Global Warming Gridlock, Essay Example

Global warming is the increase in the earth’s average temperature as a result of increasing concentration of greenhouse gases, especially CO₂ and methane. Most authoritative scientific bodies warn that the world must cut emissions by at least fifty percent by mid twenty-first century because at current rates, we could reach a point of no-return within ten years. The severity of threat could be judged by the fact that heads of eleven influential national science academies including those of the United States, United Kingdom, India, China, Brazil, France, Italy, and Japan wrote to the G-8 leaders in July 2005 that global warming is a real threat and requires an urgent response (Lever-Tracy, November 2007). Global warming is not a threat faced by a single country but instead the whole planet which is why there should be greater collaboration between international countries to tackle global warming.

The effects of global warming can already be observed all over the world and many more countries will be adversely affected if nothing is done. The data gathered by American researchers with the help of nuclear submarines showed that the ice depth in all regions of the Arctic Ocean had declined by approximately forty percent over the previous forty years. A British Antarctic Survey report found that glaciers were discharging ice three times faster than a decade earlier (Lever-Tracy, November 2007). Similarly, Inuit ice hunting is at risk in Nunavut, Canada due to thinning ice (Barnhill, November 2007). Global warming will increase the number of deaths among elderly and sick due to more intense heat waves. It will also increase diseases such as asthma and heart problems due to greater burden on the biological system to maintain normal body temperature. In addition, water will become even scarcer and agricultural output will be reduced due to droughts. The impact will be harsher on the developing countries as between 75 million and 250 million Africans may be without adequate water and sufficient food by 2020 (Barnhill, November 2007).

The most high profile and widely recognized political collaboration on global warming to-date has been the Kyoto Protocol. Representatives of 160 countries gathered in Kyoto, Japan in December, 1997 to produce a new treaty on climate change. The treaty required industrialized nations to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, sulfur dioxide, and perfluourocarbons below 1990 levels by 2012. But even such a high-profile treaty like Kyoto Protocol has failed to meet objectives because it had serious shortcomings. First of all, the treaty’s requirements only applied to the developed countries and not emerging or developing economies. In addition, the treaty didn’t require compulsory compliance and each country had an option whether to sign the treaty or not. The treaty has also failed to exert influence because the largest economy in the world, U.S. has been reluctant to affirm its commitment on the ground that it carries high economic costs for the country (Dupler, November 2007). Developed and emerging economies should realize that they have a major responsibility to lead because they are responsible for bulk to the environmental pollution. Developed nations are responsible for about 80 percent of the carbon dioxide emissions and more than 60 percent industrial carbon dioxide emissions are generated in the developed countries despite containing having 20 percent of the global population (Barnhill, November 2007).

Global warming has also been the primary factor behind the recent wave of natural disasters. Seven of the ten deadliest natural disasters over the period 1987-2007 years occurred just between 2000 and 2006. Human actions have exacerbated natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. Global variations in climate also cause famine and draughts. The impact of natural disasters is particularly severe on the poor countries because they have poor infrastructure and resources. Global warming also increases the risk of flooding and surging of ocean storms (Berry, November 2007) and the relatively recent tsunami in Japan is one example.

Even though global warming has become one of the major global issues, it still has its fair share of skeptics. Some argue that experiments carried out in support of global warming theory have serious design flaws. One of the criticisms of Michael Mann’s famous “Hockey Stick” graph was that there was not enough data for periods before 1600. In addition, measurements from balloons and satellites in the lower troposphere have indicated cooling which is in contrast to the measurements from the surface and the upper troposphere (Lever-Tracy, November 2007). Critics also argue that the changes in temperate are part of natural climate cycles that have existed since old times.

Many countries have also refused to accept greater responsibility because of two main reasons which are economic costs and unfair treatment of developed countries. U.S. President Bush opposed the U.S. signing of the Kyoto Protocol by claiming that it would cost the U.S. economically $400 billion and 4.9 million jobs. President Bush also claimed that his country’s own plan of voluntary restrictions would work equally well and also avoid the potential economies losses that may result from signing the Kyoto Protocol (Dupler, November 2007).

Developed countries like the U.S. also argue that it is unfair to require compliance from developed countries while giving free hand to developing countries including China and India which are also major economic players. Developing countries argue that they should be given an opportunity to grow without the burden of environmental compliance since developed countries also enjoyed that benefit. Developing countries also argue that developed countries have frequently forced dirty industries to relocate to the developing countries while reaping signigicant economic benefits themselves. Developing countries claims that per capita carbon emissions are a lot higher in the developed economies like the U.S. than they are in the developing economies such as Brazil, China, and India. Per capita emissions in the U.S. currently stand at 20 times India’s, 12 times Brazil’s, and seven times China’s (Barnhill, November 2007). Developing countries also emphasize the fact that it will be unfair to make them bear the economic costs associated with reducing greenhouse emissions that they didn’t create (Randhir, November 2007).

Critics also argue that laws will not be practical due to the economic stakes involved. If some of the largest corporations such as Exxon Mobil lower their production, it will have significant impact on their home countries. The studies that have raised doubts over global warming claims have often been sponsored by corporations such as Exxon Mobil and these corporations also have huge influence over their national governments. The power of these corporations and their lobbyists can be judged by the fact that they even succeeded in removing IPCC chairperson Robert Watson from his post (Dupler, November 2007).

As far as U.S. refusal on the basis of economic costs is concerned, the country should note that even European economies such as Germany and Japan could also present same objections but they have not which means that they believe it is possible to economically grow while complying with Kyoto’s requirements. U.S. argues that its own monitoring system is good enough but this is also a weak argument because every country could argue it can monitor itself well. If such a thing happens, there would be no way of ensuring that all countries are taking steps to reduce global warming because they would not have threat of criticism by the international community. Critics sometimes blame supporting studies for faulty design but if it is true then the world’s most reputed national science academies would not mutually stand united on the issue. As far as opposition from commercial entities is concerned, every issue always attracts criticism from those who perceive a threat to their economic interests. The goal should be to maximize the overall welfare of the global community rather than few commercial entities.

I believe the global warming is real. If we look at the last three decades, the number of skeptics among the scientific community has continued to decline. In addition, the national science academies in almost all countries unanimously support the position that global warming is real and time is running out. The studies that have raised doubts have often been sponsored by private corporations with economic stakes in the debate and, thus, have no credibility. In addition, the effects of global warming can be seen everywhere including the loss of natural habitat around the world, significant rise in the occurrence of natural disasters, and rise in average global temperatures. We may not be able to eliminate the emissions of all greenhouse gases but we can at least take steps to reduce the damage. Everyone on the planet has stake in it and instead of focusing on differences, we should work together for the common good of everyone.

Global warming has now become one of the most challenging global issues due to its magnitude as well as time-sensitive nature. Kyoto Protocol has been the most significant treat on global warming to date but it has serious shortcomings. First of all, compliance is voluntary and second, U.S. has refused to sign the treaty, citing economic disadvantage and unfair treatment of developed countries. The effects of global warming are everywhere including natural disasters and loss of natural habitat and the nature of the calamities will only become more severe and frequent over time if nothing is done. It affects every country but developing countries are particularly hit hard due to lack of resources and infrastructure. There will always be skeptics but global warming is now a scientific fact and instead of wasting time in debating the merits of the issues, efforts should be spent on addressing the issue because time is fast running out.

References

Barnhill, J. H. (November 2007). Developing Countries. In M. R. USA, & 2nd (Ed.), International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences (pp. 319-323). Macmillan.

Berry, L. (November 2007). Disasters. In M. R. USA, International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences (2nd ed., pp. 463-464). Macmillan.

Dupler, D. (November 2007). Kyoto Protocol. In M. R. USA, International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences (2nd ed., pp. 959-961). Macmillan.

Lever-Tracy, C. (November 2007). Global Warming. In M. R. USA, & 2nd (Ed.), International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences (pp. 327-330). Macmillan.

Randhir, T. (November 2007). Global Warming: Policy Making. In M. R. USA, International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences (2nd ed., p. 135). Macmillan.