Climate Change: Where is Global Warming taking the world?
The Paris Climate Change Summit attended by and representatives of 195 nations and international organizations is another warning about the dangers of global warming. The warning is that inhabitants of the earth led this planet to serious and deadly problems through improperly using its resources.
If the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century fundamentally changed the human life and brought new opportunities for the inhabitants of this planet, but from the other hand, it gradually caused horrible changes in the environment of human as well as in other creatures. Today, we have reached a point that Francois Hollande, in his opening speech at the Paris Climate Change Conference, said that the planet has never been faced with such a great challenges.
At the Paris Climate Change Conference, the devastators of the environment- the countries that increase in global warming is associated with their economic policies- did not provide any commitments to bring serious changes in this regard, and this situation was predictable from the start.
The reasons behind Global Warming and its impacts on the Environment
Decades ago, Scientists had warned about the negative impacts of “Carbon Dioxide” on atmosphere; however, the industrialized countries did not take these warnings seriously.
Carbon dioxide is released to the atmosphere through burning fossil fuels. It prevents sunrays with longer wavelengths from reaching the earth and it traps heat within earth atmosphere, which causes global warming.
Sunrays have a vital role in earth climate. It not only causes global warming but also keeps the earth’s atmosphere balanced. Unfortunately, humans have seriously harmed this balance through seeking control on the nature.
The big risk is that over the past 30 years, new countries such as China and India have stepped into industrialization. In these countries, the consumption of fossil fuel for industrial development is inevitable. From the other hand, rivalries between these new powers and old industrial powers in the West have causes serious hindrances towards controlling the greenhouse gases, therefore, the future of humanity is faced with serious dangers.
The population growth and increasing food production facilities have caused a large part of the forests on the planet to become destroyed and converted into agricultural land; and to reduce the possibility of absorption of carbon dioxide from the air.
The Reaction of Earth
Humans, as the main factors behind climate change, have stood against nature and, so the nature, sometimes, resists against them and sometimes, warns them and reminds them that the risk is too serious. Enormous storms such as Hurricane Katrina in America, mistime intense rainfall, fire in forests, the elimination of glaciers are the warnings that the nature is giving to human-beings, but human still do not take these warnings seriously.
Kyoto Protocol
In 1997, representatives of 160 countries gathered in Japan and approved the “Kyoto Protocol” in order to reduce the process of global warming. In this protocol, 36 industrialized countries were asked to reduce the rate of their greenhouse gas emission by 2012 to 5% below the average of their production in 1990.
However, the protocol stated that the implementation of this protocol will be taken when its member reached to the level of producing a total of 55 percent of the world’s greenhouse gases. This condition met when the Russian Federation joined the Kyoto Protocol.
Responsible America!
However, America is the only industrialized country that does not implement the Kyoto Protocol. According to the politicians in America that are dependent on large businesses and oil companies, reduction of greenhouse gas emission in this country would mean reduction in economic growth, unemployment of millions of people and huge financial losses to investors.
America a country with 25 percent of greenhouse gas emissions is the biggest destruction of the environment in the world and, China with about 15 percent of greenhouse gas is the second largest producer of this gas in the world. In the United States, any agreement that has not approved by the Congress, does not contain the legal requirements and according to the US Federal Law, carbon dioxide gas is not considered as a greenhouse gas.
In August, Obama announced a new plan to reduce the level of carbon gas production in 2030 by 32% in compare to 2005 and to produce 28% of the total energy from other alternative sources like wind and sun; however, the entire politicians in America do not believe in controlling global warming and even deny this as an accepted scientific issue.
Famous businessman and a leading republican candidate in 2016 U.S. presidential elections neither believe in climate change and nor looks at it as a U.S. problem. He says that China and other countries do nothing in this regards and global warming drama is just for destroying U.S. position in industrial competition against China.
Senator Ted Cruz from Texas also does not accept the scientific theory of global warming. Senator Marko Rubio from Florida, who is the third leading candidate, according to the recent toll, says that the struggle against global warming should hit the economy. Rubio says that China is at the top of CO2 producers. He does not want to make the situation tougher for American companies while Obama administration did not have any plan for the climate change.
Democrat senator Bernie Sanders says that as long as the fossil fuel companies pay for Republican candidate’s election campaigns, it would be difficult to take effective steps regarding global warming.
Impacts of Climate Change on Afghanistan
The poor countries are big victims of the climate changes while; they have had the least part in damaging it. They suffered frequent floods and droughts in the last half of the 20th century.
Afghanistan is a mountainous country. Its nature has played important role in keeping central and southern Asia climates balanced. Afghan mountains are snow reservoirs in winter, which makes rivers after melting in summer. In fact, these mountains are tankers, water reservoirs and air purifier for neighboring countries. (For example, winds that blow in Baluchistan of Pakistan in specific times of the year are called Qandahari winds. Furthermore, 120-day winds in western Afghanistan, affect eastern areas of Iran as well.) That is why president Ghani said in the Climate Change Summit in Paris, “Afghanistan’s development trend would not increase carbon fuels usage but it would decrease greenhouse gases in India and Pakistan.”
However, we can easily observe the negative effects of global warming in Afghanistan through comparing the present climate with a few past decades. In the 1950s and 1960s, snow layer depth in Kabul streets was reaching two meters which made difficult walking on foot. Now, Kabul has not seen such a snow since years. Air warming caused winters with less snowfall and rainfall. The old proverb says, “Kabul could be without gold but not without snow” is not true anymore. The situation is the same across the country.
Afghanistan witnessed droughts in the past, which were repeated in eight to ten years period, but during the last half of 20th century, the periods are decreased to four years. Afghanistan is now dependent on other countries’ wheat products because mostly Afghanistan’s wheat productions were obtained from rain fed lands.
Some researchers believe that global warming can even cause more earthquakes and volcanic activities. Afghanistan and its neighboring countries witnessed more earthquakes in the past four decades compared to the past. Although there are a difference about global warming’s effects on earthquakes, recent 7.5 Richter earthquakes were unprecedented in Afghanistan. These events could not be merely judged as an accident.
The End