Global Warming – A perspective
Author : C.P.Hariharan
E mail id.:- cphari_04@yahoo.co.in
More often than not, we crib, fret and fume about global warming. Once upon a time, no sooner did the pouring rainy season takes a retreat than winter used to set in September in Delhi and people throng markets in masses to collect their woollen clothes. Now that, the winter starts very lately, rather reluctantly due to global warming, leaving us to wonder whether winter would set in or not at all ?
Global warming is a state of presence of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide that envelope the atmosphere beyond desirable limits which results in lingering of heat in the planet. It is the consequence of too much dependence on fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas for our energy needs. Presence of too much CO2 in ozone layer has a direct bearing on climate and on our health. If unchecked, co2 will assume alarming proportions and the rising temperature would go beyond the acceptable limits of 2 Degree Celsius over industrial average. We should try to reduce the emissions of gases that trap heat.
There is no panacea to deal with the problem of global warming. Our aim should be to bring down the gases that precipitate global warming by 80 % by 2050.
We can help to reduce the global warming by resorting to increasing the efficiency of gas like running more mile per litre, mass rapid transport system, encouraging car pooling etc.
The aim is to reduce gas emissions that cause global warming.
Domestic and industrial appliances generate lot of heat. Domestic appliances like fridge, ac and diesel generating sets used for power supply emit a lot of heat which causes global warming. By resorting to energy efficiency technology, we can lower the level of heat emissions. We use fridge for twenty four hours a day whereas we use ac only till the room gets cooled as many people cannot afford running ac round the clock.
Petrol prices are set high to discourage too much use of car. In nuclear society, use of car pool is conspicuous by it’s absence.
Embarking on renewable sources of energy like solar, wind, geo thermal and bio energy help us to mitigate pollution and can be implemented quickly and are economical.
Minimizing use of coal for generating electricity helps in reducing global warming.
Felling of trees constitutes nearly 17 % for lingering of gas emissions. This results in degradation of forests and ecological imbalance.
By abandoning electricity generation using fossil fuels like carbon intensive coal to monitor climate change.
Capturing and storing gas emissions underground.
We can improve forest degradation through innovative food production.
Using of nuclear power mitigates gas emissions but it poses threat to our security. Accident at Fukushima Diachi Plant in Japan is a glaring example of threat to health and environment. Still, we witness proliferation of nuclear power plants jeopardising our own security calling for waste management and ensuring safety standards.
Relying on low or zero carbon technology to reach the target of 80 % reduction in gas emissions by the turn of 2050.Battery technology, bio technology like resourcing energy from bacteria and algae, changing material content of solar cells are other innovative alternatives to reduce global warming.
Developed countries should offer financial and technological assistance to emerging economies for transcending to low carbon technologies to meet our energy needs and in restoring favourable climate.
Now that, we feel the pinch of ever increasing global warming around the world as we experience the same.
Unless we monitor climate change, there will be dare consequences like encroachment of islands by rising sea levels, inundation of low lying lands, heat waves followed by pernicious break out of epidemics earth quakes, tsunami which have to be solved locally by adopting unique ways suitable to discrete communities as there is not a single panacea to deal with global warming.
Poor countries are more susceptible to global warming as they lack infrastructural investments to deal with global warming.
As we know, trees influence the climate to a major extent, we should plant trees and nourish and nurture them. Trees give out oxygen in the presence of sunlight during the process of photosynthesis.
We experience coolness in the green areas and feel the heat in treeless barren areas. Clean and green environment should be our motto which go a long way in curbing global warming.
Global warming expedites the natural process of global warming. This causes flooding of rivers and rising sea levels followed by devastation of public infrastructure like roads, bridges and farms and inundation of islands and low lying lands.
Rising sea levels also adversely affect sea plantations due to fading sun light that pierce deeper into the sea and causes extinction of certain species of sea animals relying on food from these plants generated through photosynthesis.
Global warming causes melting of glaciers which adversely aggravates the same. Glaciers radiate the heat into space. But, with the melting of glaciers, the earth below gets exposed and glaciers absorb and radiate more heat thereby rising global temperatures. Thus, a vicious cycle is created.
Radiated heat is severe than the heat itself.
Even if more than two third of the earth is covered by water, still only hardly 2 % of the water is potable. We depend on glaciers for fresh supply of water. Global warming expedites melting of glaciers which inundates river beds and get merged in seas. Shrinking glaciers also pose a great threat to supply of fresh water.
Fast rate of melting glaciers also affects fresh supply of water for irrigation and thereby reduces agricultural productivity creating food shortage.
Animals, birds and fishes which thrive on glaciers lose their habitats due to melting of glaciers. Animals lose their feeds and starve to death. Some species of polar bears even become extinct. Parts of ice land become iceless and streams get dried up.
Dusty cities add fuel to the fire of global warming. Especially in winters due to fog and smog, much of the suspending dusts and gaseous emissions from vehicles trap heat from radiating and remain lingering in ozone layer.
Festivals like Diwali also add to the vows of global warming.
Cities are highly polluted due to the heavy traffic flow of countless vehicles. Car pooling is rare in cities even if people heave a sigh of relief from mass rapid transport system.
Vanishing glaciers provide a stumbling block to hydro electric generation and thereby reduce efficiency of hydro electric plants to generate electricity which will have direct pressure on other sources of energy like burning of fossil fuels.
Glaciers are massive sheets of ice and are heavy. They exert enormous pressure on water and suppress earthquakes. Melting glaciers give room for earth quakes, volcanic eruption and tsunami as the pressure on earth gets reduced thereby leaving the tectonic plates to move against one another freely that results in abrasion and can lead to earth quakes.
Hydrogen sulphide released from carcasses of animals also cause so much of pollution and spoils the ozone layer making it an oven.
Garbage not disposed on regular basis also causes a lot of pollution hindering and hampering the heat to diffuse.
As the extent and gravity of global warming varies from place to place, community level micro solution is better than macro solutions for the world at large.
Various sectors contribute to global warming as follows.
Energy supply 26 %
Industrial effluents 19 %
Forest degradation 17 %
Agricultural production 14%
Transport 13 %
Residential and commercial accommodation 8%
And the last but not the least, waste and waste water 3 %
Some airlines even offer carbon credits to passengers who take initiative to monitor emission of gases by planting more trees.
Since the sand absorbs and releases heat faster than water, deserts remain cool in nights.
Use of desert coolers in place of ac helps in reducing global warming. But, desert coolers can be used in humid conditions only without water.
We make a lot of hullabaloo, make too much fuss about global warming, Need of the hour is action.
A concerted effort at community levels will definitely pay rich dividends.
Author : C.P.Hariharan
Email id. : - cphari_04@yahoo.co.in
