Climate Change
Cameron White

Introduction:
Climate change, also known as global warming, is a hot topic in today’s society. Scientists have come to a consensus across the globe as to the reality that is global warming. This problem is imminent and the evidence is all around us. Drastic action is needed if we are to dodge the climate change prospect that we are faced with. Most of the scientists across the world have agreed as to the causes, effects and possible solutions of the climate change problem.

Causes:
Climate change is a normal process for the world, it has happened many times before in the Earth’s history. Periods of extreme cold such as the ice ages have been experienced but also times of heat. Although this natural process takes a long time, each age can last at least thousands of years. The problem with the global warming of present is that it is not doing so in the natural way, human activity is speeding up the process causing the temperatures to rapidly rise. This is because of what is called the green house effect. This is also a naturally occurring event, but again humans are warping what once was a natural occurrence and making it larger, for the worse. The greenhouse effect is the trapping of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere which then traps the sun rays in the Earths atmosphere, heating it.

The green house effect is caused by the layer of greenhouse gases that surround the Earth. These greenhouses gases include carbon dioxide, methane, water vapour and nitrous oxide. These are all naturally occurring gases. Carbon dioxide is produced by humans and other animals breathing out, but before humans the amount of carbon dioxide was kept in check by trees that breathe carbon dioxide and give out oxygen; methane is produced naturally by bovine flatulent, bacteria in bogs and rice paddies; water vapour is produced naturally by the evaporation of water; and nitrous oxide is produced by the oceans and rainforests. But as humans have evolved they have created new technology that some of these gases are a by product of.

As humans have developed they have created new ways of getting around and providing power for themselves. Although the burning of fossil fuels for electricity and the use of oil in vehicles means that the levels of carbon dioxide are astronomically higher then what they used to be. Because humans are now so reliant on electricity the burning of fossil fuels went unchecked. The burning of coal for electricity made up 40% of U.S carbon dioxide emissions in 2002. In the year2000, 6500 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide were emitted into the atmosphere, drastically different from less then 10 million tonnes in 1800. Also, carbon dioxide amounts for 72% of the greenhouse gases pumped into the atmosphere.
The other main contributor to the carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere is transportation. Gasoline also known as petroleum is made from oil, and is the fuel that powers most cars, busses and planes. Although the by product of petrol that comes out of the exhaust of the vehicles is carbon dioxide. 19.2% of all carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is because of transportation, whether that is cars, busses or planes.

Methane is still not artificially produced by humans and is not a by product of any technology, although due to human activity the amount of methane has increased drastically. Methane is 20% more effective at trapping heat then carbon dioxide, although methane only makes up 18% of all greenhouse gases. As the population of humans increases the need for food also increases. This means that cows have been cultivated for their milk and meat, so there are now millions of cows in farms across the world. Therefore the number of flatulent has also increased meaning more methane is poured into the atmosphere.
The number of rice paddies across the world has also increased because of the demand on rice that is because of over population. This means that they are also producing more methane, again rising the amount of methane in the world’s atmosphere

Everybody knows of water evaporation, but not everybody knows that the water vapour produced is actually a greenhouse gas. Due to heat, water evaporates and the water vapour rises to form clouds and send water vapour into the layer of greenhouse gases. Although there is now a snowball effect, as the world gets hotter due to global warming more water is evaporating sending more water vapour into the air. Therefore there are more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and the world just gets hotter.

The final main greenhouse gas is nitrous oxide which is produced by rainforests and oceans. But it is also produced by many man made things such as nylon, fertiliser in agriculture, cars with catalytic converters and the burning of organic matter, nitrous oxide makes up 9% of all greenhouse gases. Agricultural by products is definitely the most prominent cause of nitrous oxide, making up 62% of the nitrous oxide given off.

As you can see the most prominent greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide and we have only just begun to see the problem we are faced with this concerning this gas. As the world is over populated people need places to live and therefore more electricity is needed. Because land is needed for people to live on, forests are being cleared so that housing developments can be built. Rainforests in undeveloped countries are also being cleared for money, for example the rainforests in Somalia are being cleared for palm oil. This means that there are fewer trees to consume the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. But more and more carbon dioxide is being produced for the greater demands on electricity as the population increases.

Solutions:
Global warming can not be solved by an individual, or a community or even one country, the world needs to come together to face the greater enemy. There are many different solutions that have been proposed to combat global warming. Some being simplistic measures the average person can take to reduce their carbon footprint, others schemes and protocols that governments initiate and some initiatives proposed by people.

Firstly, the simple measures the average person can do around the house. From buying energy efficient light globes to turning appliances off at the switch the list is endless. The biggest mistake somebody can make is to assume that one person will not make a difference. This is incorrect, as 10.3% of greenhouse gases that are in the atmosphere are produced by households. If the average person could do something as simple as turning of the light when they leave the room or catching public transport to and from work everyday, they could drastically reduce their carbon footprint.

As a society, we can not just preserve the trees we have now; we need to plant more so that they can consume as much carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as possible. We need to protect the precious forests we have left; laws need to be drawn up to protect them. But also, jobs need to be found for those who would be logging forests, especially in undeveloped countries. These people cut down forests because they are living day to day; they desperately need money to put food on the table. If jobs were created for these people then the forests could be protected properly.

The best way to lower the amount of carbon dioxide pumped into the atmosphere is to invest money in renewable energy. In stead of fossil fuels for electricity there are many cleaner alternatives, such as solar power and wind power. If governments invested money in renewable energy sources, the biggest contributor to greenhouse gases would be eliminated. Another advantage of renewable energy over fossil fuels is that it will never run out; there is also no toxic by product, like nuclear power, making it a completely clean source of power.

Another solution to battle climate change is for government to initiative schemes such as the carbon trading scheme and sign protocols such as the Kyoto Protocol. The Kyoto Protocol sets binding targets for the countries that have signed to lower greenhouse gas emissions. By signing the Protocol countries are committing themselves to lowering their carbon emissions and reaching set targets. The only developed country not to sign the protocol is the U.S.A. Another scheme that can be implemented is carbon trading scheme. This scheme applies only to those countries who have signed the Kyoto Protocol, and it means that if countries do not use all their emissions assigned to them by the protocol, they can sell them to other countries that have gone over their limit. By doing this, there is an incentive for countries to use less then their assigned emissions, and also creates another commodity in which countries can buy and sell.

Al Gore, U.S politician and global warming activist and known for his documentary An Inconvenient Truth, has unveiled his newest campaign, We Can Solve It. This campaign involves making America 100% reliant on clean electricity in only ten years time. There are five simple steps in this campaign. First, having a clean energy economy, this would provide thousands of new jobs as new companies open. Secondly, personal choices, Gore asks that individuals make simple energy efficient choices around the house and also in life. Thirdly, the adoption of renewable energy resources, he asks that America breaks its dependence on fossil fuels and branches out into cleaner revenues of energy. Fourth, he asks for enhanced energy efficiency, one of the cheapest ways of reducing global warming is harnessing the technology of today and become energy efficient. Finally, innovative leaders, the technological means of solving this crisis is available, although innovative leadership is needed for innovating things to happen.

Conclusion:
The world is in a crisis, the globe is heating and humans are the ones making the temperature changes so dramatic. The cause of global warming is the trapping of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere which then traps the sun rays in the Earths atmosphere, heating it. The four main gases that are contributing to this greenhouse effect are carbon dioxide, methane, water vapour and nitrous oxide. Also, over population of the world is causing these problems to all be made greater. Some solutions to this problem are being more energy efficient around the home, planting trees, invest in renewable energies and governments to initiative schemes such as the Kyoto Protocol. Al Gore has started the We Can Solve It campaign, in the hope that people power will prevail.
Global warming is, as the name implies, a global problem. One person can not fix this, one community ca not fix this, one country ca not fix this (although all can do their part), we need to come together as one world and have a united front against climate change.





Bibliography:
Notes and sheets from class
http://timeforchange.org/cause-and-effect-for-global-warming
http://www.ecobridge.org/content/g_cse.htm
http://www.smh.com.au/news/environment/global-warming-latest-evidence/2007/04/30/1177788024559.html
http://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/items/2830.php
http://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/mechanisms/emissions_trading/items/2731.php
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/18/AR2006091801125.html
http://www.wecansolveit.org/content/solutions