Wednesday, July 8, 2020

Causes And Effects Of Global Warming, Free Essay Sample

Causes and Effects of Global Warming There are diverse challenges impinging our environment. Destruction of the forests, pollution, and the use of every of our earth’s natural resources are among a few. Nonetheless, none of these problems is as serious as global warming as it affects both everyone and everything. Global warming refers to the rise of the temperature within the atmosphere as a result of carbon dioxide emission (Haldar, 2011). Â  Individuals must put matters in their own hands by taking serious actions towards stopping this catastrophe, moreover, must recognize the magnitude of this issue before things go from bad to worse. The future solely relies on actions we take towards slowing global warming. Accordingly, it is important to understand the causes as well as consequences of global warming. Causes of Global Warming Scientists have linked global warming with an increase in greenhouse gases within the air generated via human undertakings, for instance, deforestation, combustion of non-renewable sources, in other term fossil fuels among others. These activities generate huge quantities of greenhouse gas production which is the primary cause of global warming. According to White (2017), greenhouse gases absorb heat within the globe’s atmosphere in order towards keeping the earth warm towards sustaining existence; this natural method is referred as the greenhouse effect, which is a natural process. With the absence of these gases, the universe will be cold on behalf of sustaining human beings, as well as other living things. The greenhouse effect occurs because of stability of the main kinds of greenhouse gases. Nonetheless, whenever unusually high degrees of these gases mount up within the temperature, a lot of heat begins getting confined, besides, results in the development of greenhouse effect. Man-made generated discharges have been linked with heightening greenhouse degrees that are increasing global temperatures as well as triggering global warming. Greenhouse Gas Emissions As Well As The Enhanced Greenhouse Effect Greenhouse gases are generated naturally as well as via human undertakings. Unluckily, greenhouse gases produced via human undertakings are accumulated towards the air to an extremely higher degree compared to any natural method may eradicate them. Overall degrees of greenhouse gases have tremendously amplified following Industrial Revolution. Just a few groups of human undertakings are triggering the accumulation of major greenhouse gases including carbon dioxide, fluorinated gases, methane, and nitrous oxide to increase (White, 2017). The Common of human carbon dioxide productions comes from the combustion of non-renewable sources, for instance, petroleum, coal and so on so that human beings may power automobiles, generate electricity, and keep warm. Other vital sources originate from industry such as cement manufacturing. Methane is generated via mankind during the usage and production of non-renewable sources, livestock as well as crop farming (White, 2017). Fluorinated gases are utilized within cooling, refrigeration, as well as manufacturing applications. Nitrous oxide emissions originate from the utilization of synthetic fertilizers, fossil fuel burning as well as livestock manure management. Deforestation For the last 7 decades, deforestation has been an enormous activity via human beings and converting forestry to farms possess danger in relation to greenhouse gas emissions. For decades, humans have burned as well as cleared forests with an aim of clearing land in lieu of cultivation. This possesses a serious impact on the ecosystem through releasing carbon dioxide in the air and concurrently lessening the plants which may clear carbon dioxide in the environment (White, 2017). Whenever forests are cleared, soil disturbance, as well as heightened degrees of decay within converted soils, generates carbon dioxide productions. Additionally, this raises soil corrosion, as well as nutrient percolating that, may additionally lessen the region’s capability towards acting like carbon sink. Effects of Global Warming Melting of Glaciers Melting of glaciers generates a plethora of complications for mankind and other living things on the globe (Goldman, Kumagai, Robarts, 2013). As a result of raised global warming, the sea level will automatically rise that will result in flooding, consequently creating havoc among human life. Moreover, it will likewise endanger numerous species of living things and therefore, hampering the balance of the environment. Regions within the Arctic are fading away, besides, flowing in main oceans. Increasing temperatures generates a great threat towards wildlife as well as entire environments within these areas. Having glaciers melting at immense rates, a series of actions is being produced, which cannot be reversed. Climate change Unbalanced weather patterns have by now began showing outcomes. Raised precipitation in terms of rain has been experienced within polar as well as sub-polar areas. Extra global warming will cause additional evaporation that will trigger more rains. Both plants and animals cannot simply adapt towards raised rainfall. Plants might die and animals might migrate to different regions, which may cause the whole ecology out of balance (Casper, 2010). Droughts Whereas it might be flooding within Savannah, serious drought is occurring elsewhere within the globe. As temperatures increases, the existence of drought has raised within the Western United State (Casper, 2010). In addition to no precipitation and heat waves, entire forests have started to vanish comprising thousands of trees within Colorado’s Rockies. Huge scale evaporation will become the primary cause of droughts within numerous places especially Africa. Even though it is revolving under the large pressure of water calamity, raised global warming could additionally make the condition worse and will trigger malnutrition. Diseases As temperature becomes extra warm, it may impact the health of human beings and the illnesses they are vulnerable to. With the rise in the rain, waterborne illnesses are prone to spread such as malaria (Haldar, 2011). The globe will become very warm, thus heat waves are prone towards increasing, which may trigger a severe effect on the humans. Frequent Wildfires Whereas wildfires are as a result of natural causes, with the extra carbon dioxide within the air, as well as hotter summers, the proof is vivid. More regular wildfires keep on surfacing in diverse amounts every year (Haldar, 2011). The degree at which they combust is higher than the last, besides, with the emission of carbon dioxide in the air, individual’s lives are in danger, also wildlife greatly suffers. Every time there is a wildfire, the oxygen levels lessen responsible for combating the dangerous levels of carbon dioxide that are being emitted in the atmosphere. Severe Precipitation There is insurmountable scientific proof that global warming leads to increased precipitation. Also, global warming generates conditions which may result in extra powerful summer storms as well as hurricanes. Cities located in the coastal regions encounter more problems as precipitation poses serious flooding. Conclusion Global warming is primarily caused via greenhouse gases that occur naturally and are either directly or indirectly produced by humans. Amid the sources of human-generated gases are deforestation and burning of fossil fuels among others. Some effects of global warming include droughts, severe precipitation, frequent wildfires, diseases, and climate change. References Casper, J. K. (2010). Changing Ecosystems: Effects of Global Warming. New York: Infobase Pub. Goldman, C. R., Kumagai, M., Robarts, R. D. (2013). Climatic Change and Global Warming of Inland Waters: Impacts and Mitigation for Ecosystems and Societies. Chichester, West Sussex, UK: John Wiley Sons Inc. Haldar, I. (2011). Global warming: The causes and consequences. New Delhi: Mind Melodies. White, D. (2017). The Causes of Global Warming. Retrieved from: https://www.thoughtco.com/causes-of-global-warming-3325286?utm_term=4+causes+of+global+warmingutm_content=p1-main-1-titleutm_medium=semutm_source=google_sutm_campaign=adid-d9f1eddf-87cf-4f46-a0ca-cdaec6a2a59f-0-ab_gsb_ocode-35385ad=semDan=google_sam=broadq=4+causes+of+global+warmingo=35385qsrc=999l=semaskid=d9f1eddf-87cf-4f46-a0ca-cdaec6a2a59f-0-ab_gsb

Thursday, July 2, 2020

Is Surveillance Ethical - Free Essay Example

The concept of surveillance involves close monitoring of behavior of people in a certain location of importance. Surveillance has many media of propagation. It involves audio, video and even the sense of smell. Examples of video surveillance are CCTV cameras (Closed Circuit Tele Vision cameras) at areas of commercial importance such as banks, schools, courts. Audio surveillance involves tapping phone calls to listen to conversations. Surveillance through smell is when dogs are used to detect the smell of narcotics and explosives from a certain distance. The ethical aspect of surveillance questions how surveillance is being used and whether it is morally and ethically permitted. It involves questioning certain aspects like the circumstances of its usage, when is it permissible? When is it not at all entertained. What are its benefits and its harms. This paper starts off with a brief backdrop into history about how the concept of surveillance originated. The focus of this paper is towards the stand that surveillance is unethical in the modern world. This paper speaks about the stakeholders of surveillance, the motive behind it and its impact on the society. History One of the first few references we can see about surveillance is the Panopticon. The Panopticon was to be a prison, comprising a circular building with the cells adjacent to the outside walls. In the centre was a tower in which the prison supervisor would live and monitor the inmates. Large external windows and smaller internal windows in each cell would allow the supervisor to monitor the activities of the inmates, while a system of louvres in the central tower would prevent the inmates from seeing the supervisor. A rudimentary form of directed loudspeaker would enable the supervisor to communicate with the prisoners(Macnish 2009). Bentham argued that even though the inmates didnt know when they were being watched, they would be in the constant fear of being spotted of wrongdoing and they would be disciplined. There were many versions of Panopticon adopted in the later years and it was a widespread popular idea. The Central Idea Behind Surveillance: If you havent done anything wrong, you have nothing to fear(Wu, Chung, Yamat, Richman 2013). This is the argument supporting the governments actions of spying and eavesdropping on people from wherever they have remote access to under the mask of surveillance. Thus, the governments use of closed-circuit television cameras in public spaces, warrantless wiretapping, and library record checks have the potential to save lives from criminals and terrorists with only minimal invasion of its citizens privacy. This argument fails on many grounds. To begin with, when collecting personal data and information about the identity of a person, an archive of information is created which makes them vulnerable when fallen into the wrong hands. When data is collected, whether such data remains used for its stated purpose after its collection has been called into question. A classic example of unauthorized collection of data is wikileaks. Wikileaks claims to have a database of ten million documents in ten years since its inception in 2006. It contains sensitive information and classified media from anonymous sources. It is a horrible idea to think about when anything as classified as the information held by Interpol or any such global organization on criminals, victims etc., is suddenly a few fingertips away from being revealed, what would be the case if a common mans financial details is in the wrong hands the same way? It is a critical question to think about. Ethical Concerns: A. Privacy The above example shows us that privacy is one of the main concerns that make us question about the ethical strength of surveillance. We may appear in public safe in the knowledge that our weaknesses are not on display for all to see, allowing for confident personal interaction. When we vote we do so in the belief that no-one can see our decision and treat us well or poorly in the light of how we voted. Privacy is thus important in the social context of democracy. In many cases we do not want to know everything about everyone around us and so privacy can protect the rest of us from being exposed to too much information. The 21st century has become the century of Big Data and advanced Information Technology allows for the storage and processing of exabytes of data. The revelations of Edward Snowden have demonstrated that these worries are real and that the technical capabilities to collect, store and search large quantities of data concerning telephone conversations, internet searches and electronic payment are now in place and are routinely used by government agencies. For business firms, personal data about customers and potential customers are now also a key asset. At the same time, the meaning and value of privacy remains the subject of considerable controversy (Hoven, Jeroen, Blaauw, Martijn, Pieters, Wolter and Warnier, Martijn, 2014). As the excerpt states, we can see that privacy has a major threat to everyone. B. Trust Another ethical issue loosely tailing privacy is trust. Surveillance also limits the opportunity to present oneself in the manner of ones own choosing. It is hence limiting on the individuals autonomy, impacting how that individual interacts with the world. While Bentham believed the Panopticon would encourage inmates to self-discipline, this would only occur through fear of repercussions. The inmates would be denied the opportunity to demonstrate willingness to reform without the surveillance. There would therefore be no opportunities for the supervisor of the prison to place his trust in the prisoner, nor for that prisoner to demonstrate his trustworthiness other than in the presence of surveillance. Any traits displayed would then arguably not be genuine reflections of the character of the inmate. The same is true of surveillance in the workplace, schools and society at large. If the surveilled is suspicious of or conscious of the surveillance then they might conform to the expect ed norm, but this will not necessarily reflect their character(Macnish 2009). When a person is being surveilled, the reasons to trust him or her just keeps diminishing. The constant fear of being watched makes the persons actions more predictable. Conclusion To sum up, there are many ethical concerns involving the ethical aspect of surveillance, but the main concerns involve maintaining the privacy and security of the individual. However, it has been proven that the government and other major organizations handling sensitive information do not give much importance to the safety of data and there is always the threat of intrusion into anyones lives which is the foremost and a cruel repercussion of being surveilled thereby decreasing the trust of individuals among one another with the fear of being monitored constantly.