Commonwealth Essay Writing Competition

6. The Commonwealth Question (The Environment: Our Future)

As far as we know, of all the planets that make up the solar system, Earth is the only planet on which life can exist. Earth provides us with materials and resoruces that enable us to live, like water from water bodies and wood from trees. However, to support the increasing number of people living on the Earth, we need more and more of these materials. Eventually, we may end up using them faster than they can be replaced.

Since the late 19th century, the Earth has been experiencing significant and drastic climate changes. Global temperatures have been on the rise and there have been many reports of floods, droughts, fires and heat waves. These changes to the Earth’s climate have been caused by human activities. Global warming and ozone depletion are the two major environmental challenges that Earth is facing today and we need to do many things to tackle these challenges.

The amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has increased tremendously over the years and have led to global warming which refers to the increase in air temperatures throughout the world. The greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, CFCs, and methane. Deforestation and the burning of forests for farmland and other land activites has not only destroyed the homes of wildlife in the forests, but it has also led to an increasing amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. CFCs have been released from aerosol sprays, foam packaging, coolants in refrigerators and air conditioners. Nitrous oxide has been emitted by vehicle exhaust pipes while methane has been produced by living bacteria in wet fields and by farm cows belching.

There have been many disasterous consequences of global warming. The increasing temperatures have caused many glaciers and icebergs in the north and south poles to melt resulting in rising sea levels which cause floods in low lying areas in the world. Also, the high temperatures and decrease in rainfall have affected plants in areas like Africa. That causes a decrease in the production of crops. Animals living in dry areas like deserts and savannahs in Africa will die and become extinct due to low rainfall and a scarcity of water.

Ozone depletion is the gradual destruction of the ozone layer. The ozone layer contains the ozone gas and lies about 15 to 50 kilometres above the Earth’s surface. It acts as a shield form the sun’s harmful ultraviolet(UV) rays. In 1985, scientists made a discovered a hole in the ozone layer in Antartica. The hole kept growing and by October 1987, the hole was as big as the USA. That caused much concern. The main cause of ozone depletion is the chlorine contained in the CFCs which are destroying ozone molecules in the ozone layer. Given time, the ozone layer could repair itself but due to the amount of CFCs released, the ozone layer is depleted faster than it could recover.

There are a few negative effects of ozone depletion. The increase in ultraviolet radiation can threaten living environment as it can damage plant tissues and may destroy crops, resulting in a drastic decline in food supply. Also, UV rays cause eye diseases like cataract and skin diseases like skin cancer.

We need to take action immediately to tackle ozone depletion and global warming. We can tackle it internationally by signing treaties. For example, the Montreal Protocol is aimed to stop using or reduce the use of CFCs and the Kyoto Protocol is aimed at reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases. We can also take measures nationally by enforcing strict laws and regulations to control the amount of air pollutants emitted by vehicles, industries and power stations. We can combat them individually as well. We can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by taking public transport, car pooling or walking. We can reduce ozone depletion by anti-CFC products.

If we step up and take action, global warming and ozone depletion and other climate problems would be no more. If we don’t, all life on Earth, will be wiped out in time to come.