Human Activities Causes Climate Change Essay

Natural gas is a fossil fuel that plays a critical role in the demand and supply of energy in the United States. It is considered to be a clean burning transition fuel. Compared to coal and oil, natural gas combustion does not generate as much pollution and is therefore considered an ideal partner for renewable energy resources. Natural gas is extracted from shale formations underground that require horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing – “hydrofracking” or “fracking”. This drilling and extraction method is currently considered a global widespread issue due to the rapid increase in the amount of new gas wells that threatens the quality of water around the source (Entriken, Evans-White, Johnson & Hagenbuch, 2011).

Climate change poses a serious threat to Earth and its inhabitants. There is now substantial evidence that human activity is causing global warming because of our large emissions of greenhouse gases. For instance, atmospheric carbon dioxide currently measures at three hundred and ninety seven parts per million, which is the highest it has been for at least the past one million years (National Research Council of the National Academies). Also, scientific data shows that Earth’s average surface temperature has increased more than 1.7 Fahrenheit over the past one hundred years (National Research Council of the National Academies). The evidence is unequivocal that our activities are the main culprit to the disruption of the climate system. In 2013, the top four emitters of carbon dioxide totaled to fifty-eight percent of entire global emissions (Loiseau). Among these four, China is the largest, accounting for twenty-eight percent (Loiseau). The United States accounted for fourteen percent; The EU accounted for ten percent; And India accounted for seven percent (Loiseau). Specifically, China’s total annual carbon dioxide emissions amounted to a massive 8.3 billion metric tons while the United States emitted 5.4 billion metric tons annually (Loiseau). India followed China and the United States with just over 2 billion metric tons emitted annually (Loiseau). This data could, however, be somewhat misleading. For example, even though China does emit the most, it only emits 6.2 metric

What we are doing to stop burning fossil fuels and help the environment is everything we

Tens of business closed up, which directly affected a large number of households. The coal mining operations companies also left environmental contaminants in the environment. Pollutions from coal mining have a direct effect on water, land air. Some of the pollutants contaminate ground water, surface water and impact on other land-uses. Besides the slope failure and explosion, environmental impact from coal mining causes erosion; leachates production, which seeping into ground water, and dust pollution. Heavy metals compound like lead, cadmium and arsenic dominates coal mining sites (Bhuiyan, Parvez, Islam, & Dampare, 2010). These metals are toxic to plant and animal. Some absorb some of these dissolved metals and introduce them into the food circle. When rainwater mixes with coal waste, the runoffs becomes acidic, which reduce PH of surface waters. (Komitas, 2001) Population inhaling coal dust suffers black lung disease and other complication like lung cancer, and heart failure (Finkelman & Orem, 2002). Coal mining in uranium mines is another source of radioactive exposure. Another environmental impact from coal mined lands includes emission of greenhouse gasses. Future land redevelopment in grand Cache, must deal with this issues before development could take

Hydrauling Fracturing is a process used in nine out of ten natural gas wells in the United States, where millions of gallons of water, sand and chemicals are pumped underground to break apart the rock and release the gas. Hydrauling Fracturing damages the land, contaminates drinking water, pollutes the air, cause illness in surrounding communities and has aslo known to cause earthquakes (Goldman, Jennifer). It has major threats towards our climate. Methane gas the main competed of natural gas is less common but more potent to greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide 85 to 105 time more powerful than carbon dioxide at disrupting the climate over 20 years (Goldman, Jennifer ).Water and Pollution are also infected by this. In Texas and Colorado more than 3.6 million gallons of water are used very time a well is fracked. Fracking fluids and waste have made their way to our drinking water and aquifers (Hoffman, Joe ). The counter argument to this problems is fossil complains claiming that these fracking fluids are harmless because they’re roughly 2% chemicals and 98% other.

Coal seam gas (CSG) is mostly composed of methane and is typically attached to coal underground. This gas is released when pressure on the coal seam is reduced by removing water from the seams (Queensland Government, 2014 ). In order to obtain the gas, wells are drilled into the coal seams, bringing water from the coal seams to the surface. This process reduces pressure and allows the gas to be released (Queensland Government, 2014 ). CSG is an important energy resource in Queensland and production of this gas takes up an ever-increasing proportion of Queensland gas use.

Majority of the data available online is either too biased or not peer reviewed and hence misleading to the readers. Natural gas is a very valuable resource and can be combined with engineering innovations to vastly improve human life. For instance, natural gas can help enhance energy efficiency by making the methane and ethane conversion process more effectual and economic. Also, natural gas can be used to generate hybrid high-temperature fluids for cleaner sources of energy such as solar thermal as well as natural gas powered systems for effective cooling and heating applications.3 In this age of technology, it is extremely important to discover ways to augment the potential of natural gas while taking the environmental implications into consideration. Sustainable ways should be developed to generate cleaner and more efficient energy while still embracing the economics benefits of the industry. While considering economic benefits of the hydraulic fracturing industry, it is also of utmost importance to consider those who are residing in areas of current or future shale gas operations for detrimental effects to their health and

Can contaminate groundwater that local landowners that farmers and local communities need. Gas leaks that may damage local fauna and flora and could have detrimental effects on the native wildlife. Takes an enormous amount of water (8 million gallons) to complete each fracturing job. Seismic surveying needs to be undertaken to determine where resources lie, seismic surveying has a detrimental impact on ecosystems – weed spreading, land clearing, dividing up and disturbing landscapes for access roads.

Australia should not approve more coal seam gas mining applications and should urgently investigation the environmental impacts of the Fracking Process. The coal seam gas fracking process has been promoted as the new clean energy yet the process has been shown to cause leaks of carcinogenic chemicals and methane gas in multiple countries including America and Australia. It is also linked to the release of the radioactive Carbon, C226, and potential cancers from silicate. (REF)

While there are many benefits to fracking, there are likewise many concerns. First, recent studies have demonstrated that increased development of shale gas may hasten climate change because enormous quantities of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that constitutes more than ninety percent (90%) of shale gas, leak during fracking. On a global scale, methane emissions from drilling and fracking production sites cause substantial greenhouse emissions which threaten our climate (Zott). The global warming capability of methane is approximately 33 times that of carbon dioxide in a 100-year block of time and 105 times that of carbon dioxide in a 20-year time frame (Jeffers). Drinking water sources have also been tainted with such explosive methane,

Underground mining involves large scale movements of rock and vegetation, which creates potential risks of land and tunnel collapse. Furthermore, this process of mining can release toxic compounds into surrounding water bodies. As the water takes on harmful concentrations, it can pollute the region surrounding the mine, as well as neighbouring water bodies. This can affect the growth of vegetation, animals and humans living in the surrounding areas. This form of mining also has high demand for water, which can deplete supplies in the surrounding region (Web.mit.edu, 2017). When copper is mined, toxic compounds are released into the air. The dust released during the mining of copper can release a variety of impurities associated with common health problems. Mining is also dependent on fossil fuels, which when released have harmful effects on the atmosphere (Web.mit.edu, 2017).

Fracking or hydraulic fracturing has grown in popularity over the years. Fracking is the process of directing bursts of sand, water, and chemicals underground to obtain accessibility to oil and natural gas. This action has become rewarding but there are many environmental, social, and economic pros and cons that must be addressed. Because of fracking, there is an increased dependency on natural gas versus the past dependency on coal. This produces health benefits because burning natural gases versus coal produces less dangerous particles in the air. The natural gas produced through fracking releases less greenhouse gas emissions than the production of coal would release. This is a benefit of hydraulic fracturing. However, it is found that methane

As the number of companies using the high-volume hydraulic fracturing process has expanded, so too has the scale of chemical activity. The long-term health and environmental effects of injecting large volumes of small concentrations of chemicals at this scale are uncertain and hotly debated. For years, American environmentalist groups have aimed their agenda against coal-fired generation plants as the leading villains in the climate change battle. Their censure is well directed. More than 83% of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) are in the form of CO2 with no one producing more of it than energy plants (Naff, 2014). At the same time, the Obama administration has declared an end to U. S. support for coal-fired electricity projects abroad.

Climate is inherently variable. Climate changes from place to place and it varies with time. The world now faces one of the complex and important issue it has ever had to deal with: climate change. Climate change today is one of the biggest concerns of human beings on the planet and the effects of climate change are undeniable and it may cause environmental, social, and economic threats to the planet. We already know and easily can highlight several signs of climate change. They are: rising global sea level, widespread melting of snow and ice, rapidly changing ocean and global temperatures, and other signs. So, what are the causes of climate change? Is it natural or do human beings cause it? Well, in both cases we would be right. The climate change can be affected by natural factors, such as solar output, volcanic eruptions, and the Earth’s orbit around the Sun. Also, climate change can be affected by human activities such as, deforestation, burning fossil fuels, causing ozone hole, and building mass destructive weapons and using them on earth that causes a huge radioactivity on earth. Currently, the threat of global climate change does not threaten some nations to the extent of others. Compare the United States with the rest of African countries. We live in prosperity and in much easier time than the rest African countries. Most African countries cannot grow anything on their lands because of climate change. At the end, climate change might affect everyone on

To begin with, the environment we choose to place ourselves in has the ability to impact our wellness within an instance. With that being said, there’s a possibility our wellness is likely to be threatened. For those apart of organizations concerned about the wellness of others, it’s their responsibility to inform the community about how to prepare themselves for environmental changes. What has the possibility to occur within an environment varies. Everyone adapts to alterations differently, but is human activity responsible for global warming negatively affecting human health?