RRL

August 8, 2017

Research Questions:

1. What are the factors of Climate Change that affect the mental well-being of a person?

2. What happens to the mental health of a person when it is affected by Climate Change?

The importance of this study will let the readers to be aware of the possible causes of

climate change that can affect the mental health of humans. It will also discuss the

outcomes of climate change and the crucial meaning of it to the environment. Climate

change is a serious phenomenon that needs to get more attention due to its impacts.

According to Annan (2015), “The effects of climate change are being felt all over the

planet, but not equally.” Unfortunately, many are still ignorant about these certain issues

of our environment although they are being affected severely by it. Ignorance can be

stopped by knowing what causes the climate to change. Therefore, deforestation,

emission of greenhouse gases, and such human activities are just some factors that causes

climate change.

Deforestation is one factor of climate change. It can cause heavy floods, soil erosion, loss

of habitat in animals, and etc. Terrestrial ecosystems such as forests absorb more CO 2

than release but when deforestation is being done, it becomes a major source of CO 2

(Henson, 2014). Burning of rainforests make the temperature rise due to CO 2 being

trapped in the Earth’s atmosphere causing the ozone layer to get thinner and it also causes
some areas to experience floods. For these reasons, people may suffer from mosquito-

borne diseases due to extreme flooding; not only animals are being affected by

deforestation but also humans.

Another factor is the emission of greenhouse gases. Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA, 2015) has enumerated that the most significant greenhouse gases are Water vapor

(H2O), Carbon dioxide (CO2), Methane (CH4), and Nitrous oxide (N2O). These gases are

responsible for the greenhouse effect that leads to global warming. They warm the

atmosphere because they absorb heat that is radiated by Earth but release only part of that

heat to space. These causes a hotter weather on the Earth’s surface and people tend to

suffer from heat strokes and skin illnesses.

Human Activities are also one of the factors of climate change. Smoke coming from

vehicles, using of sprays that contain CFC’s, burning of plastics, and emission of gases

from power plants are some human activities that contribute to the problem. IPCC Fifth

Assessment Report (2014) concluded that there is more than 95% probability that human

activities over the past fifty years have warmed our planet. As a result, global warming

and climate change are now serious problems that are being felt all over the world.

Climate change can be the cause of various diseases to humans resulting from the release

of toxic and polluted air.

In conclusion, humans are the main contributors why the climate is changing. These

factors are made by people all over the world. Preventing global warming and climate
change is never too late. It can be prevented by reducing the emission of those gases, by

making use of eco-friendly materials, by following the three R’s – Reduce, Reuse,

Recycle, and by conserving water and energy. Probably, if these issues are not getting a

serious attention then extreme natural disasters may continue to happen in the future and

people will suffer its consequences.