Global Issues

Humankind future is being shaped by several issues which are beyond the ability of a single nation to solve thus require the cooperation of several states to combat the challenges. Some of the global issues that affect the world today include terrorism, unemployment, poverty, immigration, food security, financial instability, and climate change. Human activities are the primary cause of most of these challenges experienced in the world today. Climate change can be defined as the change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns that extend for a longer duration of time (Bulkeley & Newell, 2015). The weather patterns that are being experienced in the world today differ significantly with the patterns experienced a decade ago. The paper will discuss the factors that cause climate change that is experienced in most parts of the world.

Doyle (2016), forcing mechanisms are factors that shape the climate of a specific region. Forcing mechanisms can either be classified as internal or external factors. Internal factors are natural processes within the climate system that lead to climate change. On the other hand, external forcing mechanisms can either natural or anthropogenic factors that are caused by human activities (Höök & Tang, 2013). Whether the fundamental forcing mechanism is external or internal, they both harm the climate of an area. One of the internal forcing mechanisms that cause climate change is the variability of ocean-atmosphere circulation. The atmosphere and the ocean spontaneously work together to alter the climate variability of a region that might persist for decades.

Some of the examples of these variabilities include the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation and the Pacific decadal oscillation. The variations affect the global average surface temperature thus redistributing the heat patterns between the atmosphere and land. The changing patterns of heat distributions change the atmospheric vapor, clouds, and sea ice distribution as well thus altering earth’s energy (Bulkeley & Newell, 2015). Life is also another internal forcing factor that affects climate. Life plays an essential role in the water and carbon cycle around the world. Natural life processes such as evapotranspiration and weathering favor climate change.

External forcing mechanisms also play an essential role in controlling the general climate of the earth. An example of external forcing factors includes anthropogenic factors. Anthropogenic factors are human activities which impact the climate negatively. According to scientific consensus, climate change is widely attributed to social activities rather than natural causes. Industrialization is one of the first events that affect the environment and the climate (Höök & Tang, 2013). Due to increased innovation, the number of industries has risen drastically over the past decade. The increasing level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is associated with industrialization.

Also, fossil fuel combustion elevates the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere which is one of the greenhouse gases (Pasgaard & Strange, 2013). The greenhouse effect is warming that results when the atmosphere traps the heat radiations from earth to space. Greenhouse effect leads to increased temperatures which in turn change the climatic patterns of an area (Doyle, 2016). Also, activities such as deforestation tamper with the biodiversity and ecosystem of a region. Trees are the primary eliminators of carbon dioxide in any ecosystem. Therefore, cutting down trees will increase the concentration of carbon dioxide levels in an area which in turn cause the greenhouse effect.

Natural occasions such as orbital variations and solar output also lead to climate change. If a slight deviation occurs in the motion of the earth on its orbit, it results in the seasonal distribution of sunlight which in turn affect the distribution of the sun on the surface of the planet. The variation cause changes in the annual and geographical distribution of the sun. The three critical types of kinematic changes include precession of earth’s axis, the angle of tilt of the earth’s axis, and changes in earth’s eccentricity (Doyle, 2016). The combination of these three factors produces the Milankovitch cycle which has significance impact to the climate.

Volcanism injects Sulphur dioxide into the stratosphere of the earth. The properties of Sulphur dioxide allow it to scatter and absorb solar radiations. The resulting phenomena are the creation of Sulfuric acid haze layer. The layer blocks the transmission of radiations into the earth’s surface thus causing a cooling effect on the surface (Pasgaard & Strange, 2013). The surface temperature drops rapidly thus changing the climate patterns of the area around the volcanic eruption. Other factors that cause climate change include glaciers and plate tectonics.

In conclusion, global issues require the cooperation of several nations in combatting the challenges. One of the global problems is climate change which can be defined as the change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns that extend for a longer duration of time. Human activities that lead to climate change include industrialization, deforestation, and natural occasions such as orbital variation, solar outputs, volcanism, and variability of ocean-atmosphere circulation.

 

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