Climate Change and Global Warming

Running head: CLIMATE CHANGE AND GLOBAL WARMING
Climate Change and Global Warming
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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Causes of climate change and the global warming....................................................................2
Effect on environment and living beings...................................................................................5
Complexities of climate system and climate change policy......................................................7
Possible Solutions......................................................................................................................7
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................8
References................................................................................................................................10

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Introduction
Climate change refers to rise in the average surface temperature on the earth that has
been caused primarily owing to human use of the fossil fuels. It releases the carbon dioxide
along with the other kinds of the greenhouse gases in the air. The climate change causes the
rise in the average temperature and it also causes extreme weather events on the surface of
the earth (Climate.nasa.gov 2020). Global warming is indicative of long-term rise in average
temperature of climate system of Earth. It have been caused by the humans and the changes
that have taken place in 20 th century have been unprecedented in scale that can prove to be
catastrophic for the environment. This report discusses about the natural and the man-made
causes of the climate change on the earth. This report talks about the effects of the climate
change on the environment along with the living species of the earth. This report elucidates
on the measures that can be taken that can minimise the effects in relation to the climate
change and the global warming.
Causes of climate change and the global warming
Scientific development of the climatology have helped in studying the weather
patterns along with the systems that gives rise to the weather conditions. The climatologists
with the help of the research methodologies are understanding the problem about the global
warming so that it can bring about the improvements in the condition of the earth. It is the
new arena of science that have helped in understanding how the actions of the human beings
are eroding the living conditions on the earth (Environmentalscience.org 2020). It aids in the
examination of the weather patterns in the long term that can aid in tracking the weather
system. They make use of the various kinds of data sets from the satellites that helps in
noticing the changes that can affect the local climate. It talks about the effect of the natural

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process along with the human activities that have been responsible for bringing about the
changes in the climate.
There are natural causes like the volcanic eruptions, solar radiations, orbital changes
of earth, internal variability and the ocean currents that are giving rise to the climate change
on the face of the earth. The volcanoes bring about the short-term cooling of the earth and it
pumps out the ashes that blocks the rays of the sun. The volcanic debris is inclusive of the
sulphur dioxide which combines within the water vapour of atmosphere which reflects the
sunlight away from surface of Earth. The ocean currents can be said to be an important
component in relation to climate system of the earth. The water density is affected by the
salinity along with the temperature of water (Un.org 2020). It can be stated that the colder the
ocean water is the denser it is and the density differences contributes to the circulation system
which is on the global scale. It is known as global conveyor belt and the global circulation
system is responsible for the distribution of the heat energy and the regulation of the weather.
The slow changes in orbit of the earth leads to significant changes in strength of seasons over
the passage of the time. The climate feedbacks are responsible for amplifying the changes
that gives rise to the production of the ice ages. Sun refers to energy source that aids in the
maintenance of the climate system of the earth. The energy output of the sun have remained
constant from the everyday point of the view however the small changes over the course of
extended period of time have created he way for the climate changes. There are some kinds
of changes that are caused by the interactions within the framework of the climate system that
causes the temporary warming along with the cooling. It has an effect on the atmospheric
circulation patterns which influences the global climate. It have been brought out by
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) that the human emissions have been
responsible for 100 % of global warming since the year 1950 (Ipcc.ch 2020). The
greenhouse gases from that of human activities have acted as a significant driver for the

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climate change since the middle of the 20th century. The emissions of the greenhouse gases
have increased by around 35 % from the year 1990 to that of 2010 (Un.org 2020). The
majority of the emissions of the world takes place on account of electricity generation, energy
production along with the transportation. The warming effect which is related with that of
carbon dioxide have increased by a broad margin of 30 %. The methane which is released
from the livestock practices have also been instrumental in bringing about the climate
changes. Greenhouse effect coupled with the increasing level of the greenhouse gases will
have the profound implications for the inhabitants of earth. Burning of the fossil fuels have
resulted in the overall increase in temperature on earth. The changes pertaining to the land
use act as a crucial source of the greenhouse gas emission. The deforestation have resulted in
emission of the carbon dioxide which was stored within earth’s surface in form of the trees.
There are natural causes pertaining to global warming that have proved to be adverse
for the conditions on the earth. The variations in the solar radiation along with the activities
has an effect on the aspect of the global temperature. The changes in the activity of the sun
have brought about change in magnetic activity around sun. The magnetic field plays crucial
role in the deflection of cosmic rays from the Earth which have given rise to the global
warming. The natural forest fires have been instrumental in releasing stored carbon that have
increased the presence of the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Soot along with the
harmful gases are responsible for causing the air pollution. The permafrost melting on the
large scale in North along with the South Pole have contributed substantially to that of global
warming. In various areas, large amount of the carbon is frozen and it is stored in form of the
permafrost. Ozone refers to the greenhouse gas which is instrumental in trapping the outgoing
heat which warms Earth. The ozone is not released in direct manner but in the event of
breaking down of methane and the carbon monoxide it is formed in the air. The reduction in
the ozone have depleted ozone layer which have the modest cooling effect. The combination

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of the lower along with the upper atmosphere changes in the ozone have warmed Earth. The
amount of the aerosol have decreased in the atmosphere that have enhanced the overall
warming which have caused the global warming. Carbon dioxide can be said to be the
primary heat-trapping gas that have been responsible for average warming of earth.
Atmospheric concentration of the carbon dioxide have increased in a dramatic manner from
the pre-industrial era which was around 280 parts per million (ppm) to 400 ppm in the present
age (Theguardian.com 2020). The emission from the cars along with the power plants have
caused the rise in the temperature that can threaten the environment along with the human
lives. The majority of the scientists think that the human activities have primarily been
responsible for the release of the exorbitant amount of the carbon dioxide that have fuelled
the increasing incidence of the climate change. It have been brought out by U.S. Geological
Survey that the human activities have been responsible for emitting more than that of 135
times of carbon dioxide when compared to that of volcanoes (Unenvironment.org 2020). The
human activities are responsible for releasing more than that of 30 billion ton of carbon
dioxide in atmosphere within every year.
Effect on environment and living beings
Global warming have brought about the increase in the temperature in various parts of
the world. It have been found by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
that average global temperature have increased by 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit in last 100 years
(Climate.nasa.gov 2020). Extreme weather can be said to be a crucial effect of the global
warming and there are some countries that are facing the hottest summers on the record
(Hughes et al. 2017). United States is experiencing colder than the normal winters on account
of the effect of the global warming. Changes in the climate will cause polar jet stream in
migrating to the south and it would bring with it the cold, Arctic air. The hurricane formation
will change and the hurricanes that are formed will become more intense in the coming days

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due to the effect of global warming. It will become more frequent thus posing the risk for the
human lives. The hurricanes get the energy from that of temperature difference in between
the warm tropical oceans and colder upper atmosphere that would be responsible for the
intensification of the hurricanes in the future (Harvey 2018). A dramatic effect in relation to
the global warming is reduction in the Arctic sea ice. The melting indicates that there exists
lesser thick sea ice which persists for many years. Less amount of heat is reflected back in
atmosphere and it is absorbed by darker ocean that paves the path for the creation of the
feedback loop which causes more amount of the melting. The melting polar ice within Arctic
along within Antarctic regions will raise the sea level to a significant extent. It have been
brought out by the researchers that by the end of the year 2100 the sea level would be 2.3 feet
higher in the New York City and it would be 2.9 feet higher at the Hampton Roads (Un.org
2020). The increase in the carbon dioxide will also increase the acidity of the seawater
(Hughes et al. 2018). It have been found that since beginning of Industrial revolution acidity
of oceans have undergone increase by about 25 %.
It have been stated by National Academy of Sciences that various species of plants
along with animals are moving to the north or to the higher altitude owing to the warming
temperatures. There are many animals who may not be able to cope with new kinds of the
climate regime and they face the prospect of going extinct. The warmer temperatures will
expand the range of the disease-causing pathogens which was at one point of time confined to
the tropical areas that would be instrumental in killing the plant along with the animal
species. It would prove to be disastrous for the human society as this would deal to a
crippling blow to the agricultural system (Frölicher, Fischer and Gruber 2018). The plants
would eventually become less nutritious thus causing the risk for the human health. It would
pave the path for the loss of the food security that would create the havoc in the international
food markets and bring about the civil unrest in various countries of the world (Medhaug et

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al. 2017). The global warming would prove to be adverse for the human health and it would
increase the risk of the chronic conditions like the asthma among the population.
Complexities of climate system and climate change policy
The complexities in relation to the climate system emerges on account of global
nature of the climate change. The carbon dioxide in the event of being released becomes the
global problem and for the reduction of the emissions the people have to depend on the
political governance structure. The global effort signifies the national commitment of the
countries that can aid in the reduction of the emissions (Unenvironment.org 2020). The
application of the systematic understanding is necessary in order to bring about the positive
changes in the environment. The prospective policy actions have to take cognizance of the
regional along with the city-specific needs.
The climate change policy have an impact on the reduction of the emission of the
greenhouse gas that can bring about a positive change in the world. Carbon Emissions
Reduction Target (CERT) can be said to be the cornerstone of the government policy that
have helped in financing the energy-saving measures. It have encouraged the micro-
production of the renewable energy (Hughes et al. 2017). The EU policies like the EU
Renewable Energy Directive have a major influence on the aspect of the greenhouse gas
emission reduction.
Possible Solutions
There are certain strategies that can be adopted by the individuals along with the
government that can help in minimising the effects of the climate change. Elimination of the
burning of the coal along with the oil can aid to a great extent in reducing the effect of the
global warming on the planet (Cook et al. 2016). The alternatives can be taken recourse to
that can aid in reducing the climate change taking place on the earth. The plant-derived

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plastics along with the bio-diesel can prove to be helpful in bringing about positive changes
on the earth.
The buildings across the world are responsible for contributing one-third of the total
greenhouse gas emission. The investment should be made in the new infrastructure that can
be responsible for the cutting down on the greenhouse gas emission and it can drive the
economic growth of various developing countries of the world (Parry 2019). The energy-
efficient buildings along with the modified cement-making process can reduce the emission
that can improve the current state of the planet.
The improved agricultural practices and the paper recycling can balance amount of
the wood that is taken away that can reduce the emissions (Seidl et al. 2017). In the event of
purchasing of the wood products, the used goods can be bought that can have a positive
influence on the humanity.
The state along with the local policymakers can accelerate the aspect of the
transportation electrification that can help in curbing the global warming taking place on the
planet. The governments can electrify a large number of the vehicles and they can make the
business to follow their lead (Pecl et al. 2017). The innovative incentives can be made us of
that can encourage the electrification of the freight along with the shared hailed vehicles. The
governments should establish the carbon pricing or the lower carbon electricity standard that
can reduce the global warming (Ghosh 2018). The states can provide the subsidies that can
prevent the uneconomical plants from closing down in the abrupt fashion. The increased
investments can be made in the renewables that can be a part of the broad strategy for the
reduction of the carbon emissions.

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Conclusion
The natural causes that propel the global warming are the volcanic eruptions along
with the solar radiations that causes climate change on earth. Global warming can be said to
be accountable for increasing the temperature in different parts of world. Extreme weather
events can be said to be the after-effect of the global warming and there are many countries
which have to face the brunt of the extreme weather owing to the phenomenon of the global
warming. The government can establish carbon pricing standard which can aid in the
reduction of global warming.

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