CLIMATE CHANGE

Scientific researchers, films, documentaries and personal observations show that the weather is becoming hotter and drier. Hurricanes, flooding, droughts and storms are stronger and more frequent.

I will start by examining the causes of these phenomena. Burning fossil fuels such as coal and oil cause the greenhouse effect which has increased the global temperature one degree in the last fifty years. As a consequence the ice at the polar circles is melting, and heavy rain and rising water levels in the rivers have caused serious flooding too.

Pollution, however, is the greatest challenge of our world. The emissions produced by factories have created acid rain which destroys crops. Chemicals used in pesticides have built up in the food chain and are threatening humans and wildlife. Most households produce large amounts of waste which is taken to landfill sites. As a result, parts of the world’s population are suffering severe famines and droughts, while others see how illnesses, like asthma or allergies, are increasing, or their crops are destroyed by unexpected flooding, or severe drought.

On the other hand, ordinary people are more and more conscious of global warming, and they are asking their politicians to make greener policies, many more people behave in an environmentally friendly way and are trying to minimize their footprint on Earth.

Despite these facts, developing countries, like China, Brazil or India , haven’t signed the statements approved in international meetings like Kyoto or Denmark, arguing that it’s their chance to develop, so why  couldn’t  they pollute as much as developed countries have done before, in order to  provide their population with a standard welfare status as common states in developed countries?

It is a commonly held view that climate change is a controversial topic. Nevertheless, we should therefore encourage the use of renewable energy resources such as wind, and solar energy , because these do not create carbon dioxide emissions. So, reducing our carbon footprint, and being environmentally friendly is a good practice if we want our descendants to inherit something of our current world.