Introduction
The increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, over the past few centuries, is one of the indications that human activities and human population pressure on natural resources have a direct effect on climate change. Carbon dioxide emissions among other greenhouse gas emissions, contribute immensely to global warming and climate change. Zhang et al. (2011) argue that various human activities such as agricultural activities, industrial activities, pollution, waste decomposition, and fossil fuel burning among others emit greenhouse gasses. Developed countries such as the U. S., contribute more to global warming and climate change through carbon emission due to large numbers of industries and power plants in those countries. The drastic population growth has also led to more clearance of vegetation, more agricultural activities, increased land, soil and air pollution and more cases of poor waste and resource management. The paper looks at how human population growth and pressure on natural resources have contributed to climate change and also provides recommendations and solutions to the problem of climate change.
Background and History
Climate change is one of the most threatening challenges the modern world is facing. While climate change has drastic effects on the environment and life including the health of humans, it is surprising that humans are the primary cause of climate change. Moser (2010) shows that human population grows each year, from the beginning of time as known to scientists. Ever since the beginning of time, all the way to the twentieth century, global human population had only grown close to two billion. In a span of just a hundred years since the beginning of the twentieth century, however, the total human population has increased to over six billion.
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At the same time, various factors cause climate change have increased in large amounts. Industrialization opened the way to human development but at the same time exposed the earth to adverse conditions and degradation. Increase in population means more people will require more resources, thereby causing more depletion of the earth’s resources. Moser (2010) debates that as industrialization came in, more people enhanced their way of living leading to a high increase in population growth. The United States, for instance, has had a dramatic population increase over the last fifty years alone. Over the last a hundred years, the earth has seen more deforestation and loss of biodiversity. Emission of greenhouse gasses, mainly carbon dioxide and methane, have also increased drastically in recent times.
Carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas with the highest effects on the ozone layer and climate, has increased twelvefold over the last century. Emissions of Carbon dioxide are highest in developed countries such as the United States which has about five percent of the world’s total population. The U.S. alone contributes to about twenty-five percent of carbon dioxide emissions. Consequently, people in the U.S., especially those living around coastal areas, experience the impacts of environmental problems and adverse weather pattern and events accompanying climate change. Most people are aware of the human activities that contribute to climate change but are reluctant to do anything to sustain the environment and prevent climate change ( Weber & Stern, 2011) . It is like the way people know about the health effects associated with cigarette smoking but cannot stop smoking altogether. As a result of global warming, which is majorly caused by human population pressure on natural resource and human activities, climate change is already occurring with sea levels rising, ice-melting rates increasing, and devastating hurricanes hitting multiple locations in recent times. Thousands of plant species are lost every year and wildfires burn vast forest areas in various regions. ( Weber & Stern (2011) assert that even then, the world population continues to grow, companies are manufacturing more cars and other automobiles, and people are clearing vegetation.
How Human and Human Population Pressure causes Climate Change
As the sun’s heat rays hit the earth, they reflect into space. Various greenhouse gasses, especially carbon dioxide, trap heat in the atmosphere and consequently leads to the warming of the Earth’s surface. Zhang et al. (2011) note that while carbon dioxide is a smaller component of the Earth’s atmosphere, its concentration has dramatically increased since the onset of the industrial era. The primary source of atmospheric carbon dioxide is fossil fuel used in automobiles and for running industrial machines and processes such as coal mining. People contribute immensely to carbon emission, mainly by using their cars. Power plants also contribute to the emissions of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. It means that electric energy is also not as clean as many people may imagine ( Zhang et al., 2011) . By using too much electricity in the homes, people still contribute to carbon emissions and climate change.
Other greenhouse gasses include methane, nitrous oxide, CFCs, and water vapour. The emission of methane is through various industrial processes, agricultural activities and waste decomposition. Methane is more active as compared to carbon dioxide although it exists in a smaller composition in the atmosphere. ( Zhang et al. (2011) debate that cultivation activities produce nitrous oxide, especially those that involve the use of both organic and commercial fertilizers. It is also produced through combustion of fossil fuel, burning of biomass and in the production of nitric acid.
Other factors causing climate change, which are as a result of human population pressure on natural resources and human activities include deforestation, water pollution, and soil pollution among others. People clear more land for settlement and commercial use. Vegetation attracts rain, and its absence causes a change in weather patterns or events. Zhang et al. ( 2011) argue that generally, pollution causes the degradation of the environment, the death of plant and animal species, increased global warming, among other problems.
Solutions and Recommendations
Sustainable development should be the focus for the future to keep global warming at a low rate. The world should change focus and work to find more effective ways of using renewable energy such as solar and wind. People should be made more aware of their contribution to climate change and also made to embrace the use of public transportation. People can fuel future trains by renewable energy sources such as wind or solar. Abolition or the decreased use of fossil fuel will have a considerable positive impact on climate change. People should also make use of natural lighting to reduce electricity consumption. Regulation on pollution and release of harmful gasses and particle should also be played out to reduce air, water, and soil pollution. According to Pittock (2013) , experts should also educate the public on the importance of sustainability of resources including recycling and re-use of resources
As population growth is a significant factor in resource depletion, checking population growth through family planning strategies can work to reduce global warming and climate change. Teenagers also require sexual education for curbing the current drastic cases of teenage pregnancies. Moser (2010) asserts that cutting down trees among other human activities resulting in global warming and climate must also be regulated in the effort of managing climate change.
Conclusion
Climate change is a huge threat in the modern world, and sadly, its major contributors are human activities and the population pressure on natural resources. Fortunately, it is possible to manage climate change knowing some of the human causes or activities that contribute to the factors that consequently cause climate change. The current world must make an effort towards sustainable growth and development to ensure a continuation of the human race and good living conditions for future generations. Activities that contribute to global warming and climate change must be controlled or regulated. Climate change also degrades the environment, causes the death of aquatic organisms and loss of biodiversity among other adverse impacts.
References
Moser, S. C. (2010). Communicating climate change: history, challenges, process, and future directions. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change , 1 (1), 31-53.
Pittock, A. B. (2013). Climate change: the science, impacts, and solutions . Routledge.
Weber, E. U., & Stern, P. C. (2011). Public understanding of climate change in the U.S. American Psychologist , 66 (4), 315.
Zhang, D. D., Lee, H. F., Wang, C., Li, B., Pei, Q., Zhang, J., & An, Y. (2011). Causality analysis of climate change and large-scale human crisis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , 201104268.
