The issue of climate change, or global warming as it is known to some people, is a heavily discussed topic in today’s society. It is a serious issue that needs to be handled accordingly. While it is a topic that has been in the national spotlight quite a bit lately, many people are still uneducated on some of the more serious impacts of flooding our atmosphere with greenhouse gases, driving global temperatures up, and polluting our planet.

A large portion of the human population lives on coastal land, near oceans. Almost 2.4 billion people live within 60 miles of the coast of an ocean (“Living Ocean”), and many of them reside in large cities. Even a small rise in sea levels could cause a forced migration of a great number of people. This does not even account for the havoc it would wreak on these economies, or the “sensitive coastal ecosystems” (Roger). There is already evidence that this is a realistic possibly, as can be seen by the fact that during the twentieth century sea levels rose on average 1-2 millimeters annually. This rate increased to 3 millimeters per year when the century came to a close (Roger). This is not likely to slow down. The amount of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere is directly related to the planet’s temperature. The higher the concentration of carbon dioxide, the higher the temperature. The lower the concentration of carbon dioxide, the lower the temperature (“Temperature Change”). In 2010, the amount of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere was 33.1 gigatons. From 2014-2015, the emissions decreased from 35.6 gigatons to 35.5 gigatons, but they are on the rise yet again. In 2017, emissions jumped to 37.1 gigatons (Levin).

According to data from World Climate Research Programme, approximately half of the rise in sea level resulted from thermal expansion, or warming water. Glaciers and ice caps contributed most of the water added to the oceans, and the rest came from ice covering Greenland and Antarctica (Roger). For thousands of years prior, changes is sea level seemed to be natural in occurrence. Recently however, scientists have begun to notice an even more rapid increase in sea levels (Wells). This has the potential to cause severe devastation to coastal ecosystems. Additionally, according to the Encyclopedia of Environmental Issues, there are 25 million to 300 million potential environmental refugees at any given time (Milstein). A continuous rise in sea level over a sustained period of time could turn many of those potential environmental refugees into actual environmental refugees.

The definition of environmental refugees is “[p]eople forced to leave their home sites, permanently or temporarily, because of environmental degradation or environmental hazards resulting from natural or human-induced disasters” (Milstein). Forced migration of a people often causes social and political instability. Not to mention that the ecosystems of the places which these environmental refugees migrate to are stressed by the increase in the number of people living there. With the human population constantly on the rise, the possibility of a sizable forced migration becomes more and more likely. Not only are there going to be more people living in coastal areas who will have the potential to someday be forced to migrate, but the increase in human population has naturally increased the demand for food, water, and energy. A group of people become environmental refugees when conditions in the environment become so bad that they must relocate in order to find healthier living conditions. “Soil erosion, deforestation, pandemic disease, desertification, air pollution, lack of fresh water, and overpopulation are some of the conditions that can push a population out of an area” (Milstein). Natural disasters, or even human caused disasters such as industrial accidents or war-related environmental disasters are both examples of such conditions that could cause a forced environmental migration (Milstein).

Rising sea levels are not the only factor contributing to the loss of land. Industrial processes, mining operations, and congested living conditions are all factors that can result in environmental degradation. In certain cases it can reach a point where inhabitants need to migrate in order to find healthier living conditions. Unhealthy living conditions include, but are not limited to, poor air quality, lack of sanitation, and polluted water. Waste from mining is a massive contributor to land degradation, as the waste from mining procedures is often toxic and can make large sections of land uninhabitable (Milstein). Many countries resort to mining, despite the harmful environmental effects in order to improve their financial standing. The country of Botswana is a clear example of this. According to a division of the United Nations, The Division for Sustainable Development Goals, mining in Botswana adds 40% value to its economy. This the highest of an economy in the world by about 10% (“Trends in Sustainable Development”). It’s not a mystery why countries ignore the environmental side effects. When Botswana gained independence from Britain in 1966, it had a GDP of approximately $70 USD (“Resources For”). As of 2018, Botswana has a GDP of 18.616 billion USD (“Botswana”). Their GDP has increased an almost unimaginable amount, but at what cost?

This is a common theme seen throughout the world. A total disregard for the environment is not unusual when there is money to be made. In the future this theme needs to change. If it doesn’t, this planet that we call “home” may be drastically changed for the worse.

 

Works Cited

 

Roger, Roger. "Sea-level changes." Encyclopedia of Environmental Issues, Rev.

ed., edited by Craig W. Allin, vol. 3, Salem Press, 2011, pp. 1094-1096. Gale

Ebooks,

link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX1946300629/GVRL?u=newpaltz&sid=GVRL&

xid=f2691ed8. Accessed 18 Sept. 2019.

 

Wells, Ken R. "Sea Level Change." Environmental Encyclopedia, edited by Marci

Bortman, et al., 3rd ed., vol. 2, Gale, 2003, pp. 1260-1261. Gale Ebooks,

link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3404801344/GVRL?u=newpaltz&sid=GVRL&

xid=90e962b8. Accessed 18 Sept. 2019.

 

“Living Ocean.” NASA, 

science.nasa.gov/earth-science/oceanography/living-ocean.

 

“Temperature Change and Carbon Dioxide Change.” National Climatic Data Center, 

www.ncdc.noaa.gov/global-warming/temperature-change.

 

Levin, Kelly. “New Global CO2 Emissions Numbers Are In. They’re Not Good.” World 

Resources Institute, 11 Dec. 2018, www.wri.org/blog/2018/12/new-global-co2-emissions-numbers-are-they-re-not-good.

 

Milstein, Randall L. "Environmental refugees." Encyclopedia of Environmental

Issues, Rev. ed., edited by Craig W. Allin, vol. 2, Salem Press, 2011, pp. 488-490.

Gale Ebooks,

link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX1946300282/GVRL?u=newpaltz&sid=GVRL&

xid=bce3902f. Accessed 18 Sept. 2019.

 

Trends in Sustainable Development: Chemicals, mining, transport and waste management.

United Nations publication, 2010. sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/28Trends_chem_mining_transp_waste.pdf. Accessed 3 Oct. 2019.

 

“Resources For.” Botswana – Country Brief, 

http://web.worldbank.org/archive/website01321/WEB/0__CONTE.HTM.

 

“Botswana .” Data, 

https://data.worldbank.org/country/botswana.