Enviromental hazards [614183]

Enviromental hazards

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CLIMATE CHA NGE

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Torge Daiana-Maria

European Studies

1st year of master, 1st semester

Abstract

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Climate change in the world can be caused by various activities. When climate

change occurs; temperatures can increase a dramatically. When temperature

rises, many different changes can occur on Earth. For example, it can result in

more floods, droughts, or intense rain, as well as more frequent and severe heat

waves. Oceans and glaciers have also experienced some changes: oceans are

warming and becoming more acidic, glaciers are melting, and sea levels are

rising. As these changes frequently occur in future decades, they will likely

present challenges to our society and environment.

During the past century, human activities have released large amounts of

carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Most of the

gases come from burning fossil fuels to produce energy. Greenhouse gases are

like a blanket around the Earth, trapping energy in the atmosphere and causing it

to warm. This is called the greenhouse effect and it is natural and necessary to

support life on earth. However, while greenhouse gases build up, the climate

changes and result in dangerous effects to human health and ecosystems. People

have adapted to the stable climate we have enjoyed since the last ice age which

ended several thousand years ago. A warmer climate can bring changes that can

affect our water supplies, agriculture, power and transportation systems, the

natural environment, and even our own health and safety. There are some

climate changes that are unavoidable and nothing can be done about it. For

example, carbon dioxide can stay in the atmosphere for nearly a century, so

Earth will continue to warm in the future.

I n t r o d u c t i o n
 
The purpose of this study is to study the phenomen that distroy our planet

,called “climate change”.
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Climate can be thought of as the average or typical

weather conditions we experience. Scientists know that climate varies naturally

on many timescales and they know that people are affecting climate –

particularly through emissions of greenhouse gases.

Global Warming.

Global warming has really taken effect in the world over the last century. It is

the unusually rapid increase in the Earth’s average surface temperature over the

past century primarily due to the greenhouse gases released as people burn fossil

fuels. Global warming is due to the enhancing greenhouse gases emission and

build-up in the Earth’s environment. The gases that have an influence on the

atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, dinitrogen-oxide, and methane.

Almost 30 percent of incoming sunlight is reflected back into space by bright

surfaces like clouds and ice. In the other 70 percent, most is absorbed by the

land and ocean, and the rest is absorbed by the atmosphere. The absorbed solar

energy heats our planet. This absorption and radiation of heat by the atmosphere

is beneficial for life on Earth. Today, the atmosphere contains more greenhouse

gas molecules, so more of the infrared energy emitted by the surface ends up

being absorbed by the atmosphere.

The earth receives energy through radiation from the sun. GHGs play an

important role of trapping heat, maintaining the earth’s temperature at a level

that can sustain life. This phenomenon is called the greenhouse effect and is

natural and necessary to support life on earth. Without the greenhouse effect, the

earth would be approximately 33°C cooler than it is today. 2 In recent centuries,

humans have contributed to an increase in atmospheric GHGs as a result of

increased fossil fuel burning and deforestation. The rise in GHGs is the primary

cause of global warming over the last century.

One of the biggest problems is the extinction of the species. The water bodies

are polluted by plastic and make it hard for animals to continue their usual life

habits. The land wastes make it harder for many animals to exist as well, even

though they adapt to new conditions, these conditions are not fit for

good,healthy life. We begin to face a dystopian future, however dramatic it

might sound.

Food Production and Security .

Obvious climate change impacts on terrestrial food production can already be

observed in some sectors around the globe. In the past few years, climate

extremes such as droughts have occurred in major producing areas, resulting in

many episodes of price hikes for food and cereals. Although these effects are

beneficial in certain areas, adverse consequences are more frequent than

favourable ones, especially, because key production areas (e.g. California) are

located in historically favourable areas which will become unfavourable. Many

climate change impacts will increasingly affect food security—particularly in

low latitude regions—and will be exacerbated by escalating food demand.26

Forecasted ocean level rise will threaten crucial food-producing areas along the

coasts, such as India and Bangladesh, which are major rice producer

Reduction in Water Resources

Renewable water supply is expected to decline in certain areas and expand in

others. In regions where gains are expected, temporary deficits of water

resources are still possible because of increased fluctuations of stream flow

(caused by higher volatility of precipitation and increased evaporation during all

seasons) and of seasonal cutbacks (because of lower accumulation of snow and

ice). Clean water supply may also decrease due to a warmer environment

inducing lower water quality. For example, algae-producing toxins could

damage the quality of sources such as lakes. Such overall decline in renewable

water supply will intensify competition for water among agriculture,

ecosystems, settlements, industry, and energy production, affecting regional

water, energy, and food security.

Mitigation Measures for Reducing Carbon Emissions

Adaptation is a process by which any society is called upon to learn how

to respond to the risks associated with climate change. Adaptation options can

be multiple and include a wide range of actions, starting with the technical ones

protection against increased water levels, protection of houses from danger

floods and so on. – and ending with changing mentalities and behavior

personal to the environment, by reducing water consumption or consumption

energy or by organizing more efficient consumption.

Other strategies include: building imminent warning systems extreme weather

phenomena, establishing new management strategies of risk, development of

systems for ensuring and preserving biodiversity, development, conservation

and restoration of underground shelters for protection to people with different

weather and so on. In general, the sustainability orientation of development can

reduce social and public vulnerability.

Globalizing the effects of climate change implies the participation of all

countries in the joint effort to combat disastrous phenomena, by elaborating and

implementing a sustainable development strategy.

Global efforts against climate change were initiated over 20 years ago (1988),

when the Intergovernmental Committee was established for Climate change

within the UN. It assesses the risks of change climate, the potential effects

induced by them and the options of adaptation and diminution of climate

effects. Based on the first IPCC report, the Framework Convention was

prepared for UN Climate Change, which has been signed by 154 countries,

including Romania, at the Rio de Janeiro environmental summit, in 1992. This

Convention provides the general policy framework for climate change issues

that they have have been included in the agenda of the most important regional

and international meetings.

Case presentation about how Europe is adapting to

Climate Change

Green roofs in Basel, Switzerland
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: combining mitigation and adaptation

measures The city of Basel in Switzerland has implemented an incentive

programme to promote green roofs as both a mitigation measure to save energy

and hence reduce emissions, and an adaptation measure, lowering indoor

temperatures and absorbing rainwater, thus reducing flood risk. There are also

biodiversity and social aesthetic benefits. Climate projections suggest that by

the 2050s, the temperature in the Basel region could increase by 2 °C in winter

and 2.5 °C in summer. Extreme rainfall events are also likely to increase in

frequency and severity. The green roof initiative aimed to improve the coverage

of green roofs in the city of Basel through the use of a combination of financial

incentives and building regulations. In the early 1990s, the city of Basel

implemented a law supporting energy-saving measures. The green roofs were

promoted via incentive programmes, funded through the Energy Saving Fund,

which is made up of a 5 % levy on energy bills for all customers in the canton

of Basel-Stadt. In 2002, an amendment to the city of Basel’s building and

construction law was passed, stating that all new and renovated flat roofs must

be greened and designed to improve biodiversity. The city of Basel now has one

of the world’s largest areas of green roofs per capita. For developers, installing

green roofs is now considered routine and they make no objections to installing

them .

A transboundary depoldered area for flood protection and nature:

Hedwige and Prosper Polders, Belgium

The Hedwige and Prosper Polders are low-lying areas of reclaimed land that

are located just before the Scheldt estuary reaches Antwerp. Storm surges

threaten the Flanders coast, including the city of Antwerp. The occurrence of

storm surges in the North Sea has increased significantly since the 1950s, and

sea-level rise is projected to further raise this threat in coming decades. The

Hedwige-Prosper Polder project is part of the wider Sigma Plan. The Sigma

Plan is designed to reinforce dikes and quay walls, and open up areas that can

flood to protect land along the Scheldt estuary. The project aims to remove the

outer defences of the two polders and reopen these areas to the tides. This

'depoldering' process involves moving dike protection inland to provide room

for water during tidal surges. The new dikes constructed inland will provide

flood protection for the low-lying hinterland, and a system of creeks will be dug

in the polders to simulate the natural wetland. This project (465 ha), combined

with the adjacent Saeftinghe wetlands area, will create a large, cross-border,

brackish intertidal area of approximately 4 100 ha. Waterwegen en Zeekanaal

completed the new inland dike on the Belgian side, the Prosper Polder, in 2015.

Works in the Hedwige Polder are expected to start in the course of 2018 and

take approximately 3 years.

The economics of managing heavy rains and stormwater in Copenhagen

The Cloudburst Management Plan, Denmark Copenhagen experienced four

major rainfall events in the period 2011-2016, resulting in severe damage that

was expensive to repair. These types of events are expected to be more intense

and more frequent as a result of climate change. The city has drawn out a

Cloudburst Management Plan that aims to reduce the impacts of flooding due to

heavy rains. The plan included an assessment of the costs of different measures

(traditional versus new options including adaptation measures), the cost of the

damage despite the measures and the resulting financial impact. The results

showed that continuing to focus on traditional sewerage systems would result in

a societal loss compared with the alternative solution. The alternative adaptation

measures aim to store or drain excess water at ground level. The plan consists of

four surface solutions as well as pipe-based solutions, including:

• stormwater roads and pipes that transport water towards lakes and the harbour,

e.g. in the built-up area of central Copenhagen;

• retention roads for storing waters;

• retention areas to store very large water volumes, e.g. parks that could turn

into lakes during flood events;

• green roads to detain and hold back water in smaller side streets.

Conclusion

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Climate change affects the entire planet, having repercussions on the

population, in economic, social and ecological aspect. They generate one of the

greatest challenges facing mankind at the moment, due to the disastrous effects

induced by them: increased temperature ,air and water, increased risk of

flooding, drought, diminishing reserves and drinking water, increased risk of

fires and reduction of natural vegetable resources and animals, changes and

degradation of ecosystems and resource degradation.

The
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best recommendation
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and
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most intelligent thing
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you can do is to

participate in the climatic changes that each one can achieve is to reduce or even

eliminate meat and dairy consumption and plastic.

According to the study, major changes in agriculture are needed to avoid

destroying the Earth's ability to feed the 10 billion people expected to populate

the planet in the coming decades.

Food production is already causing enormous damage to the environment.

Animal husbandry requires larger land areas than any other industry. Almost

80% of the world's farmland is used for the production of animal feed and

grazing, although meat only offers 18% of the total calories consumed in the

world. The deforestation of natural habitats to be transformed into farmland is

one of the main causes of mass extinction affecting wildlife at present.

Intensive livestock growth results in greenhouse gas emissions, and industrial

agriculture often leads to overexploitation of water reserves and environmental

pollution with fertilisers, pesticides and other chemicals.

According to the study, the lack of urgent measures will increase the impact

of food production on the environment. It is estimated that global income will

be triple by 2050, allowing more people to adopt Western, meat-rich diets.

At the current pace, food production would lead to overcoming certain

critical boundaries beyond which humanity cannot live easily.

According to a recent study, the European livestock sector has already

exceeded safe limits in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, nutrient flows and

biodiversity loss. The livestock industry must reduce greenhouse gas emissions

by 74% by 2050 by halving meat and dairy production

BIBLIOGRAPHY

https://www.revistacalitateavietii.ro/2010/CV-3-4-2010/02.pdf

https://ec.europa.eu/clima/change/causes_ro

https://essaywritersite.com/blog/global-warming-essay-sample

https://www.ukessays.com/essays/environmental-sciences/causes-of-climate-ch
ange.php

https://www.bartleby.com/topics/Essay-on-Climate-Change