Climate change is one of the looming challenges that world is facing today. Since its existence that came into being 4.5 billion years ago, the Earth’s climate has indeed changed significantly. The melting of the Arctic ice-cap gave rise to bigger fears with the sea levels amplifying at an alarming rate and these changes are not only affecting people and property in developing countries but also the developed countries are falling victims to it as well. From a small farmer in Bangladesh to a wealthy businessman in Manhattan, climate change is affecting everyone, especially the poor and vulnerable. However, in the eyes of many, it seems to be a mere hoax and they deem these sudden storms and disasters as natural. Attempts to have a conversation with politicians that contain the words “climate change” are all in vain as we are instantly tuned out. In fact, in the words of world-renowned economist Donald J. Trump, the world could use a “big fat dose of global warming!”
Climatologists fear that climate change is not an unavoidable issue and must be addressed immediately.
Since 2005, the United States has reduced its total carbon emissions, more than any other country in the world. Wind power has tripled, and use of solar energy has increased tenfold. In this regard, President Obama initiated a series of common-sense steps to curb carbon pollution and other greenhouse gases through initiatives that drive energy efficiency, promote clean energy, and put in place the first-ever carbon pollution standards for power plants. Other countries like Ghana with its 155 MW solar energy project, and Germany which has plans for cutting overall energy consumption by 40% by 2050, are eager to address the climatic shifts before causing any permanent damage. Many countries adopted the Paris Agreement that condemns over-use of fossil fuels. In the agreement, all countries agreed to work to limit global temperature rise well below 2C and even, 1.5C if matters remain grave. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), to keep global warming below 2 °C, emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases (GHGs) must be halved by 2050, compared with 1990 levels. Developed countries will need to reduce more – between 80 % and 95 % by 2050; advanced developing countries with large emissions (e.g. China, India and Brazil) will have to limit their emission growth. As President Obama stated in a press conference on June 25, 2013, “I refuse to condemn your generation and the future generations to a planet that’s beyond fixing.”
In Australia, where the population was lamenting the near-death of The Great Barrier Reef that recently suffered bleaching as a result of oil dumping in the ocean, economists were trying to explain to the population the benefits its death would bring, like the benefits to construction companies. Others were talking about how this would bring down Australian revenue with a downfall in the tourism industry.The much vicious Hurricane Matthew that originated from a tropical wave and continued to grow in the Atlantic, caused up to 1600 deaths. ChrisLancey stated that there are several key “ingredients” in the recipe for a powerful hurricane. The first requirement is warm ocean water — “the warmer the better,” Lancey said. And it can’t just be a shallow layer at the ocean surface, he added. Warm water provides the energy that fuels a growing tropical storm — the higher the water temperature and the more warm water there is, the more energy the storm has to tap into, and the faster its winds can blow. It does not take a rocket scientist to realize that these waters became warmer through global warming in the first place.
For many years we have failed to notice that industrialization has put a pressure on our planet; many threaten to disturb the unique system of the Earth that had been upheld for millions of years before using fossil fuels came into fashion. The Earth, that we once called our paradise, has been degraded and destroyed over the years and we have knowingly let the situation get worse. As Margaret Thatcher once prophesied, “…it is possible that with all these enormous changes – population, agricultural, use of fossil fuels – concentrated into such a short period of time, we have unwittingly begun a massive experiment with the system of this planet itself.”
Old-style protection of nature for its own sake has badly failed to stop the destruction of habitats and the dwindling of species, the past. That is because philosophical and scientific arguments rarely Trump profits and the promise of jobs. The conservationists can’t usually put enough money on the table to meet commercial interests on their own terms. Pointing out the marketplace value of ecosystem services was initially just a way to remind people what was being lost in the process — benefits like flood control, water filtration, carbon sequestration, and species habitat. Then it dawned on someone that, by making it possible for people to buy and sell these services, we could save the world and turn a profit at the same time. Economy and environment can still be saved if the matter is pushed constantly.
It is a matter of reawakening for most people. Once most of realize the consequences of our prior actions, it could be too late to save our beloved home. The cost of doing nothing right now could be higher than taking action right now. Thus, in order to preserve human lives and everything we cherish on this planet, we must take immediate action before we all go down in history.