Evidence of the Causes and Nature of Recent Climate Change

Principles of Environmental Science mainly focus on climate change that has been experienced in the recent past due to factors such as the greenhouse effect. Recent changes in weather especially in Texas, America’s leading cattle beef producer. Texas recorded high temperatures and remained dry for almost 90 days, making the streak the longest and driest since the start of record-keeping back in 1895. Impacts of the weather on the state and the entire nation as well since they heavily relied on cattle produce and supply from Texas. The entire nation was also affected as it remained dry for most of the months and this resulted in the dry-up of rivers consequently, the soil lacked moisture hence affecting field crop production. To better understand the weather patterns, we should focus on the composition of the atmosphere. Examine the troposphere where the weather changes occur well as the stratosphere which has no water vapor. The earth distributes heat through evaporated water vapor and ocean currents. The changes in climate over time and the causes of natural climate variability including oscillations in the atmosphere and oceans are responsible for climate change after decades re years. The El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is commonly known for affecting the weather over the Pacific and in continents adjacent to it by causing serious droughts and heavy monsoons. The greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect causes climate change by retaining the heat absorbed by the earth’s surface hence causing an increase in temperatures in the greenhouse. The greenhouse effect is mostly caused by human actions which slow down rates of heat loss and increase heat storage inside the greenhouse. Among the human actions that promote the greenhouse effect include the addition of CO 2, CH 4, and N 2 O. Evidence of the causes and nature of recent climate change. Human causes are named as the main cause of climate during the recent past especially through increasingly high emissions of greenhouse gases through the years. Through the years, there have been increased levels of CO 2, nitrogen oxide (N 2 O), and methane (CH 4 ) by over 31%, 17%, and 151% respectively. Carbon dioxide is the most critical gas. Its release is enhanced through the use of fossil fuel and cement production which when combined results in the release of more than 33 billion tons of CO 2 yearly which causes an increase in temperatures over time. The consequences of high atmospheric temperatures include the rise in global sea levels hence causing floods due to melting ice. High temperatures have resulted in the shrinking of the Arctic sea ice hence affecting the region’s population including polar bears which hunt seals on the sea ice for food. In Peninsula, 90% of the glaciers have rapidly broken up and disappeared hence affecting the region’s populations including the Adelie and Emperor penguins which have reduced by more than half over the past 50 years. Possible solutions to minimize global climate change include international common protocols to help stabilize the emission of greenhouse gases. The wedge approach can also be used to provide guidelines and specific milestones to reduce global greenhouse emissions in the next 50 years. The success of the approach, however, will require a reduction in emissions by almost 7 billion tonnes yearly for the next 50 years. Local initiatives are also being undertaken in countries globally including the UK which has already rolled back CO 2 emissions to the levels experienced back in the 1990s with plans of reducing it by 60% by 2050. Germany has also been at the forefront of reducing CO 2 emissions. The country has already successfully reduced the CO 2 by around 10% by switching its energy source from coal to gas. 

References  

Cunningham, W. P., & Cunningham, M. A. (2013).  Principles of environmental science: Inquiry & applications . New York: McGraw-Hill.