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Causes of Climate Change and Global Warming and Issues Connected to the Global
Warming and Climate Change
The leading cause of the climate changes and the global warming is the increased and
uncontrolled presence of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (Klein, 2015). The greenhouse
gases end up in the atmosphere through some ways. The leading contributor of the
greenhouse gases to the atmosphere is the burning of the fossil fuels, by deforestation, and
through increased environmental warmth (Klein, 2015). Combustion of fossil fuels- oil and
petroleum and other carbon-related fuels are the most common source of energy for various
applications in the 21st Century. The burning of the fossil fuels for energy releases carbon,
which then combines with the atmospheric oxygen to create carbon IV oxide. The high levels
of carbon IV oxide in the environment keep on increasing on a daily basis since a huge
population of the earth uses the carbon fuels to produce energy to power their cars, for
domestic purposes, for the various industrial uses. Apart from the carbon IV oxide being the
lead contributor of the greenhouse gases, other gases such as methane released from
agricultural practices and landfills, nitrous oxide from the various farming fertilizers, the
gases from refrigeration and the different industrial applications also contribute to the
formation of the greenhouse effect to the higher atmosphere (MATHEZ, 2009).
The greenhouse gases play a huge role in the climate change and contribute heavily to the
global warming. When the greenhouse gases accumulate in the atmosphere, they absorb the
radiation, preventing and slowing the loss of heat to space. Hence, the greenhouse gases act
as a blanket to the earth, resulting to the earth to being warmer than it would otherwise be,
hence the remarkable greenhouse effect (MATHEZ, 2009). The continuous release of the
greenhouse gases increase the greenhouse effect of the earth and causes temperatures of the
land to rise gradually; hence the term global warming. The scientists worry that the increase
in the carbon IV oxide and other leading greenhouse gases in the past decade has been
rampant following the growing usage of the fossil fuel across the globe. The increased effects
of the greenhouse gases have shifted the known climatic patterns of the past, to create the
new extreme climatic conditions of the earth. The new climatic conditions place the lives on
the planet at risk since the climate extremities create harsh weather patterns that make it hard
for living organisms to survive naturally within their habitats. The changing climatic
conditions tend to create extremities such as the continuous melting of ice from various
regions, long and unpredictable periods of drought, heavy and destructive rainfalls,
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catastrophic sandstorms, all attributed to the effects of the changes in climate change.
Additionally, naturally occurring creatures face extinction since the changing climate makes
it harsh for their survival.
There is the global awareness campaign that aims to address the activities of man to help
reduce the detrimental effects of climate change and the levels of global warming. The UN
and the leading nations that fight for environmental protection for the benefit of survival of
the living organisms on earth should place a top priority on certain factors that would help
mitigate the devastating effects of the global warming and the adverse changes in the climate.
Their goals should be to lower and control the global warming through curtailing the release
of the carbon IV oxide in the atmosphere and reduce the trapping effect of the other
contributing greenhouse gases that find their way to the atmosphere. The processes upon
which the UN and the other environmental bodies can help us to mitigate the global warming
and climate change include campaigning and advocating for efficient manipulation of
available energy sources to have as low emissions as possible (GOLDMAN, 2013).
Additionally, advocating for alternative energy sources apart from the conventional sources
should be among the methods to mitigate the effects of the global warming and climate
change.
The Shift from Fossil Fuels to Renewable Energy; the Benefits and Challenges of the Oil and
Petroleum Companies
In a directive to reduce the levels of emissions from the fossil fuels, there is great advocacy
for the fossil fuel companies to consider venturing to other processes that provide green
energy. The solution to such venture is the introduction of renewable energies as the
mainstream sources of energy for the daily uses in the modern world. The renewable sources
of energy provide clean energy and almost zero emissions in their utilization (POSNER,
2010). More so, the renewable energy sources are by themselves sustainable by the fact that
the sources are infinite. The renewable energy can help the fossil fuel firms to reduce their
dependency on the oil and gas deposits that near depletion in the current future. More so, the
renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, moving water, and heat within Earth have
economic benefits when utilized. The cost of using solar energy is much cheaper when
compared to the cost of utilization of the fossil fuels. It translates to that the fossil fuels
especially oil will have stable prices; hence, lowering the instability of the oil prices in the
current world markets. The cost effectiveness of the utilization of the renewable energy
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sources will push big business to allocate some energy operations to the renewable sources, a
move that eventually lowers the emissions. However, the fossil fuels will face challenges
while seeking ways to substitute the fossil fuels with the renewable energy. The principal
problem is the fact that the renewable energy cannot generate the massive levels of energy
previously produced by the fossil fuels. Consequently, the energy provision would have to be
a balance between the renewable energy sources and the fossil fuels energy sources.
Additionally, the reliability of the renewable energy sources is poor since most of the sources
are dependent on the prevailing weather conditions. With the unavailability of direct
sunshine, or strong water currents, or high winds, it might be impossible to generate the
energy for the various applications. Additionally, the fossil fuel companies in their efforts to
launch to renewable energy might spend massive funds to acquire and install the necessary
technology needed to extract energy from nature.
The sustainable development for the oil and gas companies aim to meet the energy
requirements of the world population of oil and gas at a reasonable cost, maintaining high
safety standards and offering minimal impact to the environment (ROSENDAHL, 2013). The
process of sustainable development for the fossil fuels tends to get cumbersome as most of
the oil reserves are depleted annually (Kang, 2015). More so, the urge to protect the
environment is neglected by the huge oil companies. Hence, there is a need for the companies
to come up with clear solutions that will help protect the environment and provide enough
energy until they find alternative sources of providing energy to the world populace.
Therefore, the current developments to find alternate energy sources that will sustain the
energy needs are not futile. The efforts address the UN Conference on Human Development
held in Stockholm in 1972 that aimed to address the global environment, and the
development needs (TORDO, 2011).
Practical Actions the UN Should Take to Mitigate the Effects on the Environment
The UN should place emphasis among home settings to help them emit tiny greenhouse
gases in the daily home applications that require energy. More so, the processes would lower
the strain placed on the fossil fuels to provide the energy needed to run the various activities
at home. Among them is the emphasis to switch to energy-efficient lighting. Switching to
energy-saving lighting systems at homes lowers the energy bills to nearly 7000 pounds of
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carbon IV oxide in the air over the lifetime of the bulbs (HOFFMAN, 2015). More so, UN
needs to urge companies to manufacture home appliances that are energy-efficient. The
companies need to come up with equipment with energy ratings that will help customers
choose and buy the devices with the highest energy rating when acquiring the new appliances
for their homes (HOFFMAN, 2015). Furthermore, the reduction of the energy spent on the
heating and the cooling systems would significantly help to lower the emissions from such
systems. Passive technologies provide energy-efficient cooling systems, hence unloading the
overall amount of carbon fuel needed to run the conventional cooling systems.
The United Nations in its war to mitigate the effects of the global warming and climate
change needs to improve and control on the vehicle fuel efficiencies. Fuel-efficient cars are
among the best cars to enforce in the market to lower some carbon gases that petroleum-
driven vehicles emit on normal occasions (METZ, 2009). The new hybrid cars that use gas-
electric engines cut down the amount of carbon fuels used to power the engines; hence, their
adoption would help substantially lower the accumulation of the greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere. The UN should move resources to ensure the petroleum companies sell fuel with
low-risk emissions to the environment. Such efforts are present by the elimination of leaded
fuel in the market, but to protect the earth from the detrimental global warming and climate
change, the petroleum and oil producers should focus on selling fuels with low carbon fuels.
The driving of the machinery using carbon fuels should be fuel-efficient driving. The UN
should introduce mechanisms in the motoring industry to occasionally aid in the easy
maintenance of the machinery. Regular maintenance lowers the inefficiencies of the engines;
hence, saving on the fuel used (METZ, 2009). Nations that encourage less driving and
motivate more walking and cycling are among the leading countries in controlling the
greenhouse gases emanating from the vehicles.
Phasing out the fossil fuel electricity is a significant move to tackle the climate change
(KIRTON, 2015). The reduction of the fossil fuel electricity should be a move by the UN to
eliminate the power systems that manipulate coal. Key processes the UN should undertake
include not allowing any construction of coal-burning power factories, starting an organized
shutdown of the coal powered companies and capturing the emissions from the left existing
coal plants (KIRTON, 2015). Management of agricultural processes and conservation of
forests can fight global warming. The reduction of the emissions accumulated from the
deforestation processes and controlling the farming and other agricultural chemicals lowers
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the levels of accumulation of the carbon and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that
create the greenhouse effect (KIRTON, 2015). Additionally, the UN has the mandate and
power to launch nations into nuclear power exploration and usage. The nuclear energy has
few greenhouse gas emissions. However, despite the go-ahead on the efficiency of the
nuclear power, the UN should put into consideration the risks associated with the nuclear
energy.
In conclusion, I firmly believe that the human activities have increased the burden of the
provision of clean energy for utilization. More so, the apparent lack of clear structures in the
past that would regulate the amount of emissions that companies emitted to the atmosphere
facilitated to the current destruction of the global climate. The massive emissions during the
Industrial Revolution were hugely uncontrolled, and consequently, the structures to control
the environment were absent. The current levels of global temperatures will keep on rising
since the world is highly dependent on the fossil fuels for the daily energy provisions. The
factories and cars still run on petroleum products; hence, the emission will continue.
However if active bodies such as the UN and other environmental conservations groups
combine efforts and fight to protect the environment, the future generation can have lowered
levels of emissions. That would protect the environment, and it would provide the earth with
cleaner sources of energy that are sustainable even for the various generations to come.
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References
GOLDMAN, C. R., KUMAGAI, M., & ROBARTS, R. D. (2013). Climatic Change and
Global Warming of Inland Waters: Impacts and Mitigation for Ecosystems and
Societies. http://catalogimages.wiley.com/images/db/jimages/9781119968665.jpg.
HOFFMAN, A. J. (2015). How culture shapes the climate change debate.
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk
&AN=946073.
Kang, S.J. and Park, Y.C. eds., 2015. The international monetary system, energy and
sustainable development (Vol. 138). Routledge.
KIRTON, J. J., & KOKOTSIS, E. (2015). The global governance of climate change: G7,
G20, and UN leadership.
Klein, N., 2015. This changes everything: Capitalism vs. the climate. Simon and Schuster.
MATHEZ, E. A., & SMERDON, J. E. (2009). Climate change: the science of global
warming and our energy future. New York, Columbia University Press.
METZ, B. (2009). Controlling climate change. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
POSNER, E. A., & WEISBACH, D. A. (2010). Climate change justice. Princeton, N.J.,
Princeton University Press.
ROSENDAHL, T., & HEPSØ, V. (2013). Integrated operations in the oil and gas industry:
sustainability and capability development. Hershey, PA, Business Science Reference.
TORDO, S., TRACY, B. S., & ARFAA, N. (2011). National oil companies and value
creation. Washington, D.C., World Bank.
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- Selina Kolls (Author), 2016, Causes and Issues of Climate Change and Global Warming, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/338713
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