Climate Change Essay

Once, I visited a hospital for my health checkup,there I saw a man with shattered skin,rashes all over the body;clearcut it was the case of allergy.Doctors are rushing and making report on it.After a week I again visited that hospital for my scheduled checkup,then I came to know a shocking news-that allergy case was the case of Ganga bath!! Alas! Holy river Ganga, ancient river Ganga ,that Ganga which takes away all the sins from mankind, today causing allergy,irritation,skin rashes!!! that man has to pay price for his religious belief†¦ Also scientists got some samples from Ganga from specific places having disease causing microbes. This small case itself indicate the change we have made in our nature. Change is the law of nature,change is inevitable and change is evergoing process,but Climate Change is one of the most complex,multifaceted and serious threat that the World face. Whether you are adding your bit to the heap of garbage piling up in your locality or not become meaningless when the garbage begins to rot-the stench will reach your nose too,Climate Change induced by global warming works much the same way. World famous scientists all over the country had evaluated climate change and came to conclusion that Greenhouse Gases ,CFC, Carbondieoxide and many other toxic gases are the cause of environment degradation.Though it is true scientifically,the root lies elsewhere;that is in the greed of human being.Our greed led to adavancement of technology and led us farther from peace and prosperity of all. Increasing consumption of electricity due to intiation of several new industries,disposal of garbage without treatment to maximize profit,use of environment hazardious substances like polythene in our daily life are concrete examples of human greed. People have been influencing the Biosphere for at least 8000 years,since the invention of Agriculture,but Climate Change has proposed a threat over our Agriculture.The most affected area of Climate Change will be Agriculture and its biodiversity. The first and foremost impact of climate change is in biodiversity specially Islands biodiversity.nearly one –fourth of the worlds countries are Island and they are treasure trove of biodiversity.Also they provide food,fresh water ,wood,fibre,medicine,fuel and other raw materials. But increasing sea level has given a alarm threat to them,The New Moore Island of India in Sunderbans has been consumed recently by rising sea,many other Pacific atoll nation Island of Kiribati,Islands of Vanuatu also submerged in early history.we are loosing huge . biodiversity;these are initial cases†¦ Rather IPCC has warned that a rise in sea levels of between 18 and 59cm by 2100 would be enough to submerge many other big islands, including Maldives and make them unhabitable,also of the 724 recorded animal extinctions in 400 years about half were Island species .also climate change will bring degradation of coastal environment and natural resources on which poor rural people depend.Higher rates of erosion and coastal land loss may vanish our islands In context of Agriculture,sea level rise will also cause increased salinity due to encroachment of the sea and saltwater intrusion into freshwater lenses,contributing to an increasing shortage of water supply and loss of agriculture land.The most vulnerable section will be the poor and marginal farmers with small landholdings because ‘extreme weather events’will specially occur in tropics,fundamental changes in rainfall pattern together with rising temperature will shorten growing season and reduce crop productivity . Acco.to World Bank 75% of 1.2 billion people are trapped in extreme poverty,so they will fail to adopt new rotation practices and thus most vulnerable to climate change. World wide farming is a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions accouting for 20% of total emissions.Atmospheric concentration of methane has more than doubled during the past 200 years.Natural wetlands,fossil fuels related to natural gas,coal mines coal industry,electric fermentation,rice fields,biomass burning,landfills accont for 75% of methane production in our environment. thus major source of greenhouse gases is agriculture itself. Rice fields are the most significant contributors of atmospheric methane accounting for 11-13% of the world’s total methane production. Also, rice production will need to expand by around 70% over the next 25 years to meet the demands of fast growing human population whose food demand is expected to double in developing world in next 40 years. Thus if we increase our crop area specially staple crop area in near future then the problem of global warming is likely to increase. Already in today’s era 800 million people are unnourished, in India only 30 million people suffer hunger,46% children are underweight and 17000 people are dying per day due to hunger on an average. Thus in near future we are going to face a great threat not only of climate change but also of food security†¦. However, Not all effects of climate change on agriculture are expected to be negative, most of the major food crops are C-3 plants including staple food like rice ,wheat, oat, barley will show increase in yield ranging from 25% to 64% due to increased CO2 level, also most of the noxious weed are C4 plants and their growth will be checked. But this is only one side of the coin ,increased temperature due to increase in CO2 level may rise the pest attack up to 25% and fungal disease attack up to 20% and also disturb our monsoon pattern.In an overview it can be said that it will create more and new problem rather than benefits because the worst sufferers would be farmers of Rainfed agriculture which cover 60% of all cultivable lands. Today humanbeings have become dependent on technologies which are dependent on non -renewable resources and produce illeffects in long run.nowdays we say that glaciers are shrinking;may be shrinking but more that the heart of the people and their philosophy is shrinking too.while the drastic effects of global warming has been discussed in many scientific circles,had their run on T.V. and even had well meaning Hollywood films but the need of the hour is to change ourselves,to reduce our luxurious wants. The need of the hour is to develop a) True sustainability,there should be synergies between climate mitigation strategies and development policies in areas of energy efficiency,fuel substitution,renewable ,afforestration,and land and waste management. b) The planning should not be for temporary economic gains and support,but for sustainability in future as well.There should be partnerships with communities,individuals,and private sector to frame effective measures to reduce the impact the effect of climate change. Today we all peoples of the world need to change our habbits ,not only in Agricultural practices but also in our daily life practicices†¦ Switching of fans and light before leaving room ,efficient use of water at home , proper garbage disposal at micro level, though seems to be a very minute step but the huge building of true sustainability will only form above these basic steps because this will be the 1st step against our greed, so step ahead and realize your own responsibility ,because it is not the time to curse the darkness but to light a small lamp. References: 1. â€Å"Know climate change† by Tanya Agarwal 2. â€Å"Global climate change† by Arnold J.Bloom 3. Science Reporter (CSIR) 4. IPCC website