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Climate Change:
Nemesis of Humanity
A Research Paper Passed in
Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements of English IV
Researcher:
Johnperson S. Icalla
Submitted to:
Sir Allan Andrew Gono
Conceptual Framework
Independent Variable:
Dependent Variable
Causes of climate
change
Stopping/lessening
Climate change
climate change
Climate change as
danger to humanity
I. Introduction
Climate change, a term people pay no heed to a long time ago but is a major topic
to us now. As it implies, it is the changing of climate or weather that lasts for a very long time. It
is caused by us, the actions of us humans. We always thought that improving technology and
industry will make us have a better life. Yeah, literally thats true but there are always
consequences for all things we do. The progress man has made now and then will have a huge
impact in our future.
It can be considered dangerous as it causes disruptions to our weather and
economy. When we say summer or rainy seasons you cant be sure that it would not rain
heavily nor shine scorching hot. The normally cool weather is now hot. Living things, animals and
even people are having a hard time adopting to this unstable environment.
No one expected this to be on a rapidly fast rate. Even past researches are far
from this. Mans capabilities of destroying nature is now far from being stopped.
This research is about how climate change will destroy humanity. This paper will
tell the effects and its causes and its preventions, how we can attain the far reaches of hope,
saving us from our inevitable fate.
changes in volcanic activity and changes in solar radiation. In terms of the Earths energy balance,
these factors primarily influence the amount of incoming energy. Volcanic eruptions are episodic
and have relatively short-term effects on climate. Changes in solar irradiance have contributed
to climate trends over the past century but since the Industrial Revolution, the effect of additions
of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere has been about ten times that of changes in the Suns
output (Causes of Climate Change, 2013).
As climate change affects weather so will be storms and hurricanes. Hurricanes
and some tropical storms gather their energy from warm ocean water. As the top layer of the
ocean gets warmer, hurricanes and other tropical storms grow stronger, with faster winds and
heavier rain. Because of higher temperatures and increased evaporation, climate change causes
other types of storms to get stronger, too. As the climate gets warmer, heavier rainstorms and
snowstorms (with more precipitation than normal) are expected to happen more often, and
hurricanes around the world could keep getting stronger (Wilder Weather, 2014).
As written by David S. and Phillip (2008), we might already have reached the point
in which human interference in climate systems is dangerous. We are losing the Arctic sea-ice
which will cause the sea level to rise. Some animals will lose their habitat and hunting grounds
because of shrunken sea ice. Also, there will be an increase in temperature of global warming
because less sea ice means less energy to be absorbed and it will lead to even more warming.
The climate change also has a huge effect on wildlife. According to David and
Stefan (2010), there are abnormalities in our ecosystem due to climate change. We will hear
about trees blossoming, about birds migrating at unseasonal times, about strange sorts of fish
appearing at a coast where they dont belong or even about polar bears drowning. Some animals
lose their habitat and hunting grounds. Biologist still wonder if they are related to global
warming. It is hard to tell for anyone as there are other several factors that affects the ecosystem
including agriculture and industry.
Rising temperatures and changing patterns of rain and snow are forcing trees and
plants around the world to move toward Polar Regions and up mountain slopes. These vegetation
shifts will undermine much of the work the conservation community has accomplished to date,
with the potential to permanently change the face of Conservancy preserves, local land trusts,
and even our national parks. In the tundra, thawing permafrost will allow shrubs and trees to
take root. In the Great Plains of the United States, grasslands will likely become forests. And New
Englands fiery fall foliage will eventually fade as maple and beech forests shift north toward
cooler temperatures. Some animals and communities will be left without any viable habitat such
as polar bears and alpine meadows, putting our wildlife at risk (Changing Landscapes, n.d.).
Climate change is also affecting businesses and economies at home and around
the world. If no action is taken to decrease global carbon emissions, climate change could cost
between 5 and 20 percent of the annual global gross domestic product, according to a British
government report. In comparison, it would take 1 percent of GDP to lessen the most damaging
effects of climate change, the report says. Globally, more intense hurricanes and downpours
could cause billions of dollars in damage to property and infrastructure. Declining crop yields due
to prolonged drought and high temperatures, especially in Africa, could put hundreds of
thousands of people at risk for starvation. High sea temperatures also threaten the survival of
coral reefs, which generate an estimated $375 billion per year in goods and services (Economic
Loss and Damage n.d.).
As temperatures rise, so do the risks of heat-related illness and even death for the
most vulnerable human populations. In 2003, for example, extreme heat waves caused more
than 20,000 deaths in Europe and more than 1,500 deaths in India. Scientists have linked the
deadly heat waves to climate change and warn of more to come (Heat-Related Illness and
Disease, para. 1-2 n.d).
Aside from heat-related illness, climate change may increase the spread of
infectious diseases, mainly because warmer temperatures allow disease-carrying insects, animals
and microbes to survive in areas where they were once thwarted by cold weather. Diseases and
pests that were once limited to the tropics such as mosquitoes that carry malaria may find
hospitable conditions in new areas that were once too cold to support them. The World Health
Organization (WHO) estimates that climate change may have caused more than 150,000 deaths
in the year 2000 alone (Heat-Related Illness and Disease, para 3-5 n.d).
To combat climate change, we will have to switch our energy sources from burning
fossil fuels to cleaner energy sources. Many of these clean energy sources have been developed
by technology nowadays while others are still being tested. Some technologies reduce
greenhouse gas emissions through efficient energy usage or by capturing these gases before
entering the atmosphere. We can use renewable sources of energy that has no harm to the
atmosphere. Biomass, nuclear, wind, geothermal, solar and water energy are examples of these.
Biomass energy is the energy found in biomass. Biomass are materials found from materials from
plants or animals. For instance, wood, it contains stored energy so it combusts when burned.
Nuclear energy is an energy from atoms that are split apart during fission in nuclear plants. Wind
energy is energy produced by wind turbines. The strong wind makes the turbine spin which
generates energy. Geothermal energy is from the heat of the earth. Solar energy is energy from
the heat of the sun and is commonly gathered by use of photovoltaic cells from solar panels. And
lastly, water energy is the energy produced by the moving water. This energy is captured by use
of hydroelectric dams, special buoys and other floating devices and turbines (Be part of the
solution! Technologies section, 2014).
Right now, most of our electricity right now are generated by large power plants
that burn coal and other fossil fuels that add lots of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. It will take
a lot of decades before we can turn our energy sources into renewable sources that emits a few
or no carbon dioxide. In the meantime, scientists are developing ways to capture carbon dioxide
from power plants and factories and safely store it in underground so that it cant go to the
atmosphere. Carbon is pumped down deep in underground, about half a mile deep (Carbon
Capture and Underground Storage, 2014).
Methane could also be captured and used. Methane is a powerful gas. A pound of
methane gas is 25 times stronger than a pound of carbon dioxide. Methane can be captured on
landfills and it can be burned to produce electricity. It can also be captured from farm digesters,
which are big tanks that contain manure and other waste from barns that house livestock such
as cows and pigs. Methane is collected into pipes then burned before it gets to the atmosphere
so it is a huge help reducing the effects of climate change (Methane Capture and Use, 2014).
1865 John Tyndall postulated that gases such as water vapor and CO2 in the atmospheric
envelope retain the heat.
1896 Svante Arrhenius predicted that increases of atmospheric CO2 from burning fossil fuels
would lead to global warming; a doubling of atmospheric CO2 could cause global average
temperature to rise by 5C. The predictions of this Nobel Prize laureate (1903) went unnoticed
for more than half a century.
1958 First continuous monitoring reveals rapidly rising CO2 levels in the atmosphere.
1970s Beginning of period of atmospheric warming known as global warming.
1988 UN establishes the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to assess the
science of climate change.
1990 IPCCs First Assessment is published. The year is subsequently established as the
baseline year for future emissions targets.
1992 Earth Summit meets in Rio de Janeiro. Governments agree on the UN Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which commits them to preventing dangerous
climate change.
1995 After a fierce debate, in particular with OPEC nations, the IPCC Second Assessment
establishes the strong link between human-induced greenhouse gases and climate change,
saying that the balance of evidence suggests. that global warming is caused by mankind.
1997 Kyoto Protocol is agreed under UNFCCC. It includes the first emissions reduction targets
for industrialized countries, covering 2008-2012; all major nations sign up.
1998 Warmest year in warmest decade in warmest century for at least a thousand years.
2001 Nations agree on methodological and other details of the Kyoto Protocol in Marrakech.
The USA and Australia refuse to ratify the protocol.
2003 European heat wave, which killed more than 30,000 people. Scientists later conclude
it is the first extreme weather event definitely attributable to human-induced climate change.
Scientists report a third of the world affected by droughts, double the figure for the 1970s.
2005 Drought temporarily turns Amazon rainforest from a carbon sink to a carbon source.
2007 Massive summer ice loss in the Arctic brings fears of an ice-free north; IPCC Fourth
Assessment warns of faster and irreversible climate change; Bali Climate Conference lays out
timetable for agreeing successor to Kyoto Protocol.
2008 Poznan Climate Conference in Poland; slow progress on negotiations as many wait for
the new Obama administration in the USA to declare its hand.
2009 Make or break year for the climate, with negotiations continuing for a Copenhagen
Protocol set to conclude in December.
2010 After a rather disappointing result of the Copenhagen talks, international climate policy
picks up momentum at the 16th Conference of the Parties in Cancun, Mexico.
2012 Controversial "attribution" studies find recent disastrous heat waves, droughts,
extremes of precipitation, and floods were made worse by global warming.
2013 An apparent pause or "hiatus" in global warming of the atmosphere since 1998 is
discussed and explained; the oceans have continued to get warmer. Mean global temperature
is 14.6C, the warmest in thousands of years. Level of CO2 in the atmosphere reaches 397
ppm, the highest in millions of years.
Climate change refers to any significant change to weather that lasts for a long time.
Natural forcings are from the nature itself. (E.g. volcanic eruption, etc.).
Human-made forcings are made from mans emission of CO2 or human activities
that forces the climate. (E.g. aerosols, burning fossil fuels, etc.).
Greenhouse gases are gases in the atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within
the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse
effect.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) enters the atmosphere through burning fossil fuels (coal,
natural gas and oil), solid waste, trees and wood products, and also as a result of
certain chemical reactions (e.g., manufacture of cement).
Methane (CH4) is emitted during the production and transport of coal, natural
gas, and oil.
for
stratospheric
ozone-depleting
substances
(e.g.,
Nuclear power is the use of exothermic nuclear processes, to generate useful heat and
electricity. The term includes nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion.
Wind energy is the energy extracted from wind using wind turbines to produce
electrical power, windmills for mechanical power, wind pumps for water pumping, or sails
to propel ships.
Forest fire is an uncontrolled fire in an area of combustible vegetation that occurs in the
countryside or a wilderness area. Also called wildfire.
Tropics s a region of the Earth surrounding the Equator. It is limited in latitude by the
Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at 23 26 16 (or 23.4378) N and the Tropic
of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere at 23 26 16 (or 23.4378) S; these latitudes
correspond to the axial tilt of the Earth. The tropics are also referred to as the Tropical
zone and the Torrid Zone.
Fossil fuel are fuels formed by natural processes such as anaerobic decomposition of
buried dead organisms. The age of the organisms and their resulting fossil fuels is typically
millions of years, and sometimes exceeds 650 million years.
Climate Change: Nemesis of Humanity | 13
CLIMATE CHANGE
Causes
Effects
Preventions
Increase in temperature
Ocean level rising
Using carbon-free renewable
energy supply
Change in landscape
Greenhouse effect
Human-made forcings
Natural forcings
Economic losses
From the data in the review, you could say that we mankind have the biggest fault
for the climate change we are experiencing right now. We had an early warning from the scientist
Svante Arrhenius but paid no heed until more than half a century later. CO 2s were only first
observed during 1958 and we only came to realization of global warming in the 1970s. We
started to feel the effects of climate change from then and nations started having conferences
and established group of scientists studying the science of climate. Burning fossil fuels is one of
the biggest sources of greenhouse gases due to its large release of CO2s.
It has a large effect globally, all are affected by climate change. Balance of nature
is out because of it. These are caused by the increased temperature of global warming that is an
effect of climate change.
According to this chart by NASA Scientific Visualization Studio, our current global
temperature is 0.61C.
Yes, from 0.25C of 1880 to a whopping 0.61C in 2013 (latest measurement). If you treat it as
a just youre very mistaken. That 0.61 global temperature is currently causing the calamities
we face right now; drought, destructive storms, you name it.
These are the renewable sources that could be used to lessen climate change:
Biomass energy
Energy from materials from plants, animals or even trash that contains
stored energy. Can be used to create biofuels that powers up vehicles.
Nuclear energy
Wind energy
Energy produced by wind turbines. Wind turbines are put and placed
together on wind farms. Good spots are on open plains and shorelines.
Geothermal
Energy
Energy from the heat of Earth. Could be used by using heat pumps to heat
or cool buildings or as a source of electricity.
Solar Energy
Energy from the heat of the sun. Energy is collected by the use of
photovoltaic cells that could be found on solar panels and such devices.
Water energy
Even if progress did all this, it still little by little do something to straighten it all
out. Technology now is making preventions to it: eco-friendly vehicles and renewable energy
source.
Climate Change: Nemesis of Humanity | 15
VIII. Conclusion
So, we can conclude that climate change is mostly to be blamed on humanity. We
cant say that we shouldnt have progressed or something like that. What we are now is because
of the progress our ancestors has made. We cant say we arent benefiting from things that
produce those greenhouse gases. Everyone here is contributing to climate change. When we
travel with vehicles that produce greenhouse gases we already does so. With less impact, even
when we breathe. We inhale 02 and exhale CO2. What we have to do now is help to stop it.
We are slowly approaching to apocalypse. The calamities that doesnt normally
happens to us happens now. Unless technology made a miraculous turnover, we will face our
judgment earlier than expected in the future. Messing with nature is not really a good idea.
Every one of us could make a difference. We could use less energy for less
emissions by turning off lights when not in use or something. We could travel greener, meaning
without GHG emission like riding a bike and such. We could switch to use cleaner source of energy
like solar panels. Also, saving water will help, even if your supply is continuous. That and we could
at least help, even a little to stopping climate change.
IX. Bibliography
Archer, D., & Rahmstorf, S. (2010). The Climate Crisis: An Introductory Guide to Climate Change.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Spratt, D., & Sutton, P. (2008). CLIMATE CODE RED: The Case for Emergency Action. Carlton
North, Victoria: Scribe Publications
Reference links:
http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/urgentissues/global-warming-climate-change/threatsimpacts/
http://climate.nasa.gov/causes/
http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-blogs/climatechange/what-are-climateforcings/54094
www.epa.gov/climatechange/
http://www.epa.gov/climatestudents/
http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=10139&page=6
http://www.enviropedia.org.uk/Global_Warming/CFCs.php
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildlife
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildfire
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil_fuel
http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/aboutcc/how_cc_works/climate_timeline/
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/gases.html
http://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/global-temperature/
http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/teacher_resources/project_ideas/climate_change/
http://www.nrdc.org/globalwarming/f101.asp
http://www.aip.org/history/climate/timeline.htm
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