Global Warming

Introduction

WHEN man gets sick he goes to a doctor, what does our environment do when it gets sick?
Does it come to man looking for an answer to its sickness? Does it hold man responsible for its ill health? How does nature give warning signals about its poor health? Is it in the form of average rise in global temperature -global warming- and its visible symptoms like global food crisis, floods, eruption of diseases, hurricanes, droughts, acid rain, erratic global temperatures with sudden snow fall in Baghdad (Iraq) and rainfall in Rajasthan (India)?

These are the questions that come to our mind when we find ourselves suddenly affected by nature’s fury. But the fury of nature is not a sudden occurrence; it is as old as our planet Earth. Then, why on Earth, are we suddenly sitting up and taking all these natural occurrences seriously? Have we noticed some anomalies in nature that we didn’t notice before, but we should have?

Has the time come for us to pay more attention to our environment- to the air that we breathe in, to the water that we drink, to the hospitable temperature that keeps us ‘live and kicking' -instead of taking everything for granted?

Nature’s warning

Gradual extinction of ‘polar bears’- Extinction of polar bears is now a reality. According to the ‘Wall Street Journal’ Alaska has already started witnessing multiple deaths of polar bears over the last couple of years, whereas, earlier a death of a polar bear used to be a rare occurrence. Polar bears are dying in their attempt to cross the increasing longer distances between land and the fast retreating polar sea ice.

Major eruptions of tropical diseases- Abnormal and extreme weather conditions all around the world are responsible for spreading of viral diseases (like Malaria, Cholera, Dengue Fever, Encephalitis) and loss of human and animal lives. Already extreme floods and droughts are affecting the availability of safe drinking water.

Hurricanes and typhoons- Though the rising global temperature is not found responsible for the rise in the number of hurricanes and typhoons; but, according to the journal ‘Nature’, over the last 30 years, the typhoons and hurricanes have become more intensified and long-lasting, thanks to global warming.

The Greenhouse Gases – Carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, water vapour are the main greenhouse gases naturally present in the atmosphere. But increased concentration of these gases causes rise in global temperature and as ‘heat-trappers’, they prevent the infrared radiations to be radiated back to space. This phenomenon is known as the greenhouse effect, which is responsible for average rise in global temperature annually (global warming).

In normal condition, this greenhouse effect is responsible for maintaining average surface temperature of our earth at 32-degree Centigrade (58 degree Fahrenheit) annually- suitable for maintaining life on this planet.

United States ranks top as the largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the World! (Source: National geographic).

Human hands in rising greenhouse effect- While greenhouse gases are responsible for maintaining life, too much concentration of theses gases in the atmosphere disturb the fragile balance of nature creating havoc. Man is unsettling this balance in a number of ways- Deforestation, burning natural gas, coal, and oil, electricity production, population growth and land use, emissions from factories, vehicles etc.

The world is waking up

The survival of this planet and our own survival are now dependent in our collective understanding and taking corrective actions to fix this problem:

Kyoto Protocol- The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) has adapted Kyoto Protocol in Kyoto, Japan, on 11^th December 1997. Like most countries of the World, India is also a member. Under this, each country which has given its ratification is allowed to emit a certain amount of greenhouse gases. Those countries which emit less Carbon, as reward, get financial incentives by selling those Carbon Credits in the global market. Carbon credits are ‘tradable credits’ given as rewards to the developing countries for helping to curb GHG ( greenhouse gases) emission. One credit is equivalent to one ton of carbon dioxide emission reduced. Companies of the World who are engaged in developing renewable energy instead of fossil fuels are eligible to get Carbon Credits.

India and Climate change mitigation Policy- As an active member of UNFCCC
(United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) in India, the Ministry of Environment & Forests acts as the nodal Ministry for all environment-related activities in India and also coordinates the climate change policy.

According to a recent report, India has bagged the topmost position among its peers for bagging the highest number of carbon credits issued (nearly 43%) and also the number of clean development (CDM) projects registered with the international CDM body.

Is carbon filter, the answer to arrest carbon emission? According to a latest development reported in Telegraph (India), Klaus Lackner, a physicist in Columbia University has developed carbon filters which can effectively suck up carbon dioxide from the air; the main concern is that an estimated 67 million filters are required for this task at a cost of trillions of dollars a year! The question is – who will foot the bill?

Is change in lifestyle, the need of the hour?- Beyond imposed sanctions and prohibitions, small life style changes without going for any drastic maladjustments by every one of us can go a long way to make a significant difference; it has the power to slow the pace of global warming!

Time to go ‘veg’- Studies have shown that 2.2 pounds of meat emits 36.4 kilos of Carbon dioxide. Not only that raising and transporting beefs, lambs by trucks, air planes, and cargo ships require energy equivalent to lighting a 100-watt bulb for 3 weeks!

Limit wastage- This includes wastage of food, fuel- switching the bulbs off, or turning off the water tap when not in use etc. When all the family needs is one car, one should not look for another, even when one has the means!

All these small things may seem trivial, but when collectively done can make a lot of difference; it has the power to make this World a much ‘safer world’ to live in!