Introduction
Climate change is a pressing concern globally across social, economic, and political circles. Physical effects such as wildfires, floods, melting ice caps, and rising temperatures have confirmed that climatic conditions have changed, negatively impacting human lives. At the center of the drastic changes are conversations about the causes of climate change and, consequently, about adapting to and reversing it (Williams et al., 2019).
Extensive research demonstrates that human activities largely induce climate change. On the other hand, natural causes of climate change have a mundane contribution. This is because the rates of volcanic eruptions, plate tectonic separation, and other phenomena outweigh the grave impact of human activities (Williams et al., 2019). This paper hypothesizes that climate change driven by anthropogenic activities results from the need for raw materials and energy to drive industrialization.
Human Contribution to Climate Change
Industrialization
One compelling argument that anthropogenic factors cause climate change stems from the surge in industrialization and manufacturing. Human needs and the ever-changing demand for better goods drive the wave of industrialization. As a result, businesses set up processing industries that pose a grave environmental danger.
Industrialization, an act of man, causes the emission of methane, nitrous gases, and carbon from burning fossil fuels to generate energy, thereby contributing to global warming. In 2020, industrial gaseous emissions accounted for 20% of all atmospheric gas pollutants (Lynas et al., 2021). The impacts of global warming include increased temperatures, melting ice caps, wildfires, and intense rainfall. To this end, industrialization tops the list of anthropogenic drivers of climate change because this is not a work of nature but that of human beings.
Use of Natural Resources
Human-induced climate change also hinges on the overexploitation of the Earth’s natural resources. Industrial activities that sustain human life rely on natural resources for production. For example, food-processing plants rely on land to produce farm produce. The high demand for processed foods leads to overcultivation and frequent crop harvesting. Production of stationery relies on trees that are the earth’s plant cover. The pressure to meet demand levels often drives deforestation, causing soil erosion, disrupted gas cycles, and consequent global warming.
Additionally, industries require water and power for operational activities. The strain on water resources causes competition in the ecosystem, leading to a general imbalance. Similarly, an upsurge in power consumption depletes non-renewable energy sources while threatening renewable sources. The daily demands from industries owned and operated by humans contribute immensely to climate change.
Transportation
Modern transport systems boldly exemplify that anthropogenic activities cause climate change. According to Lynas et al. (2021), almost everyone in developed countries, such as the United States, is believed to own a private car. Developing countries, on the other hand, are not as fast-paced, so car ownership may need to be higher.
Increased car ownership directly impacts climate change through energy consumption. The cars consume petrol and diesel, which have to be produced by the industries. More alarming is that the combustion of fuel in car engines produces greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming, as shown in Figure 1 below. Statistically, passenger-car emissions account for 41% of atmospheric greenhouse gases (Lynas et al., 2021). Of this emission, carbon dioxide reached 4 metric tons in 2021 (Lynas et al., 2021).
In some cases, anthropogenic contributions to climate change from transport systems have raised contention. Rationally, people need means of transport to get to their workplaces and schools, and to go practically anywhere. While this is reasonable, humans have aggravated climate change by replacing shared vehicles with private transport.
Electricity
Apart from transport systems, electricity generation worldwide is intricately linked to global warming and climate change. Historically, humans relied on burning coal and fossil fuels to harness power. In the advent of the 21st century, there have been rigorous campaigns to increase electricity access in remote places (Williams et al., 2019).
For most parts, the electricity is still obtained from burning fossil fuels. For example, in 2021, 60% of all electricity in America came from burning coal (Lynas et al., 2021). Coal is a product of trees, which are air purifiers, water catchment areas, and resources for soil enrichment. Human interference with trees, coal, and fossil fuels for electricity production exacerbates climate change.
Agriculture
Modern agricultural activities for raw materials and food production also contribute to climate change. The vital but delicate relationship between soil and climate has been significantly altered by modern, industrialized agriculture, which accounted for 11% of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States in 2020 (Lynas et al., 2021). This area is particularly famous for emitting a lot of nitrous oxide and methane, potent gases that are powerful at trapping heat.
The widespread use of synthetic manures, combined with management practices that prioritize significant returns in soil health, indicates that agriculture accounts for almost 3/4 of the nitrous oxide in our environment (Williams et al., 2019). In the interim, the enormous scale of industrialized animal agriculture remains a critical source of methane, emitted as a byproduct of the digestive processes of dairy cattle and other ruminants.
Conclusion
Anthropogenic causes of climate change cannot be disputed because they are evident in all aspects of human life. Industrialization, transport, power generation, and agriculture are the most pronounced causes that come to the forefront of the debate. Other anthropogenic factors, such as chemical pollutants and improper waste disposal, contribute to climate change. It is important to note that acknowledging human contribution to climate change is not intended to condemn their interaction with the environment. It should foster accountability and deliberate involvement to improve engagement with natural resources.
References
Lynas, M., Houlton, B. Z., & Perry, S. (2021). Greater than 99% consensus on human caused climate change in the peer-reviewed scientific literature. Environmental Research Letters, 16(11), 114005.
Williams, A. P., Abatzoglou, J. T., Gershunov, A., Guzman‐Morales, J., Bishop, D. A., Balch, J. K., & Lettenmaier, D. P. (2019). Observed impacts of anthropogenic climate change on wildfire in California. Earth’s Future, 7(8), 892-910.