Climate change is one of the most widely spoken issues in the modern society. In this case the human activities are identified to be the major causes of the occurrence of climate change. This has been possible throughout the years as people are actively participating in the destruction of the environment. Hereby, the industrialization activities and the dumping of waste matter either into the air or in the large water masses have propelled the change in climatic conditions. This is where temperatures are seen to be rising whereas the earth becomes dry and unable to sustain crops to feed the people. Various governments have taken note of the issue and encouraged the citizens to participate in cleaning of the environment. Additionally, the industrial companies have been compelled to improve their practices so as to minimize the level of toxic waste in the environment. The following paper focuses on climate change and its effects on biodiversity, the current solutions that have been implemented and the recommendations to future practices.
Problem Identification
Climate change and global warming are both terms that have been used to synonymously to refer to the process of increased average temperatures. The process of change in the climate usually takes place as a natural event. However, the various human activities have resulted in the continued deterioration of the environment. This is primarily due to the increase in “greenhouse gases” including Carbon Dioxide and water vapor among others. This is evident particularly in the industrialized countries and has a negative effect on the air spaces. In this case, a country like China has seen its citizens experience health conditions associated with breathing in the air. This is seen as an effect of the climate change experienced in the area and the people are the major sufferers (Shah, 2014). The country has had to input billions of dollars to clean up the air and make it safe for the people. The change observed in the weather patterns is usually seen as extended for a lengthy period of time.
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Since the beginning of the 20th Century the average yearly temperature of the earth surface has realized nearly 0.7°C. This is particularly higher when in the latter half of the twentieth century. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has reported a potential rise in average temperature by 1.6-4.3°C by 2100 compared to the baseline of 1850-1900. This rise in average temperature is seen to be caused by numerous factors including the rapid increase of industrialization across the world (Shah, 2014). There are more factors that include the motion of tectonic plates that can affect the global and local patterns of weather and ocean circulation, solar output, volcanic eruptions, variations in orbit, life and ocean variability. However, it is important to note that human activities by far have had the highest impact of climate change. Through these activities the atmosphere is filled with greenhouse gases that will usually absorb heat from sunlight and prevents it from escaping back into space making the earth surface warmer.
Climate change has numerous impacts on both the land and water resources. In this case, scientists have predicted that the snow cover glaciers that have usually been seen on land will significantly reduce. The reduced snow cover demonstrates the high temperatures of the earth surface and the inability to lead to formation of ice. The ocean masses will also identify significant changes whereby the sea ice will significantly reduce whereas the heat content and surface temperature will significantly increase (Shah, 2014). The sea level of the water resources will significantly rise whereby the surface of land will reduce. The temperature over the oceans will also increase as well as the humidity and troposphere temperature. This will usually provide high level of unhealthy sunlight that may affect the skin of human beings. The high heat will usually lead to loss of water from the earth surface and could lead to the ineffective production of crops for the members of the society.
The climate change observed across the world has a negative effect on both animal and human life. This is evident where numerous species have been identified to face extinction due to the changing climate. The pygmy possum is one of the numerous animal species that risks losing its habitat due to the increasing climate change. This is not only in Australia but in other continents as well. Biodiversity refers to the variety of life that is presented on Earth. However, due to the climate change the variety of life is rapidly decreasing with numerous animal and plant species becoming extinct (Shah, 2014). Human life also faces extinction as the climate change will create an environment that is unsuitable for survival. This is particularly due to the reduced areas where crops for food can be grown. This could lead to a widespread case famine. Estimates by the 2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment identifies that climate change will be the major factor of loss in biodiversity by the end of the century.
Solutions Currently Implemented
There are numerous solutions that have currently been implemented across the world. In this case, it is seen that the scientists have noted the inability to stabilize greenhouse gas emissions in the near future. The IPCC report has considered the fact that the negotiations between federal governments and industrial companies could take quite a long time in coming up with standard rates of emissions. The research has also demonstrated the present increasing rate of emissions (UNEP, 2010). This is particularly from industries and daily activity such as vehicle emissions. The continued practice of these activities has seen the need to use biodiversity to cope with these effects of climate change. This is particularly where wild relatives of food crops have been used to enable the crops to sustain the effects of climate change. These plants are used to breed new varieties that are capable of surviving the current climatic conditions. According to scientists, the use of genetic modification is a basic need to adapting to the climate change.
Many of the governments across the world have implemented the action of reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. This is where members of the public have been controlled from their activities of deforestation and in some cases cutting of these trees is a criminal offense. The forests have been identified as habitats for the various wild animals and hence clearing them will risk the extinction of numerous species (UNEP, 2010). As a result, the governments have identified the need to conserve these natural forests and the animal species that could face extinction. These animals include elephants, pandas, and possums among other wild animals. Through this practice, the members of the community will be able to enjoy the benefits of these diverse forests both in short and long terms. Primary forests have been identified to be significantly resilient to climate change as opposed to the natural plantations. Thus policies have been set in place to ensure they are effectively protected against deforestation. Adaptation to the climate change seems to be the order of the day whereby, numerous at risk species are rescued from the wild and protected from becoming extinct.
It is also evident that non-governmental organizations in conjunction with the government have taken it upon themselves to create awareness on the issue of climate change. It is seen that the human activities that cause climate change are usually carried out by the common man. Therefore, it is important that members of the society are made aware of their daily activities that could lead to global warming (UNEP, 2010). The mass numbers of the community will take action in reducing the effect of global warming through actively being involved in the preservation of the environment and minimizing pollution. This could be undertaken through reduced dumping of waste particularly plastics that have been identified to be non biodegradable. The members of society could be involved in the practices of recycling to avoid waste matter.
Recommendations
There are numerous recommended actions that could further help in reducing climate change in the world. This is seen where intergovernmental negotiations could take place to help in establishing standards for emissions of various greenhouse gases. The ideal challenge could be agreeing on foregoing the combustion of fossil fuels. These include fuels like coal, oil and natural gas (Biello, 2007). There are numerous countries particularly in the Middle East that have for numerous decades been dependant on the production and sale of oil as a means of sustaining their economies. Additionally, the global economy is run through the combustion of oil where transportation of both goods and consumers will require it. These countries have been unable to find a perfect solution for replacing fossil fuels. Some alternatives include plant-derived plastics, wind power, solar power and biodiesel which could potentially be employed across the community. This will help individuals to deter from the consumption of fossil fuels.
Upgrading of infrastructure is another important practice that will help countries in reducing the occurrence of climate change. The buildings found around the world have usually contributed to nearly one third of emissions. At least 43% of these emissions are from the United States alone (Biello, 2007). Poor roads have also been identified as a major factor in reducing fuel economy of the most efficient vehicles. Improving the infrastructure has been identified as a major factor that could help in reducing greenhouse emissions in the developing countries. According to estimates it is believed that significant improvement of infrastructure will also help in the growth of the economy. However, through creating new buildings, it is noted that greenhouse emissions will be increased through production of cement. This is evident where the US produced 50.7 million metric tons of Carbon dioxide. Nonetheless, the use of energy efficient buildings and improving the process of making cement will reduce greenhouse emission in both the developed and developing countries.
Conclusion
The above paper clearly identified that climate change indeed has effects on biodiversity. The continued greenhouse gas emissions have been identified to risk the extinction of animal and plant life as well as the potential extinction of the mankind. However, there numerous actions that the global population could actively be involved in to ensure the reduced greenhouse gas emissions. This will significantly help in preserving the environment to ensure that biodiversity could be sustained. The preservation of the animal and plant life is important in the sustenance of human life.
References
Biello, D. (2007) 10 Solutions for Climate Change: Ten possibilities for staving off catastrophic climate change . Scientific American, Online. Retrieved from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/10-solutions-for-climate-change/
Shah, A. (2014) Climate Change Affects Biodiversity . Global Issues, Online. Retrieved from http://www.globalissues.org/article/172/climate-change-affects-biodiversity
UNEP (2010) Integrated Solutions for Biodiversity, Climate Change and Poverty . UNEP Policy Series, Ecosystem Management. Retrieved from http://www.unep.org/policyseries/Sustainable_intergrated_Solutions.pdf
