Levy 1

Imani Levy

English 3

5 December 2018

Global Warming in Russia

The world is having a big issue with global warming, and that includes Russia. Global

warming and climate change are controversial topics to talk about. They're issues that we can't

just turn a blind eye to, and we need to do better to prevent it from happening. Russia is losing

money, becoming uninhabitable, and being a victim to more natural disasters due to global

warming and climate change. Russia, being the ninth populated country in world, leaves enough

room for it to be affected. Global warming in Russia is costing the economy and causing

catastrophic damages and needs to solve both of these problems.

Russia is losing more money than gaining because of global warming. The country is

spending a substantially large amount of money cleaning up the aftermath of the natural

disasters. According to Oleg Yegorov, Russia's environment minister, Sergey Donskoy said

"Russia has spent $530 million to $1 billion every year due to climate change causing damages

that they have to clean up". That's way too much money to spend annually, for an issue that can

be prevented or weakened. Russia loses around 4-6 percent of its GDP annually due to

environmental devastation (Yegorov). On the positive side of the economy, Russia is also

gradually gaining money from climate change by the Northern Sea Route. This is a trading route

that has been frozen as a result of the intense weather in Russia, but is melting now. Sea trips,

to export goods, are now shortened from traveling 10,00 miles to now, almost cutting that

distance in half. This sea route is saving time and fuel, which equilates to saving money for

Russia. There's also now an opportunity to find gas, oil and other minerals to profit off of

(Toboni). All of these negative effects of global warming are costing Russia the ability for people

to live a comfortable life.

Global warming is causing Russia to become uninhabitable for humans and for wildlife.
 Levy 2

So much sulfur dioxide is being released into the air, that acid rain creates dead zones (Toboni).

Acid rain affects the aquatic environments(Acid Rain) and also affects animals that live in or

near wooded areas. Acid rain pollutes the air and could irritate or damage your lungs.

Permafrost is melting and according to The Moscow Times is creating "dangerous chemical,

biological and radioactive substances entering the human habitat." Dangerous chemicals could

and will alter the human lifestyle in Russia if global warming worsens. Between 1958 and 1992,

"Russia dumped 18 nuclear reactors into the Arctic Ocean, several of them still fully loaded

with nuclear fuel"(Borgerson). This hazard still needs to be cleaned up and is hurting the

aquatic environment. We can't use the Arctic Ocean's water, because of the harmful chemicals

that are still in it. Climate change and global warming is aggravating Russia's air quality. Cities

are being put in danger’s way, "Over 200 Russian cities are over the Russian pollution limits"

said by The Moscow Times. These cities will make it even harder to live in certain places,

because of the poor air quality. Cities in Russia are being destroyed by climate change.

Climate change produces more natural disasters to occur. Reuters stated that "Over the

last 15 to 20 years the number of dangerous meteorological events in Russia have doubled".

This is hitting Russia harshly, because a country can only survive so many natural disasters

hitting it. Hundreds of thousands of acres have been burnt by wildfires (Gianna Toboni). How

would you feel if your house was being set on fire? This is putting people's lives in danger and

destroying people's homes. Global warming and climate change are controversial, so there are

skeptics.

So how do we know that global warming isn’t really a myth? Most skeptics ask "Why is it

an issue now, the climate changes all the time?" or, "There is no such thing as global warming."

(What Does Past Climate Change Tell Us about Global Warming?) But, global warming is a true

problem in today's society and needs to be brought to everyone's attention. "There's been a

change in the weather and the greenhouse gases have mostly been present when the climate is

changing" SkepticalScience says. Greenhouse gases admit harmful gases into the air and are
 Levy 3

presumably causing climate change. Other skeptics blame global warming on the sun.

According to (What Does Past Climate Change Tell Us about Global Warming?), The sun has

showed a cooling trend and temperatures are still increasing, so the sun can't be the problem.

Science supports that global warming and climate change are real life issues.

Russia is being heavily impacted by climate warming and needs to work on improving

the environment. Russia's being hit with a series of effects of more natural disaster, putting

people's lives in danger and are economically hurt. The ministry is 95% certain that humans

have a big impact on global warming. We could prevent global warming by taking better care of

the Earth by using solar powered energy and stop wasting water. Just by taking shorter showers

or turning off the water while brushing the teeth can help. Russia needs to be helped, and it’s

our choice if we ignore them, or if we do something about it.

Works Cited
 Levy 4

“Acid Rain.” National Geographic, National Geographic, 19 Oct. 2017,

www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/acid-rain/. Web. 28 Nov.

2018

Borgerson, Scott G. "Arctic meltdown: the economic and security implications of global

warming. ForeignAffairs,Mar.-Apr.2008,p.63+.Global Issues in Context.

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A175443778/GIC?u=rale84535&sid=GIC&xid=e62841a4

.Web. 26 Nov. 2018.

Davydova, Angelina. “From Floods to Fires, Russia Sees Stronger Climate Impacts - but...”

Reuters, Thomas Reuters, 8 June 2017, Web. 26 Nov. 2018 www.reuters.com/article/us-

russia-climatechange-impacts-idUSKBN18Z04Z.

Preparing for the 21st Century, Jan. 1999, fas.org/irp/nic/environmental_outlook_russia.html.

Web. 27 Nov. 2018

“Russian Ministry Warns of Coming Environmental Apocalypse Fueled by Climate Change.”

The Moscow Times, The Moscow Times, 6 Sept. 2018,

themoscowtimes.com/news/russian-ministry-warns-coming-environmental-apocalypse-

fueled-climate-change-62804. Web. 27 Nov. 2018

Toboni, Gianna YouTube, YouTube, 8 Mar. 2018,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbtZaqWVUgA. Web. 28 Nov. 2018

 Levy 5

Yegorov, Oleg. “What Dire Consequences Will Global Warming Wreck on Russia and the

World?” Russia Beyond, Russia Beyond, 20 Sept. 2018, www.rbth.com/science-and-

tech/329165-global-warming-russia-climate-change. Web. 27 Nov. 2018

“What Does Past Climate Change Tell Us about Global Warming?” Skeptical Science,

www.skepticalscience.com/climate-change-little-ice-age-medieval-warm-period.htm.