Consequences of Climate Change

deaths, killing 4,000 people every day” (Environmental Performance Index 2016, p. 38). This implies that the world needs to make substantial changes in order to achieve environmental sustainability. Of course, it will be impossible to achieve perfect sustainability; however, the world can at least achieve a significant improvement in removing the dangers and threats to the environment.

consequences of clImate change Climate change is a major threat to environmental sustainability. Based on scientific data, the release of greenhouse gases, otherwise referred to as carbon emissions, causes global warming. The scientists claim that if global temperatures rise by 8 degrees Fahrenheit, this will make the earth inhabitable. Scientists have warned that the long-term effects of global warming will include the massive displacement of the people, and the widespread extinction of plants and animals. The two most important of these gases are carbon dioxide and methane. The major producer of carbon gas is the burning of fossil fuels for electricity and transportation. The other producer of emissions is the destruction of forests, especially tropical forests. The forests absorb billions of tons of carbon. The destruction of forests can add to environmental pollution by releasing the carbons into the atmosphere. “Deforestation—and the fires that frequently accompany it— also generates one-tenth of total global warming emissions, making forestry loss one of the biggest single contributors to global warming, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists” (Tabuchi 2016).

Increased temperature can have serious consequences affecting the human population. The rising temperature is responsible for mosquitoborne illness. It can cause the temperatures in the ocean to rise leading to tropical storms (Henson 2006, pp. 121–125). The cost of a hurricane is enormous. Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy caused billions of dollars in damages in the United States, causing misery to large numbers of people. Extreme weather is responsible for drought, flooding, tsunami and flood with devastating effects. The stakes are in keeping the temperature at an acceptable level. The melting of Arctic and Antarctic ice caps is a central component of rising sea levels (Speth 2005, pp. 56–60). The rise of the sea level can level many of the island countries. “The reduction of mountain glaciers (Speth 2005, pp. 58–59) severely reduces or even eliminates high elevation melting snow packs, an important component of the water supply in California, Washington, and throughout the Rocky Mountain