Professional Documents
Culture Documents
11 (2011) 161-174
©2011 The Academy of Environmental Biology, India
Anju Agrawal
Department of Zoology
SN Sen BVPG College, CSJM University, Kanpur
Abstract : Everything on planet Earth is interconnected, and when one thing is changed, it alters everything
else. This is known as the butterfly effect, and it is seen everyday. How does global warming set off a chain
reaction effects plants and animals around the world? Like humans, plants and animals need certain conditions
to be comfortable and productive. If the thermostat at office is set too low, than a person gets cold and
cannot work as well. The same thing happens with plants and animals. If it is too warm or too cold, they
cannot reproduce at the same rate. When plants slow down there growth, they are not replenished rapidly
enough to support all the animals which usually feed on them. Fewer plants means that area can support
fewer plant eating animals. Less plant eaters leads to a decrease in the number of predatory animals. If the
growth of the trees are affected than the entire food chain is thrown off balance. Humans are a part of the
food chain as well, and when we kill off plants and animals through the changes in the climate we have
brought about, we ultimately shorten our own life spans.
Introduction There will be increase in hot days and many
scientists believe that an increase in
Global warming is the increase in the average temperatures may lead to precipitation and
temperature of Earth near- surface air and change in weather patterns. Warmer ocean
oceans since the mid-20th century and its waters may result in more intense and frequent
projected continuation. According to the 2007a,b tropical storms and hurricanes. The uncertainty
Fourth Assessment Report by the in this estimate arises from the use of models
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change with differing sensitivity to greenhouse gas
(IPCC), global surface temperature increased concentrations and the use of differing
by 0.74 ± 0.18 °C (1.33 ± 0.32 °F) during the estimates of future greenhouse gas emissions.
20th century. Most of the observed temperature An increase in global temperature will cause sea
increase since the middle of the 20th century levels to rise and will change the amount and
has been caused by increasing concentrations pattern of precipitation, probably including
of greenhouse gases, which result from human expansion of subtropical deserts. Warming is
activities such as the burning of fossil fuel and expected to be strongest in the Arctic and would
deforestation. be associated with continuing retreat of glaciers,
permafrost and sea ice. Other likely effects
Climate model projections summarized in the include more frequent and intense extreme
latest IPCC report indicate that the global weather events, species extinctions, and
surface temperature is likely to rise a further changes in agricultural yields. Warming and
1.1 to 6.4 °C (2.0 to 11.5 °F) during the 21st related changes will vary from region to region
century. This change appears to be small but around the globe, though the nature of these
this will change the climate to a great extent. regional changes is uncertain. As a result of
E-Mail: anjuagrawal2@gmail.com
Anju Agrawal
contemporary increases in atmospheric carbon allow mostly visible light and some infrared and
dioxide, the oceans have become more acidic, ultraviolet radiation from the sun to pass
a result that is predicted to continue. through the troposphere. The earth’s surface
absorbs much of the solar energy. This
The scientific consensus is that anthropogenic transforms it to longer wavelength infrared
global warming is occurring. Nevertheless, radiation (heat) which then rises into the
skepticism amongst the wider public remains. troposphere. Some of the heat escapes into
The Kyoto Protocol is aimed at stabilizing space, and some is absorbed by molecules of
greenhouse gas concentration to prevent a greenhouse gases and emitted into the
“dangerous anthropogenic interference”. As of troposphere as even longer wave infrared
November 2009, 187 states had signed and radiation, which warms the air. This natural
ratified the protocol. Proposed responses to warming effect of troposphere is called the
global warming include mitigation to reduce greenhouse effect.
emissions, adaptation to the effects of global
warming, and geoengineering to remove Human activities such as burning fossil fuels,
greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. clearing forests and growing crops release
Scientists have looked at evidence about past carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide into
changes in atmospheric CO2 concentrations the atmosphere. It is of great concern that large
and atmospheric temperatures. They have also input of these gases into the troposphere can
developed sophisticated mathematical models enhance the earth’s natural greenhouse effect
of the earth’s climate system and made and lead to global warming.
projections about possible future changes.
The ozone layer also creates warm layers of the
As a result of these studies and models, most air that prevent churning gases in the
climate scientists have come to an important troposphere from entering the stratosphere.
conclusion. They believe that increased inputs This thermal cap is important in determining the
of CO2 and other greenhouse gases into the average temperature of the troposphere and
atmosphere from human activities will enhance thus the earth’s current climates. Various
the earth’s natural greenhouse effect and raise topographic features of the earth’s surface
the average global temperature of the create local climatic conditions, or
atmosphere near the earth’s surface. This microclimates that differ from the climate of a
enhanced greenhouse effect is global warming. region. For example, mountains interrupt the
flow of prevailing surface winds and movement
Climate change of storms. When moist air blowing inland from
Climate is a region’s general pattern of an ocean reaches a mountain range, it cools as
atmospheric or weather conditions over a long it is forced to rise and expands. This causes the
period. Average temperature and precipitation air to loose most of its moisture as rain and
are two main factors determining a regions snow on windward slopes. As the drier air
climate and its effect on people. mass flows down the leeward slopes, it draws
moisture out of the plants and soil over which
Small amounts of certain gases play a key role it passes. The lower precipitation and the
in determining the average temperature and its resulting semiarid or arid conditions on the
climate. These gases include water vapour leeward side of high mountains are called rain
(H2O), carbon dioxide (CO 2) and synthetic shadow effect.
chlorofluorocarbon (CFCs).Together these
gases are known as greenhouse gases, which Cities also create distinct microclimates.
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Effect of global warming on climate change
Bricks, concrete, asphalt and other building effects. Greenhouse gases greatly affect the
materials absorb and hold heat, and building temperature of the Earth; without them, Earth’s
blocks wind flow. Motor vehicles and the climate surface would be on average about 33 °C
control systems of buildings release large (59 °F) colder than at present. Since the
quantities of heat and pollutants. As a result, beginning of the Industrial revolution, the burning
cities tend to have more haze and smog, higher of fossil fuels has contributed to the increase
temperatures and lower wind speeds than the in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from 280
surrounding countryside. Land oceans ppm to 390 ppm. Unlike other pollutants, carbon
interactions affect the local climates of coastal dioxide emissions do not result from inefficient
areas by creating ocean to land breezes during combustion: CO 2 is a product of ideal,
the day and land to ocean breezes at night. stoichiometric combustion of carbon. The
emissions of carbon are directly proportional to
According to the latest instalment of a report energy consumption.
published by the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate change (IPCC), climate change is very Human activities increase greenhouse gases
likely to have an impact on our planet and its which is one of the cause of global warming.
life. The future problems caused by rising seas, These greenhouse gases reabsorb heat
growing deserts and more frequent droughts all reflected from the Earth’s surface, thus trapping
look set to affect the developing world more than the heat in our atmosphere. Humans have been
rich countries. increasing the concentration of the gases
namely carbon dioxide and methane. The United
Climate change is a global phenomenon; its Nations Intergovernmental Pannel on Climate
negative effect are more severely felt by poor change has been studying global warming for
people in developing countries who depend years. They state that global increases in
heavily on natural resources base for their carbon dioxide concentration are due primarily
livelihoods. Rural poor communities depend due to fossil fuel use and land use change, while
greatly for their survival on agriculture and those of methane and nitrous oxide are primarily
livestock as they are the most climate sensitive due to agriculture.
economic sectors. W ith increase of
temperature approximatey 20 to 30 per cent of Solar Impact
plant and animal species are expected to be at
a risk of extinction with severe consequences Initially the magnitude of influence of the sun on
for food security in developing countries. Earth’s climate was not well understood . Since
the early 1990’s extensive research was put in
Factors of Global Warming determining what role the sun had in global
warming or climate change.
Greenhouse Gases
Human Impacts on Climate
A greenhouse gas is a gas in an atmosphere
that absorbs and emits radiation within the The Earth’s climate is more clearly out of
thermal infrared range. This process is the balance and is warming. Many components of
fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. the climate system –including the temperature
The primary greenhouse gases in the Earth’s of the atmosphere, land and ocean, the extend
atmosphere are water vapour, carbon dioxide, of sea, ice and mountain glaciers, the sea level,
methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. In the Solar the distribution of precipitation and the length of
System, the atmospheres of Venus, Mars, and seasons are now enormously changing and
Titan also contain gases that cause greenhouse they are best explained by the increased
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Anju Agrawal
Fig 1. The factors contributing to the greenhouse gases
abundances of greenhouse gases and aerosols The cause of disruptive climate change unlike,
generated by humans in the twentieth century ozone depletion, is tied to energy rise and runs
(Fig. 1; Table 1). through modern society. Mitigation strategies
and adaptation responses will call for
During recent millennia of relatively stable collaboration across science technology,
climate after civilization became established and industry and government. As part of the duty the
population increased. An additional global scientific community should collectively have
warming of even 10C above the last decade is special responsibilities to pursue research
far beyond the range of climate variability needed to understand it, to educate the public
experienced during the past thousand year also on the causes, risks and hazards and to
poses global problems in planning for adapting communicate clearly and objectively with those
to it. The warming of the earth above 20C above who can implement policies to shape future
19th century levels is projected to be disruptive, climate.
reducing global agricultural productivity, causing
loss of biodiversity and if sustained over Impact of global warming on polar flora and
centuries melting much of the Greenland ice fauna
sheet with ensuring rise in sea level of several
In agreement with different climate models
meters. In order to avoid this 20C of warming
developed by the researchers and confirmed by
our net annual emissions of CO 2 must be
IPCC (the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
reduced by more than 50 percent within this
change), the poles are the regions of the world
century.
where the climate change is more rapid. This
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Effect of global warming on climate change
Table 1. Atmospheric Greenhouse Gases (except water vapour) adjusted for heat retention
characteristics, relative to CO2
Comparison of greenhouse Pre- Natural Man- Tot. Relative Percent of
gases equally with respect to industrial additions made Contribution Total
CO2. baseline (new) additions (new)
(new) (new)
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) 288,000 68,520 11,880 368,400 72.369%
Methane (CH4) 17,808 12,117 6,720 36,645 7.199%
Nitrous Oxide (N2O) 88,350 3,599 4,771 96,720 19.000%
CFC's (and other misc. gases) 2,500 0 4,791 7,291 1.432%
Total 396,658 84,236 28,162 509,056 100.000%
Table 2. Benefits of adopting sustainable farming practices
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Mammals which occupy diverse areas with the Invertebrates represent 97 per cent of all animal
notable exceptions of whales of Earth and species . Though most of the invertebrates are
dolphins, are primarily terrestrial animals that small, their influence on the surrounding is
inhabit diverse areas of the Earth. Mammalian enormous. Bees, ants, moths and other insects
responses are changing due to diverse climate for example perform a critical role in life of seed
changes. Many small animals are coming out plants by transferring pollen as insect pollination
of hibernation and breeding earlier in the year is particularly important for production of certain
than they did several decades ago, while others fruits and vegetables.
are expanding their ranges to higher altitudes.
Reproductive success in polar bears has Both positive and negative impacts of climate
declined due to melting Arctic sea ice (IPCC, change occur on invertebrates and insects.
Recent working in Alaska has caused spruce
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Effect of global warming on climate change
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increased food supply does not automatically conditions, rather than the use of inputs with
mean increased food security. It is important to adverse effects. Organic agriculture combines
assess the food produces and the technology tradition, innovation and science to benefit the
and knowledge to produce and the purchasing shared environment and promote fair
power to acquire it. Sustainable agriculture relationships and a good quality of life for all
approaches thus allow farmers to improve local involved.” (Lasalle and Hepperly 2008).
food production with low cost, readily available
technologies and inputs without causing International Federation of Organic
environmental damage. Agriculture Movements (IFAOM)
Sustainable agriculture is productive Since 1990, the market for organic products
has grown from nothing, reaching $55 billion in
One criticism of sustainable agriculture, 2009 according to Organic Monitor. This
especially organic agriculture, is that it cannot demand has driven a similar increase in
meet the world’s food demands, primarily organically managed farmland. Approximately
because of low yields and insufficient organic 37,000,000 hectares (91,000,000 acres)
fertilizer. In general, organic yields can be worldwide are now farmed organically,
broadly comparable to conventional yields in representing approximately 0.9 percent of total
developing countries, organic practices can world farmland (2009) (Table 2).
greatly increase productivity, particularly if the
existing system has low-input Climate change
Organic farming is the form of agriculture that A recent study has found that organic methods
relies on techniques such as crop rotation, could produce enough food on a global per
green manure, compost and biological pest capita basis to sustain the current human
control to maintain soil productivity and control population, and potentially an ever larger
pests on a farm. Organic farming excludes or population, without putting more farmland into
strictly limits the use of manufactured fertilizers, production. The researchers examined a global
pesticides (which include herbicides, dataset of 293 examples, and found that on an
insecticides and fungicides), plant growth average, in developed countries, organic
regulators such as hormones, livestock system produces 92% of the yield produced by
antibiotics, food additives, and genetically conventional agriculture. In developing
modified organisms (DGARD). countries, however organic systems produce
80% more than conventional farms. Organic
Organic agricultural methods are internationally agriculture emphasizes closed nutrient cycles,
regulated and legally enforced by many nations, biodiversity, and effective soil management
based in large part on the standards set by the providing the capacity to mitigate and even
International Federation of Organic Agriculture reverse the effects of climate change. Organic
Movements (IFOAM), an international umbrella agriculture can decrease fossil fuel emissions
organization for organic farming organizations and, like any well managed agricultural system,
established in 1972 (Paull, 2010). IFOAM sequesters carbon in the soil. The elimination
defines the overarching goal of organic farming of synthetic nitrogen in organic systems
as: decreases fossil fuel consumption by 33
percent and carbon sequestration takes CO2
“Organic agriculture is a production system that out of the atmosphere by putting it in the soil in
sustains the health of soils, ecosystems and the form of organic matter which is often lost
people. It relies on ecological processes, in conventionally managed soils. Carbon
biodiversity and cycles adapted to local
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Effect of global warming on climate change
sequestration occurs at especially high levels their sacrifices (and if it works, as history
in organic no-till managed soil. shows, the rich and powerful will find a way to
rewrite history to claim they were the ones that
Agriculture has been undervalued and saved the planet).The climate is changing and
underestimated as a means to combat global the earth is warming up, and there is now
climate change. Soil carbon data show that overwhelming scientific consensus that it is
regenerative organic agricultural practices are happening, and human-induced. With global
among the most effective strategies for warming on the increase and species and their
mitigating CO2 emissions. habitats on the decrease, chances for
For a number of years, there have been ecosystems to adapt naturally are diminishing.
concerns that climate change negotiations will Many have agreed that climate change may be
essentially ignore a key principle of climate one of the greatest threats facing the planet.
change negotiation frameworks: the common Recent years show increasing temperatures in
but differentiated responsibilities. various regions, and/or increasing extremities in
weather patterns. So we have to cut down on
This notion of climate justice is typically ignored our way of living.
by many rich nations and their mainstream
media, making it easy to blame China, India and References
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warming Arctic: Arctic Climate Impact
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the rich countries owe a carbon debt because Cambridge United Kingdom and New York, NY,
they have already used more than their fair USS, pp144.
quota of emissions. Estay, S.A., Limal, M. and Libra, F.A.(2008) Predicting
insect pest status under climatic change
Yet, by 2050 when certain emission reductions scenarios : combining experimental data and
are needed by, their reduced emissions will still population dynamics modelling. J.Appl. Entomol.,
10, 1439-1480.
add up to be go over their fair share. However,
rather than continue down the path of unequal Hickling, R., Roy, D., Hill, J., Fox, R. and Thomas, C.
(2006) The distribution of wide range of taxonomic
development, industrialized nations can help groups are expanding pole wards. Global
pay off their carbon debt by truly helping Change Biol., 12 , 450-455.
emerging countries develop along a cleaner IPCC (2002) Climate change and Biodiversity (Gitay,
path, such as through the promised-but-barely- Habiba, Swarez, Avelino, Watson, Robert T. and
delivered technology transfer, finance, and Dokken, David Jon, eds.).
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Intergovernmental panel on climate change
within the Kyoto protocol to reduce emissions
(Parry, Martin L., Canziani, Osvaldo F., Palutikof,
by any meaningful amount, while they are all for Jean P.,van der Linden, Paul J. and Hanson, Clair
negotiating a follow on treaty that brings more E. (eds). Cambridge University Press,
pressure to developing countries to agree to Cambridge, United Kingdom, pp 1000.
emissions targets. IPCC (2007b Climate change : Synthesis report.
Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the
In effect, the more there will be delay the more Fourth Assessment Report of the
the poor nations will have to save the Earth with Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
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