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Abdullaziz Almulla

ENG 1201

December 6, 2020

Essay - Climate Change

Introduction

Increased melting of ice in south and north polar ice caps, changes in animals’ migration

patterns and activity dates in plants are some of most discernible indications of climate change

on planet earth. Heating of the earth surface (global warming) has sparked havoc across the

meteorological communities especially so NASA (National Aeronautics and Space

Administration) and NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). A shocking

statistic is that according to NASA reports on annual average global temperature, 2015 was

deemed the hottest year since 1895 only to record higher temperature in 2016. This depicts that

the earth is getting warmer and warmer each year. In fact, NASA affirms that the hottest years

were recorded since 2001 i.e. 16 out of all 17 hottest years ever recorded[ CITATION Ali17 \l 1033 ]!

Media houses, ‘go-green’ campaigners and environmentalism advocates have for long sensitized

the world on importance of conserving the environment in the bid to persuade mankind to put a

halt on practices that fuel climate change e.g. burning of fossil fuels. The effects of climate

change on society, mankind’s contribution to climate change, and future impacts of climate

change.
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Literature Review

NASA and NOAA found that the global average temperatures have steadily increased in

recent years (past 2 decades) and doubled the temperature measured before. NOAA’s findings

shows that the average global temperature in 2019 was approximately 0.95 degrees Celsius (1.7

degrees Fahrenheit) and this marked the second warmest year after 2016[ CITATION Hol20 \l

1033 ]. The earth isn’t cooling back to normal it seems! In USA, 2016 was a challenging year that

was coupled by over 15 climate change disasters e.g. floods, wildfires, severe storms and drought

which attributed to handful loss of property worth over 1 billion US dollars[ CITATION Mar18 \l

1033 ]. The concentrations of naturally occurring gases especially carbon dioxide have increased

twofold as compared to the years before the onset of the industrial revolution in the second half

of 18th century.

As predicted in 1980s by scholarly researchers concerned with climate change, the signs

of global warming have been witnessed in the present world in which crop production have been

reduced significantly due to increased levels of ultraviolet flux. According to Butler, malnutrition

has turned to commonplace in all nations inclusive of developed countries as they compete for

declining supply of natural resources[ CITATION Col18 \l 1033 ]. Referring to NOAA’s report,

Alaska and the contiguous USA recorded the 2016 average temperature as the 20th consecutive

year that surpassed the average of past 122 years since 1895 and the 2nd warmest year[ CITATION

Ali17 \l 1033 ].

Considering human activities and contribution in excessive release of greenhouse gases into the

atmosphere in examining their effect on global temperatures in a nutshell, then the world would

be warmer by an additional one-third of current temperature at the moment.

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The cooling effect that has prevented this from happening is caused by atmospheric

aerosols produced by humans but it is forecasted that significant declines of atmospheric aerosols

will occur by 2100 thus accelerating global warming. Without the help of natural cooling

mechanisms e.g. solar activity and volcanoes, over 123% of warming observed from 1951 to

2010 would be attributable to emissions and activities of humans. Short-lived cooling effect by

volcanoes is due to their release of Sulphate aerosols into high altitude stratosphere that reflect

back considerable amount of sunlight. For example, Mount Tambora eruption in 1815 attributed

to cooling of northern hemisphere by 1.5C on the scale of Dr. Karsten Haustein’s statistical

climate model[ CITATION Hau17 \l 1033 ]. Solar activity has increased over past 5 decades and

solar energy hitting earth surface has slightly declined whereas global temperatures have

increased since excess heat from earth surface is unable to escape into space[ CITATION Hau17 \l

1033 ]. Since solar activity and volcanoes only cool the globe in the short-term, the world is in

great danger of long-term warming as a result of human activities hence it’s our responsibility to

curtail greenhouse gas emissions and not rely on random solar activity and volcanoes to protect

us from global warming[ CITATION ACS20 \l 1033 ].

Climate change has been imputed for disorienting economic activities and thus

considered an eminent threat that would even go to the extent of exterminating mankind forever.

Climate change has the capacity to wipe out natural resources that mankind depend on as source

of livelihood. Dry spells are gradually becoming longer as a result of uncontrolled global heating

and this would affect irrigation and farming activities[ CITATION EPA16 \l 1033 ]. The agricultural

sector is in great turmoil and it’s clear that in the near future rural populations will be negligible

whilst urban centers continue to expand as civilization continues to capture the interest of many.

Taking a closer look at a developed and superpower nation, USA, several steps have been taken
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at a judicial level to ensure that corporations and private entities are sensitized about climate

change and are acting in compliance with environmental conservation regulations[ CITATION

Mar18 \l 1033 ].

Discussion

Extremes of climatic conditions have for the past few decades, especially after onset of

21st century, been witnessed across the globe in which cases of catastrophic weather disasters

have been reported more often as compared to 19th and 20th centuries. Global warming is a

pertinent concept to issue of climate change as it is used to explicate heating of earth’s surface

and which results to climate change. Global warming effects have been witnessed almost

immediately across the globe. The world’s average temperature has been found by NOAA to

have increased by about 0.8 degrees Celsius (1.4 degrees Fahrenheit) over the past century.

NASA and NOAA reports in 2017 showed that with the hottest year being 2016, it is clear that

the world is getting warmer as time passes us by. For instance, the year 2015 was the hottest year

prior taking temperature measurements for 2016[ CITATION Hol20 \l 1033 ]. More recent reports

show that 2019’s average global temperature closely followed that of 2016 hence deemed 2nd

warmest year and continuing the earth’s persistent warming trend i.e. for the last 140 years, the

past 5 years since 2019 have been the hottest. Since the 2 degrees Fahrenheit mark was passed in

2015, the increasing trend has proved not to be receding any time soon. Furthermore, since the

increasing-trend in global annual temperature has steadily increased since 1880s, it is clear that

global warming is real and not in any case accidental or caused by a random weather

phenomenon[ CITATION Ali17 \l 1033 ]. Hence, the criticality of monitoring climate change and

need for minimizing global warming is amplified thus highlighting significance of this study in

the bid to underpin brainstorming of mitigation ideas and strategies. In this case, it’s evident that
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it’s high time for the world to strive in reducing amount of greenhouse gases released into the

atmosphere. This will come in handy in curbing increasing-trend of global warming.

Human activity has been found to be the main cause of global warming and climate

change since everything occurred normally within normal weather range in epochs before onset

of industrialization revolution era in late 18th century. For example, the 5th assessment report by

IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) deduces that 95% to 100% of global

warming has been as a result of human activities and emission of pollutants[ CITATION Hau17 \l

1033 ]. Albeit the many perks of the industrial revolution to development of the modern

civilization as it is today, it brought with it disastrous upshots to the environment that sparked

climate change. The atmospheric concentrations of several greenhouse gases that occur naturally

such as blue methane (CH4), red carbon dioxide (CO2) and green nitrous oxide (N2O) have

remained manageable for 2 to 800 millenniums prior 1750s. In just 2 decades, these

concentrations have tremendously increased to twice as much. For example CO2 has increased

by 30 ppm (parts per million) despite the fact that CO2 concentrations have never gone beyond

30 ppm in over 800 millenniums[ CITATION ACS20 \l 1033 ]! The figure below illustrates

concentrations of these naturally occurring gases in the atmosphere for past two

millenniums[ CITATION ACS20 \l 1033 ]:

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Figure 1: Atmospheric concentrations of naturally occurring gases

Humans have contributed to destruction of natural CO2 sinks that tend to reduce

concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere. These sinks include vegetation cover and forests that

have been cleared by humans in order to create space for settlement, grazing lands,

industrialization and irrigation schemes[CITATION Col18 \l 1033 ]. Furthermore, analysis of the

Carbon Brief proves that human activities and greenhouse gases emitted to the atmosphere

contribute to long-term warming of the earth since 1850s. According to the International Energy

Agency, the amount of greenhouse gas released into the atmosphere is somewhat unique to

distinct countries. This is because the degree of industrialization varies from country to country.

The importance of assessing the contribution of each country in the release of greenhouse gases

is that it would be easier for policy makers and strategists to pinpoint the critical areas where

urgent mitigations ought to be implemented. For example, China and USA are highest emitters

of such gases i.e. they released 10.06GT and 5.41GT respectively in 2018, hence they should be

prioritized as areas of most concern[ CITATION UCS20 \l 1033 ]. The pie chart below shows the
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most recent data on the top 20 emitters of carbon dioxide from coal combustion, oil, natural gas

and other fuels inclusive of non-renewable waste (municipal) and industrial waste

Figure 2: Top 20 emitters of carbon dioxide in 2018

Climatic conditions are conceptually utilized by mankind to structure the society’s day-in

day-out activities hence the society is highly sensitive to climatic conditions that transcend

beyond the normal range. Weather extremes tend to pose threats to society’s social, natural and

cultural resources. Some of the societal aspects affected by these extremes include human health,

transportation systems, infrastructure, water supplies, energy supplies and food supplies. Floods

and harsh storms tend to pollute natural water sources and destroy plants that serve as traditional

foods especially so for marginalized tribes who still cling onto their cultural heritages.
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Resultantly, people are likely to suffer from food insecurity and water shortages that are sadly

persistent if something isn’t done as soon as possible[ CITATION Col18 \l 1033 ]. For instance,

agricultural crops grown in the country e.g. cotton, wheat and corn have begun to shift

northwards and agricultural products e.g. cranberries, syrup and maple have been on a

decreasing-trend in the Northeast. If this goes on, the nation will be forced to increase imports of

such products hence further constraining USA’s economic growth[ CITATION EPA16 \l 1033 ]. As

the nation struggles to recuperate from disasters and install proper mitigation strategies,

authoritative insurance agencies that protect citizens would crumble due to little input from the

decreasing number of insured people. The latter would further decline as more people will find it

too expensive to insure their valuable assets such as businesses and houses.

Authoritative/governmental organizations will thus be unable to offer ample protection to

investments in agriculture, real estate, utility infrastructure and transportation as well as have

hard time distributing resources/costs throughout the society to effect proper resilience in the

face of extreme weather events[ CITATION EPA16 \l 1033 ]. As it is at the moment, the climate

change disasters have led to significant loss of property, crops and lives of many contributing

citizens. If these losses are allowed to escalate further, affordability and availability of insurance

covers will be limited to a greater proportion of world’s population as more people live below

the poverty line[ CITATION EPA16 \l 1033 ].

Recreational activities and tourism have been affected and is expected to plunge in more

trouble as a result of climate change. Birds and animal migration patterns have been changing

steadily and this is causing lots of confusion to tourists in game parks and wildlife reserves. In

same vein of argument, changes in fish and animal migration patterns have bewildered fishermen

and hunters respectively[ CITATION EPA16 \l 1033 ]. The disconcerting climatic warming is
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disrupting the typical seasons and number of days in which recreational snow activities are

conducted in Polar Regions and mountain range ice caps. Snowmobiling and skiing are these

days generating low income as favorable seasons for such sports have been limited by global

warming. Wildfires have increased over the years and this has tremendously discouraged hiking

and tourism in parks. Rising of sea levels have rendered several beaches unsafe for swimming

and others closed indefinitely due to frequent storm surges and erosion[ CITATION EPA16 \l 1033 ].

The USGCRP (United States Global Change Research Program) envisages a tough future for the

world especially so the USA due to its leading industrialization and hence leading environment

polluter. For instance, the USGCRP forecasts that the intensity and frequency of climatic

extreme events e.g. floods, wildfires, heat waves and dry spells will increase hence minimizing

number of ideal/excellent tourism and recreation grounds/venues in USA. July humidity and

temperatures will increase steadily with time. The figure below compares number of such

summertime grounds in July 1970s and July 2050s:

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Figure 3: Summertime grounds in July 1970s and July 2050s

Regardless of the fact that climate change have negative impact on a global context, some

communities are placed in a position of higher susceptibility to extreme weather conditions as

compared to other groups. First and foremost, geographical location is a common factor that

determines the degree of climate change impact on a certain group of people. Population in the

coastal regions, western and southern areas has rapidly increased over the past 40 years in USA.

Air pollution, drought, heat waves and coastal storms are more likely to affect people living in

these regions in more intense magnitude as compared to those living in inland areas[ CITATION

EPA16 \l 1033 ]. Additionally, wildfires and water shortages due to prolonged dry seasons have

been predicted to impact the Mountain West communities more frequently and intensely as

compared to others in the near future. Nevertheless, these extreme weather conditions have been
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reported more often in the Mountain West regions. In the Arctic regions, climate change has

increased rates of melting of sea ice and thawing permafrost. People in these regions are exposed

to deadly and unknown pathogens trapped in the ice for lengthy ages and more vulnerable to

food shortages (fisheries) as well as avalanches as compared to those living elsewhere[ CITATION

Col18 \l 1033 ]. Moreover, people living in abject poverty might find it hard to deal with the

weather extremes. For example, hurricanes, floods and drought might pose serious challenges to

poor people since they lack adequate financial resources to evacuate or relocate. Adults above 65

years of age have been projected to increase to 20% by year 2050[ CITATION EPA16 \l 1033 ]. This

particular statistic indicates growing need to preclude climate change since the old people find it

hard to survive in extremely high temperatures, elongated droughts and tropical storms amongst

other extreme weather conditions. Similarly, toddlers have underdeveloped immune systems and

premature bodily frameworks and thus vulnerable to adverse health risks. Indigenous

communities live in low income and isolated places where natural and environment resources are

primary sources of income, cultural practices and food. In fact, most people herein are uninsured.

Therefore, climate change might pose higher health risks in indigenous communities since most

uninsured people won’t access quality health care. Moreover, extreme weather conditions e.g.

droughts and floods, which destroy/contaminate natural resources would render such people

helpless since they would lose food sources, clean water and income. On the other hand, lots of

people are city dwellers e.g. urban areas hold 80% of USA population, are vulnerable to extreme

weather conditions such as violent storms, drought and summer heat waves. The cost of energy,

quality of water/air and health are enflamed by such events following the destruction of

transportation networks, sewer and drainage systems[ CITATION EPA16 \l 1033 ].

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All over the world, governments and people are deeply concerned about the issue of

climate change due to its widespread negative effects as well as the much feared future

cataclysmic repercussions if proper mitigation and prevention strategies aren’t duly formulated

and implemented. For example, manufacturing companies and processing plants in USA are

obliged to curtail greenhouse gas emissions and proper management of waste disposal methods

in order to avoid polluting the environment[ CITATION Mar18 \l 1033 ]. Moreover, renewable

sources of energy are encouraged across the country in order to lessen depletion of natural

resources and reduce emission of CO2 from combustion of fossil fuels. These regulations are

strictly enforced in which companies are closely monitored by government officials and

subjected to necessary legal prosecution/penalties in case they are found to be noncompliant. For

example, the Obama administration’s policies such as the Climate Action Plan and Paris

Agreement would serve this purpose satisfactorily[ CITATION Mar18 \l 1033 ]. The significance of

these laws is due to the adverse effects of greenhouse gases i.e. trapping terrestrial radiation

rising from earth surface hence increasing the global temperatures. The withdrawal of US from

these policies under Trump’s administration puts the country in higher risk of adverse effects of

climate change emanating from unregulated emission of greenhouse gases[ CITATION Mar18 \l

1033 ]. Therefore, such policies should be reinforced and perfected under Biden’s administration

in order to protect the nation and the world in its entirety from unfavorable climate change

calamities. Future projections of uncontrolled greenhouse gases emissions show that in 2100,

over 74% of the global population will be affected by heat waves alone, not counting the

numbers affected by other extreme weather conditions such as wildfires, droughts, floods and

hurricanes etc.[ CITATION Mar18 \l 1033 ].

Conclusion
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Climate change is a pressing issue that is negatively affecting the globe in many different

ways both directly and indirectly. Extreme weather events such as floods, droughts, wildfires,

prolonged dry spells, destructive storms etc. have been increasing in frequency and intensity with

time. Proportion of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has been enormously increased by

human activities such as burning of fossil fuels and deforestation hence propelling global

warming. Resultantly melting of ice in arctic regions and permafrost thawing have increased

hence rising sea level. This has disrupted migration of animals, birds and fish hence adversely

affecting tourism activities, skiing, snowmobiling among other activities common in iced

mountain ranges and arctic regions. Global warming has limited economic activities such as

agriculture and other activities that allow people to earn a living. Increased imports limits a

nation’s economic growth and increases number of uninsured people and those living below the

poverty line. Governmental policies to regulate emission of greenhouse gases and use of

renewable sources of energy are favorable strategies that would reduce the average global

temperature and thus revert the ever-increasing trend of global temperature as witnessed in 2016

(warmest year) and 2019 (2nd warmest year).

Works Cited

ACS, American Chemical Society. What are the greenhouse gas changes since the Industrial

Revolution? 2020. Web. 16 11 2020.

<https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/climatescience/greenhousegases/industrialrevolution

.html>.

Bradford, Alina. Effects of Global Warming. 12 08 2017. Web. 15 11 2020.

<https://www.livescience.com/37057-global-warming-effects.html>.
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Butler, Colin D. "Climate Change, Health and Existential Risks to Civilization: A

Comprehensive Review (1989–2013)." International Journal of Environmental Research

and Public Health 15.10 (2018): 2266. Web. 16 11 2020.

<https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6210172/>.

EPA, United States Environmental Protection Agency. Climate impacts on society. 22 12 2016.

Web. 16 11 2020. <https://19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/climate-impacts/climate-

impacts-society_.html#ref3>.

Grossman, Margaret Rosso. "Climate Change and the Individual." The American Journal of

Comparative Law 66.suppl_1 (2018): 345-378. Web. 16 11 2020.

<https://academic.oup.com/ajcl/article/66/suppl_1/345/5035883>.

Hausfather, Zeke. Analysis: Why scientists think 100% of global warming is due to humans. 13

12 2017. Web. 16 11 2020. <https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-why-scientists-think-

100-of-global-warming-is-due-to-humans>.

Shaftel, Holly. NASA, NOAA Analyses Reveal 2019 Second Warmest Year on Record. 15 01

2020. Web. 15 11 2020. <https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2945/nasa-noaa-analyses-reveal-

2019-second-warmest-year-on-record/#:~:text=NASA%2C%20NOAA%20Analyses

%20Reveal%202019%20Second%20Warmest%20Year%20on%20Record,-Credit%3A

%20NASA's%20Goddard&text=According%20to%20independent%20an>.

UCS, Union of Concerned Scientists. Each Country's Share of CO2 Emissions. 12 08 2020.

Web. 16 11 2020. <https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/each-countrys-share-co2-

emissions>.
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