There has been quite a bit of controversy surrounding climate change and global warming over the last

several years. On the one hand, we have those who believe that the changes can be directly linked to
human activities and the excess of Greenhouse gases that are released into the atmosphere as a result
of those activities. On the other hand, we have those that believe the two are unrelated and that
climate change is simply a part of nature following its natural course. In an age of disinformation,
climate deniers are gaining in numbers, but what does science tell us and more importantly, what can
we do to help reset the damage?

According to NASA, most Climatologist agree that “the main cause of the current global warming trend
is human expansion of the “greenhouse effect”” (NASA.gov 2017). While the greenhouse effect is a
naturally occurring phenomenon, the effect is being exasperated by the burning of fossil fuels. Burning
these materials releases gases into the atmosphere that intensify the greenhouse effect, trapping heat
in the Earth’s atmosphere causing temperatures to rise.

There are those who hold firmly to the belief that El Nino patterns can easily explain the rise in the
global average temperature. Unfortunately, science shows us that this cannot be accurate. El Nino is a
temporary change that is experienced. National Geographic asserts that “El Nino added to last year’s
temperature record by temporarily releasing heat from the Pacific. But no natural cause explains the
half-century warming trend. The sun’s output cycles up and down every year; volcanic eruptions
sporadically cool the planet. Only CO2 and other human-emitted greenhouse cases have gone steadily
up, forming a thickening blanket that traps heat at the Earth’s surface.” (NationalGeographic.com 2017)
This rules out the Sun and volcanoes from being solely responsible for the changes we see in addition to
ruling out El Nino as the main conspirator.

Global temperature trends have been calculated using measurements from weather stations on land
and by ships and buoys at sea. Until recently there were gaps around the world, specifically in Asia and
Africa for these measuring tools. Over the past decade great strides have been made to ensure we are
able to get temperature readings from all over the globe and fill in the gaps. Briefly there was
speculation that the warming trend had taken a hiatus, but as fate would have it, there was no hiatus.
Simply a miscalculation due to missing pieces of the puzzle. After filling in the blanks with the new
temperature monitoring systems Inside Climate News reports that “The NOAA scientists found that the
world warmed 0.086 degrees Celsius per decade between 1998 and 2012, more than double the
previous estimates. When the researches included 2013 and 2014- when record-breaking heat spread
across the globe- warming per decade jumped to 0.116 degrees Celsius.” (InsideClimateNews.org 2017).
Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.com

No singular, naturally occurring event can account for the warming trend we have seen, and science
shows us we began seeing these increases in CO2 emissions at the around 1880, in other words at the
turn of the Industrial Revolution. Given this evidence it is difficult to deny that global warming is at least
in part influenced by human activities rather than being a natural course of events that humans play no
role in.

In addition to pollution and increased CO2 levels caused by industrial waste, deforestation for use of
land and resources for urbanization and other consumption has a key way we have contributed to the
decline of our air quality and over all pollution levels. Deforestation also takes place in order to facilitate
slash and burn agriculture in which wild or forested land is clear cut and remaining vegetation burned.
The resulting layer of ash provides a few years’ worth of nutrients to the soil before the soil becomes
degraded and new sections of land must be cleared. While this method has been used in Central
America and Mexico for thousands of years, today more people than ever and relying on those
dwindling natural resources making the impacts unsustainable and destructive as deforestation also
contributes to biodiversity damage by losing habitats that directly impact a wide variety of species, and
further causes the release of carbon into the atmosphere increasing climate change effects.

Aerial view of deforestation by soybean farmers in Novo Progreso, Para, Brazil. (AP Photo/Alberto Cesar)

Slash and burn agricultures have resulted in soil erosion, water contamination, landslides and even dust
clouds. Without trees and natural vegetation and their root systems soil washes away during heavy rains
and blows away in times of drought.
A recent analysis in the journal Science suggests that planting billions of trees around the world may be
the cheapest and most efficient way to mitigate climate change. The analysis explains that “As trees
grow, they absorb and store the carbon dioxide emissions that are driving global heating. New research
estimates that a worldwide planting programme could remove two-thirds of all the emissions that have
been pumped into the atmosphere by human activities.” A number that is staggering and could prevent
earth from warming beyond our ability to repair.

Reforestation addresses not only environmental pollution but critical issues regarding mass extinction of
a variety of species of both plant and animal life. In 2012 the University of Michigan released a study
that found that the loss of biodiversity impacts ecosystems as much as climate change and pollution.
Forests shelter diverse forms of plant and animal life while those trees remove air pollution by
intercepting particulate matter on plant surfaces and absorbing the gaseous pollutants through the
leaves.

The review in Science analyzed how many additional trees could be planted on a global scale without
encroaching on urban areas or invading established crop land and found that there are 1.7 billion
hectares of treeless land on which 1.2 trillion tree saplings would naturally grow. The study estimated
that 1 trillion trees could be restored for approximately $300 billion.
Organizations such as Ecologic Development Fund, Pachamama Alliance and Conservation International
have strived to lead the efforts on reforestation and protecting wild life and plant species alike.
However, there is a serious drawback to this plan. It could be 50 to 100 years before these trees reach
their full carbon sequestering potential. We have already been warned by climatologists that we do not
have 100 years to reverse these effects before it will be completely out of human control.

Given the time sensitivity of the issue and the dire pollution in the region of the Indian Ocean
specifically, we should be thinking of what plants are capable of sequestering carbons that have a low
cost, resilience to a variety of climates and can mature the fastest. I believe the answer may be as
simple as a weed.

Hemp is a non-intoxicating form of cannabis which has been grown and used for a variety of purposes
including fiber, cloth, food, oil and medicinal. Incredibly, hemp grows as much as 13 feet in 100 days and
can absorb more CO2 per hectare than forest or commercial crops, making it one of the fastest and
most efficient CO2-to-biomass conversion tools available. Because this plant is quite literally a weed, it
can be grown on a large scale even in nutrient poor soils requiring little water and no fertilizers. There
are also advantages of its ability to beat out other plants without the use of pesticides or herbicides,
which helps to promote healthy ecosystems and less water pollutions as the result of run of from
agricultural sources and that the long roots of the plant help to channel moisture deep into the soil
which may help to combat issues of soil degradation and desertification.

The carbon absorbed by these plants are bonded to the fiber that is used for building materials and
textiles, preventing them from being released back into the atmosphere. Hemps now being thought of
in innovative ways which can assist us in a variety of our Sustainability goals from responsible
production and consumption, to protecting life on land and in water, and of course wellness.

Poor communities are those hit the hardest by the effects of climate change. If we look at the region of
India and Indonesia, we can see the climate and pollution crisis in a several ways. First it is important to
see the scale of the issue.
The above map shows the world population and can clearly see the extremely high population density in
this region. Now, we look at the amount of air pollution to get a sense of where we stand on a global
scale.

In 2016 both India and Indonesia had 100-percent of their population exposed to PM2.5 values above
the World Health Organizations guidelines. In 2018 11 of the 12 most polluted cities reported by the
World Health Organization were in India. With a combination of high population density and high levels
of air pollution there are tolls reaped on those inhabiting this region regardless of species and even a
decrease in crops.

In 2014 The Guardian reported that the air pollution in India had become so severe that yields of crops
were being cut nearly in half. Yields for wheat and rice were analyzed alongside pollution data found
that the black carbon and ground level ozone pollutants may have resulted in this significant decrease in
crop yields. The find risks global food security as India is a major rice exporter.

Water pollution by way of plastics has also become a problem in this region as the map below reflects.
We can see high amounts of plastic pollution between the Indonesian isles and the southernmost tip of
India. Petrochemical plastics present their own toxins as they breakdown in the ocean waves and sun
which in turn transfers those chemicals into the water threatening ocean life which is a staple of diet
and commerce in this region.
We also must consider the amount of deforestation that has taken place in this region as reflected in the
following map. We can see there has been devastating, wide swathes of land that has been cleared in
Indonesia. Another benefit of hemp that should not be overlooked is its ability to grow on existing
agricultural land and to be included as part of a farm’s crop rotation which will help increase crop yields
as well as provide additional profits from subsequent crops. If we begin to cultivate hemp on an
industrial level it can prevent further destruction of forest lands as well as open opportunities for
innovation and job creation due it is sheer versatility.

NASA proclaimed that “responding to climate change will involve a two-tier approach: 10 mitigation-
reducing the flow of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and 20 adaptation- learning to live with and
adapt to, the climate change that has already been set in motion.” Raising awareness and changing the
way we produce and consume products will go a long way towards supporting a sustainable world but
we must make big moves if we want to be able to see change rather than extinction in the next 100
years.

Hemp can help us reach these goals by absorbing air and environmental pollution resulting in better
health and life for all living beings, assisting with rooting soil and moisture, industry and innovation,
biodegradable plastics and even bio-fuel. In December 2018, President Trump signed the Agriculture
Improvement Act of 2018 which allows for the nationwide cultivation of industrial hemp which had been
suppressed for nearly a century. This provides the perfect opportunity for us to expand on this operation
and implement hemp farms to mitigate our greenhouse flow as quickly and cost effectively as possible.
 References
Insideclimatenews.org 2017. “Global Warming’s Great Hiatus Gets Another Debunking” June 4, 2015.
Web. Retrieved November 19, 2017. https://insideclimatenews.org/news/04062015/global-warming-
great-hiatus-gets-debunked-NOAA-study?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-
dC1mYfL1wIVj7XACh0cggpREAAYAyAAEgLcpfD_BwE

NASA.gov 2017. “Global Climatae Change: Causes” Web. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
https://climate.nasa.gov/causes/

NationalGeographic.com 2017. “Seven Things to Know About Climate Change” Web. Retrieved
November 19, 2017. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/climate-change/

Science, Sciencemag.org 2019 Bastin, J.-F., Finegold, Y., Garcia, C., Mollicone, D., Rezende, M., Routh,
D., … Crowther, T. W. (2019, July 5). The global tree restoration potential. Retrieved October 12, 2019,
from https://science.sciencemag.org/content/365/6448/76.

University of Michigan.edu, Erickson, J. (2012, May 2). Ecosystem effects of biodiversity loss could rival
impacts of climate change, pollution. Retrieved October 12, 2019, from
https://news.umich.edu/ecosystem-effects-of-biodiversity-loss-could-rival-impacts-of-climate-change-
pollution/.
 Reflection

My biggest take away from this assignment was how functional a map can be not only to represent
ideas and numbers but also to help support one’s ideas or arguments. In the instance of mapping my
climate change and pollution issues, I was unsure of where to start but I knew that any data collected
should be able to be mapped. While the layers I selected for my GIS presentation were not what I
originally thought I would use, I found them to be convincing in conveying my message to my audience. I
think the correlation between high population densities and high pollution levels is interesting and that
these areas should be the first areas that we implement new air quality improvement steps in as they
will suffer the most.

I think my proposal is strong in its cost effectiveness, timeliness and innovation and job opportunities.
Hemp has been illegal and so research has been limited over the last century but with new laws enacted
it’s a great time to take advantage of the opportunity to expand our understanding and the benefits
presented by this plant.

The biggest weakness to my proposal is the work to harvest the hemp may not seem like decent work to
some people and the limitations of the variations in laws around the globe. Just because agricultural
hemp has been allowed in the U.S. does not mean that its cultivation would be legal in India. Cultural
values may also limit the implementation of this plan as there are those that fear that hemp is marijuana
and will somehow result in the decline of society. This can be overcome by further spread of awareness
and facts provided through scientific research and analysis.

This project taught me that while something may seem simple there are many factors that must be
taken into consideration when attempting to implement a change on a global scale. Specifically, in this
instance of suggesting growing a plant around the world, there are concerns about the climate and
whether a crop may fare well in a region. On a personal level I discovered my passion for expanding
research on a variety of topics that can help to improve the everyday life of my fellow humans but more
importantly my desire to leave the Earth a better place than I found it.