No doubt, James Hansen has rightly identified one of the emerging issues in the whole world. Soon after realizing the importance and the intensity of this global issue the developed countries of the world started taking initiative to sort out the issue. However, in order to delve into the subject in detail, it is first essential to understand the meaning and the background of the problem. When the average global temperature increases it is termed as global warming. The increase in temperature however leads the world towards the serious implications. It affects in various areas that include global economics, society, geopolitics, humanity and in turn all living beings as it is an environmental problem. There are two schools of thought on this subject. Where one school of thought believes that this issue is just a myth the other believes that it is a horrible reality. The intensity of the issue is also reflected from the statistics provided by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that the rise of temperature is about .6 degree centigrade and the rise in sea level is 20 cm and the prediction for future is that it would rise by 1.4 to 5.8 c whereas the sea level have the tendency to rise by 88 cm till 2100.
The history of global warming began when the natural greenhouse effect was identified for the first time. The scientists began to study the dimension which asserted that the emission of the greenhouse gases has the increased probability of changing the climate. Finally, after the development of the Milankovitch theory of ice ages affirmed the notion that the greenhouse gases are responsible for most of the changes that are caused by the climate. This essay shall discuss how the climate change can cause the environmental effect.
To begin with, one of the major environmental effects caused by the climate change is the increase in the level of the sea. The level of the sea increases as the due to the greenhouse effect the ozone layer tends to deplete. The depletion of the ozone layer then causes the ultraviolet rays of the sun to hit the earth more severely. Further, the rise in the temperatures also causes the ices glaciers to melt that also increases the levels of the sea. Due to rising sea levels, the threat of coastal flooding also increases.Thus, the change in the climate creates multifarious environmental anomalies and the rise in the level of the sea is one of them.
Moreover, extreme weather is also one of the effect caused by the climate change. Climate change impact the weather patterns. It causes to change in the levels of precipitation and the level of warming increased over the land area. More specifically the northern latitude bear the most of the burden by becoming more warmer as compared to the Southern Ocean. Thus the impact the climate change cause on the environment is evident however after realizing the importance of this issue and the need to sort it out beforehand, the developed countries of the world signed a treaty named as Kyoto protocol. Under this agreement the countries committed that they shall attempt to control the reasons that lead to the changes in the climate by raising the level of temperature in the atmosphere such as the reduction in the greenhouse gases up to the level that would reduce the likelihood of the interference of these gases with the climate system.
However, the obligation and the burden of this responsibility has been kept with the developed countries. The reason behind this has been pronounced as these countries have been responsible for the current levels of these gases caused in the atmospheres. However, one of the major setback for this effort to control the issue was the withdrawal of US from the agreement. The country has been a world leader since long and the exclusion has lead to a decline in the credibility of this agreement and as a result the chances of execution have been decreased.
Conclusion:
In a nutshell, Climate change is a global issue thus all the countries of the world need to stand together and work to sort out this issue. It impacts the environment in a variety of ways and it is evident that the world is in danger due to the change in the climate and there is a dire need to work on it so that it could be controlled sufficiently. The countries of the world after realizing the importance of the issue and difference it might cause, have worked on the formulation of the international laws and treaties such as Kyoto Protocol however this is not the only solution and even it is not effective enough if it does not involve those countries that are very important for its execution. There may be other solutions which the countries may follow such the less consumption and less burning of fuels. Further, the moral pressure may be exerted upon the companies so that they must formulate a proper procedure that how they must become socially responsible and must play their part in the sustainable environmental protections.
References
Global Warming Quotes – BrainyQuote. (2018). BrainyQuote. Retrieved 18 April 2018, from https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/global_warming
IPCC – Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (2018). Ipcc.ch. Retrieved 18 April 2018, from http://www.ipcc.ch/
The Kyoto Protocol – Status of Ratification | UNFCCC. (2018). Unfccc.int. Retrieved 18 April 2018, from https://unfccc.int/process/the-kyoto-protocol/status-of-ratification
Global Warming 101. (2018). NRDC. Retrieved 18 April 2018, from https://www.nrdc.org/stories/global-warming-101?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIzY-Dkee22AIVB7jACh09xQlZEAAYASAAEgI27PD_BwE
