Climate Change In Canada

Climate Change

There is an increasing number of studies that the climate change is unavoidable. From our current knowledge of climate change, it is evident that greenhouse gases that we are producing from human activity such as cars, air-conditioning, factories, and etcetera are depleting the ozone layer (Environment Canada, 2010). As a result, the land and ocean surface temperature is constantly increasing in a linear trend from 1880 to 2012 (Stocker, et al., 2013). The Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change (IPCC) states that the temperature had increased 0.78 degrees Celsius globally from 2003 to 2012 (Stocker, et al., 2013). The increase in temperature is now causing serious consequences like the melting and disappearance of Greenland’s …show more content…
In 1997, the Kyoto Protocol (COP#3) was negotiated by around 191 states pledging to have developed countries reduce 5% of the greenhouse gases annually in 2008 – 2012 (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 2011). The protocol did not succeed as expected for the reason that developing countries, such as China and India, were not required to reduce the 5% greenhouse gases (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 2011). Furthermore, countries like Canada, who committed to reduce by 6% at the beginning, turned out to have more greenhouse gases and withdrew from the Kyoto Protocol (National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy, 2012). Without any actions, the continual rise of sea level will submerge many of coastal areas, island nations, and cities, as well as threaten many human lives and eventually cost more money to be invested to save the …show more content…
One of the most compelling argument is the potential of shutdown of thermohaline circulation, also known as the oceanic conveyor belt. Thermohaline circulation is a deep-ocean current that is created from sea ice forming in the polar regions, which allows the surrounding seawater to be saltier, increases its density and sinks (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2012). With climate change, the melting of glaciers will result in a huge influx of freshwater into the sea and disrupt the sinking of cold and salty water (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2012). As a result, it could slow or even stop the global conveyor belt and creating a cooling period or a drastic temperature change, especially in Europe (Intergovenmental Panel on Climate Change, 2007). Brian Fagan who had written How Climate Made History 1300 – 1850, shows the consequences of the Little Ice Age that had happened in the past (Curtis, 2001). In Fagan’s book, he shows that the Little Ice Age had created bad weather resulting in shorter growing seasons (Curtis, 2001). With agriculture relying on growing seasons, a shorter season caused food shortages and famines to occur (Curtis, 2001). As hunger increases, so did diseases, wars, and crimes (Curtis, 2001). Without any actions in climate change, the halt of the thermohaline circulation will have a potential that we will experience a drastic temperature

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