According to the experts, the world society would most likely be hit by man-made climate change in near future. According to environment optimist, rise in earth’s temperature above 2C is healthy for vegetation. However, Professor Richard Tol leans more towards the disadvantages of a rising temperature than the positive impacts on society.
He was of the view that environmental degradation is a myth not reality, but he negates in his recent statements his previous position regarding environmental degradation. Therefore, those who used to cite him as an environmental optimist are trying to figure out why he is going against his previous position on climate change. One can observe that rise in temperature is already melting the ice caps of Arctic region and altering the patterns of seasons in different parts around the world. Similarly, the amount of carbon emission is increasing with rapid economic growth of various states throughout the world. For example, India and China as they are using coal for their industries that is not only increasing the amount of carbon emission, but also have adverse effects on people living in this part of world by increasing air pollution.
According to recent report of Stanford’s University of 2015 revealed the method used to measure the temperature was unsuitable to measure temperature as it is for the statistical tools of biology and physics. Consequently, it can be empirically proven that the ice sheet of Arctic region is melting and it is posing a great threat of submergence of coastal areas of the world like Maldives by 2050. However, it is not suitable to gauge the temperature of geophysical Processes of earth. Stanford report on rising temperature of earth claims that the global temperature is constantly rising; it has never paused as per observation of IPCC.
On the other hand, the summers are long and hotter from the last few years. The intensity of summers is increasing and has killed thousands of people across the globe in various regions of the world, for example, Europe and America are cases in point. Now we have long summers and a short winter that is altered by man-made problem. Similar, burning of hydrocarbon is affecting the pattern of seasons and raising the temperature level. Green house gas is another major contributing factor that is shifting the span of seasons.
The temperature of earth is increasing rapidly due to increased human consumption of energy, as they are consuming more than their needs, consumerism has reached its peak, because it is obtained at cost of environmental degradation. Environment refugee is a term used to define people who are displaced due environmental problems. The people of Maldives, for example, are shifting to other places throughout the world as they are facing a threat of submergence [1]. In addition, Bangladesh will also have to face same threat like Maldives in few years, since it is a coastal area. However, the negligence of political actors and certain vested interests have politicized the issue of climate change. The tactics of delaying is used by major players to avoid implementation of strict rules and regulations related to environment, as it will affect their growth by slowing down the rate of growth.
Moreover, environmental degradation also poses a major threat for human security. The threat is not only being faced by the under-developed world, rather the developed world is also a victim or direct target of climate related disasters. The fear of humans being left on the planet as the only specie is something that is not given due attention by states at large. For them, it is not a matter of immediate concern. Consequently, their policies are not aimed at preventing environmental degradation. The long term threat of environmental degradation to whole humanity is often overlooked.
It is important to understand that nature takes years to recycle and reproduce consumed resources by humans, for example, hydrocarbon and the formation of fossil-fuel takes thousands of years to replenish. Likewise, the recent pace of human development is making more difficult for nature to process them, which ultimately leads to scarcity of resources as well. Furthermore, the dumping of nuclear waste in oceans is not only contaminating water, but it also has adverse effects on surroundings in form of emission of radiation from nuclear waste.
To conclude, I would say that environmental degradation is not only a problem that is restricted to particular area or region, it has a global effect. For example, ozone depletion is equally affecting all countries around the world regardless of their geographical location. Without collective effort of all stakeholders, environmental degradation cannot be managed. Therefore, it would not be wrong to say that all stake holders ought to unite in order counter the threat of environmental degradation to minimize the cycles of natural disasters, for example, earth quakes, floods and intense heat waves.
[1] RETHINKING CLIMATE REFUGEES AND CLIMATE CONFLICT: RHETORIC, REALITY AND THE POLITICS OF POLICY DISCOURSE,” Journal of International Development, no. 2010