greenhouse effect

 greenhouse effect

Climate change is increasingly becoming a severe problem in the contemporary world because of the associated negative implications. From changing weather patterns to growing sea levels that acerbate the risk of catastrophic flooding, thus calling for drastic action to avoid these possibilities (United Nations). The United Nations (UN) has been at the forefront urging member states to adopt policies that are aimed at keeping the emission of greenhouse gases low as a means of avoiding rapid climate change. Recently, this body requested me to address the issue of greenhouse gas emissions, especially the contribution of carbon dioxide inn causing this problem in Afghanistan. Notably, this essay explores the issue of greenhouse gases and its contribution to global warming, how these emissions cause problems for the developing world, and causes of greenhouse and the possible solutions. The problem of climate change has negatively affected Afghanistan’s economic, security, and political landscapes, and a solution to this challenge largely depends on the willingness of major industrialized countries to employ techniques that limit the amount of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane emissions into the atmosphere.

Background

The formation of the greenhouse effect is attributed to the interaction of the sun’s energy with some gases such as carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane among others in the earth’s atmosphere. The greenhouse impact is caused by the capability of these gases to capture heat from the sun rays, which they consequently transfer to the earth’s surface, thus resulting in increased temperatures (Kweku et al. 3). In other words, this flawless cycle of interactions of capturing heat is responsible for the overall growth in global temperatures.

While there are many gases that may result in this process, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases are the main contributors. As one of the main contributors of this process, its role is attributed to its chemical composition. This form of gas entails one carbon atom, with a single atom attached to either side, and as the bonding takes place, the carbon dioxide molecule begins to vibrate (Kweku et al. 3). The presence of more carbon dioxide gas has been shown to contribute to the greenhouse effect. Burning of fuels such as oil puts more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, hence increasing the number of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (Kweku et al. 3). Overall, an increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere worsens the risk of greenhouse gas impact.

The growth of the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere causes climate change. Gases like carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide allow sunlight to pass into the earth’s surface, but prevent it from escaping from earth into space (Twardy). In essence, the inability of earth to release excess heat into space due to the influence of these gases makes it to increase into harmful levels. Though the consequences of the shifting natural atmospheric greenhouse are hard to difficult to predict, but certain impacts seem likely. Warmer conditions will most likely result into more evaporation and precipitation and stronger greenhouse effect will probably warm oceans (Twardy). In sum, the increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere causes rapid changes in climate, consequently leading to extreme temperatures.

How Emissions Cause Problems for the Developing World

While developing countries are not the biggest contributors to the greenhouse effect, they are the main casualties. Figures from the International Energy Agency (IEA) show that the United States and China are approximately tied as the world’s leading emitters of greenhouse gases. This agency reports that the two countries emit about 40% of global carbon dioxide emissions, translating into 35% of greenhouse gases (Mohajan 191). Besides, this problem is caused by other major countries in the world such as India and Russia. The rather is placed at position three while the former lies in number four as the biggest greenhouse emitters in the world. Therefore, it is apparent that the United States, China, India, and Russia are major causes of climate change in developing countries.

Negative implications on economic activities is one of the harmful consequences of the souring amounts of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Agricultural production is the biggest causality when it comes to the impact of climate change on economic profile of a country. For instance, this process has hit hard Afghanistan in recent decades. Agriculture is the biggest economic activity in the country, and has since been affected by the increasing amounts of greenhouse emission from other countries. In recent years, the number of livestock is estimated to have dropped by 50% due to prolonged droughts, which has led to degradation of livestock feeds (Savage et al.14). Therefore, the issue is climate change has significantly affected the main economic activity of Afghanistan.

Security and safety risks are also other negative aspects associated with climate change. Developing countries are mostly vulnerable to this problem, and this possibility is compounded by the existing food security issues and higher dependency on agricultural economy (Savage et al. 17). Afghanistan is one of the developing countries that have been at the recipient end of climate change due to the increasing levels of carbon dioxide emissions. Notably, food and health insecurity has been affecting more than 75% of the population in recent years following prolonged droughts and water shortages (Savage et al. 17). Overall, security and safety remains to be a serious issue in the country due to climate change.

Furthermore, climate change is a possible cause of political challenges. With rising economic insecurity, local authorities are judged with the responsibility of solving emerging conflicts due to scrambling of limited resources. In Afghanistan, states officials have been having difficulties in handling conflicts over traditional pasture rights due to competing interests (Savage et al.18). Therefore, the political landscape has also been a victim of excessive greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Causes of Greenhouse Gases and Solutions

The formation of the greenhouse gas effect is associated with the processes that emit carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and water vapor. Activities such nitrification, denitrification, microbial respiration, and combustion of coal for energy are the major contributors to the greenhouse gas emissions (Darkwah et al. 5). Therefore, management of these processes can be critical in averting this problem.

The employment of bioremediation technique, increase in tree planting, reduction in burning fossils, and consumption of clean energy are some of the promising solutions to the issue of greenhouse emissions. Bioremediation method entails the utilization of microbial metabolism to eliminate pollutants from the biosphere (Darkwah et al. 4). Collectively, the above-highlighted approaches can greatly minimize the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Conclusion

The problem of climate change continues to affect the world, especially developing countries more than ever before due to the souring levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The activities that emit excessive nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide, and methane into the atmosphere are mainly to blame for this crisis. The economic, security, and political profiles of developing countries like Afghanistan have greatly suffered due to climate change. Approaches such as bioremediation, excessive tree planting, and the utilization of renewable energy can help to mitigate this problem.