History and Energy: Fossil Fuels, Climate Change Impacts

This essay explores the historical relationship between energy use and climate change, focusing on the detrimental effects of fossil fuels. It examines how the burning of fossil fuels contributes to global warming and climate change, leading to significant environmental consequences. The paper specifically investigates the impact of climate change on Greenland, Antarctica, and Bangladesh. It discusses the rapid melting of ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica, the resulting sea-level rise, and the increased vulnerability of coastal regions. The essay highlights the specific challenges faced by Bangladesh, including flash floods, cyclones, and rising temperatures. The paper concludes by emphasizing the urgent need to address climate change and transition to sustainable energy sources to mitigate its adverse effects on the environment and human populations.

Running Head: HISTORY AND ENERGY 1
Energy and History
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HISTORY AND ENERGY 2
History and Energy
Introduction
Throughout the time in history, human beings have made numerous discoveries by the use of
energy (Bithas & Kalimeris, 2016). Although energy has various benefits, burning fuel brings
adverse effects on the environment and climate changes. Elliot (2015) claims that climate change
has become catastrophic. In this case, there is evidence showing that the world is getting warmer.
Most people relate global warming as a result of burning fossils fuels. The objective of this
paper is to establish the effect of fossil fuel use on climate changes on Greenland, Antarctica,
Bangladesh.
Climate Change effects on Greenland
According to the Adamson (2017), there is a wildfire that has attracted the interests of scientist
and the public. The fire consumes the glacier at an alarming rate, reducing sizes and the location
of the iceberg. The effects imply that there is a deep environment deterioration occurring in the
northern areas. Adamson (2017), state that Greenland serves as a vital bar that contributes to the
climate of the whole world. Sheets of ice cover Greenland and the role of that ice is to reflect the
excess solar energy to space. As a result, the earth temperature reduces to a moderate level in
effect referred to as the “Albedo effect.” The position of Greenland in the North side of Atlantic
Ocean makes easy for the meltwater to cool down the ocean and its circulation patterns.
Greenland is vulnerable due to climate change. For instance, the climate changes the double
average value in Greenland compared to the average increase in the global temperature rise. As
climate changes on Greenland, there is an increased rate of ice melting and the thawing of the

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Permafrost. Also, there are significant changes in the ecosystem forcing species to adapt to the
changed ecosystem.
Climate Change effects on Antarctica
According to Abraham (2018), in the warmer world, their ice levels gets reduced. Ice on
Antarctica sits on vast land areas. Therefore, the effect of climate change on Antarctica differs
from the impact on the Arctic region. Due to the melting of ice in Antarctica, there is an
associated increase in the level of sea water. On the other hand, when Arctic ice melts the sea
levels do not rise because the ice is sitting on the water. With the current trends of global
warming, Antarctica ice exposed to the warm ocean water. As a result, the ice sheet melts adding
up the volumes of water hence the rise in sea levels.
Climate Change effects on Bangladesh
According to Kumar (2017), Bangladesh gets affected by the major environmental disasters. The
country geographically happens to be relatively flat and massive flows of water volumes. As a
result, Bangladesh gets prone to the flash floods, cyclones, salinity intrusions, and very high
temperature that affect the agricultural production. The burning of fossil fuels accelerates the
melting of the glaciers, consequently the rise in sea-levels that leads to the sinking of coastal
cities and villages.
Conclusion
Human depends on various forms to drive the economy. The most common energy source is
fossil fuels. The extensive burning of fossil fuels pollutes the environment. Effects of
contaminating the environment relate to the global issues of climate change. Climate changes

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explain the rapid melting of ice sheet on Greenland and Antarctica. Also, the effects of climate
change relate to the global climatic disaster such as drought, flash floods and typhoons. Coastal
cities and towns, and other countries such as Bangladesh gets affected by frequent climatic
disasters.

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References
Abraham, J. (2018). Global warming is melting Antarctic ice from below. Retrieved from
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2018/may/
09/global-warming-is-melting-antarctic-ice-from-below
Adamson, K. (2017) Greenland: how rapid climate change on world’s largest island will affect
us all. Retrieved from https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/greenland-how-rapid-
climate-change-on-world-s-largest-island-will-affect-us-all-a7904436.html
Bithas, K., & Kalimeris, P. (2016). A Brief History of Energy Use in Human Societies. In
Revisiting the Energy-Development Link (pp. 5-10). Springer, Cham.
Kumar, B. (2017) Climate change in Bangladesh: causes, effects and suggestions. Retrieved
from https://dailyasianage.com/news/91661/climate-change-in-bangladesh-causes-
effects-and-suggestions