. The recognition of these alterations of the earth’s climate led to the establishment of the climate change phenomenon. Today, the term climate change is used to refer to the massive modifications of the earth’s climate due to human activities. Climate change is the alteration in the normal pattern of the weather of an area over a period of time. This phenomenon is the manifestation of the irregular deviations from the usual climate inside the atmosphere of the Earth as well as its effects on the other components of this planet like the ice caps. The period of time involved in climate change can vary from a few years to millions of years (GreenFacts). Climate change is brought about by the amplified concentration of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O), and methane (CH4) in the atmosphere. CO2 is the greenhouse gas that is abundantly released into the earth’s atmosphere. The high levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere prevent the normal mechanism of solar energy retention in the earth’s atmosphere as well as its reflection back to the space (outside earth’s atmosphere). In short, these so called greenhouse gases causes heat from the sun (solar energy) to be trapped within the earth’s atmosphere increasing the normal temperature of the earth (GreenFacts). The greenhouse gases that are significant factors in the occurrence of the climate change phenomenon are emissions of human activities like fossil fuel burning for energy purposes; forests burn-offs; and, change in the usage of land. The burning of fossil fuels is the primary reason for the presence of extensively high carbon dioxide levels in the earth’s atmosphere. Prior to the start of human utilization of fossil fuels the carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere was 280 parts per million (ppm). However, at present the CO2 concentration is raised to 390 ppm. Each year the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere increases by 1-2 ppm (GreenFacts). The consequences of climate change include the following: increasing seawater levels; melting of snow and ice in the mountains and polar regions; increasing occurrences of heat waves; drought; changes in the wind patterns; ocean salinity; escalating intensity of tropical cyclones; and, heavy precipitation. The climate change has enormous impact on the lives of humans and animals; the infrastructures; and, the environment. The production of food is highly affected by climate change and can cause intensive hunger in many of the world’s population if not alleviated. Various ecosystems have been destroyed such as coral reefs due to warming of the seawater; mangroves affected by drought or soil erosion; and, plant and animal species lost due to forest fires. The occurrence of more disease epidemics and malnutrition are likely if extensive action is delayed. In order to stop climate change, the greenhouse gas emissions should be decreased to significant levels if not eradicated. In line with this goal, various countries have instituted policies regarding the lowering greenhouse gases release into the atmosphere. There are policies that were agreed upon and adapted by various countries but the individual countries around the world showed varied efforts in handling this problem. II. Potential policies that can address climate change There are many potential policies that can be instituted to alleviate the harmful effects of climate change and in this paper three policies will be discussed. These policies are transportation efficiency; biofuels utilization; and, carbon capture from coal power plants. Transportation efficiency is a significant policy to alleviate the climate change dilemma. This is because the transportation sector (which includes passenger cars, aviation, rail road transport vehicles, and navigation) mainly utilize petroleum product fuels that is a considerable source of carbon dioxide emission. Transportation efficiency policy focuses on increasing the diversity of fuels utilized and upholding the effectiveness of the transport systems. This policy can reduce the CO2 emission through the following strategies: promoting the usage of fuel efficient vehicles; lowering the road vehicle jamming; promotion of mass transit systems; and, advancing the efficiency of existing vehicles (Barry et. Al. , 2008). The lessening of road vehicle jamming will have a significant impact on the CO2 emission reduction because vehicles stuck in traffic jams continuously combusts fuel and release CO2 in the atmosphere. Thus, smooth road travels mean deduction in the fuel utilization and also decrease in the emission of CO2. Another aspect that will be promoted in the transportation efficiency policy is the passenger’s greater usage of light rail transport. Light rail transport systems utilize other forms of energy producing mechanism in their operations which means less fuel combustion and less CO2 emission. Since the transportation sector is among the primary emitters of CO2 in the atmosphere The term biofuel refers to renewable energy sources that are produced from biomass (crops purposely planted for biofuels production or plant materials from agricultural and industry wastes). The usage of biofuel as source of energy gained popularity because of its renewable nature. It is widely known as a solution to the diminishing fossil fuel supply. Recently though biofuel is considered as potential solution to the reduction of CO2 emission in relation to the alleviation of climate change. Thus, biofuels utilization policy does not only benefit the economy but most significantly it will benefit the environment. Biofuels usage aides in the lowering of CO2 in the atmosphere through replacing the fossil fuels as energy sources and absorption of CO2 present in the atmosphere. The latter occurs when crops are purposely planted to be used as biofuel materials. Plants absorb atmospheric CO2 for their growth. Thus planting biofuel crops means absorption and reduction of atmospheric CO2. Also, the production of biofuels from biomass does not produce significant amounts of CO2 (U. S. Department of Energy, 1999). The various roles that biofuels can play in the reduction of CO2 in the atmosphere verify the significance of biofuels policy in combating climate change. The coal power plants are also among the significant emitters of CO2 in the atmosphere. In United States alone, coal power plants contribute to 85 percent of the greenhouse gases released by the power sector (Geman et. al. ). Despite the high CO2 emission of coal power plants, it is still continuously used as the primary source of energy in countries like U. S. because no alternative energy source has yet been able to surpass its economic benefits. The high CO2 emission of coal power plants can be solved by the implementation of carbon capture policy. The installation of carbon capture system in coal power plants has been done in various countries. Among the pioneers of carbon capture system usage is the Elsam coal-fired power plant in Esbjerg, Denmark. The usage of carbon capture system among coal power plants can greatly reduce the carbon emission into the atmosphere without compromising the price of the electricity. III. The best policy option to address climate change In my point of view, the best policy option is transportation efficiency. This is because the realization of this policy’s goals will not only help in the reduction of carbon dioxide release in the atmosphere but will also ease the travel experience of passengers; reduce the transportation costs; and, safeguard public health. The transportation sector is the third major emitter of CO2 in the atmosphere. Thus, ensuring that the transport sector emits significantly reduced amounts of CO2 is equivalent to decreasing a huge percentage of the total CO2 emission. The transportation efficiency policy though has a high complex nature because it encompasses infrastructures like road and light rail stations; vehicle manufacturing; traffic regulations; and, fuel policies like alternative fuels. The complexity of these strategies needed for the transportation efficiency policy implementation though is worth all the effort because of this policy’s vast benefits. The dilemma on climate change though can not be alleviated by the implementation of only one policy. The complexity of this problem necessitates the execution of various policies and strategies as well as cooperation of all the nations around the world. Even though some countries already practice methodologies to combat this problem, if other countries will not reduce their greenhouse gases emissions the problem will continue to get worse. A unified action the nations of the world is needed to significantly resolve climate change. Works Cited Barry, J. and Allen, A. M. Survey of Policies and Programs that Promote Fuel-Efficient Transport in APEC Economies. 2008.Alliance to Save Energy. 25 March 2009. Geman, B. and Gronewold, N. Coal-Fired Power Plants Will Need Better Carbon Capture and Storage Technology. Scientific American. 25 March 2009 http://www. sciam. com/article. cfm? id=coal-fired-power-plants-carbon-capture Greenfacts. Scientific Facts on Climate Change. 2007. IPCC. 25 March 2009. http://www. greenfacts. org/en/climate-change-ar4/climate-change-ar4-greenfacts-level2. pdf U. S. Department of Energy. Biofuels: A Solution for Climate Change. September 1999. http://www. nrel. gov/docs/fy99osti/24052. pdf