Essay Sample on Effects of Anthropogenic and Natural Emissions

Anthropogenic and natural activities have far-reaching effects on the environment, mainly when they cause emissions, which eventually pose detrimental impacts such as transient environmental changes, or equilibrium temperature variations. Emissions caused by human activities are merely caused by demographic structures, population densities, land usage, and dietary plans. Emissions as a result of natural activities are accelerated by various factors, which include but are not restricted to: sources of energy used, the occurrence of natural activities such as a hurricane, climate sensitivities, and greenhouse effects. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate how emissions caused by both natural and human influences cause temperature changes that eventually propagate into severe transient climatic conditions.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

Human activities may affect the environment when there is overpopulation. Highly populated areas seem to cause air, water, and land pollution, based on the regular activities performed by particular demographics. In urban areas, the capacity of land usage is comparatively high; hence deforestation is inevitable. As more trees are cut down, without replacements increases carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere (Chen et al., 2014). This is because less oxygen is produced. Furthermore, a higher population would in towns be characterized by increasing usage of fossil fuels. Burning fossil fuels emits gases such as carbon dioxide, and sulfur-related oxides, that cause climatic changes. Industrialization is also a significant factor in towns, as more industries are set up (Chen et al., 2014). In the process, more fossil fuels are burnt, and this increases the content of water vapor in the atmosphere.

Notably, radiations originating from elements of X-rays that are widely used for cancer treatment, nuclear weapons, and facilities also cause temperature changes. Nevertheless, it is indisputable that solar radiation incident at the earth surface serves numerous roles, such as sustainability of man's well-being, support for the agricultural products, and other habitual plants and animals. However, recent studies by Jacobson and Streets (2009) postulates that the amount of solar radiation reaching the earth surface is below the optimum level, and the world is more likely to experience the same trend for decades, if the current anthropogenic acts are not eliminated, or natural emissions controlled. Perhaps, increased usage of aerosols is behind these trends. When aerosols are used, they either scatter or absorb radiation in the atmosphere. Aerosol radiative forcing involves an interplay between carbon dioxide and methane radiative forcing. These are greenhouse gases that create significant climatic variations in the atmosphere and earth's surface. Other greenhouse gases include water vapor, ozone, nitrous oxides, and chlorofluorocarbons. So, when sun radiations reach the earth's surface, some of the rays are reflected into the atmosphere. At the same time, these aerosols and greenhouse gases absorb the rest of the radiations and re-direct them on the atmosphere and earth's surface. The rays then cause a differential heat uptake, as the environment will have high CO2 and CH4 concentrations. Other impacts of differential heat uptake are drought, which can lead to food shortages (Jacobson & Streets, 2009). Specifically, this is caused when evaporation increases the level of water vapor on the atmosphere, with a reduced water vapor feedback, in times of improved carbon intensity percentages. Considerably, drought causes transient temperature changes, and risks, the loss of most plants, and animals’ lives.

Conventionally, even daily diets can have impacts of improving or deteriorating climatic conditions. Studies done by the World Health Organization (2018) posited that most areas with adverse temperature changes consisted of demographics, which depends on meat consumption. Besides, United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report postulated that eating meat increased the production of greenhouse gases such as CO2, CH4, and nitrous oxide gases into the environment Officer, P. (2016). However, the same report affirmed that regions with more agricultural output had less climatic hostilities. Also, human beings have continued increasingly to demand more energy as the world population growth multiplies tremendously. Population increase is causing stress on the survival of available natural food resources. An increased dependency ration on the existing land, food plants, and edible domestic animals harmfully impacts the environment. In other words, there is imbalance and inefficiency, causing many pressures. Notwithstanding, human beings are more concentrated on economic development, to the extent that only a few organizations and individuals acknowledge and appreciate the importance of keeping the environment green. Realistically, it is challenging to promote land conservation, with the recent population growth, and manipulated demographic beliefs, traditions, and cultures.

In conclusion, the study has outstandingly proven that anthropogenic and natural emissions could have dangerous fouls on climate. As the human population continues to grow uncontrollably, they tend to shift into activities that seem to support their survival and existence but pose detrimental effects on climate. These activities, such as the use of fossil fuels, deforestation, increased energy demand, and poor dietary plans, have countless impacts on the environment. For instance, using greenhouses and aerosols produces more natural gas constituents that further imbalance the amount and relevance of solar radiation in the atmosphere. Most importantly, these can later cause shifts on the water vapor quantity, causing differential heat uptake and transient temperature changes.

References

Chen, B., Zhang, X., Tao, J., Wu, J., Wang, J., Shi, P., ... & Yu, C. (2014). The impact of climate change and anthropogenic activities on alpine grassland over the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 189, 11-18. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168192314000033

Jacobson, M. Z., & Streets, D. G. (2009). Influence of future anthropogenic emissions on climate, natural emissions, and air quality. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 114(D8).

Officer, P. (2016). Food and Agriculture organization of the United Nations. FAO, Italy. http://www.iresa.agrinet.tn/announce/TOR_National%20Consultant%20doc%2019%2009%202013%20ESW%20for%20first%2011%20months.pdf

World Health Organization. (2018). WHO expert consultation on rabies: third report (Vol. 1012). World Health Organization. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=-nKyDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=world+health+organization+report+2018&ots=UpmKjwWDjM&sig=3Z7Bsz8J5ZPUPA1uItJMTjBhXY8