Time to think about nature- oriented policies

Recently, I came across an article written by Pritam Singh of Oxford Brooks University, Oxford, U.K.....

The gist of the article relates to three key dimensions i.e. the meaning of climate change and why it occurs, the seriousness of the problem and how to deal with it...

1. Global warming and global environmental instability are two aspects of the global climate change...... (a). There are two reasons for global warming. One is due to natural causes and the other is brought about by human activities.... Natural phenomena such as solar variation and volcanic eruptions produced most of the warming from pre-industrial times to 50's and had produced a small cooling effect afterwards.... Since the middle of the 20th century, global warming has been mainly caused by human activity of fossil fuel burning and deforestation. This has lead to increase in the gas concentrations in the atmosphere. These gases create a greenhouse effect and trap the solar radiation in the earth's atmosphere. Thus warming the temperatures on the earth..... The main greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. The carbon dioxide is about 3/4th of all the gases in the atmoshere.... The presence of greenhouse gases in itself is not a problem. It is the increase in these gases that is creating rise in atmospheric temperatures. A low level of greenhouse gases is, in fact, needed to prevent the earth from cooling off too much........In essence the present day global warming is caused by increase in the greenhouse gases leading to higher temperatures on the earth.....

(b). The aspect of global environmental instability creates higher incidence of precipitations i.e. more snow and more rainfall in some areas and lack of rain/draught conditions in other areas. It may have heat waves or floods one year and draught in other years. So extreme, unstable and unpredictable weather patterns may thus prevail......

2. Is global warming a serious problem ?  Yes. The temperatures are increasing at an alarming rate. Since recorded history of global temperatures, going back to 1850, the 11 warmest years have occured in the last 13 years. That is a frightening thought. The increased temperatures are leading to snow/ice caps melting, a rise in sea levels and consequent floodings of low lying areas....

The world is now focussed more on terrorism. Terrorism gets immediate attention. But just imagine how devastating the effect of global warming could be if we continue to live our lives as we are now. Untold millions of lives will be affected and many lives may be lost as a consequence of environmental disasters ? Can the powers-to-be reverse course when faced with such dire situations ?  Won't it be too late then ? I am not being an alarmist. But the need of the time is to look for sensible ways of taking charge of our ecosystem and bring it to a point of sustainable status. Can this be accomplished ? Yes, I think so, if we are ready to shed our excessive consumerism and live a green life.

3. Now we come to the dimensions of how to deal with it ? That is how to develope a framework of finding possible solutions. This can be looked at in two ways.... One is 'mitigation' - reduction in greenhouse gases emission..... And the other is through 'adaptation' - preparing for some of the inevitable consequences of global warming.... Research by Potsdam Institute suggests that average emisions will need to be reduced by 60 percent of the 1990 baseline by 2030 to sustain good living conditions........

Nations/instituitions will have to develope greater reliance on renewable sources of energy. Incentives need to be provided to environmentally friendly activities and disincentives to environmentally damaging activities. Individuals need to curtail their habits of seeking happiness through acquisition of more and more stuff. As said by Mr. Singh, "The great environmental ethics of three Rs - reduce, reuse, and recycle - should shape our living styles rather than the current consumerist lifestyle"........

"The governments, instituitions, individuals all need to realize that combating climate change and global warming requires a paradigm shift from the current market-driven syatems to human and nature-oriented policies and programs".