While the greenhouse effect is essential to life on Earth it becomes problematic when anthropogenic greenhouse gases (those created through human activity) act as a trigger to fire-up greenhouse processes. Anthropogenic activities are related to heightened releases of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere from the use of fossil fuels, changes in land use, emissions of methane from livestock and nitrous oxide from agriculture (and other processes).
There are several examples of the ways that the increasing greenhouse effect impacts the Earth's ecology. One example are thawing permafrost terrains in Southeast Siberia that is exposing sequestered animal waste and other organic material left behind by creatures that used to roam this region. As the exposed organic material comes into contact with the air, methane gases are released into the atmosphere. Some scientists believe that the released gases will accelerate global warming faster than some of the most pessimistic forecasts.
Another prominent side effect is the melting of icecaps and glaciers. Below are a couple of before and after images taken in the Glacier Peak Wilderness.
The Glacier Peak Wilderness, created by Congress in the original 1964 wilderness legislation, is located within portions of Chelan County, Snohomish County, and Skagit Counties in the North Cascades of Washington. The area, 572,000 acres (2315 km²) in size, 35 miles (56 kilometers) long and 20 miles (32 kilometers) wide, lying within parts of Wenatchee National Forest and Mount Baker National Forest, is characterized by heavily forested stream courses, steep sided valleys, and dramatic glacier-crowned peaks.
The first image is an image of the glacier taken in 2006 and the one just beneath it was taken in 1973. In the top image the glacier has retreated 1.2 miles.
A view down the Whitechuck Glacier in Glacier Peak Wilderness in 1973
There are other impacts viz global warming. Permafrost in Alaska and Canada and are also thawing. In Alaska this had led to abandonment of some roadways and houses where permafrost has warmed to such an extent that the ground has become unstable and methane gas releases have become hazardous to wildlife and humans.
So what are safe limits? Scientists suggest that if we break the one degree celsius barrier Mount Kilimanjaro will become completely bereft of ice and the Great Barrier Reef will collapse and a number of island nations will be submerged (Southeast Asia's Maldives is one example). A two degree celsius would cause heatwaves and draughts. Breaking the three degree celsius mark would bring about the collapse of the Amazon ecosystem and intensifying heat waves and draughts would create conflict over water supplies around the world. Sounds grim.
It is impossible to talk about climate change without discussing the subject of our addiction to fossil fuels. It is impossible to discuss our addiction to fossil fuels without talking about Peak Oil and the decline in the availability of this natural resource around the globe, which leads to what some are calling energy descent. We can think of energy descent as "the continual decline in net energy supporting humanity, a decline that mirrors the ascent in net energy that has taken place since the Industrial Revolution, which relies on the use of oil to fuel industrial processes.
Thinking in broader terms, the current neoliberal marketplace and globalizing economy is a deeply integrated system of trade that relies upon the movement of commodities around the globe. Declining access to fossil fuels will make movement of commodities on such a massive scale increasingly difficult in the coming decades.
One of the significant hallmarks of this globalized marketplace is the over-networked and highly interconnected systems that allows for the flow of capital, and commodities - but this also allows shock to travel rapidly through them with unpleasant and disturbing effects. One has only to tune into the local or international news to see the way in which Wall Street is reacting to the economic woes on the other side of the pond (U.K.)
The alternatives to the globalized marketplace is a retreat to more regional models. When I was young (in the 1950s) and you looked at the label in your clothes, or on the items that you purchased or foodstuffs carried by the store it read "Made in the U.S.A." If it said made in Japan, China, India, Peru, England or anywhere else in the world - it was really special. Well, here we are sixty years later and finding a label on clothing or other household items that reads "Made in the U.S.A." is now the oddity. Am I suggesting that we stop purchasing imported items cold turkey - nope.
What I am suggesting is that we need to start gearing up to break away from our addiction to fossil-fuel based purchasing on such an massive basis. We should start reading labels and attempt to purchase those things that say "Made or Grown in the U.S.A."
A heavy reliance on imported goods is a heavy reliance on fossil fuels. A heavy reliance on fossil fuels acts as a trigger for global warming which results in rapid changes to the Earth's biosphere. We should all live as though we will live again.
Keven,
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate your post because there are still those who believe global warming and climate change as a whole are myths.
The United States, which inhabits less than 5% of the world’s population, produces 25% of CO2 emissions. The U.S. public is uninformed about global warming because it is an issue that seems unimportant to our government. With a decrease in greenhouse gases and a stab at stabilizing CO2 emissions, we could possibly reverse the effects of global warming, but it will take time and a full effort made by the whole. Growing up my dad has only ever appreciated products that were made in the U.S. (maybe not for the same reasons we do, but still). I agree that we need to stop relying so heavily on imported goods, it is better for us and the environment.
Many animals are also being affected by global warming, which is what I am most concerned about. The icy wonderland that serves as a home for thousands of species is disappearing, and this loss of habitat is changing their entire lifestyle. The polar bear, for example, is on the vulnerable list for extinction, due to hunting and loss of food and territory. In less than 100 years we will only remember this great white bear through pictures, because in this short amount of time most of the ice in the arctic will be melted, and they will for sure be extinct.
Over the past few years, scientists have been warning the world about global warming and how much of an imperative issue it is. They were right, and efforts to deny this severe problem are over. The future of our world is now dependent upon the choice made by each individual, and whether they are willing to sacrifice and share responsibility in order to save our weakening ecosystem. Like you said, we need to slowly decrease our dependence on fossil fuels and imported goods while trying to tackle climate change through methods such as cap and trade or a carbon tax. Whatever method we choose, we need to act quickly...
Samantha Zwicker