Example Of Climate Change: The Biggest Challenge That Young Adults Face Today Essay

General Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the major challenge that young adults face today. Among the major issues such as poverty, social change and many others, climate change is considered as the least of young adult’s concern. This paper would like to discuss climate change though and prove that it is indeed a pressing concern that young people should concern themselves about.

Specific Purpose

The specific purpose of this paper is to raise the awareness of young adults on global warming and on its immediate, anticipated and foreseeable effect. Currently, most young people are unaware of the seriousness of global warming and how it can affect their lifestyle and their future as well.

Central Idea

The major point of this paper is to make young people aware that global warming should not be taken lightly as it presents a potent threat to them and to the future generation. However, the catch is, what young people can do to mitigate global warming today; will have a significant effect in the future. Because unless they become aware and start working on combating the causes of global warming, future generations may find it too late to contain the apocalyptic effects of global warming.

Introduction

Young people of today, also known as the millennial generation, have been characterized by a see-it-to-believe-it attitude. For the same reason, they do not see global warming as a potent threat to their lives since there is no tangible evidence of global warming and most young adults are not aware of its effects and how it can detrimentally affect their way of living. Still, there is mounting evidence that the world is warming up and it is warming up fast. Researchers from around the world have intensively investigated on the global warming phenomenon and have warned that sometime in 2050s, if the carbon and other greenhouse gas emission of the world will stay the same, the world will reach a temperature wherein drastic climate changes will be readily observable. In the face of these scientific findings, the question is, what is in store for young people as a result of the climate change phenomenon? What are the potential impacts of global warming that should be seriously considered and addressed by the young generation?

Industry and Technology – A Contributing Factor to Global Warming

The society of today is very much dependent on technology and industry. Young people, for example, are fond of gadgets and could not even imagine a life without the conveniences of the modern mode of communication and transportation. However, while industry and technology have raised society’s standard of living, it is made at the expense of the environment. Scientists have observed that since the industrial revolution began in Europe during the 1800’s, the level of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere has incrementally increased. For the same reason, the earth’s temperature has also increased significantly since the industrial revolution until today. Among the major contributors to carbon emission are transport vehicles, factories and other industrial facilities that use fossil fuel such as natural gas and oil to power their industries. Despite efforts of government and non-government institutions to use greener alternatives to the energy generated by fossil fuel for the obvious reason of lowering the world’s carbon emission, there is no denying that the world is highly dependent on fossil fuel for its energy needs. In America, for example, more than 80% of the country’s energy needs is powered by fossil fuel such as natural gas, petroleum and coal. This figure is not far from the global demand for fossil fuel. According to research, fossil fuel powers 85% of the world’s energy needs. In this regards, we can only imagine how huge the carbon emission is for this enormous utilization of coal, petroleum and natural gas.

Effects of Global Warming

Anyone who has lived long enough and have been keenly observing the climate can tell that there is indeed a change in the climatic condition of the world. Most people could not help but notice that winters are colder as they were before while those in the tropics have seen major droughts and intense heat that they have not experienced before. But how does this noticeable change in climate relate to how people live their lives? Contrary to the skeptical view that global warming is nothing to be alarmed of, it is quite observable that global warming has its immediate detrimental effects that young adults should be aware about. The accumulation of heat in the oceans is also pointed out as the major reason for the increasing intensity of typhoons. Based on the laws of thermodynamics, it is understood that typhoons are like heat engines that gather their energy by converting ocean heat into mechanical energy. Over the past 35 years, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has observed that the number of category 4 and 5 typhoons has substantially increased in connection with the rising of the ocean temperatures due to global warming. Another immediate effect of global warming is the rising sea-level brought by the melting of the ice caps in the Polar Regions . As a result, receding shorelines are very much noticeable while people who live in low elevated areas are in constant danger of flooding brought about by increased typhoon intensity and storm surges. Studies are also conducted on the effects of climate change in biodiversity and ecology. Most scientists believe that climate change can alter the natural balance of bio-diverse environments because of the changes in environmental temperature. Climate changes could lead to the emergence of parasites and other micro-organisms that may cause illness if forced to dwell away from their natural environment.

Young Adults and their Role in the Global Warming Phenomenon

A time will come when it will be too late to take any measures that will combat the effects of global warming. Of course, the main approach in mitigating global warming is to significantly reduce the emission of greenhouse gasses especially carbon dioxide. Apparently, there are several ways of reducing greenhouse gasses both individually and institutionally. Promoting the use of green energy or that energy coming from renewable sources is one example. Another mitigation technique in an individual level is to save energy whenever we can. However, the main challenge in implementing ideas is the conviction of the populace. For the same reason, the young people of the present generation are faced with an enormous task of experiencing its detrimental effects. It should be noted though that the young adults will be the future policy makers. They will be leading government and private institution in the future that could significantly impact public and corporate policies. By instilling awareness and conviction on climate change to young people, there is a huge chance that most mitigation plans for climate change in the future will succeed.

Conclusion

Of all the major issues that young people face, climate change is the topic that is given least concern because most young adults perceive it as non-critical of their future. However, as observed, the world is now experiencing detrimental effects due to climate change and these effects will continue to get worse unless the issue is addressed. For the same reason, young adults, being future policy makers, have a big role to play in mitigating the effects of climate change. By initiating awareness among them, it is possible that plans and strategies of combating the causes of climate change will eventually succeed.

References

Hurricane Development: From Birth to Maturity. (2013). Retrieved June 2014, from http://www.hurricanescience.org/: http://www.hurricanescience.org/science/science/development/
Brown, P., & Whitney, G. (2011, August). U.S. Renewable Electricity Generation: Resources and Challenges . Retrieved May 2014, from http://www.fas.org/: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R41954.pdf
Collins, W., Colman, R., Haywood, J., Manning, M., & Mote, P. (2007). The Physical Science Behind Climate Change. Scientific American Inc., 65 - 73.
Kolbert, E. (2005). THE CLIMATE OF MAN—I. The New Yorker, 1 - 18.
Socolow, R., & Pacala, S. (2006). A Plan to Keep Carbon in Check. Scientific American Inc., 50 - 57.
Than, K. (2006, March 16). Warmer Seas Creating Stronger Hurricanes, Study Confirms. Retrieved November 2013, from http://www.livescience.com/: http://www.livescience.com/642-warmer-seas-creating-stronger-hurricanes-study-confirms.html
World Health Organization. (n.d.). Climate change and infectious diseases. Retrieved January 2015, from http://www.who.int/: http://www.who.int/globalchange/climate/summary/en/index5.html