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Ashleigh Thoits
English 350
Professor Schamp
November 7th, 2012
Combat Climate Change
Climate change is the gradual rise in the earths temperature. Scientists believe that
climate change is primarily caused by the increase of greenhouse gases that are produced by
human activities. Since the Industrial Revolution, Carbon dioxide and methane levels have been
rising at an exponential rate. This is due to the fact that people started burning fossil fuels for
transportation, the generation of electricity, and industry. The rise of agriculture lead to the rise
of methane levels since methane is released into the atmosphere by livestock. Agriculture is the
biggest drive for deforestation, which also accounts for large releases of carbon dioxide into the
atmosphere. The carbon dioxide burning has emitted large amounts of CO2 into the air that has
been stored underground for millions of years. This extra gas has disrupted the natural carbon
cycle and accelerated the greenhouse effect that is causing climate change. Climate change is the
most controversial environmental issue. People who doubt the climate scientists believe that man
has nothing to do with the rise in earths temperatures and that it is just a natural cycle. This
important issue is often debated in politics, however even if people disagree about the causes of
climate change we need to realize that the negative effects on earth are real. Countries
governments should invest in combating global change because it impacts society and
ecosystems in many negative ways. If climate change is not combated it will lead to the rise of
sea levels, deaths of many species, and agriculture to fail.
As the earth continues to heat up, the melting of two major ice sheets in Greenland and
Antarctica could raise sea levels immensely. Rising sea levels threaten every continent in the

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world, especially coastal areas where most people reside. The rise in sea levels lead to violent
storms, floods and will effectively submerge some island nations by 2100 [which will] create
widespread dislocation to coastal areas threatening more than $28 trillion worth of assets by
2050 (Karaim, 44). This will force millions of people to retreat from their homes and cause
hardships in their lives. Natural calamities have already destroyed many homes and shoreline
structures in equatorial regions. There is also debate on whether climate change is to blame for
the super storm Sandy that happened recently on the east coast. This devastation has put climate
change back on the political agenda, but it should not have had to take a disaster like this to get
political leaders to start talking about this dire issue. However, hopefully this disaster will
compel the government to take immediate action. The rising sea levels not only threaten humans
and their homes, but it also threatens wildlife and their habitats.
As the temperatures continue to increase throughout the world, many animals have to
relocate since they can no longer find food and have a protected habitat. Animals that cannot find
a new habitable home begin to die off and will eventually become extinct. Scientists predict that
within the next forty years global warming will cause the extinction of about a quarter of all
land-based plant an animal species (Karaim, 44). The polar bear is practically the poster child
for global warming because the dramatic loss of ice is forcing them to spend a lot of time on land
or drown in the ocean. They rely on the ice to hunt seals and are initially starving to death. Not
only are land-based plants and animals at risk, but also so are the oceans ecosystems. A lot of
fish cannot survive in warm waters and will not be able to find cooler refuges. Larger ocean
species such as whales also cannot find the food they depend on to survive. Climate change is the
biggest threat to the worlds biodiversity. Governments around the world should be concerned
with protecting all life forms because a rich biodiversity provides a numerous amount of natural

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services for everyone. Biodiversity gives scientists the opportunity to find new medical
discoveries. Most medicines and cures for many diseases come from plants and wildlife. Areas
rich in biodiversity also provide a variety of food, which is particularly important to developing
countries.
The increasing pace of climate change threatens food security throughout the world.
Agriculture is enormously dependant on certain climate conditions. Higher temperatures caused
by the greenhouse gases kill most crops while encouraging weed and pest infestation. Most crops
need moist soil to grow food and changes in precipitation patterns cause droughts that lead to the
drying out of crops. High demands for food are increasing while crops are failing. According to
the article Rising Food Prices, in order to feed the worlds growing population, experts say
farmers must double their food output by mid-century [which is] a tall order to fill without
destroying more rain forests and further boosting planet-warming carbon emissions (499).
Populations in the developing world are the most affected by food insecurity. The increase in
use of various grains and corn used for biofuels such as ethanol send food prices soaring. The
expansion of biofuels will continue to increase food prices causing the poor to go hungry. In East
Africa thousands of people were forced to relocate into refuge camps to escape famine because
sparse rains have caused disastrous harvests and massive loss of livestock. The devastating
drought has combined with skyrocketing food prices to create of the worlds largest hunger crisis
in decades (Glazer, 516). In order to fix this hunger crisis the government needs to step in by
lowering biofuel incentives and invest in the use of ecological farming methods.
The skeptics of the scientific evidence of climate change might disagree that governments
need to invest in combating global warming. They might say that famine has been around before
the rise of biofuels, that animals can adapt to changing habitats, that the earth has always been

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heating up from the natural greenhouse effect and humans have nothing to do with it. These
doubters say that, manmade carbon dioxide isnt the heart of the problem; its a relatively
insignificant greenhouse gas, but even if carbon dioxide is increasing it is beneficial for the
planet (Karaim, 36). Most skeptics think the burning of fossil fuels do not partake in the rise in
temperatures around the globe. They would rather have the government spend funds on other
things than using money to tackle global warming. Presidential candidate Mitt Romney is one of
these climate change skeptics. In one of Romneys campaign speeches he used global warming
as a joke when he said, president Obama promised to slow the rise of the oceans and to heal the
planet. My promise is to help you and your family. As significant evidence shows, rising
oceans do have terrible impacts on people and families.
What these skeptics fail to realize, is that human activities do in fact have a major role in
the rising temperatures of the earth. There is significant scientific evidence that shows the earths
warming trends continue to accelerate. According to evidence found in the article Climate
Change, during the last 25 years the Earths average temperature steadily increased and at
increasingly higher increments compared to the average temperature from 1880-1910. From
2004- 2008, the increase was about 1.4 degrees F., nearly double the increase from 1984 to 1988
(Karaim, 30). This shows that the average temperate steadily increases in five -year periods
relative to the average temperatures during the Industrial Revolution. This is due to the fact that
humans are emitting more and more greenhouse gases as time goes by. Skeptics cant look past
the fact that, disasters tied to climate change kill around 300,000 people a year and cause
roughly $125 billion in economic losses (Karaim, 30). If the government does not do anything
to slow down and stop this process, climate change will be catastrophic to the world. The
president, Barack Obama along with leaders of other countries are discussing what they can do to

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limit their greenhouse emissions. According to Obamas official website, he is pursuing a wide
range of initiatives that reduce greenhouse gas emissions through clean energy technologies and
policies. The Administration has made the largest clean energy investment in American history
and these investments have allowed us to nearly double Americas renewable power generation
since 2008. On top of that he has promised to monitor the American peoples greenhouse
emissions and directed the Federal Government to reduce their large emissions as well.

To conclude, human activities are scientifically proven to be the cause of the rising
temperatures and this has had many negative impacts on the world. There are however many
solutions that can help combat this problem. Governments are already taking action to reduce
global warming, but these measures are too weak to actually make a significant difference.
Obama and other world leaders have already come together to discuss the issue, but instead of
forging an agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions they just set nonbinding goals.
Solution agreements need to be made with countries around the world so they are motivated to
combat this issue. Governments and countries can put a cap on carbon emissions to stop major
factories from producing the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The government also
needs to protect the remaining forests by making it illegal to disrupt them. Efforts can be made to
encourage the planting of new trees since trees are carbon sinks. These efforts to preserve forests
will also help protect wildlife habitats. Biofuel incentives also need to be lowered and the use of
cleaner engines needs to be initiated. Government can encourage big industries to develop
renewable energy sources by funding research that will create new cutting edge energy
technologies. Policies can encourage consumers to use alternatively fueled cars, carpool, and use
public transportation to help reduce the consumption of biofuels. Although humans are mostly
to blame for the rising temperature of the earth there are many efforts that can be taken to reduce

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our carbon footprint and combat this potentially catastrophic issue.

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Work Cited
Glazer, Sarah. Rising Food Prices. CQ Researcher 5:20 (October 18, 2011): 499-524.
Print.
Karaim, Reed. Climate Change. CQ 4:2 (February 2010): 25-50. Print.
Obama, Barack. "Climate Change." The White House President Barack Obama. The
White house, 6 2012. Web. 7 Nov 2012. <http://www.whitehouse.gov/energy/climate-change>.
"Romney vs. Sandy." Youtube: 31 2012. Speech. Web. 7 Nov 2012.
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZENtH3psXl4>.

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