Essay on Environmental Effect of Climate Change on Human

Abstract

This paper discusses the various effects of climate change and what the government can do to minimize global warming. The author begins the paper by introducing the topic of climate change. He discusses how climate change is caused by discussing the concept of global warming. He stresses that despite that global warming has adverse effects, it is also crucial for human survival. The author however, points that the release of carbon to the atmosphere has led to the formation of the ozone layer, which has contributed to the increased temperatures in the atmosphere. In the body of the paper, the author discusses the various consequences of climate change on humans. He discusses on how these effects could lead to infection of diseases on human beings, and eventually death. He also notes the various persons who are at a higher risk of being affected by the climate change. In the conclusion, the paper highlights the summary of the main points in the body, and the recommendations to reduce carbon emissions to the atmosphere, hence limiting climate change.

Environmental Effect of Climate Change on Human

Due to the adverse effects that climate change has caused, the government must develop ways to minimize the factors that lead to climate change. Climate change is when typical weather patterns and temperature in a place experiences long-term alteration. Various factors lead to climate change. Some of these factors include burning fossil fuels such as gas, oil, and coal. When people burn fossil fuels, they release carbon into the atmosphere causing the ozone layer. When the atmosphere forms the ozone layer, it leads to an increased temperature in the atmosphere. Research shows that climate change has been taking place for the last 4.5 billion years, but natural factors have been causing it (Zalasiewicz & Williams, 2012). Human factors had contributed a lot to the increased temperatures in the atmosphere since the 1800s, when the industrial revolution took place. Natural factors that cause global warming include shifts in the earth’s crust, volcanic eruptions, and changes in the earth’s orbit. Another study shows that the effect of the greenhouse effect is crucial for human survival (Mikhaylov et al. 2020). According to the study, the earth could have been 30 degrees colder today if there was no greenhouse effect. With such temperature, no person could have been able to survive. However, the same study criticizes the greenhouse effect by saying that since the industrial revolution, it has led to heat in the atmosphere at a rapid rate instead of making the earth warmer. The long-term alteration in temperature and typical weather patterns has led to various environmental effects on humans; hence, governments should devise ways to minimize the factors that cause climate change.

The first environmental effect of climate change on humans is that it increases heat-related deaths. As the temperature increase in the atmosphere, people experience more frequent and hotter days. Such temperatures are unfavorable for some people. For instance, the temperature changes lead to death of thousands of individuals in the United States each year (Burke et al. 2018). During the winter season, the country experiences some reduction in deaths, but they do not offset the deaths. People who are exposed to extreme heat tend to experience dehydration and heatstroke. Others experience respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. The people whom the extreme heat majorly affects are those who come from the northern latitudes. Other people who are more vulnerable to extreme heat conditions are the homeless, athletes, and outdoor workers. These people spend a lot of time outdoors, hence are more affected than other people. Another group that faces extreme heat conditions includes older adults and low-income households. These groups lack access to air conditioning, hence find it difficult to regulate the heat. Climate change leads to extreme heat, which affects various categories of people, hence increasing death risks.

Another environmental effect of climate change is that it leads to dirtier air. When pollution from factories and cars reacts to sunlight, they worsen the air conditions by making it dirtier. The main component of smog is the ground-level ozone; hence the dirtier air is likely to increase as things get hotter (Mikhaylov et al. 2020). The dirtier air is likely to worsen the health conditions of people with health problems, such as those with an asthmatic problem. Another group of patients that the pollution is likely to affect is a pulmonary disease and cardiac. The increased temperatures and dirty air also increase airborne pollen, affecting those suffering from various allergies and hay fever. This means that as pollution from factories and cars increases, the environmental air tends to be dirtier, which worsens the health conditions of various people, hence increasing the number of patients that the hospitals are admitting or even the death rate.

Climate change could also lead to increased wildlife extinction rates. When the atmosphere experiences increased temperature conditions, every living thing residing in it experiences the effects of such situations and not human beings only. Sometimes these changes in the atmosphere occur rapidly, making it difficult for some species to adapt quickly enough. Despite that some species make to adapt, others do not. Some species in the ocean, freshwater, and even land tend to migrate to cooler regions when temperatures rise in their present areas (Chaidez et al. 2017). However, not all species find it a success in migrating and also adapting to the new environment. Most of them tend to die, hence face extinction risk. Research shows that most vertebrate species such as mammals, fish, birds, reptiles, and amphibians are disappearing 114 times faster than they should be due to deforestation, climate change, and pollution.

More acidic oceans are another effect of climate change. As the atmosphere becomes warmer, oceans become more acidic due to their absorption of some excess emissions. The more pollution occurs, the more the threat increases to underwater life. These conditions affect the living things in these waters in various ways. For instance, creatures with bare shells, such as those with carbonate shells or skeletons, including crabs, corals, and mollusks, have their bodies reacting with the acidic water formed due to pollution. The moment these shells respond with acid water, these species become extinct, affecting the third party that depends on them. Human beings living on the coast tend to harvest clams, oysters, and mollusks to sell. Once these species die, they reduce, affecting the economic status of those depending on the products. In 2015, acidification led to the loss of $110 million in the Pacific Northwest oyster industry. Indeed, climate change has directed to more acid oceans, leading to the extinction of some species due to the reaction of the acid water with these ‘species’ body shells. People who depend on such species to get money for their survival are likely to lower their income levels, affecting their living standards.

Higher sea levels are another environmental effect of climate change. Higher latitudes tend to experience a warmer atmosphere. In the arctic regions, the average temperatures are rising very fast and are approximated to increase twice than any place on earth. The higher temperatures have led to the melting of the ice sheets very fast, causing various consequences. The consequences affect people, plants, and wildlife. However, the most severe result is that it leads to rising sea levels. Studies show that the sea level will be one to four feet higher by 2100, a factor that threatens low-lying areas and coastal systems (Mikhaylov et al. 2020). This threat is likely to affect the world’s largest cities such as New York, Miami, Rio de Janeiro, and Sydney. Other areas are the entire island nations. Such high sea levels are likely to affect people living in various cities and islands, which may lead to the migration of these people to other areas.

Climate change is likely to increase strength of extreme events such as droughts and storms, threatening human life and safety. When there are increased temperatures in the atmosphere, there is a likelihood that it will affect the hydrological cycle. The higher temperatures could lead to prolonged droughts, affecting various living things (Mikhaylov et al. 2020). The plants will die due to lack of water, leading to low levels of transpiration and decreased amount of water vapor through evapotranspiration. This, in turn, affects the number of clouds that could be formed, affecting the amount of transpiration. The more the problem persists, the more the humans are concerned. Human beings mainly depend on plants for food and even water for survival. The moment the drought conditions persist, human beings are likely to get a food shortage, hence facing hunger or even death. On the other hand, the increase in temperature leads to the melting of the glaciers, leading to the rise in sea levels, which could lead to floods, hence killing people.

Climate change also leads to warmer temperatures, leading to a greater risk of human beings dying prematurely. When people pollute the air through the emission of gases, there tend to be unhealthy levels in the atmosphere. People who are exposed to these conditions are likely to die prematurely (Mikhaylov et al. 2020). Alternatively, they are likely to be admitted to hospitals for respiratory problems. These conditions can damage the lung tissue and inflame airways. Such conditions place people at risk of dying prematurely.

Climate change is likely to cause vector-borne diseases which risk the lives of human beings. Vector such as ticks, mosquitoes, and fleas tend to transmit these diseases. When precipitation, temperatures, and extreme conditions change, vector-borne ‘diseases’ geographic range tends to increase, leading to increased illnesses. For instance, temperature limits the geographical range of ticks that carry Lyme disease. When temperature increases, ticks tend to become more active (Daniel et al. 2018). Once the Lyme infection reaches human beings, they experience fever, fatigue, headache, and characteristic skin rash. Mosquitoes also strive in particular areas, especially those flooded, transmitting malaria and the West Nile Virus to human beings. Both climate and non-climate factors influence the spread of such diseases. The non-climate conditions include access to healthcare, cultural needs, pest control, human response to disease risk, and socioeconomic conditions. Despite that richer country such as the United States can handle such infections due to their public health infrastructure and programs prevent the disease from spreading, poorer countries face a challenge in managing these infections. Climate change has indeed increased the spread of vector-borne diseases, hence risking human life.

Another effect of climate change on humans is that it leads to water-related illnesses on human beings. Climate change can lead to increased run-offs and even storms. Such factors lead to water contamination, especially when the water run-offs pass through areas that are chemically contaminated (Lipczynska-Kochany, 2018). When such water reaches the water bodies, they contaminate the water, making it unhealthy for human beings to consume. Some of the health impacts that can be caused by contaminated water include gastrointestinal illnesses such as cholera and diarrhea. Such infections affect the respiratory systems and the body’s nervous such as the kidney or liver. When water is contaminated, many people are affected since they depend on it, and once they are infected, it increases the risk of death.

Another impact of climate change on humans is that it disrupts or slows the distribution of food. Extreme events such as floods can damage roads and waterways, becoming a challenge for various organizations to transport the food to multiple regions. Sometimes there are floods in streets, becoming difficult for vehicles to transport goods (Pregnalato et al. 2017). In some cases, the storms destroy bridges, making the places inaccessible. Reconstruction of these roads or bridges may take time once they are destroyed. The storms also are unpredictable and may take a more extended period. Such factors make it difficult for organizations to transport the food to various regions, hindering particular persons from getting food. The longer the problem lasts, the more those people who lack food get affected. In some places, if the government does not develop an emergence solution, some people, such as the aged and kids, may die.

Climate change has also affected food safety and nutrition, risking the levels of human beings. Higher temperatures can lead to increased cases of bacteria-related food poisoning. Research indicates that bacteria tend to grow more rapidly in warm temperatures. When human beings get infected with such bacteria, they tend to have gastrointestinal distress, and in some cases, it may lead to death. Higher temperatures on the sea surface can lead to higher mercury concentrations in seafood, affecting human beings when they feed in these foods. When there are higher carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere, some plants tend to use it as fertilizer. When these plants use it as fertilizer, it lowers essential minerals and proteins in crops such as potatoes, rice, and wheat, a factor that makes these foods less nutritious. The less healthy foods can affect the health of human beings in a particular region, leading to non-healthy individuals. The non-health people in a specific area are less productive, affecting the productivity of a country, a factor that can lower the G.D.P of a nation.

Another way that climate change can affect humans is by affecting the mental health of individuals. Changes in the physical environment can affect the mental health of human beings. One of the ways that climate change can affect the mental status of human beings is by causing stress to people who lose their loved ones due to extreme conditions such as floods and even hunger due to drought. People with mental illness are at a high risk of increasing their status during hotter conditions. Research shows that these individuals double the bet of death when there are increased heat waves (Liu et al. 2019). Some medication for people with mental illness makes it difficult for people to regulate their body temperatures. Some individuals, such as older persons, tend to be stressed during extreme conditions. For instance, women with kids can tend to emphasize what to feed their children during drought conditions. Parents can also be distressed when storms and floods destroy their houses or even crops because of the worries of eating or even feeding their families. Sometimes, floods kill properties of people, causing distress and depression on people.

Climate change leads to increased temperatures in the atmosphere, which reduces the chances of people getting pregnant. Research shows that the problem is likely to get worse as temperatures increases. High temperatures tend to harm birth rate and sperm account. As the temperatures get up, the heat waves increase, making it difficult for women to become pregnant. Research that Barreca et al. conducted on U.S birth data shows that there are fewer births in May (Barreca et al. 2018). The fewer births this month are due to the increased heat waves in August, nine months before May. This means that in August, the probability of women becoming pregnant is very low due to the high heat waves. The research indicates that people tend to have sex in all periods of the year at an equal rate, but the heat waves tend to affect male fertility. During high temperatures, the sperm counts tend to fall. The study also showed that people from the northern states experienced slightly more effectiveness because they were less prepared for the heat waves. However, the hot states such as Arizona had the same trends as the cooler ones because they had adapted to the heat waves and were much prepared as they stayed indoors or installed air conditioners in their buildings.

The last effect of climate change is that it can lead to dust storms, affecting humans. Climate change can lead to winds which cause blowing dust and sand to fill the air. When they fill the air, they limit visibility and can create traffic on roads. The increased dust can also lead to increased accidents leading to the loss of lives. The high sand and dust storms have led to increases in hospital admissions, increases in emergency hospital visits, and increased asthma cases or worsening the conditions (Schweitzer et al. 2018). The bits of dust and soil during a dust or sand storm can carry pathogens, fungi, or even bacteria affecting people’s health.

In conclusion, climate change has had adverse effects on the lives of people. Some results are minor, while others are major. The significant products include the deaths of people. Alternatively, climate change effects can affect particular people more adversely compared to others. Older people and children are likely to be at greater risk when climate change occurs. People from the northern latitudes, the athletes, the homeless, and the poor are also at greater chances to be affected by global warming. Wealthy people are likely to be better positioned to deal with higher temperatures to install air conditions in their buildings. Governments should ensure that they come up with ways to minimize the global warming effect. They should come up with ways to produce clean energy to reduce global warming. They can input measures to organizations on the amount of carbon they are supposed to create and impose fines or high taxes on those that emit a high amount of carbon. It can also protect and restore ecosystems to slow global warming. Another way the government can deal with global warming is by supporting small-scale agricultural producers, ensuring enough food in the country. People should also avoid using energies that emit carbon, such as coal, and start using renewable energy sources such as solar.

References

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