51吃瓜

Climate change is heating the planet, endangering the lives of billions of human beings and threatening the survival of other species.

Background

Most dictionaries define climate as the generally prevailing weather conditions of a region鈥攁s temperature, air pressure, humidity, precipitation, sunshine, cloudiness and winds鈥攁veraged over a series of years.

Over the course of time, many species have gone extinct, new ones have evolved and climate has changed. Today, climate change is being caused not by a volcano or an asteroid, but by human beings.

Climate is complex. There are far too many variables involved. Some of these variables are infernally hard to measure. Some still argue that we do not know enough about the causes of climate change. Yet even most of them agree that climate change is real.

For a start, 2015 is the聽. Cities like聽,听听补苍诲听聽recorded new highs this year. In India,听聽died in an unrelenting heatwave. Over 100 people lost their lives in Sudan and Egypt in the first half of August alone because of heat-related illnesses. Even the United States, the only place where politicians still deny climate change, saw聽听补苍诲听.

The heating up of the planet is because of human activity. Since Scotsman James Watt and Englishman Matthew Boulton came up with their steam engine in 1778, the world has embarked on a tumultuous industrial revolution. In 1864, Siegfried Marcus invented the聽聽in Vienna powered by gasoline and put it on four wheels by 1870. Since then, the world has largely been powered by coal and oil. These fossil fuels will continue to supply聽.

Fossil fuels have changed the diurnal rhythms of human life by increasing productivity, providing mobility and generating electricity. However, there is an ugly underbelly to fossil fuels. They release carbon dioxide, particulates, methane and other聽, which absorb the heat that the Earth radiates back to space.

In short, greenhouse gases cause global warming. NASA estimates that 鈥� between 2掳C and 6掳C by the end of the 21st century.鈥�

Why is Climate Change Relevant?

Climate change or global warming is important because of three major reasons.

First, it is melting glaciers alarmingly quickly. In 1910, Glacier National Park in the US had an estimated 150 glaciers. That number has聽聽and the glaciers that remain are a third of what they once were. Glaciers are melting even in the North Pole and the Himalayas. In the words of聽, Himalayan glaciers 鈥渁re聽, which means they are losing ice volume rapidly.鈥�

Melting glaciers have terrible consequences. As is well-known, they lead to rising sea levels.聽聽and some of the most dynamic cities on the planet are likely to submerge, causing dislocation of hundreds of millions. As snow and ice give way to moraines and land, less sunlight gets reflected back and more gets absorbed by the Earth. The environment enters a vicious cycle of ever increasing temperatures. It is important to remember that many mighty rivers flow out of glaciers, many of which are melting away. If these trends continue, then people in places like South Asia will no longer have enough water to grow crops or even to drink. The specter of drought and famine is all too real.

Second,听 extreme weather conditions.聽Deadly ,听collapsing 听补苍诲听聽are part of a worldwide pattern. Extreme weather is killing many people and damaging property worth billions of dollars. It is also disrupting the lives of millions and threatening their livelihoods.

Third, climate change is聽聽populations disproportionately. Those who have contributed least to climate change are likely to suffer the most. A classic example is Sudan. It has suffered terrible droughts that have led to failed harvests and death of animals. Millions have become destitute and embarked on vast migrations. A concluded that聽climate change was putting 鈥渦navoidable pressure on people聽through migration, displacement, food insecurity and impoverishment, possibly ending in conflict.鈥�

Therefore, it is little surprise that the 21^st聽session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 21) is taking place in Paris to belatedly address climate change. US President Barack Obama has given聽a rousing speech聽outlining 鈥溾�� of climate change. Yet for all his rhetoric, the US is still wedded to an economic model of wanton consumption that contributes to climate change. The upper crust in other countries has embraced Mammon as their God:聽,听India鈥檚 听补苍诲听聽are classic examples of new robber barons leading their societies to environmental disaster.

… climate change is聽affecting poor, marginalized and vulnerable聽populations disproportionately. Those who have contributed least to climate change are likely to suffer the most.

Climate change is a clear and present danger. It requires radical and bold solutions.

First, human beings have to learn how live more frugally and use less energy. This is easier said than done, but people like Mahatma Gandhi provide an inspiration. For those who are not as ascetic, carbon and consumption taxes might lead to some restraint.

Second, clean energy through solar, wind, geothermal聽et al聽sources needs investment. Clean energy might be expensive today, but its cost will fall over time.

Third, we need to get better at storing and transporting energy. Smart grids, capacitors and new technologies will help.

Fourth, leaders at COP 21 have to come up with plans to deal with the adverse effect of climate change on people鈥檚 lives and set aside money to address this. The $100 billion budget right now will neither go far nor last very long. It is just a bit more than a fourth of the Greek government鈥檚 debt, and the rich countries who have plundered the planet need to cough up more cash. Better rainwater harvesting, drought-resistant crops and largescale afforestation will help.

Finally, new technologies such as desalinating seawater and geoengineering projects such as spraying particles into the stratosphere to reflect sunlight back into space are also worth a shot.

Human beings can no longer live as they have in the past. It is high time we started living more frugally, cleanly and sustainably.

The views expressed in this article are the author鈥檚 own and do not necessarily reflect 51吃瓜鈥檚 editorial policy.

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