Global warming [Archives:2008/1143/Community]

According to a report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC) ” The Warming of Climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice and rising sea level. The increase in warming is due to increasing concentration of green houses gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere.

Because of global warming the world is facing a series of environmental disasters: glaciers and mountain ice are rapidly melting, coral reefs, which are highly sensitive to small changes in water temperature is bleaching, major changes in extreme temperature is also noticed. Hot days, hot nights have become more frequent, and cyclones and storms are causing more damage. According to World Health Organization (WHO) because of climate change during the last 30 years, 150,000 lives are claimed annually; there is an increase in droughts and fire incidents, heavy snowfalls and flooding are increasing.

According to a study the United States of America with a little over 4% of the world's population is responsible for 35% of the total emissions of carbon dioxide (the main constituent of GHG). Actually the problem of climate change is caused by the rich countries, but unfortunately the main victim is going to be the poor countries who didn't cause the problem. In poor countries the burden of climate change falls disproportionately on the poor communities like dry land farmers, and fishermen. In these countries, the environment is directly linked to human development and poverty.

This problem of climate change is caused by rich countries but unfortunately they are not willing to curb this increasing problem. The main emitter of carbon dioxide is United States but it is still not taking the responsibility to cut the emission. The present United States President and the then presidential candidate in Oct 2000 had said in a televised debate to Algore “I tell you one thing I'm not going to do is, I'm not going to let the United States carry the burden for cleaning up the world's air, like the Kyoto treaty would have done.” India and china were exempted from that treaty. Rising temperatures could release additional greenhouse gases by unlocking methane in permafrost, freeing carbon trapped in sea and causing increased evaporation of water.

What can be done

Following steps should be taken by the rich countries to ease the problem

1. Rich countries have large contribution to environmental damage so they should take the responsibility for fixing the problem.

2. They should transfer technologies to the developing nations helping them in reducing green house emission.

3. Rich countries should also try to change their lifestyle by moving towards environmentally friendly production and consumption patterns.

4. The poor countries, too, cannot escape their responsibility in this regard.
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