Page 99 - UPthEM_Program_Final_December 2020

UPthEM – Upskilling Pathways for Employability
№ 2019-1-BG01-KA204-062299

Theory

Introduction
“The security of individuals, communities, nations, and the entire global community is
increasingly jeopardized by unpremeditated, non-military environmental threats. These threats
are self-generated: we perpetrate them on ourselves, by fouling our air and water, and
overharvesting our land. These threats are not felt equally
around the world. Southern countries face severe problems "For a moment Mother
from desertification, while northern industrial countries deal Nature was not attentive and
with acid rain, and Polar Regions see large depositions of Humans appeared!
persistent organic chemical pollutants. Climate change will If Humans do not pay
cause uneven effects over the entire globe for the next fifty to attention for a moment,
100 years, with some countries benefiting and others Mother Nature repairs her
mistake! ”
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suffering.” Voltaire
As we all know, the earth has gone through warm and cool
phases in the past, and long before humans were around.
Forces that contribute to climate change include the sun’s
intensity, volcanic eruptions, and changes in naturally occurring greenhouse gas concentrations.
But records indicate that today’s climatic warming—particularly the warming since the mid-
20th century—is occurring much faster than ever before and can’t be explained by natural
causes alone. According to NASA, “These natural causes are still in play today, but their
influence is too small or they occur too slowly to explain the rapid warming seen in recent
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decades.”
Humans—more specifically, the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions we generate—are the
leading cause of the earth’s rapidly changing climate. Greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide,
methane, ozone, and chlorofluorocarbons-CFCs) play an important role in keeping the planet
warm enough to inhabit. But the amount of these gases in our atmosphere has skyrocketed in
recent decades. The atmosphere’s share of carbon dioxide—the planet’s chief climate change
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contributor—has risen by 40% since preindustrial times.
It is true that in order for our planet to sustain life, we need the greenhouse effect. According to
the Environmental Protection Agency, without the greenhouse effect, the earth would be 30
degrees cooler (-18 instead of the current 15 degree average), making it a harsh environment
for living organisms. However, ever since the start of the industrial revolution two years ago

5 Environmental Security: A Case Study of Climate Change, Elizabeth L. Chalecki, Pacific Institute for Studies in
Development, Environment, and Security
6 https://www.nrdc.org/stories/global-climate-change-what-you-need-know
7 https://www.nrdc.org/stories/global-climate-change-what-you-need-know
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