Analysis of the Effects of Population Growth
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Introduction
As a consultant to the United Nations, one of the main problems that the organization expects to be tackled is how the ever-growing world population continues to consume natural resources. As a result of this, it has led to the partial release of greenhouse gases, which in turn causes some negative effects, especially to the developing countries. The first section of the paper will cover the background of greenhouse gases, what they are, and how they contribute to global warming. Secondly, the paper will look at how the emissions of greenhouse gases cause problems for the developing world. The last section will look at the causes of greenhouse gases and the solutions to the problems caused by the emission of these gases. The discussion will mainly focus on one of the developing countries which will be Sierra Leone, in West Africa. Some of the causes of greenhouse gases that the paper will explore will include industrialization, agricultural activities, transportation, among others. Sierra Leone should embark on finding new ways of getting renewable energy sources, use technology to facilitate the management of waste, and use conservational agriculture as a way of minimizing or bringing an end to the emission of greenhouse gases.
Section I. Background
Joseph Fourier, in 1824 came up with the phrase greenhouse effect which tended to mean that the earth has a transparent glass known as the ozone layer, which can be damaged by the continuous pollution of the air through the atmosphere. In a nutshell, the greenhouse effect is defined as the continuous warming of the earth’s troposphere and its surface. Currently, the world is producing more gases, and this reduces their chances of escaping into the air (Bill, 2018). Their production, therefore, leads to the earth getting hotter and becoming more dangerous. Examples of the greenhouse gases that have led to the greenhouse effect include water vapor, Carbon dioxide, Methane, Nitrous oxide, and Fluorocarbons George, (2018). Most of these gases are less harmful, but carbon dioxide gas emission has increased globally by 40%, and this has meant that the governments must come up with ways to regulate this.
Greenhouse gases have been proven to contribute to the issue of global warming in different ways. One of the ways is by intensifying the activities of the greenhouse effect, which in turn affects the ozone layer, which leads to global warming. Secondly, a lot of accumulation of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere leads to the trapping of the sun’s heat. The gases are very dangerous and lead to global warming by allowing the sun rays to pass through them into the earth but does not allow them back into space. Some of the heat-trapping greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide, water vapor, and methane, and their continuous production would lead to the world becoming hotter and making it harder to sustain life due to global warming.
Section II. How Emissions Cause Problems for the Developing World
According to statistics by Larry (2018), it was stated that 63% of annual emissions of greenhouse gases are caused by the developing countries, which are mainly based in Latin America, Sub-Sahara Africa, Middle East, and South America, and India. The already developed countries have developed ways of using more natural ways and sustainable ones that do not emit carbon into the atmosphere. In terms of economic growth, the country has experienced some forward improvement, although this has not had an effect or change in terms of improving employment where the country continues to depend on substantiated agriculture. In Sierra Leone, over half of the population live below the poverty line, where food insecurity is experienced by over 45% of the country’s population. The economic growth of the country and the problems that it has faced can be solved by developing policies that will minimize pollution and increase the livelihood of its citizens.
Security challenges posed by the emission of these greenhouse gases are different based on regions, economic sectors, resource sectors, and the populations. In the republic of Sierra Leone, there have been reported several cases of misuse of natural resources and illegal constructions that have led to the continuous production and emission of these gases. These illegal and uncalled activities pose a huge security threat, but the embracing of renewable ways of managing these gases may lead to the reduction of these security threats in sierra Leone (Tsaurai, 2018). Politics have, for the longest time, been played with the issue of global warming by different interest parties who believe that global warming is a hoax. There have existed several climate change conferences around the world in which Sierra Leone has participated in all. This means that the country has had no major political challenges in terms of gas emissions since its government has been at the forefront of safeguarding the issues of greenhouse gas emissions.
Section III. Causes of Greenhouse Gases and Solutions to the Problems Greenhouse Gases Cause
One of the major causes of the emission of greenhouses is deforestation activities, which are caused by mining, logging, and forest fires. When any of the mentioned activities occur, it leads to the emission of carbon to the atmosphere, which is very dangerous. The second cause of greenhouse gases is the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas. When these fossil fuels are burnt, they lead to the emission of a greenhouse gas, which is carbon dioxide.
The causes of greenhouse gas emissions can be controlled or prevented as a way of making sure that the earth’s atmosphere remains intact and is not damaged by the gases. One of the solutions to the problem of deforestation is the adoption of agricultural activities like those of re-afforestation, which involves the planting of trees after cutting a few (Gemma 2018). This means that the carbon in the air will be reduced into these trees, especially at night. The solution to the burning of fossils is that of the adoption of solar energy and other renewable sources of energy as ways of energy production.
Population control refers to the policies that attempt to reduce the growth of people in terms of numbers through contraception or sterilization. One can be able to locate some few relationships between population control and greenhouse emissions. One of the relationships is that both are involved in the limitation of something whereby population growth limits the rate of life expectancy while greenhouse gases try to limit the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere either through human activities or other means.
Conclusions
In conclusion, the onus has been left to world governments, the United Nations (UN), and environmental agencies to address the issue of greenhouse gas emission in full. This is because a developing country like Sierra Leone has set some pace and is acting as an example of how to deal with the issue of global warming. Many people do not really believe in the topic of greenhouse gas emissions and the major effects that it can bring to the world as it continues to become hotter. However, there exist several proofs that this thing is real, and it is high time that the world starts embracing much stricter ways of dealing with this menace. Lastly, carbon has proven to be a harmful gas when it is released to the atmosphere, but managing its release would turn out to be an advantage.
References
Bill M. (November 22, 2018). A Very Grim Forecast. https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2018/11/22/global-warming-very-grim- forecast/
Gemma T. (July 19, 2018). Mass Extinctions. http://discovermagazine.com/2018/jul-aug/mass- extinctions
George G. (June 19, 2018). Opinion: The Pernicious Climate Dictum-Don’t Mention Population https://www.berkeleyside.com/2018/06/19/opinion-the-pernicious-climate- dictum-don’t-mention-population
Larry, L. (2018). Does Population Growth Impact Climate Change? https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/population-growth-climate-change/
Tsaurai, K. (2018). Greenhouse gas emissions and economic growth in Africa.