The Issue of Global Warming in Las Vegas

Executive Summary 

Global warming has been a major issue all across the world In the United States Las Vegas has been a State that has suffered most from the effects of global warming. Some of the causes of global warming are burning of fossil fuels for electricity and deforestation. If not controlled, global warming would lead to the development of health issues, changes in weather, the emergence of hostile species, and the disappearance of water bodies. The consequences of global warming are very severe. Hence the United States government must improvise on ways to adapt to these changes in climate. Lastly, both public and private institutions must come together and develop short term and long term policies, which would assist them to deal with both the foreseen and current effects. 

Introduction 

All over the world, global warming has been a major issue for decades. Global warming may be defined as the process by which the earth's temperature begins to rise. This may as a result of agricultural processes, combustion of fossil fuels, human and gas emission. These factors among others increase the ‘greenhouse effect of gases’ whose main component is nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide, and methane. Greenhouse gases are very dangerous since they prevent the sun’s warming rays from leaving earth, and this, in turn, causes an increase in the average temperature of the earth. This paper shall address the issue of global warming in Las Vegas, and attempt to offer possible recommendations to deal with the problem. 

Scientific research has proved that approximately a century from today, the Las Vegas Valley could be cloaked in a miasma of ozone, dehydration from the long droughts, and power blackouts from the exceeded power networks used in operating air conditioners ( Fiack, & Kamieniecki, 2017) . The summer temperature is also expected to rise leading to; hotter days and warmer nights, as a result, there arises cases of the disruption of Nevada's Ecosystem ( Paladino & Yañez, 2017) ). Presently, the results of global warming are becoming severs causing changes in climate, the rise in sea levels, increase in the acidity and warmth of the oceans, melting of glaciers, and rise in intensity and frequency of the heat waves. The toxicity of the global warming continues to have a toll on the entire population with the continued rise in the number of cases of asthmatic attacks and other breathing complications. 

Human beings, through their actions and operations, are the main source of global warming. The human activities adversely affect the natural environment and by extension the climatic changes. Through the continuous burning of fossil fuels such as LPG gas, coal and oil, in order to generate electricity; such activities increases the level of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere, thereby increasing the atmospheric toxicity. The high amounts of carbon gases lead to the formation of acidic rains that corrodes buildings and harm he natural habitats for most creatures. In 2017, the Gallup poll showed that global warming in America has increased from 37% in the year 2016 to 45% in 2017. 

The second human activity cause of global warming is deforestation. According to biology, plants play a significant part in the regulation of climatic temperatures since they absorb carbon dioxide from the air. Bushlands and forests act as carbon sinks, and they are important since they keep global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius ( Karmalkar & Bradley, 2017 ). Despite being in possession of this information, the man still clears vegetation for infrastructure development, tree products, and farming. It is important to note that whenever vegetation is burnt or removed, carbon dioxide is released back into the atmosphere leading to global warming. Similarly, one-fifth of global greenhouse gases occur as a result of forest degradation and deforestation. It is therefore prudent for all stakeholders to take an active role in the forestation endeavors to restore nature back to its best. 

The Effects of Global Warming 

The effects of global warming are being felt in the continuing drought in the West hemisphere. The increases in wildfires over the last number of years are a testament to the fact that climatic changes are taking toll instantly. Some of the effects of climate change that would occur if global warming is not controlled in the Las Vegas Valley include: 

Change in Weather 

The average temperature in Southern Nevada over the next century is projected to rise between 2.5 to 8 degrees Celsius ( Karmalkar & Bradley, 2017) . The implications of such rise in temperatures are that by July the overall temperature would measure as high as 123 0 . Also, the weather patterns which are considered extreme presently are expected to become average. Droughts will last longer, the monsoon rains would become more intense, and high temperatures would be more frequent. 

Health Effects 

Yet a serious effect of global warming is that a haze of ozone could settle in the valley. Currently, Las Vegas is located on the safe side of the Environmental Protection Agency’s ozone’s standards. Unfortunately, a series of heat waves and long summers due to global warming assists ozone flourish would result in a health hazard. According to Fiack & Kamieniecki (2017), t he ground level ozone is very risky, and this is because it exacerbates respiratory problems. According to Manzello, Eakin & Glynn (2017), t he prolonged exposure to this condition is strong enough to crack a rubber tire, hence if one breathes it in it can destroy the tissues of the lungs, this is hazardous for children. The ozone may travel by wind, and high levels would become a problem that will require an extraordinary multijurisdictional plan to resolve it. 

Lake Mead 

The high temperatures due to global warming would lead to a decrease in water levels in Lake Mead. As a result, the minerals that are dissolved in the lake such as natural salt would become more concentrated making the water threatening to marine life and human beings ( Manzello et al., 2017 ). In the Northern Nevada's Pyramid Lake, water reduced and this destroyed the Lahontan trout almost to extinction. This similar event could happen to bonytail chub, Colorado Pikeminnow, and even Lake Mead. 

Flora and Fauna 

The rapid changes in the environment would lead to the increase of the intrusive species. An example is the+ Salt cedar trees and cheatgrass has already invaded and destroyed the abundant willow trees leaving hundreds of birds without habitats. 

Conclusion and Recommendation 

In conclusion, because the effects of global warming are already observed in the United States and every part of the world, and since its consequences will increase severity even if greenhouse gas emission is reduced, the United States must, therefore, improve on its ability to adapt to the effects of climate change. A recommendation to deal with this issue is that; all the decision makers institutions, state, national, tribal, nongovernmental organizations, and local agencies should recognize their susceptibility to climate change impacts ( Fiack & Kamieniecki, 2017 ). They should also develop short term and long term adaptation options which would intensify their elasticity to both anticipated and current impacts. 

Reference 

Fiack, D., & Kamieniecki, S. (2017). Stakeholder engagement in climate change policymaking in American cities.  Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences ,  7 (1), 127-140. 

Karmalkar, A. V., & Bradley, R. S. (2017). Consequences of global warming of 1.5 C and 2 C for regional temperature and precipitation changes in the contiguous United States.  PloS one ,  12 (1), e0168697. 

Manzello, D. P., Eakin, C. M., & Glynn, P. W. (2017). Effects of global warming and ocean acidification on carbonate budgets of eastern Pacific coral reefs. In  Coral reefs of the eastern tropical Pacific  (pp. 517-533). Springer, Dordrecht. 

Paladino, F. V., & Yañez, I. L. (2017). President's Report: 37th Annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, 15-20 April 2017.  Marine Turtle Newsletter , (154), 17-19.