A Critical Overview of Climate Change

The provided document is an academic assignment that discusses the topic of climate change. It covers the causes of climate change, including the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and the resulting impact on various species and ecosystems. The document also touches upon the need for adopting sustainable lifestyles to mitigate the effects of climate change.

Running head: A CRITICAL OVERVIEW OF THE CLIMATE CHANGE
\
A CRITICAL OVERVIEW OF THE CLIMATE CHANGE
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

1A CRITICAL OVERVIEW OF THE CLIMATE CHANGE
Introduction
The aim of this paper is to discuss the issue of global warming as examined by
Davidson. It documents and expounds the aspects of the factors that contribute to the factors
that propel and exacerbate climate change, an assessment of climate change on our everyday
lives and the planet and finally a range of recommendations that would be helpful in
mitigating climate change.
Causes of climate change
Climate change is a burning issue and demands immediate attention. The temperature
of Earth is contingent on the equipoise between entering and exiting the system of Earth. The
energy from the sun known as the incoming energy keeps the surface of the Earth warm.
Earth avoids warming when the energy from the sun is reflected back into the space. The
Earth cools when the absorbed energy is liberated back into the space. Scientists have found
that there has been a variation in the climate for a long time range (Redshaw et al., 2013).
Climate change is also triggered. During the epoch of industrliazation, climate change was
attributed to mostly natural factors like volcanic eruptions, solar energy and green house
emissions. The Green House gases comprise of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and
water vapour (H2O). The problem with greenhouse is that it makes the Earth warmer that the
usual temperature of the Earth which is commonly known as the “greenhouse effect”. The
composition of greenhouse has severe implications on the environment. The absorption of
carbon dioxide and its liberation is part of the natural carbon cycle through the respiration of
animals and plants (Aldy & Pizer, 2015). Apart from this, the plethora of human activities
like combusting the fossil fuels and the transformations in the usage of land also liberate a
wide amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. It has been found that there has been an
increase for carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Another cause that triggers the presence of

2A CRITICAL OVERVIEW OF THE CLIMATE CHANGE
carbon dioxide is the volcanic eruption. It is estimated that the multifarious activities of
human beings is responsible for the presence of over 30 billion tons of CO2 (Anderson,
Hawkins & Jones, 2016).
Impact of climate change on our lives and the planet
Davidson is of the view that scientists have not reached a consensus regarding the
temperature sensitivity of the soil. The drastic change in the climate can pose pernicious
health risks to the future generation as has been envisaged by the environmentalists and moral
philosophers. One less discussed aspect of the change in climate is damage to properties.
Pollution of the global atmosphere would portend to be damaging anything for the future
generations (Davidson & Janssens, 2006). Davidson believes that the present generation has
the responsibility of not encroaching on the resources of the future generation. The
environmental factors due to global warming is the melting of ice like the glaciers,
mountains, ice sheets stretching over Greenland and West Antarctica and also the ice sheets
on the Arctic sea. There has been a rise in the sea level due to the melting of icebergs and ice
sheets. There has been a complete metamorphosis in the climatic conditions an increase in
precipitation on the global level. The rise in global temperature has been detrimental for
important species of fauna whereas beneficial for invasive species. For example, there has
been a decline of Adelie penguins in the Antarctic region-their numbers have fallen from
32,000 to 11,000 over the last decade (Constable et al., 2014). On the other hand, there has
been a proliferation in the growth of spruce bark beetles in Alaska that are known for
consuming up spruce trees. It is predicted that there will an increase in natural disasters due
to the effects of climate change. For example, floods, droughts, storms and hurricanes will
become stronger if climate change is not mitigated. There is the prognosis that there will be a
spread of malaria and the revival of the Zika virus (Global Climate Change, 2018. )Since

3A CRITICAL OVERVIEW OF THE CLIMATE CHANGE
there will be an alteration in the ecosystems, species that would not be able to migrate to
compatible regions as a response to the climate change will extinct.
Our power to combat climate change
Human beings have the agency and the power to act sensibly to climate change. There
needs to be a change in orientation in our everyday interaction with the environment. The
first step is to subscribe to environment-friendly vehicles that would save and conserve
energy. Cycling and walking can be a small step but it can go a long way in this initiative. In
2013, it was estimated that 44 per cent of the electric generation is an outcome of the
renewable (Change, 2014). One can opt for battery chargers that can save $100 million of
electricity bill and at the same time prevent the rise in greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Human beings should ensure that their activities have minimal effect on the environment. The
use of low-carbon sinks is one such step. People can use renewable power alternatives
generated from the natural energy. Improper method of garbage disposal in the landfills will
trigger the production of methane gas (Greaver et al., 2016). Therefore, human beings need to
judiciously dispose their waste may be through the composting of kitchen scraps or through
garden trimmings. Travelling via air has pernicious effects on the environment and therefore,
it is sensible to cut down on air travel. There is also a need to change the consumption pattern
whether in terms of automobiles or food. Purchasing products in bulk amount can be useful in
lowering the amount on plastic wrapping or other associated packaging materials.
Conclusion
The factors contributing to climate change is the concentration of greenhouse gases in
the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is one of the most important reason for the rise in global
temperature and so as methane gas. The drastic change in climate poses threat to the
destruction of various species on the planet. In the Antarctic and Greenland regions, there has

4A CRITICAL OVERVIEW OF THE CLIMATE CHANGE
been a massive melting of ice sheets and icebergs that will rise the sea level. The need of the
hour is to adopt a sustainable lifestyle and reduce the adversities of climate change and will
be beneficial for the future generations.

5A CRITICAL OVERVIEW OF THE CLIMATE CHANGE
References
Aldy, J. E., & Pizer, W. A. (2015). The competitiveness impacts of climate change mitigation
policies. Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, 2(4),
565-595.
Anderson, T. R., Hawkins, E., & Jones, P. D. (2016). CO2, the greenhouse effect and global
warming: from the pioneering work of Arrhenius and Callendar to today's Earth
System Models. Endeavour, 40(3), 178-187.
Change, I. P. O. C. (2014). IPCC. Climate change.
Constable, A. J., Melbourne‐Thomas, J., Corney, S. P., Arrigo, K. R., Barbraud, C., Barnes,
D. K., ... & Davidson, A. T. (2014). Climate change and Southern Ocean ecosystems
I: how changes in physical habitats directly affect marine biota. Global Change
Biology, 20(10), 3004-3025.
Davidson, E. A., & Janssens, I. A. (2006). Temperature sensitivity of soil carbon
decomposition and feedbacks to climate change. Nature, 440(7081), 165.
Global Climate Change. (2018). Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet. Retrieved 28
March 2018, from https://climate.nasa.gov/
Greaver, T. L., Clark, C. M., Compton, J. E., Vallano, D., Talhelm, A. F., Weaver, C. P., ... &
Felker-Quinn, E. (2016). Key ecological responses to nitrogen are altered by climate
change. Nature Climate Change, 6(9), 836.
Redshaw, C. H., Stahl-Timmins, W. M., Fleming, L. E., Davidson, I., & Depledge, M. H.
(2013). Potential changes in disease patterns and pharmaceutical use in response to
climate change. Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part B, 16(5), 285-
320.