Problem-solution Research Paper

Solutions to Global Warming

According to NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), the average global temperature on Earth has increased by about 1° Celsius (2° Fahrenheit) since 1880 (Earth Observatory, 2020). The main reason making the earth warmer is owing to the emission of greenhouse gases. The greenhouse gases consist mainly of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and ozone (O3). Since the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century, the increase of the greenhouse gases is linked to human activities, such as fossil fuel burning and livestock farming. The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased 46% since then (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [NOAA], 2018). As a result of the large number of greenhouse gases, global warming is now seen as one of the most serious event on Earth. Thus, how to stop global warming has been a hot potato for people in the past few years. This paper aims to talk about two solutions to global warming and some survey results regarding this issue.

As global warming goes on, it has significant impacts on human beings as well as the ecosystem. According to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), there is a 75% chance that 2020 will be the hottest year in history (Watts, 2020). Likewise, 2019 was said to be the second-hottest year on record (Newburger, 2020). Rising temperatures not only make people and animals uncomfortable and inadaptable but also cause glaciers and ice caps to melt heavily. The melted ice is released into the oceans, increases the volume of water, and causes sea level to rise. The rising sea level poses a grave threat to low-lying islands and coastal communities, which put millions of lives and billions of properties at risk. It also affects wildlife and their habitats, such as the Adélie penguin in Antarctica (National Geographic, 2020). In addition, global warming boosts the probability of extreme weather events, such as heatwaves, droughts, blizzards and rainstorms. Scientists predict that these extreme weather events will become more frequent and intense, based on Climate Central (Bradford & Pappas, 2017). To better understand this issue, I conducted a survey and found that 93.3% of respondents thought that global warming affects people's life a lot (see Figure 1). Consequently, it is of huge importance to solve global warming as soon as possible.

Figure 1

As mentioned above, global warming results from massive emissions of greenhouse gases; therefore, there are two solutions managing to reduce carbon dioxide and methane respectively. First, one useful way to diminish carbon dioxide is to cut down on the use of fossil fuels and use alternative energy as a replacement. Fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas are main contributors to global warming because they release large quantities of carbon dioxide when burned. On the other hand, alternative energy refers to any source of energy excluding fossil fuels, which is mostly composed of renewable energy, such as solar, wind, and biomass energy. According to Professor John Twidell and Tony Weir (2015), alternative energy can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions if replacing fossil fuels. They point out that renewable energy supply in operation does not add to additional input of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and hydrosphere in contrast to fossil fuels. While renewable energy sources are clean enough, they are less likely to do harm to human and the environment. It is indeed beneficial for us to reduce carbon dioxide and slow down global warming by using alternative energy, especially renewable energy. Also, based on the survey I conducted, 83.3% of respondents agreed that we can reduce carbon dioxide through alternative energy (see Figure 2). However, some people may think it is expensive and unstable; thus, few countries are able to afford it and use it often. Actually, advanced technology is constantly developing and constructing machines and facilities with lower prices and more stability. Bull (2001) thinks that “after the initial investments have been made, the economics of renewable energy technologies improve because operating and maintenance costs are low compared with those incurred using conventional fuels.” Besides, according to International Renewable Energy Agency (2020), global renewable generation capacity reached 2,537 gigawatt (GW), and the share of it in total generation capacity rose to 34.7% in 2019. These prove that renewable energy has not only been used more often but also become more common around the world. Furthermore, just as Turner (1999) says, “By developing and implementing renewable energy technologies and manufacturing capabilities, we would build a sustainable energy infrastructure to carry us well into the next millennium.” Using renewable energy has plentiful benefits, and it has become a trend since we can substitute it for fossil fuels and thus reduce carbon dioxide.

Figure 2

Second, the other way that can help decrease the emission of methane is to directly eat less meat. Methane emissions from livestock are a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions (Buddle et al, 2011). About 44% of the livestock emissions are in the form of methane (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations [FAO], 2019). Ruminant livestock, such as cattle, buffalo, and sheep, have methanogens in their rumens, which produce lots of methane. Ruminants are also the major source of livestock methane emissions (Curnow, 2019). In particular, cattle make up about 65% of the livestock sector’s emissions (FAO, 2019). The countries with the largest cattle populations in the world contribute the most to global agricultural methane emissions on a million-metric-ton basis (Knapp et al., 2014), whereas there are totally 1.4 billion cattle in the world, with the demand for beef and dairy continuing to grow (Borunda, 2019). As a result, in order to decrease methane, the most direct way is to eat less meat, especially beef. According to the survey, 53.3% agreed that we can reduce methane by eating less meat (see Figure 3); however, only 16.7% are willing to do that (see Figure 4). Despite the fact that methane is hugely produced by livestock, some people question the effectiveness and feasibility of having less meat consumption. In fact, on the basis of the law of supply and demand, when we cut down on the consumption of meat, it refers to less demand from people, so the restaurants and the markets would know that they should buy less meat from the suppliers, and then the suppliers would thus keep less quantities of livestock, which successfully contributes to less methane emissions. While the amount of methane released by livestock fundamentally attributes to the number of animals, it is essential that we change our eating habits and begin eating less meat. Daniel Felder, the Federal Department of Agriculture’s scientific officer responsible for climate action, states the largest potential for cutting greenhouse gases in agriculture is reducing animal numbers. He also claims that it will be necessary that we eat less meat and produce fewer animal-based foods (Giroud, 2019). Moreover, the special report on climate change and land by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) describes plant-based food as a major opportunity for mitigating climate change and proposes a policy recommendation to reduce meat consumption (Schiermeier, 2019).

Figure 3

Figure 4

While global warming is still a big issue around the world, humans are largely responsible for creating the trends of global warming; therefore, we need to take responsibility for the damage we have caused to the planet and look for solutions to prevent further damage. Since carbon dioxide and methane constitute most of the greenhouse gases, it is important to reduce their emissions by implementing two solutions. One solution that can reduce carbon dioxide is to convert burning fossil fuels to using alternative energy. The other solution to reduce methane is by eating less meat. These two solutions can effectively diminish the emissions of greenhouse gases that give rise to global warming. Due to global warming, lives of numerous species are under threats. Hence, people should try their best to help stop global warming. Otherwise, we will continue to face more problems and suffer severer losses in the future.

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