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There is no doubt that the threat of climate change is becoming considerably less impressive than it used to be several decades prior. Indeed, while the first call for being more careful about the treatment of the Earth was quite efficient, the gimmick seems to have worn out its welcome and people have moved to more topical issues.
However, the processes of climate change are still going on and are having a drastic effect on the planet, its flora and fauna, as well as aspects of agriculture, which means that the issue of the climate change must be addressed properly.
There is no secret that the majority of the world has become environmentally aware over the past few years. However, mostly because of its popularity, the issue of climate change, its factors and the probable consequences, has started to wear out since recently. Nevertheless, in certain fields, the issue is still essential, and agriculture is among these fields.
Indeed, without the proper climate which the given sorts of plant is used to, the crops will be deplorably little, despite all the attempts of the farmers and the newest techniques applied to growing the plants. Therefore, researching the causes of the climate change, the factors that induce it and the probable results of the changes in the environment are crucial for the food which people are going to consume and, therefore, people’s health.
To start with, the origin of the climate change must be tracked. Once realizing where the problem is rooted, one can understand how to solve it, which is just the case for the climate change issue. However, the major obstacle in the given mission is the fact that the changes in the climate are triggered by a variety of processes, some of which occur on such large scale that it seems hardly possible to take control of them.
To paraphrase Skodvin & Fuglestvedt (1977), climate change is the series of alterations that occur to the environment due to a number of factors induced by human activity, mainly, carbon emission, and leading to the phenomenon commonly known as global warming. Pant (2009) defined climate change as “the greatest threat to the living beings on the earth affecting widely from tropical to arctic regions and from sea to land and atmosphere” (72).
It is obvious that, due to the side effects of various production processes and the emergence of certain byproducts which lead to environmental pollution, nature appears to be in grave danger: “The effects of human activities on climate depend on future emissions of greenhouse gases, and the impacts of the resulting changes in climate depend on the future state of the world” (Arnell, Livermore, Kovats, Levy, Nicholls, Parry, & Gaffin, 2004, 3).
As for the evaluation of the risks which the humankind puts itself under when letting the climate change take its course, it is necessary to mention that every single organic life form is threatened by the effects of the climate change. Moreover, the whole field of agriculture is threatened by the effects of the climate change (Paul, Ernsting, Semino, Gura & Lorch, 2009, 3).
To address the issue of the climate change properly, one must mention all the factors that cause the shifts in the climate. As it has been previously mentioned, the ones of the greatest impact are the human factors and the effects of human activities. Weirdly enough, these factors are induced greatly by the existing means to sustain agriculture and to maintain it on the high level, i.e., the use of synthetic fertilizers. As Paul, Ernsting, Semilo, Gura & Lorch (2009) explain,
Worldwide consumption of synthetic N fertilizers has increased by about 150% since 1970 to about 82 Tg N/year in 1996. Animal wastes used as fertilizer supplied an estimated additional 65 Tg N/year in 1996, compared with 37 Tg N/year in 1950. This increase in N use is now widely recognised as a major factor in the increase in N2O emissions indicated by increases in atmospheric concentration. (19)
Therefore, it is clear that the rapid changes in climate are the result of the activities aimed at perfecting the agriculture sphere and making the most out of the existing possibilities. What used to be working for the development of the agriculture sphere is now turning against it, threatening to ruin everything that has been created so far.
However, apart from the fertilizers which make the crops grow faster yet have negative effect on the environment, there are a number of other factors that impact the state of nature and cause the hazardous climate change. Among these, such well-known elements of the ordinary life as the fumes emitted by cars and factories, and other air pollutants, factor in as well.
What used to be the most promising developments and the herald of the new epoch is now threatening the world. Another issue that triggers the most concern is the frailty of the ozone layer and the holes in it.
Once the Sun radiation started reaching the planet directly from certain spots, the risk of temperature rising has become a frightening reality; and, even though the process of the temperature increase is quite slow judging by the standards of a person’s lifetime, it is still going on and is likely to grow to even greater scale as time passes (Trenberth, 2009).
Despite the fact that the climate change is a rather time-taking process that, though having started way back, is supposed to take much time to lead to a dramatic effect; yet the results of the change in the environment all over the Earth is already obvious even short time after it started.
If considering some of the data concerning the climate change and the way it has affected the nature, especially the flora of the Earth, one can find that the process of temperature increase is not as harmless as it used to seem.
Apart from the effects which it has on the state of the environment and the wildlife, climate change also shapes the world economy and the trade relationships I, making the latter take the wrong course and leading to its collapse: “Climate change potentially affects key drivers of international trade in agricultural products” (Huang, von Lampe, van Tongeren, 2011, 9). Like a clockwork mechanism, climate change triggers a range of events that finally lead to the ultimate economical fiasco:
Through its effects on productivity and yields, climate change impacts on the technology dimension behind trade patterns. Through its impact on the amounts of arable land and water, it impacts on the endowments dimension. Changes in the returns to factors of production employed in agriculture are driving the potential changes in patterns of geographical specialisation of production. (Huang, von Lampe, van Tongeren, 2011, 9)
Thus, it is clear that the effects a the climate change affect not only the Earth flora in general and the crops in particular, but also any other life form, leading to its extinction. Defined by Gilman, Randall & Schwarz (2007) as a “dynamic, chaotic system” (5), the process is still going on and will soon lead to numerous results.
No matter how sad it could sound, the process of climate change is completely irreversible; the only reasonable thin that one can possibly do in the given situation is to make the effects of the climate change the least harmful and noticeable, taking as little loss as possible Therefore, one of the only reasonable solutions can be accepting the sustainable agriculture and, therefore, take proper care of the nature, at the same time making use of its resources.
Moreover, the money issue is to be taken into account – without the proper funding and the new equipment, fighting the climate change effects will be considerably easier. In addition, one of the key aspects to be taken into account when fighting against the side effects of global warming can be the use of the biodiversity.
According to what Paul, Ernsting, Semilo, Gura & Lorch (2009), “Biodiversity, including agricultural diversity is crucial for maintaining agricultural production and ecosystem resilience. Conservation of crop diversity in farmers’ fields is therefore a key factor in strengthening climate resilience among poor farming communities” (39).
Indeed, once making the sustainable agriculture an integral part of the everyday life, one can stay assured that the effects of the climate change are not going to be that drastic. Called “natural debt,” the amount of damage which people made to the environment is going to be “refunded”: “Thus, natural debt (cumulative depleted emissions) is probably the best simple measure of the responsibility of a region, nation, economy, or person for the current excess warming caused by human activities” (Patz, Gibbs, Foley, Rogers & Smith, 2007, 400).
However, there can still be the way to make the climate change at less hair-rising speed; if considering some of Thompson’s speculations, one can see that with the help of the new equipment an very technological breakthrough, which people have witnessed in 2000ies, one can save the day; as David explains, the ECO-Patent Commons can help develop the solution fast and efficiently:
The Eco-Patent Commons, launched in January 2008 by IBM, Nokia, Pitney Bowes and Sony in partnership with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, was founded on the commitment that anyone who wants to bring environmental benefits to market can use the patents that are contributed to the commons to protect the environment and enable collaboration between businesses that foster new innovations. (David, 2010, 71)
However, it is important to note that the lack of efficient solutions is only temporary and can be solved once applying the right strategy and the efficient equipment: “Climate and weather conditions pose serious threats to both and can be reduced substantially with improved techniques regarding irrigation systems and effective pond management” (Wall & Smit, 2005, 119).
Like any other complicated problem involving environmental issues, the one concerning the climate change needs certain time for the solution to be developed. According to Thomson and Webster (2010), there is a way to save the planet and the existing species from extinction; the only problem is that the development of the new technologies is rather time-consuming:
First and foremost, the long-term solution must include a policy that ameliorates (the negative) third-party effects of carbon emissions. This means some form of carbon price—either a tax on carbon generating activities (and subsidy for carbon mitigating activities), or an emission trading scheme. Once an appropriate carbon price has been established, there is no IP policy difference between technologies that abate greenhouse gas emissions and technologies that meet other needs. (Thomson & Webster, 2010, 133)
Taking into account the above-mentioned, one can claim with certainty that the issue of climate change is crucial for agriculture, since it can possibly reinvent the whole idea of when and where crops should be grown, as well as have certain impact on the quality and amount of the crops.
It goes without saying that there are a number of negative consequences that climate change will trigger for agriculture, mainly because it will take very long for plants to adjust to the new environment and withstand the unusual weather conditions.
However, there are ways to make the process of change somewhat milder. From the global perspective, the changes in climate can be slackened once the process of global warming is paused. Once people start taking care of the Earth and realize what their actions lead to, climate change becomes a less menacing prospect.
Reference List
Arnell, N. W., Livermore, M. J. L., Kovats, S., Levy, P. E., Nicholls, R., Parry, M. L., &
Gaffin, S. R. (2004). Climate and socio-economic scenarios for global-scale climate change impacts assessments: Characterising the SRES storylines. Global Environmental Change, 14, 3-20.
David, P. A. (2010). Consequences of the exploitation of intellectual property rights on results of publicly and privately funded research. WIPO 2(1), 59-74.
Gilman, N., Randall, D., & Schwartz, P. (2007). Impacts of climate change. Las Vegas, NV: GBN.
Huang, H., von Lampe, M., & vanTongeren, F. (2011). Climate change and trade in agriculture. Food policy, 36(1), 9-13.
Pant, K. P. (2009). Effect of agriculture on climate change. The Journal of Agriculture and Environment, (10), 72-88.
Patz, J., Gibbs, H. K., Foley, J. A., Rogers, J. V., & Smith. K. R. (2007). Climate change and global health: Quantifying a global ethical crisis. Eco-Health, 4, 397-405.
Paul, H., Ernsting, A., Semilo, S., Gura, S., & Lorch, A. (2009). Agriculture and climate change: Real problems, false solutions. Copenhagen: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Skodvin, T., & Fuglestvedt, J. (1977). A comprehensive approach to climate change: Political and scientific considerations. Ambio, 6(26), 351-358.
Thomson, R., & Webster, E. (2010). The role of intellectual property rights in addressing the climate change: The case of agriculture. WIPO 2(1), 133-141.
Trenberth, K. E. (2009). An imperative on climate change. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 1, 19-27.
Wall, E., & Smit, B. (2005). Climate change adaptation in light of sustainable agriculture. Journal of Sustainable Agriculture, 27(1), 113-120.
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