Consequences of Global Climate Change

Dr James Hansen’s argumentative essay, “A Solution to the Climate Problem,” discusses his premise that it is imperative for humankind to deal with carbon dioxide emissions, which he believes needs to be phased out by the mid-21st century. He begins with the current paradigm in government efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and claims that so far it has been a lot of talk and action in the other direction. Dr Hansen argues that while governments pay lip service to agreements such as the Kyoto Accord, they are going full steam ahead with projects that will result in increased carbon dioxide emissions, such as going forth with coal-fired power plants, coal-to-liquids, hydraulic fracturing, and tar sands oil extraction. Dr Hansen believes

The excessive use of oil in the United States has been a very controversial debate with American experts and scientists. In his article “How America Can Free Itself of Oil-Profitability,” Amory Lovins addresses the many different issues associated with excessive oil consumption and the risks versus the benefits. Amory Lovins is a physicist, environmental scientist, writer, and Chairman/Chief Scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute. He has written numerous research articles arguing for the use of renewable energy and alternatives for oil. Lovins also regularly gives presentations to other environmentalists discussing the pros and cons of oil consumption. It is clear that his target audience is the demographic of academics, scientists,

A problem that needs to be addressed is America’s ongoing political controversies since 1977 is the question of whether or not to drill for oil. Clearly, It seems that the situation is much more worrisome than most people would expect. The main and obvious argument against is the environmental impact that drilling in a fragile environment like the Arctic and how big of an impact an oil spill will be. Other impacts include conflict between countries and also key players and how they affect the potential drilling for oil. Decision It takes the focus off the real cause of the oil shortage the worlds excessive consumption.The drilling may not yield much of anything.It could take years or decades before any significant amount of oil is ready for use.The reserve can be saved as a last resort decades from now when we’ve exhausted other supplies. Critics argue that we shouldn’t drill in ANWR { Arctic National wildlife refuge) because it will take 10 years for the oil produced to become available. America’s struggling economy, dismal job growth, growing national debt, and increasing reliance on hostile countries for energy make this moment the ideal time to harness our abundant energy resources in ANWR. Even some temporary good effects, they will be more than offset by bad effects, some of which could be very bad indeed. We may be reaching the limits of a finite world. If our only problem was high oil prices, then low oil prices would seem to be a solution. Unfortunately, the problem

Indeed, if we accept the danger of global warming to be a real and present one, then the question of how to address it must be given serious consideration. Research conducted from as early as the 1950s through the present has afforded us a solid understanding of its causes. In the most basic sense, the problem lies in the burning of carbon-based fossil fuels such as carbon and oil which leads to the emission of carbon dioxide (CO2). Gases such as CO2 are referred to as greenhouse gases (GHGs) which accumulate in the atmosphere. GHGs can

The results of the 1973 oil embargo initially looked like a victory for OPEC nations which enjoyed enormous economic windfalls and new geopolitical influence. The United States and other oil importers were hit unprecedented fuel costs and painful recessions. Over the last 40 years those fortunes have reversed higher oil prices from the OPEC states have caused ever increasing corruption, stagnation, and political repression. In the rest of the world expensive oil triggered a surge of investment in alternative energy and drastic improvements in energy efficiency . Since 1973 the energy intensity of the U.S. economy which is the amount of energy consumption per unit of GDP has fallen by more than half and Petroleum use per capita has dropped by more than one third. The most important change has been the deceleration of total carbon emissions, which is what matters the most of mitigating climate change. In the decade before 1973 carbon emissions rose 4.5 percent annually; since 1973 they have risen less than .4 percent a year. In 2012 the world emitted a record 35.6 billion tons of carbon dioxide (unsustainably high) if carbon emissions had to continue to rise at their pre 1973 pace we would have emitted a total of 112 billion tons of carbon dioxide more than 3 times the actual level. Perhaps it was merely good luck that policies adopted after the 1973 embargo have helped address a

Studies held in Svalbard have shown that the reindeer population has been decreasing it’s body mass. Reindeer born in the 1990’s weighed about 121 pounds, and those born in 2010 weighed about 106 pounds. This issue is a direct result of climate change, which is the expansion of the greenhouse effect, that is being caused by the doings of humans. Climate change indicates warmer winters means more rain. When the rain freezes, it creates a thick layer of ice above their food, which prevents the reindeer from eating, and creating serious competition for other food. The hungry females either aren’t able to give birth or produce babies that are much tinier.

There is no denying that the effects of climate change are upon us. The cause of climate change, however, is often a debatable topic. The livestock industry is expanding at an alarming rate to meet the needs of an increasing population. Throughout the world, between the years 1971 and 2012, meat production has tripled, to 600 billion pounds a year, while the population only grew by 81%. This generation is currently eating meat on a much larger scale than their parents and grandparents ever did, just a few decades ago (Scheer). Climate change can be referred to as “any long-term change in Earth's climate, or in the climate of a region or city. This includes warming, cooling and changes besides temperature.” according to NASA (Dunbar). To combat

The world is depended on oil and soon oil will become more valuable than gold and could lead to a worldwide war. Price for oil could soar to above two hundred fifty dollars per barrel. Oil and other fuel cell also cause green house gases which contribute to global warming. China is consuming two times more petroleum than 1996 and India is projected to consume three times the oil it currently does by 2050. Global house gas emission has increased by twenty percent from 2003 to 2006. Energy consumption has increased exponentially throughout the globe. The U.S. department of energy projects energy consumption will increase seventy percent from 2003 to 2030. The world has agreed to reduce emission by twenty five percent before 2020 and by over

Global warming is the environmental and social changes caused by emissions of greenhouse gases. Human activities have been the primary cause of this significant change, resulting with extreme weather conditions, increasing sea levels, and climate changes. In this paper I will compare and contrast natural versus anthropogenic climate changes of global warming, mitigation strategies, mitigation effectiveness, policy implications, costs, and address some policy changes to help stabilize global climate.

Oil majors are caught in a dilemma; the challenge of choosing between being proactive towards the pressing climate change issue in a carbon-constrained world by shifting their interest from the pursue of further exploration and production of hydrocarbons, and between maintaining current business models that prioritizes immediate profit and short-termism in capitalizing on fossil fuel market while it remains feasible from an economic standpoint and from a return on energy investment perspective. (RoEI).

The scientific consensus on global warming is sobering: Its real, it’s happening now and carbon dioxide emissions caused by the burning of fossil fuels are almost certainly responsible. Predicting what the exact effects will be on humanity and the planet’s living resources is trickier, but a growing body of evidence suggests they will be profound…, and most wealthy industrial nations have adopted mandatory limits on carbon emissions under the 2005 Kyoto Protocol. (Woodard, 2007, p.27).

One of the biggest political and legal issues that affect the oil and gas industry is the cause of changing of present climates as there are a lot of harmful petroleum products that can cause damage to the environment such as carbon dioxide cause greenhouse gas, sulfur dioxide cause acid rain which could eventually be harmful to animal, planet and worsen illness and heart diseases… Another issue

Human existence and activities have proved to contribute immensely to the warming. When oil was first becoming a major world energy resource, greedy capitalists actively pursued any and all measures to profit from it. The expansion of embryonic corporations became the single most superior motive, forgetting completely about the care of the planet. All aspects of oil production, including the: extraction, refining and transportation generated considerable amounts of environmental pollution. Oil spills from international transportation became a major concern and in 1990

There is a dire divide between scientists and politicians in the world that has potential to seriously harm the entirety of the Earth. Nothing represents that divide as closely as the debate over climate change. In a NASA article describing global warming and authored by Holli Riebeek, it was found that an almost unanimous amount, 97%, of climate scientists believe that there is strong evidence to confirm global warming (Riebeek) Many world governments reflect the American congress, in which over a quarter of Representatives and Senators obstinately assert that global warming is a lie, no matter what evidence is presented to the contrary. The depth of the misunderstandings became especially apparent

U.S. Conditions like Florida and other states with a high range of hot spells are perfect