We Have a Moral Responsibility to Stop Climate Change

1209 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The role of humans in perpetuating climate change

Climate Change and Business as Usual
Scientists have shown that over the past 150 years, since the start of the Industrial Revolution, human activities have been a substantial contributing factor to climate change. Emissions from carbon dioxide (CO2) and other heat-trapping gases, also referred to as greenhouse gases, have increased the greenhouse effect that causes the atmosphere to retain heat. This in turn has caused the earth’s surface temperature to rise. This is known as climate change, and the primary human activity causing it is the burning of fossil fuels. Although CO2 is absorbed and emitted naturally through animal and plant respiration, volcanic eruptions, and ocean-atmosphere exchange, atmospheric CO2 emissions have increased nearly 40% from pre-industrial times. The increase is largely due to human activities that include the burning of fossil fuels and changes in land use that require deforestation (EPA).
The effects of global climate change on the environment are very real and already observable. In the past, some of the things scientists had predicted that global climate change would cause were loss of sea ice, accelerated sea level rise and longer, more intense heat waves. We are witnessing those changes now. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which includes more than 1,300 scientists from the United States and other countries, we can expect to see a temperature rise of 2.5 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit over the next century. The impact of these temperature rises will be beneficial in some regions and harmful in others, with the extent of climate change effects on individual regions varying over time. The IPCC predicts that net annual costs will increase over time as glo...

... middle of paper ...

...etrieved November 10, 2013, from http://www.edf.org/climate/climate-change-impacts
Effects. (n.d.). Global Climate Change. Retrieved November 10, 2013, from http://climate.nasa.gov/effects
The Ocean. (n.d.). National Geographic. Retrieved November 10, 2013, from http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com/ocean/critical-issues-ocean-acidification/ sustainable. (n.d.). Merriam-Webster. Retrieved November 10, 2013, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sustainable
United Nations,conference,Rio+20,future,Brazil,sustainable development,jobs,energy,cities,food,water,oceans,disasters. (n.d.). UN News Center. Retrieved November 10, 2013, from http://www.un.org/en/sustainablefuture/sustainability.shtml
United Nations Official Document. (n.d.). UN News Center. Retrieved November 10, 2013, from http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/66/700&referer=/english/&Lang=E

Show More
Related

  • Pascal's Wager and Global Warming

    1198 Words  | 3 Pages

    Since measurements began in 1958 -- and it can be assumed to have been the case since the industrial revolution -- emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere has risen steadily as a result of the burning of fossil fuels (Quay, pp 2344). Although there is much argument over the implications of increasing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, there are several points that almost all scientists would agree on: firstly, carbon dioxide acts to absorb radiated heat; if present in our atmosphere will do just that to some extent. Second, the concentration of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere is rising. Third, the temperature of the planet is rising - although the amount of this increase and the causes of this rise are subject to disagreement (Philander, pp 193).

    Read More

  • Dbq Essay On Climate Change

    607 Words  | 2 Pages

    Earth’s average temperature has increased about 0.8 degrees Celsius since 1880 and another degree could cause even more problems than there already are. Climate change is an important issue to be aware of because it is real and it affects you and the things around you each and every day. Every day animals lose habitats and die because climate change caused there home to burn, or their food sources started to deplete, etc. Along with these, more and more CO2 is being released into the air due to wildfires burning which is causing the atmosphere to heat even more. With the temperature increasing the oceans will become warmer and evaporation and rainfall patterns will change which will affect humans and animals, because we all work together in a system. There are many consequences of climate change like human health issues, and more animals becoming endangered, but the most important consequence is the rising amounts of wildfires.

    Read More

  • Global Warming Is Eroding Glacial Ice

    846 Words  | 2 Pages

    First, during the last few decades the Earth is experiencing greater rate of rising temperatures due to greenhouse gases that are being produced by human activities rather than because of environmental reasons, such as solar or volcanic activities. In 2006 the President of the National Academy of Sciences stated: “There is no doubt that the Earth is warming,” also he added that people are at least partly responsible for these changes in addition to regular factors (Cicerone, par.4). Natural factors have produced climate fluctuations on Earth for several million years. People have effected an atmosphere of the Earth just for nearly one hundred years, since Industrial Revolution has begun (Revkin 340). Of course, it is unfair to say that global warming is caused entirely by humans. For example, people can not have an impact on the position of Earth in relation to the sun, or on the galactic density, or such nature events as air emissions of volcanic gases. As a result of these environmental factors, Earth usually had higher rates of temperature fluctuations during the previous million years than it has in later centuries. On the other hand, people are responsible for the highest concentration of greenhouse gases during the last 650,000 years in the atmosphere due to industrial manufacturing, driven by the increase in consumer consumption (Lindsey, par.

    Read More

  • The Adverse Affects of Climate Change

    1992 Words  | 4 Pages

    Global temperatures have noticeably been rising since the mid 1800’s.The average temperature has increased by 0.6 ± 0.2°C since 1860 according to (John Sweeney, 2003)with accelerated warming apparent in the latter decades of the 20th century. The legitimacy of global warming had long been debated, however in a report by (IPCC, 2007) it states that warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice and rising global average sea level. Simulations on models such as EC-Earth provide us with predictions for future climate change. Depending on levels of emissions an increase of 1 to 5.5 degrees celsius is expected in average global temperatures by 2100.

    Read More

  • The Wide Spread Threats of Climate Change

    861 Words  | 2 Pages

    The clock is ticking! Global Co2 emissions have increased exponentially since the industrialization of today’s developed world. Emissions have now passed the absorptive capacity of the earth and are accumulating in the earth’s atmosphere, warming the surface of the earth and inducing localized climatic changes. Climate change is often a localized issue. Many regions of the world will continue to become hotter, while others may experience highly variable weather patterns. Climate change poses a serious threat to ecosystems, economic sectors, and human welfare. Although almost entirely caused by the developed world, climate change will disproportionally affect the world’s poor.

    Read More

  • Climate Change and Infectious Disease

    1788 Words  | 4 Pages

    Most climate scientists agree that the main cause of global climate change is the human expansion of the greenhouse effect. This is the global warming that results when the atmosphere traps heat radiating from Earth toward space (climate.nasa.gov). The main gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect include water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and chlorofluorocarbons (climate.nasa.gov). Human activities are changing the natural greenhouse effect. The burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil has increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (climate.nasa.gov). Carbon dioxide levels have increased from 280 parts per million to 379 parts per million in the last 150 years due to human act...

    Read More

  • Climate Change: We Need a Carbon Tax

    1182 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of the most compelling and difficult environmental problems society faces today is climate change. People do not realize how much the environment has changed for the worse in the last ten years, until they are told that the last two decades of the 20th century have been the hottest in the last 400 years, according to climate studies (Conserve Energy Future). Today, the carbon dioxide levels have reached 396.81 parts per million (ppm). “Carbon dioxide (CO2) has also increased over the last 100 years-- from about 300 ppm to 370 ppm. Interestingly, the majority of these additions have occurred in the last 50 years, when temperature increases have been the slowest” (geocraft).

    Read More

  • Ethical Ethics On Global Warming And Global Climate Change

    1504 Words  | 4 Pages

    Global warming and global climate change is the study of future increases of temperature across the globe. Studying climate change refers to how the over- all climate will change such as the dry places getting dryer and the wet places getting wetter. Global climate is dependent on “the greenhouse effect a natural process that helps regulate temperature” (Easterling and Karl). In the past few centuries humans have had a monumental effect on increasing of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Climate change is result of the increase amount of the greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere such as methane, carbon dioxide, water vapor, nitrous oxide, and ozone. “Global temperature has rose approximately 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit over

    Read More

  • Language Extinction: Melanisian

    1532 Words  | 4 Pages

    "United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization." United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. 24 Nov. 2013.

    Read More

  • Anthropogenic Climate Change Essay

    1170 Words  | 3 Pages

    The most destructive human contribution to climate change is fossil fuels combustion, which results in the release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Increased carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and halocarbons levels in the atmosphere cause an imbalance in the earth’s energy. This is because the gases alter solar radiation and thermal radiation which regulate the earth’s energy. Research indicates that anthropogenic climate change is the cause of the increased global warming over the last fifty years. 57 % of the carbon dioxide emitted is absorbed into the atmosphere while the rest is absorbed into the oceans. Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is the most central greenhouse gas that is associated with global warming (Eby, Zickfield, Montenegro, Archer, Meissner, & Weaver,

    Read More

  • Simple Solution to Climate Change

    1076 Words  | 3 Pages

    Global heating and cooling has occurred on a cycle for millennia, however in the past thirty years the increased use of energy and fuels by humans has drastically changed this natural occurrence (Juerg, 2007). The largest cause of this warming is the release of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels. Carbon dioxide levels are twenty-five percent higher than they were in 1957 (UCS, 2013). This seemingly insignificant change has caused a myriad of negative effects. The endangerment of species, rising sea levels, and increased natural disasters are just a few examples of change brought about by global warming (Juerg, 2007).

    Read More

  • The Role of Traditional Birth Attendants in the Reduction of Maternal Mortality

    2591 Words  | 6 Pages

    United Nations, (2013) the millennium development goals report 2013 [ONLINE] United Nations. Available at: http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/publications/mdgs-report-2013.html [Accessed on 26 December 2013]

    Read More

  • Impact of Climate Change on Sri Lanka

    678 Words  | 2 Pages

    Climate change is an inevitable phenomenon that is being experienced globally in various forms such as temperature rise. Sea level rise, droughts, floods, hurricanes, landslides, etc. According to the forth assessment report of the IPCC project even with immediate implementation of mitigation strategies global climate change will continue for decades. Climate change is inflicting serious consequences on human wellbeing and will continue to inflict damages in the future. It is estimated that mean global temperature will rise by 1.8 ºC - 4.0 ºC by end of the 21st century (Izaurraade, 2009). A new global climate model predicts that in the coming decade the surface air temperature is likely to exceed existing records (Smith et al., 2007). Growing season temperatures in the tropics and subtropics by end of the 21st century will exceed the most extreme temperature recorded in the history (Battistic and Rosamond, 2009).

    Read More

  • We Can Stop Climate Change

    1009 Words  | 3 Pages

    The burning of fossil fuels has greatly harmed our environment and is a leading cause as to why climate change has become such a threat to our way of living. In May of 2013, the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere reached 400 parts per million, an increase of more than 40 percent since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. This could cause the Arctic Ocean to be nearly ice-free during the summer by 2020(Overland and Wang, 2013).

    Read More

  • An Essay On Climate Change

    568 Words  | 2 Pages

    The earth is a complex system, which continues to evolve and change. Climate change and global warming are currently popular in the political agenda. But what does “climate” really mean? The difference between weather and climate can be conveyed in a single sentence: “Climate is what you expect; weather is what you get.” Based on research of the geologic record, we know that climate change has happened throughout Earth's history and at present, ever-increasing evidence points to the roles that humans play in altering Earth systems. The Earth and its atmosphere receive heat energy from the sun; the atmospheric heat budget of the Earth depends on the balance between incoming solar radiation and outgoing radiation from the planet; which has been constant over the last few thousand years. However present evidence seems to suggest that the recent increase in temperature has been brought about by pollution of the atmosphere, in particular the release of huge amounts of carbon dioxide, mostly through Anthropogenic Forcing (human activity) and other various internal and external factors. I...

    Read More

More about We Have a Moral Responsibility to Stop Climate Change

Open Document