Another issue that has reached recent headlines is the fact that the polar ice caps are melting, again showing that the world’s temperatures are rising. By this slight land change each year, so much can be altered for the worse, such as animals losing their habitats and feeding grounds and eventually the animals will become extinct. On a larger scale, however, the sea levels will rise, meaning that millions of people around the globe will be made homeless and many lives will be lost again, causing suffering. In addition, the land will be under increased pressure because populations will be forced into smaller areas in which to live and survive. If this were to happen, life would be a continual competition in which the Survival of the Fittest would ‘come into play’.
Currently, less economically developed countries are going through their industrial revolution and so their carbon emissions are larger than normal and still increasing in order to cope with their huge populations. An example of this is China, which is rapidly producing power plants at a rate of two large plants per week. The carbon dioxide and other gases that are produced are causing air pollution, which is preventing the Sun’s rays from leaving the Earth’s atmosphere leading to the ‘Greenhouse Effect’ – named because it is the same process, which occurs with a greenhouse.
Also, by burning fossil fuels we add harmful gases into the atmosphere, which leads to the Greenhouse Effect, because the carbon dioxide produced is one of the main elements that cause it.
Man’s effect on our planet can be seen by the reduction of trees and deforestation that takes place in the rainforests but also around us in Britain. These trees are vital for the carbon cycle and without them the perfect balance that the earth has is altered. Trees not only provide homes for humans and animals, but they respire carbon dioxide and so help to maintain carbon dioxide levels. If these trees were still here or more were planted there would be a much lesser chance of the Greenhouse effect and global warming from occurring and we would most likely not see freak weather and natural disasters happening.
It is now a never-ending cycle, an example to show this is desertification, which has the same influence to us as deforestation. Desertification is the term used when deserts spread and expand due to over grazing or draught. Currently, deserts are growing due to pressure being put on the land by people and conflict, and lack of rainfall. As the world heats up due to global warming there will be fewer rainfalls on already barren land and so more and more animals, plants and humans will die as a result. So, not only are we destroying our world; we are destroying ourselves.
To continue with what we are doing now, such as burning fossil fuels, producing great amounts of carbon dioxide and throwing countless amounts of recyclable waste away is not sustainable. We are changing the world today and affecting the lives of people in the future.
There are many minute changes, such as recycling and using renewable energy, that can slow down the rate of global warming or prevent any more damage form occurring. But until every country and every person decides to do so, it will be a everlasting battle ending in disaster.
