CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate Change

Climate Change

Introduction

The continuing human modification of the land surface is creating the potential for significant global climatic change. The increase in population and increased need for infrastructure has caused more reason for climate change. Humankind is worsening the situation by not disposing off waste properly, which is contaminating water. The pollution levels are increasing at an alarming rate. The effects of climate change need to be countered, and precautionary measures must be taken as soon as possible. The land usage increased and has the most significant impact on climate change (Cox, 2005, 23-51).

Discussion

Climate change greatly affected by deforestation, which has a significant impact on global warming. Leaves transpire, or lose moisture, and solar energy used in evaporating this. When a forest comes into leaf, there is often, therefore, a cooling effect. Loss of leaf cover allows more solar energy to warm Earth's surface. Globally, forests can store billions of tons of carbon, which could significantly offset the carbon dioxide put into the air by the burning of fossil fuels. Deforestation may reduce the opportunity to use carbon sequestration to offset carbon emissions. The Sun is not responsible for the climate change, but rather the ignorance of humans (Dowdeswell, 2006, 19-63).

Deforestation is the process of chopping down trees in a forest. There are a lot of reasons why money should be used to protect forests. Deforestation done by people in order to make space for human activities like agriculture or constructing buildings, resorts and much more (Chen, Wilson, & Tapley, 2006, 19-58). Deforestation has been occurring since thousands of years and caused by numerous reasons. Normally, it done due to an increase in the population or for the purpose of obtaining food and wood. Food and wood are both important means of getting fuel and building material. Most developing countries indulge in deforestation because the need for open space, fuel and building material is more (Barnes et al, 1998, pp. 01).

Forests that are mature have organic carbon present in the living and dead biomass of plants. This organic carbon is also present in the organic matter that found on the forest floor and soil. Carbon found in abundance in those forests that are mature as compared to younger forests. This found to disturb the ecosystems, and when mature forests cleared, the replacement by a smaller ecosystem does not provide enough carbon dioxide. An ecosystem is responsible for balancing the content of carbon in the atmosphere by the emission of carbon dioxide. This emission occurs on an on- going basis, but the rate varies (Church, et al, 2001, 34-67).

The surface temperature of the global surface is rising. The change in temperature over the past centuries is significant. Since 1995, the Earth has experienced the warmest temperatures according to the instrumental recordings. The average surface temperature of the Earth has increased by 0.74 C from the early 1900s till mid 2000. The changes in climate attributed to human activity, which has increased since Arrhenius carried out a ...