ENGLCOM C36A Carlos Benedict F Echevarria Sir Allan Rey S Villaverde Bachelor of Science in Accountancy November 25, 2015 Global Action Towards Global Warming Over the past century, global temperature[.]
ENGLCOM C36A Carlos Benedict F Echevarria Sir Allan Rey S Villaverde Bachelor of Science in Accountancy November 25, 2015 Global Action Towards Global Warming Over the past century, global temperatures have already risen by at least 0.74° C; the rate of warming is increasing at an alarming rate (Urry, 2011, p 5) This statistic is an evident indication of global warming Global warming is defined as the “recent and ongoing rise in global average temperature near Earth’s surface (United States Environmental Protection Agency [EPA], n.d.) The rapid rising of the earth’s temperature brings about undesirable and catastrophic consequences As the earth warms, polar ice caps melt which would result to the rising of sea levels Hence, areas around coastal places would be in danger of being relocated Global warming also results to more severe weather patterns and phenomena, such as typhoons, floods, and droughts (Michaels & Balling, 2010, p.155) There is then a continuous increase in the frequency of crises that humans face However, in today’s modern society, man can still bring about immediate and effective action Global warming is a significant problem that can be addressed through the following: using alternative sources of energy, enforcing environmental treaties, and mitigating disaster impact These three are few of many solutions that can be undertaken; however, if serious action were to be given in implementing these, the detrimental effects of global warming can be mitigated or even reversed First, humans should research and invest on alternative sources of energy Humans are extremely reliant on non-renewable energy sources, such as fossil fuels By burning fossil fuels, large amounts of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, are released to the atmosphere These gases absorb and trap heat in the earth’s atmosphere; hence, directly contributing to global warming (EPA, n.d.) Therefore, by phasing out fossil fuels and phasing in renewables, greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced In different parts of the world, many different forms of alternative energy are being developed and invested upon Three prominent sources of alternative energy are the solar energy, tidal energy, and geothermal energy Countries which experience long days of summer and sun can consider solar power In California and Spain, solar power is in large scale operation by means of Concentrated Solar Power Stations (Tickell, 2008, p 243) These stations allow heat to be stored during the day to be generated into electricity when needed Around 50% of solar energy to date can be attributed to the Concentrated Solar Power Stations For countries that are near large bodies of flowing water, these can consider harnessing tidal power In the United Kingdom, tidal power addresses about 5% of the electricity demand through its large power station, named Severn Estuary (Tickell, 2008, p 244) With the innovative combination of wind, wave, and tidal streams, a substantial amount of energy is produced Globally, there is a possibility of utilizing geothermal energy, or heat sources under the earth’s surface In 2005, “the world’s geothermal generation capacity amounted to gigawatts of electrical power and 27 gigawatts of thermal power” (Tickell, 2008, p 245) Different countries have different natural surroundings that can aid in lessening the use of fossil fuels Therefore, further research and investment must be made for countries who have not yet developed any large scale actions Further developing the feasibility of alternative and renewable energy would be one of the longterm solutions However, simply being able to have greener technology will not be enough to tackle global warming; this leads to the next solution Second, there should be stricter enforcement and observance of environmental treaties One prominent treaty is The Kyoto Protocol of 2007 It was targeted to first world countries as these contributed a significant amount of human emissions The treaty aimed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 5% and reduce global warming by 0.07° C by 2050 (Michaels & Balling, 2010, p 154) All countries in the world were expected to comply with the carbon cutting standards of the treaty However, it evidently failed because “global compliance with Kyoto never happened” (Michaels & Balling, 2010, p 223) This was mainly because developing countries were not required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; hence, it was a disadvantage on the part of the first world countries After the theory had been forced to be cancelled, there had been yearly conducted United Nations Climate Change Conferences With new goals and commitments, there would be new feasible forms of reinforcement and monitoring for more countries “It is still possible to avoid the worst impacts of climate change; but it requires strong and urgent collective action” (Tickell, 2008, p 7) If countries not meet their new commitments in cutting down emissions, heavier penalties, such as compensation for the excess in the future, can be imposed This form of action gave a higher sense of urgency in tackling global warming; hence, more concrete attempts to reduce emissions Despite this, efforts to slow and reverse climate change will take at least three to four generations to take effect; earth’s temperature will continue to climb (Bullock, Haddow G., & Haddow K., 2009, p 3) The situation and state of global warming is considered in the next solution Lastly, disaster impact should be mitigated Natural disasters, such as hurricanes, droughts, and floods could result to colossal damage and destruction to a community However, Bullock, et al., (2009) asserted, “It is possible to protect our communities, our economy, and environment from thoroughly predictable natural disasters through community-based adaptation efforts” (p 11) Therefore, alongside actions which would address the causes of global warming, there would also be actions which would address its consequences To successfully mitigate disasters, a country may have a nationwide or regional planning process of formulating programs and projects As this requires the participation of the entire population, governments should be able to give detailed knowledge and direction to its citizens in order for the plan to succeed In the United States, one successful case in mitigating disasters is the Living River Flood Management project in the Napa River Valley The place was once easily destroyed by major floods; lives, property, and peace of mind were taken away (Bullock, et al., 2009, p 126) However, with the collaboration of the government and its citizens, an estuary restoration project was executed Structures and objects which blocked flood flows were removed This then led to a new era where the city could survive major natural disasters (Bullock, et al., 2009, p 134) Unsurprisingly, a collaboration of all the stakeholders in global warming will result to more effective responses towards its causes Evidently, global warming is a very dominant issue in today’s society With this, large-scale solutions, such as alternative energy, worldwide treaties, and mitigation efforts, are being implemented to prevent further catastrophe However, despite the action in some specific areas, Booker (2009) stated, “As the first decade of the twenty-first century nears its end, there is ever more evidence to suggest that, thanks to global warming, the world may be heading towards an unprecedented catastrophe.” Therefore, all communities from all over the world should act against global warming It must be imparted to everyone that as the earth’s temperature continues to rise, the more difficult it would be to reverse its detrimental effects Nonetheless, individual human beings can address global warming by lessening their carbon footprint or impact in their own simple ways Conserving energy, choosing environment friendly appliances, and supporting environmental causes are some of the many actions a person can to lessen the overall greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere Hence, each person has the ability to combat global warming Each person must be responsible After all, “All of us are vulnerable to climate change, though to varying degrees, directly and through our connections to each other” (Leary, Conde, Kulkarni, Nyong, & Pulhin, 2008, p 4) Hence, global action towards global warming is called for in order to create a positive global change References: Booker C (2009) The real global warming disaster London, UK: Continuum Bullock, J.A (2009) Global warming, natural hazards, and emergency management Boka Raton, FL: CRC Press Leary N., Conde C., Kulkarni J., Nyong A., & Pulhin, J (2008) Climate change and vulnerability London, UK: Earthscan Michaels, P J., & Balling, C R (2010) Climate of extremes Washington, DC: Cato Institute Tickell, O (2008) Kyoto2: How to manage the global greenhouse New York, NY: Zed Books United States Environmental Protection Agency (n.d.) Climate change: Basic information Retrieved November 10, 2015 from http://www3.epa.gov/climatechange/basics/ Urry, J (2011) Climate change and society Cambridge, UK: Polity Press THÔNG TIN HỎI ĐÁP: -Trong trình làm Essay, bạn muốn tìm kiếm thêm nhiều tài liệu mẫu, cách làm Essay cập nhật Trung tâm Best4Team Liên hệ dịch vụ thuê viết essay tiếng anh Hoặc qua SĐT Zalo: 091.552.1220 email: best4team.com@gmail.com để hỗ trợ nhé!