GLOBAL WARMING: THREATENING CLIMATIC CONDITIONS

Climate in the near future would deny people their access to basic necessities like drinking water. The greenhouse effect (GHG) is frequently resulting in the melting of glaciers which are precious reservoirs of pure water. Not only would the melting destroy fresh water from reservoirs, but it is also projected to cause floods and droughts and reduction in the area of arable which would adversely bring a negative impact on fishes and food stocks. Erosion in the coastal areas as a result of rising water levels in sea would trigger large movement of population migrates to safer areas. This will all culminate on large scale migration (Ecological migration) and wide competition for resources.

Global warming refers to the rise in the average temperature of the air in the troposphere and ocean, and in the recent decades its has caused by a steadily thickening blanket of human-induced greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and the fluorinated gases used in refrigeration and semiconductor manufacturing.

In the present day context of environmental awareness, global warming is the buzzword that reverberates in each corner of our planet. The chaotic climate behavior perceptible on global scale emission of anthropogenic greenhouse gases is a matter of grave concern threatening ecosystems of entire planet. Most meteorologists believe, a constant rise in global temperature has been going on for more than a century. There is an overwhelming consensus in the scientific community about global warming. There is a strong evidence to suggest that most of the observed increase in the global average temperature since mid 20th century is attributable to the observed increase in emission of anthropogenic greenhouse gases.

Historically, main contribution to global warming has been on the account of human- induced activities of fossil fuel consumption, industrial activities, agricultural systems, changing land use patterns, and waste decomposition carried out in the developed countries and the large economies in the transition which have been responsible for 75 percent of the total GHG emissions. Another key cause of global warming is deforestation. Unabated depletion of forest is responsible for about a fifth of GHG emissions entering the atmosphere through the cutting and burning of 45,000 miles of forest across the globe each year.

Global warming could produce increased havoc upon the entire humanity through the transformations of weather pattern at regional level. The forest vanishing Arctic perennial polar caps and the incidence of Himalayan glaciers lend further credibility to the phenomenon of global warming. Most of the global mountain glaciers, many of which feed major rivers at an accelerating pace as climate warm. The loss of glaciers would take away a summer time source of river water, drinking water and hydroelectric power in popular and relatively poor paces like south Asia and the cities along the western slope of Athens. As per a study undertaken by the geological survey of India, the Gangothri glacier, one of the biggest in the Uttaranchal Himalayas is currently retreating at an average rate of about 19 meter per year. Melting glaciers and ice capes will lead to rising of sea- level. That, in turn would lead to the flooding all around the globe.

R

ELEVANCE OF GANDHIAN IDEAS TO GLOBAL WARMING

Environmental Pollution and misuse of natural resources are the growing threats of good life style. Greedily exploitative economic activities such as rapacious excavation and industrial activities, that guzzle ground water for commercial profit and privatization of natural resources like river and grazing lands in turn lead to global warming. This greedy task of human being is just like cutting the same bough which he is seated on. Gandhi often quoted that “there is enough for everybody’s need, but not for everybody’s greed’’.

The solution stares us in the form simple Gandian ideas that advocate sustainable development through non-violent living in the sense of not going to war, but in the way we meet our daily life. He didn’t leave in a modern all mansion, nor didn’t on a car or Air conditioner and yet he was respected worldwide and became the inspiration for other international leaders like Martin Luther king and Nelson Mandela. How far we have strayed from gandian ideas of simple living and social equity.

The reports of inter-governmental panel on climate change (IPCC) have made clear that climate change is happening largely because of human activity. The origin of climate change lie principally in the developed economies, but its impact will be at least as great in the developing countries. Thus it may portray as a battle between them. In brief economic development and environmental policies are not in conflict, so they should need to go hand in hand.

#environment #conflict #issue3