University of Westminster

Entry 2: Summary and Response Essay

Topic: Environment

Word count: 619

The article by Christina Nunez (2019) on the topic of ‘’Global warming solutions, explained” presents debate over the massive causes and the adverse effects of climate changes, while proposing solutions to remedy the situation.

In her article, Nunez (2019) claims that one of the major causes of global warming is human activities. In other words, individuals are responsible for adding heat-trapping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere which also gives rise to global warming. She further advocates that climate change can be attributed to extreme weather events, shifting wildlife populations and habitats, rising sea levels, and other variety impacts. Nonetheless, urgent actions need to be taken in order to mitigate the situation. According to the author, first step is that individuals ought to shift their behavior and energy consumption habits. The production of less waste and smarter use of natural resources should be promoted, whereas increases in the use of wind and solar energy, bio-fuels from organic waste, setting a price on carbon, and preserving forests help to restrict the amount of carbon dioxide as well as other harmful gases released into the atmosphere. The writer also mentions that scientists are currently seeking ways to sustainably produce hydrogen, most of which is currently derived from natural gas, to feed zero-emission fuel cells for transportation and electricity. Nunez (2019) considers the adaptation as the critical part of a solution to global warming. What he really means is that it is paramount to adapt to coastal floods, long-term droughts and even fires which boosts resilience. Finally, he suggests that individuals can adapt to severe environments by preventing land erosion, constructing micro-grids and other energy systems to withstand disruptions such as rising sea levels.

I completely agree with the writer that global warming is mainly attributed to the actions of human being as the vast amount of greenhouses gases is being released into the atmosphere. This is mainly due to the fact that individuals are affecting the earth’s temperature by burning fossil fuels and chopping down the trees giving rise to an irreparable damage to the environment and rise of global temperatures. To support this view, union of concerned scientists (2008) claims that when trees are cut down and burned or even allowed to rot, in most cases their stored carbon is expected to be released into the atmosphere as CO2. They further advocates the idea that logging leads to more or less 10 percent of all global warming emissions. As a result, there is no doubt that the global temperature is increasing dramatically day by day. I also agree with Nunez (2019) that adaptation to severe environment is one of the significantly important steps if we want to tackle global warming. According to NASA (2020), the daily level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere surpassed 400 parts per million for the first time in human history in 2013 which urgent actions needed to be taken. Adapting to life in this variable climate includes adjusting to actual or expected future climate. The principal goal of this process is to restrict the vulnerability of individuals to the detrimental effects of climate change, namely rising sea levels, more intense weather conditions, prolonged droughts or even famine. For example, cities and other communities are currently constructing flood defenses, seeking ways to install water-permeable pavements to copy with coastal floods and storm-water. All of these measures are the integral parts of adaptation to one of the potential issue: global warming.

Clearly, global warming is one of the biggest threats to human beings, whilst the major causes of this issue can be attributed to human activities too. However, it should be considered that a change in consumer behavior and adaptation are necessary steps to deal with global warming.