Effects of global warming on the Environment
Introduction:
Environment may
be defined as surroundings or control conditions influencing development or
growth of people, animals, Plants and micro organisms. It consists of four segments:
Atmosphere (the air envelope). Hydrosphere (the water bodies), Lithosphere (the
land masses) and Biosphere (life forms). Our environment is a complex and
dynamic system in which all forms of life are interdependent and interconnected.
For example green plants consume carbon dioxide by photosynthesis and provide
oxygen to man and other animals, during the respiration the human beings and
other animals consume oxygen and release carbondioxide. Progress in science and
technology is leading to pollution of environment and serious ecological
imbalance.Today almost every aspect of modern living posses potential health
rises. The air we breathe, the water we drink and the places where we live and
work in may be contaminated with toxic substances of chemical additives the
adverse effects of chemical pollutants in the environment are not limited to
ourselves, but may be passed on to future generations by way of genetic
mutations, in herited diseases etc.
Global warming (or) Green house effect.
Climate never
remains static but is a dynamic process, greater lesser degree, it is changing.
The increase in temperature of the earth, which causes more changes in climate
is called global warming. In the last few centuries, industrial, agricultural,
and other human activities have released substantially more greenhouse gases
(CO2, CFCS, CH4, N2O etc) in to the atmosphere.
This causes the atmosphere to trap increasing amounts of heat energy at the
earth’s surface and making the planet warmer than usual. As the earth is
getting hotter, disasters like droughts, floods etc. are getting more frequent
over the last 100 Years, The average temperature of air near the earth has rise
a little less than 1ºC. It is estimated that earth’s average temperature will
rise between 1.5 ºC to 5.5 ºC by 2050. Even a little extra warming may cause
problems for humans, Plants and animals.
Carbon Dioxide: It contributes about 55% to global
warming. The main sources are fossil fuel burning (67%), deforestation and
industrial emissions. CO2 concentration in the atmosphere 355 ppm in
1990 that is increasing at a rate of 1.5ppm every year
Chlorofluorocarbons
(CFCs): It contributes about 24% to
global warming. The main sources of CFC’s include leaking air conditioners and
refrigerators, evaporation of industrial solvents, aerosols, propellants etc.
Atmospheric concentration of CFC is 0.00225 ppm that is increasing at a rate of
0.5% per year.
Methane (CH4):
It contributes about 18% to global warming. Production and use of oil and
natural gas and incomplete burning of organic material etc are sources of
methane. Each methane molecule traps about 25 times as much heat as a CO2
molecule. Atmospheric concentration of methane is 1.675 ppm and it is
increasing at a rate of 1% per year.
Nitrous Oxide (N2O):
It is responsible for 6% to global warming and released from nylon products,
from burning of biomass and nitrogen rich fuels, breaked of nitrogen
fertilizers in soil, live stock wastes etc. The atmospheric concentration of N2O
is 0.3 ppm, and is increasing at a rate
of 0.2% per year.
Effects of Global Warming:
Global temperature increases, Expansion of desert area, Natural
fires in forest lands, melting of ice caps (Sea levels are predicted to rise by
9 to 88Cm by 2100) which will affect low lying areas and life of millions of
people, More evaporation of water from water bodies, More droughts, Major
threat to biodiversity, Changes in rain fall pattern in many areas, effects on
various types of crops.
Control
Measures of Global Warming: Plant more trees, shift to
non-conventional energy resources, reduction in consumption of fossil fuel such
as Coal, petroleum etc., use
of nuclear power plants, adopt sustainable agriculture, stabilize population
growth, installation of pollution controlling devices in automobiles and industries, trap and use
methane as a fuel, Reduce the current rate of use of CFC’s, remove atmospheric CO2 by utilizing
photosynthetic algae.
Important Government and Non-Govt. Organizations/Agencies involved in
Environmental issues:
Advisory Board
on Energy (ABE)
Bombay Natural
History Societies (BNHS)
Central Forestry
Commission (CFC)
Department of
Non-Conventional Energy Sources (DNES)
Industrial
Toxicology Research Centre and National Environmental Engineering Research
Institute (NEERI)
National Natural
Resources Management system
National wetland
management Committee
State pollution
control board
Tata Energy
Research Institute (TERI)
Control Soil
Salinity Research Institute.
Important Days
of Environmental Significance:
World
Environment day 5th
June
World Nature day 3rd
October
World Population
day 11th
July
World Forest day 21st
March
World Health day 7th
April
National Science
day 28th
February
Earth day 22nd
February
Anti tobacco day
31st
May
World Food day 16th
October
Wild life week 1-7th
October
National
Environmental Awareness Month 19th Nov - 18th Dec
United National
day 24th
October
Ozone day 11th September
CONCLUSION
Environment
belongs to each one of us and all of us have a responsibility to contribute
towards its conservation and protection. “Small droplets of water together form
a big ocean” similarly with our small individual efforts we can together in
conserving our environment to a large extent.
References:
1.
Hansen, James. E et al (2000) “Global Warming in the 21th
century”. 97: 18-29
2.
Hansen, James. E and Makiko Sato (2001). “Trends of
measured climate forcing agents”. 98: 26.
3.
Root, T.L et al (2003). “Fingerprints of Global Warming
on wild animals and plants, Nature”. 421:57-60.
4.
Thomas, C.D. et al. (2004). “Extinction risk from
climate change” 427: 145-148.
Malcolm
J. et al. (2006). “Global Worming and Extinctions of Endemic Species from
Biodiversity Hot Spots”, Conservation biology 20(2): 538-548. 