Americas Contributions to Global Warming

Introduction

The term global warming refers to a warming in the earth's climate. Global temperatures have changed throughout earth's history; however, in common usage, the term global warming refers to the anthropogenic (human induced) warming that results from an increase in atmospheric concentrations of certain gases due to the burning fossil fuels since the Industrial Revolution (Tom, 15). This phenomenon is also called the greenhouse effect, and is a specific case of the more general term global climate change (which also refers to climate cooling both human induced and otherwise) (Aaron, 11).

Climate change is predicted to produce a wide variety of physical impacts to atmosphere, land and oceans including increases in overall global mean temperature, increases in storm severity, sea level rise, changes in ocean currents, glacial retreat, drought, and increased fire and hurricanes in USA (Kari, 44. As a result of these widespread ecosystem disruptions, ecological productivity and biodiversity will be altered, leading to an increased risk of extinction for species already at risk. Pew reports that the stresses caused by climate change, when added to other stresses on ecological systems, threaten substantial damage to or complete loss of some unique systems and extinction of some endangered species. Changes in climate are more pronounced in the northern and southern most latitudes (Aaron, 12).

Global Warming & USA

The people who are most affected by the global warming are least responsible for the emissions that cause the problem. This disproportionate relationship between who creates the problem and who pays the price is played out both globally and within the United States. For example, low income people living in tropical countries will be most at risk. Thus, in addition to being a major environmental problem, global climate change is a highly significant global environmental justice issue (Kari, 45).

Climate change is an issue of global environmental justice on at least four dimensions. Wealthy industrialized countries of the Northern hemisphere contribute disproportionately to the pollution of the common global airshed. Low-lying geography and weaker infrastructure mean that consequences of global climate change will be worse for people who are poor, especially those in the poorer nations of the Southern hemisphere. People who are poor within the United States have less access to health care, may be less able to move rapidly from affected areas (mostly people without cars were left behind in the flooding of New Orleans). On an international level, poor nations that have weaker infrastructure are less able to respond in crises. People living in these places are even more affected by health or financial burdens. In terms of intergenerational equity, those alive today are negatively altering the earth's atmosphere and climate, reducing its capacity to sustain life for generations to come. Finally, there are issues of equity and justice regarding international negations. These often center around the question of equitable global distribution of green house gas emissions as related to economic development. Nations such as China and India are expanding their economies, doing so increases their fossil ...