Impact of Climate Change on Biodiversity: Exploring the Consequences
The video “How does climate change affect biodiversity?” made by the California Academy of Sciences discusses the impacts of human activities on biodiversity levels and distributions. Many human activities result in the increased production of greenhouse gases including carbon dioxide. While greenhouse gases are needed to sustain life and keep Earth from completely freezing over, too much of it is dangerous.
The burning of fossil fuels for the generation of heat and energy presents an unsought side effect of excess carbon dioxide production, inducing an increase in the average temperature on Earth. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts that the average temperature on Earth will go up by one-point one to two-point nine degrees Celcius in the next decade, causing sea levels to rise. A rise of four degrees Celcius can cause major extinction. Although many species can adapt and migrate to different environments, many more cannot. Coral reefs, for example, cannot migrate and do not respond well to temperature changes of even two degrees Celcius.
Although plant growth prospers on large amounts of carbon dioxide, increased levels of carbon dioxide decrease the amount of biodiversity. With the population growth due to the increase of carbon dioxide, species who struggle in environments with limited amounts of other necessary chemicals perish. As biodiversity decreases, animals and plants in the surrounding environment die as well from the lack of diverse nutrients. This contributes to a decrease in the population of species who are able to sequester carbon dioxide, causing a feedback loop that enables carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to build up. The video concludes by leaving viewers to think about the impacts of human activities on Earth’s biodiversity.
Personally, I can be more efficient with my use of electricity. To avoid wasting electricity, I can ensure that unneeded energy-consumers such as computers on standby or lights in vacant rooms are powered off. However, even when electronics are powered off, keeping them plugged into power outlets consumes electricity (standby power). Depending on the type of device and how old it is, the amount of standby power induced can vary up to the amount of electricity used by non-idle electronics. By powering off or unplugging idle electronics when possible, I can reduce the amount of electricity while even saving money.
A change that can be done locally and as a community is consuming local/organic products as an alternative to consuming products that are from abroad and contain harmful chemicals. For example, obtaining food from a local source reduces the pollution created by the transportation of food. Moreover, consuming organic foods avoids the use of pesticides that are responsible for harmful emissions. A community garden is an enjoyable way to promote consuming local/organic foods while even improving mental health and increasing physical activities as a result of garden maintenance activities.
Overall, as a country, rebates for being environmentally-friendly and a carbon tax should be applied. Those who choose to use energy-efficient products are able to apply for a rebate of up to twenty-five percent the price of eligible products in Ontario. This especially encourages larger companies to reduce costs by deciding to use energy-efficient products. Along with this, a carbon tax also encourages decreasing carbon dioxide pollution by rewarding energy-efficient users with money. Carbon taxes cause emissions to become more expensive. Accordingly, emitters are motivated to reduce costs by reducing their emissions.
