TO WHAT EXTENT IS CLIMATE CHANGE A RESULT OF HUMAN ACTIVITIES?
Introduction
Climate change is about the transformation in the temperature as well as weather of the Earth (Trenberth, 2018). This transformation can be natural as well as the result of human activities. This essay will discuss the concept of climate change and how it is impacting human, plant, and animal life. The essay will also present the viewpoints of different organisations and scholars regarding climate change and the reasons behind it. It will also discuss the viewpoints of different scholars related to the contribution of human and natural activities in climate change. The essay will shed some light on the steps that are taken by various governments on controlling and tackle the issue of the rising temperature of Earth.
Discussion
Climate change has become a major issue in the world and it has also become a topic for scholars and scientists whether it is the result of human activities or not. The rise in average rainfall and temperature for a long period is known as climate change. According to the scientists of NASA, the surface of Earth is warming up and years are becoming warmer each time (climatekids.nasa.gov, 2022). Climate change refers to shrinking mountain glaciers, blooming times of plants, rising sea levels, and melting ice. All these factors are indicating that the climate of the Earth is changing rapidly. As per the scientists of NASA, the Earth’s temperature is increasing due to human activities. It is found that certain human activities are generating greenhouse gases that are contributing to climate change. Various human activities like burning fossil fuels, power factories, and others are impacting the Earth's temperature negatively (climatekids.nasa.gov, 2022). The activities of human beings are influencing plants, air, animals, and the energy of the Sun which is why the average temperature is rising.
The key factor in climate change is the greenhouse effect which is a result of different human activities that generates carbon dioxide, methane, fluorinated, and nitrous oxide in the atmosphere (ec.europa.eu, 2022). Carbon dioxide is the key contributor to climate change and it is found that the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere has increased to 48% by the year 2020. Some natural factors also contribute to climate change such as solar radiation, volcanic eruption and others. It is found that the key contributors of climate change are deforestation, burning fossil fuel, increasing livestock farming, and usage of fertilisers that contains nitrogen. Climate change has a dangerous and serious impact on human, animal, and plant health. According to Pirnia et al. (2019), human activities like the construction of the dam has contributed to climate change by reducing connectivity between rivers. This has also altered hydrological procedures and transformed river morphology. On the other hand, the construction of dams has helped in decreasing water shortages.
As per Al?Ghussain (2019), Earth’s climate has changed various times in the previous years and it has taken place due to natural activities. It has taken place due to natural activities like a volcanic eruption, solar radiation emission through Sun. The scholar states that change in the climate is taking place for many years due to the emission of solar radiation due to the Sun which is known as the Milankovitch cycle. This cycle is known to occur every 10 thousand years which includes natural warming and cooling through 3 reasons which are precession, eccentricity, and obliquity. The eccentricity is about the transformation in Earth’s orbit and obliquity refers to the declination of the planet’s angle (Al?Ghussain, 2019). The wobble in Earth’s axis is defined as precession which includes changes in the tilt of the planet.
Herring states that human activities are emitting greenhouse gases in the atmosphere which are leading to climate change (Herring, 2020). The science writer also stated that the abundance of increasing greenhouse gases on the Earth is the key reason for climate change. Human activities have increased the emission of harmful gases in the atmosphere which has resulted in an increase of 1.0ºC in average temperature worldwide. The rise in the emission of harmful gases like methane, ozone, nitrous oxide, different chlorofluorocarbons, and carbon dioxide are all the result of human activities. It is found that currently, human activities are generating about 9.5 million metric tons of CO2 in the atmosphere through fossil fuel usage (Herring, 2020). Human beings are generating another 1.5 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere by cutting down trees. Climate change is resulting in loss of biodiversity and has caused losses of communities and species.
According to Cavicchioli et al. (2019), marine microorganisms also contribute to the emission of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Marine microorganisms generate carbon dioxide during the procedure of recycling nutrients for the food web. Microbial degradation like forest root and leaf litter also emits CO2. This emits a high level of carbon dioxide which not only contributes to plant growth but climate change too. The scholar also stated that microorganisms like methanogens produce methane in the environment. Human activities like fossil fuel burning and natural factors like methanogens are contributing to climate change. It is also found that rice paddies contribute to 20% of agricultural CH4 emissions in the environment (Cavicchioli et al., 2019). The United Kingdom’s national weather service states that both human and natural activities are the causes of climate change. Human activities like agriculture, deforestation, using fossil fuels are the key contributors to climate change. Methane is the most harmful greenhouse gas and it is more powerful than CO2 (metoffice.gov.uk, 2022). Animals generate CH4 which is harmful to the Earth more than CO2.
Natural activities like Milankovitch cycles, El Nino Southern Oscillation, volcanic eruption, and solar radiation are some key factors that are contributing to changes in the Earth’s temperature. On the other hand, human activities produce 50 times more carbon dioxide than volcanic eruptions (metoffice.gov.uk, 2022). Hence, human activities are the key contributors to climate change in comparison to natural sources. The government of the United Kingdom has launched an act named "The Climate Change Act 2008” to decrease the emission of greenhouse gases to net zero by the year 2050 (theccc.org.uk, 2022). On the other hand, the government of Germany has invested 60 billion euros to tackle the issue of climate change (euronews.com, 2021). This investment will be used in future green spending for the nation to improve the Earth’s temperature. The government of the United States have stated that they are planning on reducing their greenhouse pollution by 50-52% by the year 2030 to tackle the crisis of rising temperature (whitehouse.gov, 2021). They are also planning on reaching net-zero emissions by the year 2050 by structuring a "carbon pollution-free” sector by 2035.
Conclusion
From the above discussion, it can be summarised that both natural sources and human activities are the culprits of climate change. Human activities such as cutting down trees and burning fossil fuels are some of the key contributors to climate change. Natural sources like microorganisms and other factors like a volcanic eruptions and solar radiation contribute to the rising temperature of the Earth. Climate change is a natural process of cooling and warming of the Earth which is known as the Milankovitch cycle. Some scholars stated that the activities of human beings like the establishment of factories have resulted in a rising temperature of the Earth. Various governments have taken steps and made policies to tackle the issue of the rising temperature of Earth.
Reference list
Al?Ghussain, L., 2019. Global warming: review on driving forces and mitigation. Environmental Progress & Sustainable Energy, 38(1), pp.13-21.
Cavicchioli, R., Ripple, W.J., Timmis, K.N., Azam, F., Bakken, L.R., Baylis, M., Behrenfeld, M.J., Boetius, A., Boyd, P.W., Classen, A.T. and Crowther, T.W., 2019. Scientists’ warning to humanity: microorganisms and climate change. Nature Reviews Microbiology, 17(9), pp.569-586.
climatekids.nasa.gov, 2022 What is Climate Change? [Online] Available at: https://climatekids.nasa.gov/climate-change-meaning/ [Accessed 10 March 2022]
ec.europa.eu, 2022 Causes of climate change [Online] Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/clima/climate-change/causes-climate-change_en [Accessed 10 March 2022]
euronews.com, 2021 Germany's new government is pouring 60 billion euros into combatting climate change [Online] Available at: https://www.euronews.com/green/2021/12/14/germany-s-new-government-is-pouring-60-billion-euros-into-combatting-climate-change [Accessed 10 March 2022]
Herring, D., 2020 Are humans causing or contributing to global warming? [Online] Available at: https://www.climate.gov/news-features/climate-qa/are-humans-causing-or-contributing-global-warming [Accessed 10 March 2022]
metoffice.gov.uk, 2022 Causes of climate change [Online] Available at: https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/climate-change/causes-of-climate-change [Accessed 10 March 2022]
Pirnia, A., Golshan, M., Darabi, H., Adamowski, J. and Rozbeh, S., 2019. Using the Mann–Kendall test and double mass curve method to explore stream flow changes in response to climate and human activities. Journal of Water and Climate Change, 10(4), pp.725-742.
theccc.org.uk, 2022 A legal duty to act [Online] Available at: https://www.theccc.org.uk/the-need-to-act/a-legal-duty-to-act/#:~: [Accessed 10 March 2022]
Trenberth, K.E., 2018. Climate change caused by human activities is happening and it already has major consequences. Journal of energy & natural resources law, 36(4), pp.463-481.
whitehouse.gov, 2021 President Biden’s Whole-of-Government Effort to Tackle the Climate Crisis [Online] Available at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/climate/ [Accessed 10 March 2022]
