Study On Water Scarcity & Large Power-cut Issue In UK
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Added on 2020-02-05
Study On Water Scarcity & Large Power-cut Issue In UK
Added on 2020-02-05
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The Impact of Global Warning & Climate Change on WaterScarcity and Energy in UK1.BackgroundThe radiations emitted by the Sun are short wave radiation and our atmosphere istransparent to these radiations. Some of these radiations are absorbed by the surface ofearth and some are reflect back to the outer space. Earth surface acts as a black body.It absorbs the short wave radiation and when gets heated it starts emitting that radiationin form of long wave radiation. The greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, methane,CFC etc., absorbs long wave radiations and trap heat in Earth’s atmosphere whichcauses the temperature of the atmosphere to rise. The heating of atmosphere has directproportionality relationship with the amount of greenhouse gases present in theatmosphere. Our atmosphere is actually heated from below. In the last half century the level of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere hasdramatically increased by more than two fifths which ultimately enhanced the absorptionof long wave radiation emitted from earth surface. Therefore our only availableatmosphere is warming up with the highest rate ever.Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the main actor among other greenhouse gases. The humanactivities are greatly responsible for the emission of CO2 into the atmosphere. They emitthe CO2 when they burn fossil fuel such as coal, oil and gas. The fossil fuel is burnt forthe generation of electricity, transport, and heat. One of the, another very dangerousactivity, the burning of trees results in emission of CO2 when we clear land for farming. Another important actor of the greenhouse gases is nitrogen oxide (N2O). It is mostlyproduced by the use of artificial fertilizers in farming. Methane (CH4) is produced by therotten waste and farm animals and it is also the main ingredient of natural gas so maybe emitted by the oil and gas industries. The other element of greenhouse gases is thefluorinated gas which is used in fridge and air conditioners. Greenhouse gases are also produced by the natural processes such as, CO2 is emittedby the soil, volcanoes and wild fires but scientists are in doubt that the frequency of
naturally occurring greenhouse gases increasing because of because of humanactivities.2.IntroductionNow it is no longer the natural world we are living in. We have changed every part of theEarth’s environment. In turns the atmosphere is behaving in abnormal way too. Theimpact of global warming is already happening in Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia, North& South America, Polar region and small islands. The major areas where the globalwarming has pronounced affects are water and energy. The scarcity of water isincreasing with the highest rate ever and the problem of energy crises also griping thestates in every continent. The unprecedented anthropogenic activities have transformedthe whole paradigm of the human needs which leads us to the un-noticed and non-recoverable destruction.3.Objectives of the StudyThere are two main objectives of this study. First is to identify the rationalize plan ofaction that would help in dealing with water scarcity issue in UK as the drought alreadyposes the substantial threat to the UK agriculture, infrastructure and social cultures.Second is to identify new policy options to mitigate the risks of large-scale power cuts inUnited Kingdome as the growing demands of fuel from China and India may diminishesthe UK ability to access the gas and oil as affordable prices. The key areas are highlighted with the following policy questions:a.What is the extent of water scarcity in Europe at present and was it there twodecades back?b.How successful is the existing water management policy in UK?c.How much dependency UK has on the fossil fuel to meet its current energyrequirement?d.The changes occurred in international policy on using fossil fuel for energygeneration and transportation in last 2 decades.
4.Literature ReviewIn 1992, almost every country in the world signed the United Nations FrameworkConvention on Climate Change (IPCC). Since then, countries have met every year, todiscuss action on climate change. The Fourth Assessment Report Working Group I (WG1) of the Intergovernmental Panelon Climate Change (IPCC, 2007a) has concluded that ‘Warming of the climate systemis unequivocal’, and that ‘discernible human influences now extend to other aspects ofclimate, including ocean warming, continental-average temperatures, temperatureextremes and wind patterns’. The broad range of impacts of climate change (IPCC,2007b) include effects on agriculture, fisheries, desertification, biodiversity, waterresources, heat and cold related mortality, coastal zones and floods. These areincreasingly linked with significant economic damages, and consideration of these costsis increasingly helping to inform the policy debate (Stern Review, 2006). All countries have committed to launch a new climate agreement in Paris at the end of2015. A Paris agreement would set climate action beyond 2020, either for 2025 or 2030.Countries set up the Green Climate Fund in 2009, to transfer green public funds fortackling climate change from developed to developing countries. A significant portion of$100 billion that developed countries have committed in 2020 will be channelled throughthe Green Climate Fund.5.SWOT Analysisa.StrengthThe impact of limited climate change in the countries located in higher latitude canbe very positive as the average temperature in these countries remains below 5degree Celsius. The global warming may bring the temperature of these countriesto a normal value which may enable the land for agriculture and milder winter mayreduce cold-weather deaths. The crop may grow faster as the duration and intensityof photosynthesis process may increase because carbon dioxide is a vital ingredientin the process of photosynthesis, which plants use to grow. The global warming
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