One of the global problems of our time is global warming. This problem is relevant not in any particular country, but all over the world. A person consumes natural resources, but does not give anything other than waste in return. Deforestation, water/air/soil pollution, refusal to save energy and much more – these are the factors that influence the ongoing climate change. The conflict with nature, accompanied by an increase in the number of environmental problems and their globalization, raises the question of maintaining the stability of the complex system of the biosphere.
Environmentalists talk about global climate change, including an increase in the average annual temperature, causing the melting of glaciers, and rising sea levels. In addition to warming, there is also an imbalance of all natural systems, which leads to a change in the precipitation regime, temperature anomalies and an increase in the frequency of extreme events such as hurricanes, floods and droughts (Conca 13). The greenhouse effect is a rise in temperature on the surface of the planet as a result of thermal energy that appears in the atmosphere due to the heating of gases. The main gasses that lead to the greenhouse effect on Earth are water vapor and carbon dioxide.
The phenomenon of the greenhouse effect makes it possible to maintain a temperature on the Earth’s surface at which the emergence and development of life is possible. If there were no greenhouse effect, the average surface temperature of the globe would be much lower than it is now. Water vapor forms the thermal regime of the earth’s surface and atmosphere by actively absorbing infrared radiation, determines weather conditions, participates in energy processes, and is also an important factor for the appearance of the greenhouse effect. The role of the ozone layer is primarily to protect our planet from ultraviolet radiation (Conca 13). At the moment, there is a thinning of the ozone layer and the formation of ozone holes, which adversely affects human health. People’s immune system weakens, diseases such as skin cancer and cataracts develop.
If the trend of global warming continues, this will lead to a change in the weather and an increase in precipitation, which, in turn, will lead to an increase in the level of the world’s oceans. One of the main causes of global warming is natural. It is the ocean that absorbs almost 30% of the carbon dioxide that humanity produces. During “absorption”, the gas is converted into carbonic acid. Due to a significant increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide in recent years, the pH level (the hydrogen level indicating acidity). It dropped from 8.18 to 8.07. Low pH makes it difficult for phytoplankton to absorb nutrients, making them vulnerable to diseases and toxins (Conca 13). A global problem is also a decrease in the phytoplankton population due to ocean oxidation. If one of the species of organisms included in the food chain disappears, then it may be followed by the disappearance of other species of higher classes. Thus, if phytoplankton disappeared, then zooplankton and fish will disappear. This will be followed by catastrophic consequences, since fishing is the main resource of many countries.
The glaciers of the Alps and large areas of permafrost will begin to melt and disappear completely by the end of this century. Climate change will have a positive impact on harvests harvested in Northern Europe, but almost as strong a negative impact will be exerted on agriculture in Southern Europe, which in the 21st century will suffer from constant droughts (Rolnick et al 80). At the international conference “Petersberg Climate Dialogue” in May 2021, the UN Secretary General said: “Last year was another unprecedented period of extreme weather and climate disasters. The concentration of carbon dioxide has risen again to a new maximum — 148% higher than the pre-industrial level. This is the highest level in 3 million years” (Conca 13). At the same time, it is necessary to recognize the sad fact: modern science, with all its achievements, cannot predict the prospects of climate change in any way.
The situation will not be the best in Africa. Grain harvests will seriously fall, the amount of available drinking water will decrease. Precipitation will fall less frequently, especially in the south, north and west of the continent, leading to the emergence of new desert areas. Settlements in Nigeria, Senegal, Gambia, Egypt and along the southeastern coast of Africa will be affected by sea level rise and coastal erosion. Epidemics of infectious diseases carried by insects, such as mosquitoes, will become more frequent. Global warming threatens the survival of penguins. There are four endangered species of these birds, which are “symbols of Antarctica”: the Emperor penguin (the largest penguin in the world), the Papua penguin, the Adelie penguin and the Antarctic penguin. Moreover, on the coast of the Chukchi Sea, due to the melting of the Arctic ice in 2007, up to 4 thousand young walruses died. Instead of spending the summer months on sea ice, the animals were forced to seek refuge on land (Piao et al 1930). Climbing the narrow coastline, walruses piled on top of each other, which led to the mass death of young, weaker animals.
The Paris Agreement is an agreement within the framework of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change regulating measures to reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from 2020. This agreement was approved by 195 countries, which allowed observers to call it historic. The Paris Agreement replaced the Kyoto Protocol of 1997, which had been in force up to that time, which established quotas for greenhouse gas emissions only for a few developed countries, but the United States withdrew from this agreement, and a number of other countries did not fulfill the agreement (Jansson and Hofmockel 40). In 2020, the Duke of Cambridge and his wife Kate Middleton established an international award for solving the most acute environmental problems. During the World Bank spring meeting in April 2021, the Duke of Cambridge stressed: “We must invest in nature – in reforestation, sustainable agriculture and maintaining clean oceans, because this is one of the most cost-effective ways to address climate change” (Gething and Pucket 67). As with any policy change, some sectors or individual enterprises will incur additional costs, which is fair to environmental pollutants. For many others (farmers, fishermen and clean energy producers), changing the status quo will bring economic and environmental benefits.
In conclusion, the increase in average temperature and climate changes do not pass without a trace for the ecosystem. The conditions of existence of living organisms are changing, and this, in turn, leads to difficult to predict consequences, the extinction of some species and the sudden spread of others. For a person whose technological adaptability is very high, warming is a serious challenge that requires a restructuring of the adaptation system.
Works Cited
Conca, Ken. “Is There a Role for the UN Security Council on Climate Change?” Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development, vol. 61, no. 1, 2018, pp. 4–15. Web.
Gething, Bill, and Katie Puckett. Design for climate change. RIBA publishing, 2019.
Jansson, Janet, and Hofmockel, Kristen “Soil Microbiomes and Climate Change.” Nat Rev Microbiol, vol 18, 2020, pp. 35-46. Web.
Piao, Shilong, et al. “Plant Phenology and Global Climate Change: Current Progresses and Challenges.” Global Change Biology, vol. 25, no. 6, 2019, pp. 1922–40. Web.
Rolnick, David, et al. “Tackling Climate Change with Machine Learning.” ACM Computing Surveys, vol. 55, no. 2, 2023, pp. 1–96. Web.