Climate changes can be brought about by both anthropogenic and natural factors. Stressors that are associated with these factors can have an adverse impact on marine resources in unpredictable manner. The effects can be antagonistic, additive or synergistic. Even though little can be done to alleviate the severe impact of natural factors of climate change, a lot can be done to manage the increasing stress brought about by anthropogenic factors (Kolbert 2006, 74).
Terrestrial as well as extraterrestrial factors have a thing in climate change. A number of models predict noteworthy rises in temperature for the world in the near future. Complicated anthropogenic interactions appear to cumulatively contribute and accelerate the process of global warming. Too much deforestation in many places within the planet earth has brought about an imbalance in the in water and radiation. Other common adverse impacts on climate are pollution that originates from the land due to industrialization and urbanization as well as increases in the fossil fuel usage.
Impact of energy sources on climate change
Nearly the entire use of fossil fuel is by combustion or burning. This process of combustion produces waste products because of the impurities in the fuel, more so various gases such as nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide and some particulates. As Pararas (2010, 95) asserts, these waste products may have an adverse impact on people or environment in destructive ways. However, there are some disagreements over whether some fossil fuel effects are destructive at all. In some instances, the quantity of the waste is very minute that the effect is hard to detect. An example of this is mercury from burning of coal.
On the other hand, all processes of burning gives rise to water and carbon dioxide as the by-products. The reason behind this is that carbon constitutes the usefulness of the fossil fuel. But whether these by products are beneficial or harmful remains an extensive public debate. Some claim they are beneficial due to the fact that carbon dioxide and water are essential for plants nourishment.
However, others argue that the massive emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere bring about the destructive global warming as well as climate change either today or in the future. Those with phobia of the climate change have suggested new government policies to considerably decrease the use of fossil fuels. Those who are not afraid of the climate change are unconvinced with these suggested policies. Another great debate is about the climate change science.
For a period of over two centuries, the burning of fossil fuel such as oil and coal, and deforestation has led to concentrations of heat retaining green house gases to be abundant within the atmosphere. These gases deter the heat from evaporating to the space but instead retain much of it within the atmosphere. They somehow act like greenhouses glass panel (Pararas 2010, 98).
On the other hand, these greenhouse gases are essential for life due to the fact that they maintain warmth within the earths surface. Without the gases the planet would be otherwise very cold. However, as the concentration of these gases continues to pile, the planets temperature is rising to alarming levels. According to data from NASA and NOAA, the average temperature of the earth has increased by around 1.2 to 1.5F in the last one century.
According to Pararas (2010, 53), the eight warmest years since the year 1850 have all been experienced after the year 1998. The warmest of them all was 2005. The human energy sources that are applied today including emission of large amounts of carbon are the ones that have brought much of the climate change. Other aspects of the climate such as snow and ice cover, rainfall patterns as well as the sea level are rapidly changing.
If there is going to be a further increment of the greenhouse gases, the climate experts predict that the mean temperature of the globe would rise from 3.2 to 7.2F above those levels of 1990 at the time this century comes to an end. According to scientists, human activities are rapidly altering the atmospheres composition and increasing the greenhouse gases within the atmosphere thus affecting the earths climate, but they not so sure about the consequences that will follow (Kolbert 2006, 74).
The modern use of nuclear energy which accounts for almost 15 percent of the planets electricity generation, evades the emission of almost 2.1 billion tonnes of CO2eq annually. In the whole European Union, the avoidance levels are about 670 million of tonnes of CO2eq annually. In comparison, the European Union has a target of reducing greenhouse gases by 445 million tonnes of CO2eq between 2008 and 2012.
Impact of natural processes on climate change
The earths primary source of energy is the sun. During the geological times long periods, the planets climate has been inconsistent dynamic system that has gone through long as well as short term cycles of change which include cooling down or warming up with respective falls and rises in the sea level. The most strategic determinants of natural climatic change include both terrestrial as well as astronomical aspects (Nillson 1996, 68).
The terrestrial aspects of climate change include the world geometry oceancontinent distribution, cycles of ocean tides, periodic changes of ocean circulation such as El Nino, rocks weathering as well as volcanic aerosols. Seasonal changes have an adverse impact on heat transfer energy that goes to the poles from the equator, which is usually in control of wind as well as ocean currents. Variations in the entire amount of energy have a significant impact on the entire earths climate.
The astronomical aspects comprises of the orbital variability as well as the geometry of the solar system, sunspot cycles, solar flares and storms, incoming luminosity of the solar, solar winds, incoming ultraviolet radiation, the earths orbit eccentricity and obliquity cycles. The above mentioned processes have a control in the quantity of the suns radiation accessing certain latitudinal locations of the earths surface. These variations in the orbits contribute to almost ten percent in the entire amount of the solar radiation hitting particular latitudes (Pararas 2010, 92).
The green house effect
The atmosphere of the earth was developed by volcanic emissions of steam, carbon dioxide as well as other gaseous material during the Precambrian and this process has never stopped. The earths atmosphere generally comprises of oxygen, nitrogen and argon. Some other composition includes carbon dioxide, water vapour methane as well as ozone. The atmosphere contains a coverlet effect on the solar energy that is received on the planet, maintaining the warmth of its surface by almost 28 degrees Celsius. The work of the trace gases is to absorb the thermal radiation that is transmitted by the earth and reflects it back to the surface therefore by so doing it significantly reduces heat loss to the space. This entire process is what is referred to as the Greenhouse Effect.
Basing on the fact that the earths climatic change is a continuous process affected by both extraterrestrial and terrestrial factors, there has been a variation of Greenhouse Effect during the geologic time periods, with consequential cooling down or warming up periods and falls and rises in the sea level.
Due to the fact that the globe is still coming out of glaciation, there has been an entire drift in global warming. During the 14,000 years of the Pleistocene Period, the geoclimatic record reveals that - with the exemption of a few short cooling cycles - there has been an overall mould of global warming that has affected both the sea level and the earths climate.
In addition to that, in the past few decades there has been a noteworthy increase in the frequency as well as intensity of storms and hurricanes leading to loss of life and property due to climate related disasters. Other disasters that are man-made have also been on an increase in the recent years. This topic about climate change and global warming is a very challenging topic and governments together with non-governmental organizations should do something to save our environment.
An increase in the input of greenhouse gases anthropogenically has been blamed for the acceleration of the global warming, the higher intensity and frequency of disasters that are water related and the associated rise in the sea level. According to climate modelling studies, the temperatures of the planet will rise dramatically in the next one century. There are predictions that temperatures will increase between 1 and 6 degrees Celsius in about 60 years to come. Due to this increment in temperature, the sea level is likely to rise through expansion of the ocean water and melting of glaciers.
Mitigation efforts
Even with the help of mitigation efforts, losses due to weather related disasters and global warming will remain high due to the fact that population growth is increasing steadily and the increase of the concentration growth in vulnerable places like the flood plains and the coastal regions (Carson 1962, 62). Other natural debacles such as tsunamis and earthquakes have also brought about increased losses. Another natural process that has brought the climate change is the changes in ocean circulations. This also contributes to the rampant tsunamis and hurricanes
Conclusion
Global warming and the entire climate change is a serious problem that is facing the world today. The extensive use of fossil fuels leads to production of large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. To save the world, people have to devise on new mechanisms that limit the concentration of greenhouse gases within the atmosphere. As illustrated in the paper nuclear energy limits the concentration of these gases a part from being a reliable source of energy.
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