Globalization
increases the level of carbon dioxide emission
Carbon dioxide is a constituent of the atmosphere,
and has been in the atmosphere for many years with its amount kept at a stable
level. However, this balance was broken by globalization, which intensified the
frequency of transportation. As a result, the emission of carbon dioxide was
increased by fossil fuel combustion in vehicles. Although it is a natural
existing gas in the atmosphere, having too much CO2 can bring
drawbacks such as causing global warming and increasing the acidity of oceans.
To alleviate this problem, governments can improve energy efficiency by using
fuel-efficient vehicles. Moreover, working on exploring alternative energy of
fuel is also an effective method to lower the emission of carbon dioxide. Globalization
is beneficial in many aspects, but its side effect of increasing the CO2 level
in the atmosphere brings problems such as global warming. Improving energy
efficiency and seeking clean energy substitutes are two methods to tackle this
issue.
Improving energy efficiency can help slow
down the emission of carbon dioxide. Currently, carbon dioxide is being emitted
at a rapid speed, which makes the greenhouse effect become increasingly
serious. Greenhouse gas prevents heat from escaping the earth, which results in
an increase in the temperature. The rise in temperature causes glaciers to melt
and the sea level to rise. This may submerge some islands and lead to the extinction
of animals. Moreover, too much CO2 will acidify seawater and affect
the amount of ocean creatures as well as the lives of people who live on fishing
(Black, 2009). Since having a high level of CO2 in the air is
harmful, governments created some solutions to this problem. For example, about two
hundred countries signed the Kyoto Protocol and promised to reduce or slow down
the emission of greenhouse gas. However, the result of the first commitment
period showed the ineffectiveness of this protocol, and some countries even experienced
a sharp increase of their output of carbon dioxide. To illustrate, China increased
its CO2 emission by 7.189GT from 1990 to 2011. (Clark, 2012). The
reason might be that countries do not want to sacrifice economic development;
hence they have not tried hard to cut emissions of CO2. Moreover,
some industrial countries transferred their factories to developing countries.
In this way, they succeeded in reducing CO2 emission in their local
region, but on a global scale, the emission of carbon dioxide is still the same.
Compared with signing protocol, improving energy-efficiency is a more effective
way to control CO2 emission. For example, recently Sweden is saving
energy by warming one house with the extra heat of another house. Moreover, in
UK, some neighbors share cars, which can help reduce the emission of carbon
dioxide (Harrabin, 2012).
Another method to control CO2 level
is to explore substitutes for fossil fuels that do not produce any harmful gas. Nowadays, trees are planted to remove CO2
from air, which works but the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by trees is
very limited. These newly formed forests can absorb around 1.6 GT CO2 a
year, which is a relatively small number compared to annual emissions of 50 GT CO2
(“To what extent,”2012). However, seeking a clean energy substitute for fossil fuels is different.
Once a clean and cheap energy is found, fossil fuels will be largely replaced
by it, and the emission of carbon dioxide will decrease accordingly. Nowadays there
are many kinds of clean energy that can be utilized as substitutes of fuel. For
example, Holland is very successful in using wind energy, and its wind turbines
produced about 2000 megawatts energy in 2009 compared with 600 to 700 megawatts
energy produced by a traditional coal power station (“ Wind energy in Holland”,
n.d.). Moreover, islands like UK can make use of tidal energy. It has been
predicted by analysts that tidal energy can offer UK over 20 percent of its
electricity demand (McGrath, 2013). Countries can choose the
‘easiest-to-acquire’ clean energy to replace fossil fuels according to their
geographical characteristics or weather. As a result, using clean energy to
replace fossil fuels is feasible in most countries.
In conclusion, globalization intensifies
transportation, which increases the burning of fossil fuels and causes CO2
level in atmosphere to rise. This brings problems like global warming and the acidification
of seawater. Some solutions have been created, for example, improving energy
efficiency in daily life by using energy-efficient vehicles. Another method is
to use clean energy as a replacement for fossil fuels. Since different
countries can adopt different clean energy according to their situations, this
method can be globally implemented.
Black.R(2009, December,14) Acidifying oceans' threaten food supply, UK
warns Retrieved from
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8411135.stm
Clark.D (2012, November,26) Has the Kyoto protocol made any difference
to carbon emissions? Retrieved from
Harrabin.R(2012, October, 8) Climate change: EU rebrands green energy
campaign Retrieved from
Grantham Research Institute (2012). To what extent could planting trees help
solve climate change? Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/nov/29/planting-trees-climate-change
Wind Energy in Holland (n.d.) Retrieved
from http://www.holland.com/us/tourism/article/wind-energy-in-holland.htm
McGrath.M (2013, January,14) UK tidal power has huge potential, say
scientists Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20983645
