Climate Change: Result of Human Activities?

This research essay explores the extent to which climate change is caused by human activities. It discusses the impact of deforestation, burning of fossil fuels, plastic pollution, and other human activities on the environment. The essay also highlights the need for individuals to make conscious choices to reduce their carbon footprint and curb climate change.

Climate change the result of human activities?
Climate change refers to the rapidly changing environmental conditions,
temperatures and weather conditions such as extreme heat, rising sea levels, depletion
of ozone layer, heat waves, hurricane and floods, severe droughts, melting ice
caps/glaciers, etc. as compared to the gradual natural environment conditions. The
following report will be focusing on the impacts of human activities on the changing
climatic conditions across the globe. It will provide a detailed elaboration of the human
activities that are causing rapid changes in the environment conditions across the globe
(Searchinger and et. al., 2018). The main purpose of this report is to examine, to what
extent is climate change the result of human activities.
Human activities are the major causes that are intensifying the changes in climatic
conditions. Natural causes like wildfires and volcanic eruptions can be considered as
the factors contributing to climate change. Human activities like the burning of fossil
fuels and degradation of natural resources like deforestation, emission of greenhouse
gases, extraction of minerals etc. are causing climate change. Human activities have
harmed the planet in innumerous ways which are now uncontrollable. Human activities
such as plastic pollution, deforestation activities, extraction of minerals, vehicular
pollution etc. has been the major players in climate change. According to the studies of
UN climate change the humans have occupied more than 51% of total global land with
artificial or manmade substances that shows the impact of human activities on the
planetary megastructure (Mashwani, 2020). Every person across the world is aware of
the changing climatic conditions and it is evident from the scientific studies that human
activities are the major factors that are causing it. The studies conducted by the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) presents various facts behind
climate change (Rosenzweig and et. al., 2018).
Due to the increasing global surface temperature the climate change has
irreversibly paced up. Since 1880, the human activities of deforestation and degradation
of forest land has exposed the crust of the earth to get heated faster as compared to the
forested land (Mah and et. al., 2020). Since the start of the 1950s many fluctuations
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have occurred which were unprecedented over millennials (Mah and et. al., 2020). The
temperature has risen about 1°C to 1.3°C across various places on the earth (IPCC,
2021). The concentration of greenhouse gases has also increased the risk of global
temperature rise and the inflation of sea levels, foods and severe droughts. Due to the
depletion of ozone layer the oceans and atmosphere around the world have warned that
increased the temperature of the seas and has led to the melting of ice and glaciers
across the Arctic Summer Sea and Antarctic regions.
It is 'extremely likely' that the activities of human beings are the major cause of
increasing climate change and unfavorable climatic conditions across the world
(Jackson, 2020). According to the studies conducted by the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (2021) and United Nations Climate Change (2015), 95% to 99% of the
climate change is due to the activities of human beings since the previous 60 years. The
concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has risen approximately 80% since
the 17th century due to human activities like burning of fossil fuels and deforestation
activities (IPCC, 2021). According to the studies conducted by cop26 (2022) and CNN
climate (2022) the average yearly temperatures has a risen consecutively one after
another year from the previous 3 years. The development activities have occurred at
such a rate that the environment was not able to sustain its healthy conditions (Shen
and et. al., 2020). The productions of vehicles for road transport, air transport and water
transport that are powered by fossil fuels are the main reason behind the rising
emissions and greenhouse gases, which are the main reasons for climate change.
Increasing heatwaves throughout the world is causing wildfires that are the
natural causes of pollution that leads to deforestation and contribute to climate change
(Lu and et. al., 2019). Millions of acres of forest land are cleared every day and wildfires
throughout the forests across the world are the leading causes of increasing climate
change. The harmful gases that are emitted by the burning forests leads to pollution that
causes the depletion of ozone layer. The depletion of ozone layer is also the major
cause of climate change.
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The human activities leading to deforestation is also among the greatest
contributors of global warming and climate change. The forests are the major carbon
capturing units in this world and in fact, if these wetlands and forest reserves are cut
down their stored carbons will flow up in the atmosphere. The wetlands are declining at
faster rates and the evergreens are cut, slashed and burnt with impeccable speed. As
per the records of PBN Foods (2022) the 70% of total agriculture land is used to feed
the animals in the meat industry. Stopping the Activities of animal agriculture and meat
industries could replenish the planet health (Giuzio and et. al., 2019). Our choices make
difference and these choices are important to reverse the climate change.
There are certain natural causes of climate change that are leading to the
overwhelming changes in the climatic conditions through the globe. One of the major
causes is the rising greenhouse gases that have increased about 337 billion metric tons
since the past 200 years (Popkin, 2019). The researches have proven that no natural
activity could be responsible for the overwhelming release of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere. Research conducted in Harvard Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics
(2021) found that the planet has warmed around 1°C to 1.4°C, within the plus or minus
5 degree Fahrenheit range of previous thousands of years. The studies conducted by
CNN Climate have proven that the 20th century is among the hottest years in the last
millennium and has begun to raise such climatic conditions which lead to the previous
phase extension during the ice age (CNN Climate, 2022).
The rise in plastic pollution is also the cause of human activities that have created a
bulk of plastic pollution in the oceans and the land (Johns-Putra, 2019). It is among the
major causes of changing climate across the world and has threatened the life of marine
animals and the animals on the land due to its extensive irresponsible use by human
beings. The high level of plastic pollution has affected marine life and slow growth of
coral reefs as well as the extinction of marine fauna across the world due to the rising
sea level temperature. According to research conducted by the World Wildlife
Federation (2018), the world has lost about 30,000 species of plants and 12,000
species of animals in the previous 50 years. It shows that the maximum pollution is
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emitted or caused by the activities of human beings. The changing climate conditions
are due to the humans’ activities because of irresponsible use of earthly land and the
very huge population of humans on the planet which has created very intense
irreversible climate conditions across the globe.
It can be recommended that as individuals we can try to improve our daily habits to
eliminate climate change. The major causes of climate change are raising level of
greenhouse gases and plastic pollution. We have the capability to eliminate the use of
single use plastic substances and reduce the use of technology that releases harmful
CFCs, methane, and greenhouse gases. This could be helpful in lowering down the
climate change conditions and possibly reverse it. It is known that our dietary habits and
our daily choices affects the health of environment and causes climate change (Raj and
et. al., 2020). There is an immense need of changing the dietary habits of people and
what they choose so that climate change can be curbed. Moreover, the use of
renewable energy instead of nonrenewable energy could increase the chances of
reducing the climate change. I would recommend that awareness must be created
among people about the changing climate and how our choices matter in resolving this
challenge. This would bring more and more people together towards curbing the climate
crisis globally.
Studies conducted above have shown that the activities of human beings are
majorly responsible for deforestation, land degradation, plastic pollution, global House
gases, etc. leading to climate change. There are certain natural causes of climate
change but it has been obtained that the human activities are major cause of climate
changes throughout the world. In future, there is an immense need to look upon the
choices we make like reducing in the use of single use plastic, wise use of resources,
etc. that can be an option to reduce climate chance.
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References
Books and Journals
CNNClimate, 2022. [Online] Available though,
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Jackson, T., 2020. Climate change. QEB Publishing.
Johns-Putra, A., 2019. Climate change and the contemporary novel. Cambridge
University Press.
Lu, S. and et. al., 2019. Impacts of climate change on water resources and grain
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