Jahangir's World Times First Comprehensive Magazine for students/teachers of competitive exams and general readers as well.
Since time immemorial, the humankind has been braving natural disasters and calamities like flash floods, torrential rains, lightening, tsunamis, vicious volcanic activities, devastating earthquakes, etc. All these cataclysms have been wreaking havoc with the human lives and their properties. But the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century served as an impetus to these disasters. The products of Industrial Revolution like rapid industrial growth, heavy transportation system, influx of people in urban centres, high deforestation, etc. can be assigned to the catastrophic global phenomenon called global warming which is the causative factor of all the aforementioned disastrous events in one way or the other.
In its synthetic report, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (UNIPCC) states that there is solid evidence for 0.6°C rise in global temperature. Besides, it reports a sea level rise of 20 cm during the 20th century. UNIPCC further predicts that the global temperature could rise by 1.4-5.8’°C by the year 2100. The facts and the predictions made by the UNIPCC are really frightening because frequent occurrence of the disasters indicates that the predictions of panel may come true even before the year 2100.
Most scientists and environmentalists assert unanimously that the most important factor behind global warming is the massive emission of carbon in the atmosphere. This carbon may be in the bonded form with other atoms like CO2, CO, CFC, and CH4 (methane). Other major factors include SO2 (Sulphur dioxide) and other greenhouse gases. What contributes towards the excess of CO2 in the atmosphere is purely anthropogenic in nature like burning of fossil fuels. Emissions of CO2 from massive transportation also caused the rise in temperature. Besides, the domesticated burning of methane also badly contributes to it.
2010 flash floods in Pakistan, 2011 massive earthquake and tsunami in Fukushima, Japan and 2012 Hurricane Sandy in USA, which caused heavy casualties and huge losses, are ominous warning of catastrophes if this issue is not dealt with judiciously. The other hazardous impacts of global warming include frequent famines leaving the victims unable to stand by their own for many years to come. Forest or wild fires also occur intermittently due to high temperature threatening not only human settlements and subsistence but also bringing the flora and fauna at the risk of extinction. Threats posed to the mangrove forests not only deprive the aquatic life from protection and sustenance but it also increases the probabilities of tsunamis. Global warming also contributes to increase in heat and harmful high frequency waves which, in turn, cause tumours, cancers and lead to the birth of abnormal babies or of those with the predisposition of such diseases.
Agriculture is also adversely affected due to the devastating heat waves, floods, droughts, and more importantly, the water scarcity or its untimely supply. Mass migration from the disaster-prone areas not only causes accommodation problems but also leads to the situation of ‘survival of fittest’ which may lead to conflicts and wars.
This is the century of water wars because global warming will deplete the water sources. It won’t be an exaggeration to say that most socioeconomic or political problems, which we are witnessing today, are the direct or indirect result of this phenomenon.
All these problems need serious consideration. But, ironically, the issue of reducing, if not preventing, the consequences of global warming has become highly politicized. The joint efforts to curb this menace, like Copenhagen Conference, Kyoto Protocol, seem futile. The major contributors to carbon emission are not ready to cut these because of an obsession that their status is the result of science and technological development and of huge industrialization.
The situation, currently, hangs between two argumentative facts, each having its pros and cons. On one hand, for the progress and prosperity, industrial development is indispensable while on the other, the evils of the global warming raise serious concerns among the analysts.
After considering the pros and cons of both these views, the question arises whether there is any viable solution to this problem on the sustainable basis. It has widely been established by environmentalists and scientists that the only solution to this grave problem is a switch to renewable resources of energy because these are environment-friendly and would exit until the doomsday.
As this solution has widely been propagated, nevertheless, no country bothered to act accordingly. Copenhagen Conference and Kyoto Protocol were also meant for this action but these agreements are still in papers only.
To make all the world nations bound to cut their emissions, UN must formulate another specialized body which may be named as United Nations Carbon Emission Reduction Treaty (UNCERT). Under the auspices of proposed-UNCERT, a unanimous plan should be formulated. This may be a 5-year plan and during this period, all the signatories must cut a minimum of 5% of their total carbon emission. A fixed percentage of land may be assigned for plantation as well. All the member states should be directed and helped in switching to the renewable energy resources. In this regard, the under-developing countries should be assisted technically and financially. A global media cell should also be established with its affiliation to the mainstream treaty to disseminate awareness about the issue. Besides, this media cell should also make documentaries on the hazardous impacts of global warming.
The unresponsive countries toward this treaty must be harshly dealt with and hard and fast rules, regulatory bodies and the proper monitoring system must be introduced.
