The Question of How Are Human Activities Responsible for Climate Change

Overview of the Problem

The problems due to climate change have significantly been increased due to human activities for the last some decades. The question arises - how are human activities responsible for climate change? Different kind of human influences has detrimental effects on climate so it is very important to take some appropriate measures in order to tackle climate problems. There are many reasons for climate change such as water pollution, air pollution, soil pollution, etc. One of the dominant human activities because of which climate is being disturbed is air pollution due to emissions of dangerous gases into the atmosphere by combustion of fossil fuels in different industries and gasoline vehicles. Emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels contain greenhouse gases (GHGs) such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide (CO), oxides of nitrogen, toxic hydrocarbons and methane. Unfortunately, preventing these GHGs from burning fuels is absolutely impossible [1]. Contamination of these gases into the fresh atmosphere causes air pollution which is very dangerous not only for mankind but also for other species of the world.

Evidence for Climate Change and Its Detrimental Effects

Basically, there are two types of harmful effects because of air pollution. Seriously, immediate attention is required for both cases.

Harmful Effects of Climate Change on Human Health

Inhaling air pollutants (GHGs) causes respiratory illnesses like asthma, and other problems such as cancer, heart disease, birth defects, and eye irritation. According to World Health Organisation (WHO), worldwide, around 4.2 million people died just because of outdoor air pollution in 2016. Furthermore, WHO says; air pollution causes risky non communicable disease (which are diseases of long duration and generally slow progression like heart attacks and stroke, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases, and diabetes) due to which around one-quarter (24%) population of all adolescents die because of heart disease, 29% due to lung cancer, 25% because of stroke and 43% from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [2]. So, this is really serious global problem for human beings, and this problem requires immediate and proper attention in order to prevent human death due to air pollution.

Harmful Effects of Human Activities on Climate Change

The combustion of fuel inside the automotive engine exhausts carbon dioxide, primarily, and other GHGs to the atmosphere [1]. The sun emits heat energy towards the earth, then earth reverberates the same into the atmosphere [3]. GHGs emitted from the vehicles and industries trap this heat energy in the atmosphere and thus they are responsible for a warming effect which relies on the total amount of the GHGs accumulated in the atmosphere, each GHG’s capacity for trapping heat, and the duration of time that they stay in the atmosphere. So, accumulating more GHGs and remaining in the atmosphere for longer time results to increase more warming effect in the climate because of which the temperature of earth surface rises gradually. This effect of warming the earth is called global warming. According to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), if it is assumed that universal annual emissions of greenhouse gases will increase continuously throughout this century, the forecasted increment in average universal temperature is 5.6 Celsius till the end of 21st century. Specifically, 9.5 Celsius of increment in temperature is forecasted in Canada by 2100 [4]. So, the average temperature of the world is being increased because of global warming. The world’s 68.7 percent of freshwater is in the form of ice caps and glaciers [5], which would melt with an increment of average global temperature due to which sea-level would increase, then human beings residing at coastal areas and other creatures of the world would have to confront some natural disasters like tsunami, flooding, etc. There are more than 1.2 million US coastal homes in the hazardous situation because of perpetual inundation by 2100 [6]. So, all the species of the glob would be in threat due to this unwanted devastation. So, it is urgent and indispensable requirement to take some important and effective steps against climate change.

Possible Solution to the Issue of Climate Change

There are many possible solutions for combating climate change. One of the best and most productive solutions for the problem of air pollution may be altering usage of fossil fuel with renewable sources of energy like solar energy, wind energy, hydro-energy, etc. By doing so not only air pollution because of combustion of fossil fuel will be avoided but the expenditure for consumption of energy will also be declined dramatically. Moreover, utilizing renewable sources of energy never create any sort of pollution simultaneously their usage are more convenient and easy so their implementation is eco-friendly and user-friendly. Additionally, sources of fossil fuels are very limited in the world so there will no fossil fuels available one day if human beings will keep using them forever. In other hand, renewable sources of energy, as per its name, will always be unlimited to use. So, human beings would have to be dependent on the renewable source of energy in future.

References

1. 'Causes of climate change,' Government of Canada, 28 03 2019. [Online]. Available: https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/climate-change/causes.html. [Accessed 03 10 2019].
2. N. Osseiran, '9 out of 10 people worldwide breathe polluted air, but more countries are taking action,' World Health Organisation, 2019. [Online]. Available: https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/02-05-2018-9-out-of-10-people-worldwide-breathe-polluted-air-but-more-countries-are-taking-action. [Accessed 03 10 2019].
3. H. Shaftel, 'The Causes of Climate Change,' NASA, 02 10 2019. [Online]. Available: https://climate.nasa.gov/causes/. [Accessed 03 10 2019].
4. 'Key Issues - Climate Change,' Government of Canada, 06 12 2018. [Online]. Available: https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/corporate/transparency/briefing/key-issues-climate-change.html. [Accessed 03 10 2019].
5. 'Ice, Snow, and Glaciers and the Water Cycle,' USGS, [Online]. Available: https://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/water-science-school/science/ice-snow-and-glaciers-and-water-cycle?qt-science_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects. [Accessed 03 10 2019].
6. 'Underwater: Rising Seas, Chronic Floods, and the Implications for US Coastal Real Estate (2018),' Union of Concerned Scientists , [Online]. Available: https://www.ucsusa.org/global-warming/global-warming-impacts/sea-level-rise-chronic-floods-and-us-coastal-real-estate-implications. [Accessed 03 10 2019].