THE FUTURE OF ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICAL ISSUES

The future of environmental ethical issues

The future of environmental ethical issues

There are many environmental ethical issues being studied today. One of the major issues is global warming. Global warming is said to have many negative effects on the environment. Global warming has been studied for a while now. I will be covering the aspects, causes and effects of Global Warming.

There are many definitions of Global Warming. One of these is that “Global warming refers to an average increase in the Earth's temperature, which in turn causes changes in climate.”(EPA) The temperature increase can lead to changes in the average rainfall results, the sea levels can rise, and it may have many impacts on wildlife, plants of humans. The Global Warming is mainly cause by humans. The Green House Effects is one of the main causes of this warming. Some greenhouse gases are needed.

“The greenhouse effect is unquestionably real and helps to regulate the temperature of our planet.” (EPA) Without the GreenHouse effect the Earth could not be warmed. Human activity is adding more of these gases. “The increase in the mean temperature of the earth due to excessive emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrogen.” ( Green) These extra gases are making it hard for heat to escape the Earth's atmosphere resulting in warmer temperatures.

There are many causes of Global Warming to include Carbon Dioxide from power plants, cars, airplanes, and from buildings. “In 2002 about 40% of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions stem from the burning of fossil fuels for the purpose of electricity generation.”(Ayres) 93% of electricity generations is produced by coal. 33% of the carbon dioxide comes from vehicles. “Vehicles with poor gas mileage contribute the most to global warming”(Ayers) It is estimated that 3.5 percent of global warming is caused by airplanes. Lastly, on carbon dioxide buildings structures account for about 12% of carbon dioxide emissions.

The animals are also being threatened by global warming. Warmer temperatures and more snow, are the reasons for the steep decline in caribou numbers in the Canadian Arctic, says Green peace. “During the pasts 30 years, the total caribou population of Canada's western arctic islands has dropped from 24,000 to 3,000.” (Ecobridge) Caribou are using valuable energy trying to dig through deeper levels of snow to eat, and eventually they will run out of energy and starve to death. “In January, ...