Environmental Issue – Global Warming
(i) Discussion of the previous research undertaken on your chosen topic
The topic chosen as the basis for research is about global warming that refers to process when the earth heats up the temperature will rise as it can be possible when greenhouse gases trap heat and light from the sun in the earth’s atmosphere, which increase the temperature. Aside, the greenhouse effect implies temperature rises because sun’s heat and light is being trapped within the earth’s atmosphere. Furthermore, temperature can change in ways that it helps humans as greenhouse effect make earth appropriate for the people to live on as without the presence of it, the earth would be freezing and if not the earth would be burning hot. Although the greenhouse effect makes the earth able to have people living on it, if there gets to be too many gases, the earth can get unusually warmer, and many plants, animals, and people will die. Thus, there were research evidence shows pollution have contributed substantially to global warming and the earth is likely to get hotter than predicted, founded by United Nations-sponsored panel of scientists. There is expected to influence climate debate as there is discernible human influence on earth’s climate because of greenhouse effect caused by the buildup of heat-trapping chemicals in the atmosphere. “Emissions of greenhouse gases and aerosols due to human activities continue to alter the atmosphere in ways that affect the climate system,” the report says. ( 2000)
ADAPTATION
Global warming is under way and climate change is inevitable. While it is impossible to say for sure, many of the extreme natural events experienced in recent years, may be manifestations of climate change. The European countries, clearly sensitive to global equity and their obligations regarding this issue, wanted to lay the groundwork for going beyond the Kyoto Protocol by starting negotiations within deeper incision of the greenhouse gas emissions. Demands for such cuts got nowhere at the climate conference. Given the highly competitive nature of the global economy, the continued refusal of the United States to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions may push the Europeans to reassess their own relatively strong and commendable support for international climate equity. During the 2002 conference was useful in again acknowledging the vital need for rich countries to help the developing world cope with climate change, and it highlighted the utter unfairness of the rich demanding that the poor reduce their energy use. Aside, new alliance between the United States and developing countries has set back efforts to take concerted action to reduce the pollutants causing global warming.
In the decades to come everyone will have to adapt, but one wonders what kind of world we will be leaving our grandchildren as seas rise, glaciers melt, pathogens spread, and ecosystems become unfamiliar even during a single lifetime.
APPLICATION TO GLOBAL WARMING
The story of international environmental cooperation is not encouraging for the current effort to tackle global warming. It would be easy to generate global warming agreements with modest commitments that yield high levels of compliance as indeed, deep cuts in emissions will be needed to slow global warming, and they could be costly and that, it would be possible to restrict demanding cooperation to the liberal states where concern about global warming and the capacity to enforce obligations are high, but an agreement that is restricted to the OECD nations would be meaningless. Failure to establish credible institutions could cause the emission trading system to unravel quickly; with trillions of dollars at stake and the cost of compliance extremely clear to permit-buyers, no country will stay inside the system for long if it senses that others are skirting compliance.
Yet, having already capitalized their permits, no large permit-holder will want to discard the system before cashing out. A system for coordinating policies and measures, such as that proposed by the European Union, faces serious challenges of monitoring and enforcement since policies and measures must be defined, their effects must be estimated and there have been no serious attempts to do so. Moreover, such technology strategy could ease the problem of international cooperation because it requires significantly fewer nations to participate. However, collective action would be needed because no nation would implement the strategy fully on its own, precise effects of technology strategies would be difficult to measure. Negotiations would evolve through system of proposals for packages of measures for implementation. There support development and demonstration of new technologies would make it possible for those new technologies to diffuse worldwide through the normal operation of technology markets that are increasingly global and free from barriers. However, tax to limit greenhouse gas emissions, would be needed to ensure that a growing fraction of the world market faces the appropriate incentive and thus applies new technologies and will require broader international cooperation, but a regime that begins with technology in the core centers of innovation will have three advantages over conventional approaches to addressing global warming.
Global warming is affecting many parts of the world. Global warming makes the sea rise, and when the sea rises, the water covers many low land islands. This is a big problem for many of the plants, animals, and people on islands. The water covers the plants and causes some of them to die. Although animals have a better ability to adapt to what happens than plants do, they may die also. When the plants and animals die, people lose two sources of food, plant food and animal food. The oceans are affected by global warming in other ways, as well. Many things that are happening to the ocean are linked to global warming. One thing that is happening is warm water, caused from global warming, is harming and killing algae in the ocean. Global warming is doing many things to people as well as animals and plants. It is killing algae, but it is also destroying many huge forests. The pollution that causes global warming is linked to acid rain. Acid rain gradually destroys almost everything it touches. Global warming is also causing many more fires that wipe out whole forests happens because global warming can make the earth very hot. In forests, some plants and trees leaves can be so dry that they catch on fire.
People are doing many things to try to stop global warming. One thing people are doing is carpooling. Carpooling is driving with someone to a place that you are both going to. This minimizes the amount of greenhouse gases put into the air by a car. Another thing that people are doing is being more careful about leaving things turned on like the television, computer, and the lights. A lot of people are taking time away from the television, and instead, they are spending more time outdoors. Now, more people are even riding busses, walking to school, and riding their bikes to lower the amount of greenhouse gases in the air. Planting trees and recycling also helps. The government is doing many things to help stop global warming. The government made a law called The Clean Air Act so there is less air pollution as global warming is making people get very bad illnesses that could make them disabled, very sick, and sometimes even die. The Clean Air Act is making many companies change their products to decrease these problems part of the law says that you may not put a certain amount of pollutants in the air. Hairspray and some other products, like foam cups, had this problem.
(ii) The research question you are seeking to address
What does global warming do to the environment?
What are people doing to stop negative fact regarding global warming?
What is the government doing to stop harmful reality of global warming?
What are environmental stresses and issues that form warming impacts about earth changes?
What research and information needs that can better prepare policy makers for making wise decisions related to the issue?
(iii) The kind of theoretical framework that underlies your research design. How does it guide your research question and the kinds of answers you might be looking for?
The theoretical framework would amicably involve process of understanding the presence of Kyoto Protocol which indicates such global agreement to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases that took effect last February 16, 2005. Thus, protocol sets mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions for party nations according to consumption and projected needs, with goal of reducing global emissions to 5.2 percent by the year 2012. Furthermore, some companies that undertook efficiency measures accumulated unused credits, selling to those exceeded allowance (2006). Thus, several scientists ascertain that global warming is under way and believe that climate change is happening now. It causes increased frequency of severe weather events like floods and droughts, adverse changes in agriculture yields, increased human mortality from heat and cold, coastal erosion and damage. While substantial global warming and the resulting change in climate cannot be avoided, they can be mitigated, and those suffering from them can be aided in their efforts to adapt.
(iv) The techniques and methods you plan to use to find answers to the research question? What is the rationale for choosing these techniques and methods? What possible risks are involved in the work?
The techniques and methods for the study will make use of the case study method and its respected analysis and interpretation reflecting on how global warming is of controversy as of the present as such providing valid literature studies of such activities and programs that have been created to eliminate harmful reality of the global warming taking into detailed account of the Kyoto Protocol agreement. Thus, exploration technique is also possible as there is ample need to have such organization of research evidences and information findings, knowing every imperative matter and aspects pointing to the prevalence of global warming and how the earth is reacting as of the present times. The choosing of the methods will provide wide view and awareness of people to take care of the environment and doing their part in saving the earth such as avoiding harmful materials in order to fully heal global warming problems as the ozone layer is now being threatened by such chemicals that affects deeply the cycle of life in every living creature on earth,
(v) What sorts of problems can you foresee in tackling the question, and how might you address these?
As studied, aerosols play role in affecting climate by scattering sunlight or absorbing it and thereby serve to reduce the amount of sunlight reaching the earth’s surface (1992). In addition to their direct effect, aerosols have an indirect effect on the radiation budget, through their role as cloud condensation nuclei. Pollution, increased the quantity of aerosols when water vapor condenses on them in clouds resulting in highly reflecting clouds. The aerosols mask true degree of greenhouse gas warming by potential amount ( 2005). The pursuit of cleaner atmosphere and short lifetimes of aerosols are to diminish the magnitude of masking effect in future and may lead to greater warming respectively (1981 ) and then, reduction in ozone will have effect of cooling leading in growing damage surface.
The sorts of problem foreseen has emphasis that global warming is almost certainly the most important problem addressed by the atmospheric community today and has recently become one of the hottest on the political agenda. Due to the fact that, it can be complex problem, majority of atmospheric researchers are carrying out investigations on it. The outcome of studies are assimilated in global circulation models for the simulation of earth’s climate. Despite such intensive efforts, there is still much contention over the nature and degree of global warming, over long-term climate prediction, and over the implementation of mitigating measures. However, precise degree of future warming does not change the imperative to act; the only relevant question is whether any action will be sufficient, not whether it is necessary. Thus, some politicians argue about the economic and social consequences of actions and warming concentrations continue to rise and there is quest to improve sophistication and predictive capability of certain models (2004).
___________________
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment