Climate change impacts and effects on the environment

Climate change is a phenomenon that cannot be taken lightly regardless of the country that one resides since, in one way or the other, it affects us all. To avoid widespread, severe as well as irreversible climate impacts, people should ensure that the environment are kept at a bare minimum. There are many ways through which technology could play a critical role in monitoring, controlling and combating the effects of climate change. As most people are well aware, climate change could pose severe damage to our surrounding if the eco-system is not maintained and balanced in the proper way (Harris, Codur & Roach, 2017). To avoid the impacts of climate change, car manufacturers have devised and adopted new technologies to reduce emissions while the industrial sector has over the years been encouraged to use renewable sources of energy with the aim of controlling climate change (David Suzuki Foundation, 2017). Over the decades, the resultant issues of climate change such as global warming has posed a significant effect on the environment such as the melting of icecaps, bushfires and descending water levels in water bodies while others dry-up (Australia Academy of Science, 2018). Most of the research that has been conducted in this field has focused primarily on the measures humans should take to regulate climate change. However, to tackle the real issues with the problems of the 21^st century, it is practical to try and look at the options that technology could offer in finding a solution to controlling climate change.

1. Strategy for Finding, Analyzing and Comparing Literature.

To address the role that technology plays in addressing the issues of climate change, it is crucial to research about the impacts of climate change and what people are doing in trying to manage them. According to Shafiq, et al., (2013), for instance, climate change tends to have tremendous impacts on the surrounding as well as on human beings. Looking at this country, for example, the declining rainfall in southwest, Western Australia since the 1970s has been attributed to the widespread changes in the atmospheric conditions which have greatly been influenced by increasing greenhouse gases concentration (Australia Academy of Science, 2018). Establishing such facts is essential in guiding the selection process of the resources that would guide the course of the paper.

1. Literature Analysis Organization

The literature to be used in this paper is dependent on its usefulness to the topic at hand. Much of the resources that are applied in this case are therefore focused towards establishing how climate change impacts us and the environment in which we live in. Having found the resources that portray these impacts, the next source of information will address the role that modern technologies have begun playing in combating the effects of climate change. Such technological solutions will have to be established as well, and therefore creating other sources of information to guide the research process. The organization of the literature analysis will, therefore, be dependent on the research conducted on the impact of climate change as well as the technological solutions that have been created to establish how efficient technology is, in controlling as well as combating these consequences.

• Scope of Literature.

The Importance of reducing harmful gases emissions

The literature used for this assignment mainly come from educational web resources such as Google scholar articles, books, newspaper articles, case studies, research papers, peer-reviewed articles and published papers. The main topic of concentration is the various impacts of climate change such as global warming and how human activities are contributing to this phenomenon, as well as the multiple contributions of technology in tracking, monitoring, controlling and combating the effects of climate change.

In both developed and developing nations, the issue of climate change has been a factor to consider when creating sustainable solutions for the environment. Climate change, if ignored, could have detrimental impacts on the surrounding such as global warming which has been witnessed in many parts of the world. In Australia, climate change has had significant effects on the coasts, cities as well as the built environment, natural ecosystems, water bodies, and on health and well-being (Australian Government: Department of the Environment and Energy, 2018). Some of the specific impacts of climate change are the melting of icecaps, increased conditions of droughts in parts of Southern Australia, evaporation of waterbodies leading to dried up lakes and rivers in some parts of the world as well as pose disaster risks in other nations to name a few (UNFCCC, 2016). To find a solution towards controlling climate change which causes global warming, it is essential to consider reducing and other harmful gases to the environment (Dhara, Stephens, Wilson & Huq, 2015).

With the current advancements in technology, people have been able to find solution to some of the day to day problems. In attempting to find a solution for avoiding the negative impacts of climate change, the advancements in technology can also be geared towards the course (Brewer, 2007). The governments of different countries have come up with ways of creating laws that control the emission of greenhouse gases to the environment. These laws have pushed corporations to adopt new measures such as incorporating technology to monitor and control emissions. To some extent, the latest techniques, as well as future technologies, have shown a promising reduction in the discharge of such gases to the environment. Some examples of industries that have adopted the techniques to reduce emissions include the car manufacturers and the energy sector. The use of renewable resources has become a great resource in preventing these harmful emissions.

Based on Predictions that measure the effects of global warming in Australia, which is as a result of climate change, possible adverse impacts are a result to the continent’s communities, environment as well as economy. The country has been viewed as one of the nations of the world that is more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change in the next fifty to a hundred years due to its vast arid as well as semi-arid areas, high variability of rainfall annually, warm climate and the existing pressures due to water supply (Murphy, 2017). For this reason, various stakeholders in this matter, including the government have taken the initiative to ensure that the human activities that contribute to harmful emissions are adequately managed. If global developments continue without having active mitigation plans, then the impact of climate change on this continent would be quite severe according to mainstream science. Predictions estimate that lack of mitigation initiative would result to reduced levels of rainfall, increased frequencies of drought as well as the complete absence of the runoff existing in the Murray-Darling Basin, which would result in ending of irrigated agriculture for the people of this region. While other mitigation procedures are effective and essential in reducing the negative impact of climate change, it is crucial to acknowledge, appreciate and embrace the role of technology in these endeavors.

Adoption of technology to monitor and control emissions

While the application of technology has been useful in this regard, there are still gaps in research which do not address if the adoption of such technologies would ensure a world proof of disasters that are caused by the negative impacts of climate change. Experts have warned that technology is not an assured way of rescuing humanity from climate change issues (Gabbatiss, 2018). Technology, regardless whether it is future or present, cannot reverse greenhouse emissions that have already been charged in the environment. To meet the global warming targets, the emissions already existing in the atmosphere need to be reduced, otherwise the more the discharge, the more significant the adverse impacts caused by climate change. What this means, is that the current atmospheric condition is already adversely affected by the emissions such that to reach a less harmful threshold, better technologies need to be incorporated that would serve to withdraw the toxic gasses from the environment. It is for this reason that more research needs to be conducted on a sustainable solution towards combating climate change apart from over-depending on technology for this task (Shafiq, Ahsan, Nadeem, Shaikh , Sarim, & Siddiq, 2013).

Conclusion

As much as technology is a viable solution in addressing the challenges of climate change, it is not a sole solution that people should rely on towards creating a sustainable solution to the issue. The various negative impacts of climate change can have a devastating effect on human life, and therefore this matter should be taken seriously. Proper mechanisms should be created to ensure that consequences of climate change such as global warming do not occur or even rising of ocean tides as well as extremities like flooding and drought. Human life is precious and should not be lost due to avoidable circumstances.

References

Australian Academy of Science. (2018). What are the impacts of climate change? Retrieved from https://www.science.org.au: https://www.science.org.au/learning/general-audience/science-booklets/science-climate-change/7-what-are-impacts-climate-change

Brewer, P. (2007, June 12). Evaluating a Technological Fix for Climate. Retrieved from PNAS: https://www.pnas.org/content/104/24/9915

Dhara, S., Stephens, J. C., Wilson, E., & Huq, S. (2015, December 9). Technology’s role in a climate solution. Retrieved from Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: https://thebulletin.org/roundtable/technologys-role-in-a-climate-solution/

Gabbatiss, J. (2018, February 1). Future Technology ‘cannot rescue’ Mankind from Climate Change, say Experts. Retrieved from The Independent: https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/future-technology-cannot-rescue-mankind-climate-change-global-warming-a8187806.html

Harris, J. M., Codur, A.-M., & Roach , B. (2017). The Economics ofGlobal Climate Change. Tufts University, 1-70. Retrieved from https://www.ase.tufts.edu/gdae/education_materials/modules/The_Economics_of_Global_Climate_Change.pdf

Murphy , K. (2017, March 6). Climate Change Impact on Australia may be Irreversible, Five-yearly Report Says. Retrieved from The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/mar/07/climate-change-impact-australia-may-be-irreversible-report

Shafiq, F., Ahsan, K., Nadeem, A., Shaikh , A. B., Sarim, M., & Siddiq, M. (2013, December 2). Role of ICT in Climate Change Monitoring: A review Study of ICT based Climate Change Monitoring Services. Research Journal of Recent Sciences, 123-128. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271192170_Role_of_ICT_in_Climate_Change_Monitoring_A_review_Study_of_ICT_based_Climate_Change_Monitoring_Services