The Arctic Ocean is cold. At the northernmost tip of our
planet, the Arctic Ocean covers nearly 5,427,000 square miles- most
of which is compacted into glaciers, permafrost and sea ice. Many of us will
live our entire lives without ever feasting our eyes on this vast expanse of
ice and water, but these frigid waters affects each and every one of us daily. For
some, it touches our lives through ocean currents, bringing fish and nutrient-rich
water to our beaches. For all, we are affected through the Northwest Passage.
This Passage is a sea route which traverses the northernmost coast of North
America. It is not surprising that the Northwest Passage is enclosed in ice –obstructing
what would be the shortest natural route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific
Ocean in the entire world. Since the time overseas trade had begun, traders
longed for the Northwest Passage to open; this would not only make sea trade
faster and cheaper, but ultimately safer and more feasible.
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| The Northwest Passage. From www1.american.edu |
Here’s a fact that would delight those forlorn Arctic
seafarers: the Northwest Passage might open up sooner than you think.
The opening of the Northwest Passage is only achievable through
one pathway, a pathway that has been gradually built since the dawn of the
industrial age (with a significant pick-up in the 1980’s). You probably know it
by name, and that name is ‘climate change’. Climate change is nothing new, but
is an event that has had a special place on everyone’s lips in recent years.
The term has been thrown around with images of polar bears, fossil fuels and
natural disasters… eventually earning itself a negative connotation. Still,
many people are left wondering how climate change (the slow-moving, invisible
phenomenon that it is) affects their lives. Why should they concern themselves
with climate change, when the economy and health reform have tangible and more
immediate consequences? Why is climate change so often spoken of as a ‘bad
thing,’ when it can make the Northwest Passage accessible for trade- something
that our economy so direly needs?
When you see how the warming of our earth began and begin to
fully grasp the science behind it, climate change takes on an entire new
identity. To see the larger picture of climate change, it is important to look
at its building blocks. John Hansen, head of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies and known for his research in the field of climatology, explains
the relationship between heat and carbon dioxide like this: the more carbon
dioxide there is in the air, the warmer the air is. Carbon dioxide and other
gasses in the air act as Earth’s blanket, keeping heat from the sun trapped in our
atmosphere. In proper amounts, this ‘greenhouse effect’ is what keeps Earth
from being like the Northwest Passage and freezing over, but those very same
gasses are also what enable Venus to maintain a global 900 degree temperature. You
may have already noticed the effects of Earth’s warmer atmosphere, which is
characterized by warm winters and melting glaciers. In fact, due to this
warmth, John Hansen projects that the ocean will rise 1-5 meters within the
century.
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Earth goes through many ice ages and warming periods, but
the earth has been warming at an alarming rate since the 1800’s. Hansen explains “…the total energy imbalance
{increase in heat} is 6/10ths of a watt per square meter. That may not sound
like much, but when added up over the whole world, it’s enormous. It’s about
twenty times greater than the rate of use of energy by all of humanity. It’s equivalent
to exploding 400,000 Hiroshima atomic bombs per day, 365 days a year. That’s
how much extra energy earth is gaining each day.” Even more shocking is the
cause of the extra green house gases in our atmosphere: ourselves. The
advancement of our American society has increased the use of fossil fuels,
which propels carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases right into the air we
breathe.
Hansen can list off a number of reasons climate change
should worry us- ranging from droughts, heat waves, stronger storms (think
Hurrican Katrina and Hurricane Sandy), and the opening of the Northwest
Passage. However, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change focuses on one
aspect of climate change, the aspect that may be the most instrumental in making
Earth a hospitable place to live.
The IPCC writes that climate change, above all else,
strongly impacts earth’s biodiversity (that is, the diversity and variety of
plant and animal life on our planet). For example, the Mojave Desert in
California is able to support very few trees and animal species, making it an
area with extremely low biodiversity. With the increase in our climate’s
temperature we can expect many animal habitats to be lost to the creation of
deserts as well as a rising sea level. The IPCC states that “…by the year 2080,
about 20% of coastal wetlands could be lost due to sea-level rise.” The fact
that coastal wetlands, one of the most biologically diverse ecosystems in the entire
world, will be lost is disheartening but these coasts are also home to countless cities
and people. An increase in sea level would mean the destruction of these homes
and the displacement of thousands of humans.
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| The Mojave Desert in California, US. Photo from www.mojavedesertblog.com |
“Ecosystems {biodiversity} provide many goods and services
that are crucial to human survival,” explains the IPCC. “Some indigenous and
rural communities are particularly dependant on many of these goods and
services for their livelihoods. These goods and services include food, fiber,
fuel and energy, fodder, medicines… Ecosystems {biodiversity} also play a
critical role in biogeochemical processes that underlie the functioning of
Earth’s systems.”
The spread of industry and loss of natural areas have always
been closely connected, but now they affect each other in a different way.
Rather than society (through the use wood and land) rendering the land fit for
only human use and splitting (what were once uniform) ecosystems, the use of
fossil fuels in our society increases carbon dioxide in the air. This facilitates
climate change, which then makes regions unfit for animals and plants to inhabit.
Those animals and plants with limited
ranges, restricted habitats and small populations are most at risk of
extinction. Since climate change, as well as the subsequent loss of
biodiversity, can be attributed to the human use of fossil fuels, there must be
a way to slow the effects- at least give the earth’s ecosystems and human
cities time to adapt.
John Hansen observes that placing a fee on all fossil fuels
could, if put into practice, result in a depletion of greenhouse gasses in the
atmosphere due to the subsequently elevated search for alternative fuels. The
fee that Hansen proposes is a proactive and preventative procedure that would
likely slow (or halt) the use of fossil fuels. The IPCC focuses more on
conserving the ecosystems the Earth has left through mitigation practices.
Mitigation would mean changes in land-use and forestry activities (including
reforestation, or the planting of forests) while adapting human activities to
benefit the environment- this means facilitating the growth of new plants and
animals and helping them adapt to our changing world. Of course the mitigated
ecosystems would not be as biodiverse as the ecosystem that existed before, but
it gives nature a place to start recovering. It is difficult to judge the
success of these practices or see any immediate results because the affects of
climate change are so diverse and long-term, but the preservation of our Earth’s
atmosphere and ecosystems are important. It means the health and safety for humans, while ensuring we can continue
the lifestyle that we have grown accustomed to.
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| Reforestation of a coal mine, www.mcrcc.osmre.gov |
New York and Chicago are two cities which have notice of the
Earth’s need, and made changes in an effort to prevent any further damage to
the atmosphere, biodiversity, or their resident’s livelihood. New York has used
the desolate rooftops of its city to house solar energy panels, which can then
power it’s buildings instead of fossil fuels. Chicago has also taken advantage
of its interminably available rooftops, creating rooftop gardens. Not only does
this help dissipate the heat island effect, but this can (according to the IPCC)
help with the natural absorption of carbon dioxide in the air. Further than
that, they have implemented new energy audits and efficiency standards to
reduce the consumption of energy and fossil fuels. "You can't actually
climate-proof a city," Adam Freed, acting director of the city's Office of
Long-Term Planning and Sustainability, says "the benefits of the
things that make sense to do today greatly increase as our climate
changes."
The economy is important. Your current employment is
important. Your relationships with others are important. What you’re making for dinner tonight is
important. The Northwest Passage is extremely important, for what it means
trade-wise. But for a moment I want you to put that all out of your head and
imagine a world that is desolate, with enough carbon dioxide in the air that
Earth maintains a 900 degree, Venus-like temperature. It may be centuries away,
but when that day comes, our first-world woes might seem like temporary
distractions from what really plagues us.
Works Cited
Biello, David. “The
Green Apple: How Can Cities Adapt to Climate Change?” Scientific American. 16 June, 2010. Web. 4 February 2013.
“James Hansen: Why I
Must Speak Out About Climate Change” Ted.
Ted Conferences LLC, February 2012. Web Video. 4 February 2013.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. "Climate Change and Biodiversity" United Nations Convention, IPCC Secretariat. April 2002. Web. 4 February 2013.
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