I learned that one of the major
tribulations of the world today is Climate Change. Humanity has a lot to do
with the recent warming of the Earth's atmosphere. It is because of man's
numerous activities that release greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. And this
results to the rise in temperature of the whole world. The different types of
greenhouse gases are as follow:
Carbon Dioxide - comes from the emissions of diesel and gasoline
by motor vehicles and from various industries.
Methane - comes from agriculture
and decaying trash
Nitrous oxide - comes from biomass burning, intensive
agriculture, motor vehicles, and industries
Hydrofluorocarbons,
hyperfluorocarbons, sulfur hexafluoride -
comes from aerosols and industrial coolants.
Greenhouse gases are sent into
the air when we use excessive energy in watching TV, using air conditioner,
hair dryer, microwave oven and other appliances. The electricity we use for these
comes from power plants. Most power plants burn coal and oil which produce
greenhouse gases.
Climate change has many effects on
different aspects.
Health – increase in respiratory
diseases, infectious diseases and weather-related mortality
Agriculture
– changes in crop yields, irrigation demand and productivity
Forests -
changes in ecology, geographic range of species, its health and productivity
Water Resources – decrease in water supply and quality,
competition issues in water
Industry and energy - demand and supply in energy
Since Philippines is an
archipelago, several areas in our country are highly vulnerable to the impacts
of climate change. Flooding, sea level rise, and salt water intrusion are the direct
effects of climate change. Our country has various natural resources which
contribute to the livelihood and food of approximately 64.7 million population
in coastal areas
The increasing development and
industrialization results to the growth of population of these communities and
the change in climate poses an enormous effect on the livelihood of these
people.
One of our problems here in the
Philippines is storm. With global warming, sea temperature raises causing
storms to be formed. If you look at the map of the Pacific ocean, most storms
are focused towards the Philippines before going to other countries. Several
extreme events were the occurrence of the super typhoons in 2006 namely Typhoon
Paeng, Reming, Semiang, Milenyo.
Climate change has several
impacts on our physical and biological systems. Because of this, there will be
an increase in frequency and intensity of El Niño Southern Oscillation
phenomenon. Due to sea level rise, the beaches and shorelines may erode.
Floods may also result to the inundation of several coastal areas especially in
the eastern Philippines. The seas will increase its salinity causing a lesser
mangrove production. It will also be harmful for sea grasses and such. Due to
this, there will be less nutrients available for marine life.
Coral bleaching is when corals die out because of the warmer sea
temperature, affecting the food chain since it is the main source of food.
Many adaptations have to be made
to all the coastal communities with large exposure to climate change in order
to moderate its damages. Simple ways can actually be a great help like avoiding
the release of greenhouse gases. Proper care of water resources, trees, plants
etc. There should be significant attention to the environment.
I watched a video presentation about “Climate Change: The
Local Scenario.”
I participated in the online discussion by
expressing thoughts and ideas about our Earth in my blog and by sharing what I
learned on the video presentation that I watched.