4 of 17

Write now Article Tools

Page 2 of 2

large corporations seek to sustain their global pollution at current levels because they believe reduction of their pollution would be too expensive. President George W. Bush paid political debts to some of these corporation by having members of his administration alter scientific documents so that solid evidence of global warming hazards were deleted, to make the threat disappear. Thus, another effect of global warming has been to increase levels of political corruption by those who seek to profit from pollution.

Human contributions to accelerated global warming are caused by pollution in all its forms. In addition to the burning of massive quantities of fossil fuel and charcoal, as mentioned above, there are many many other types of pollution caused by humans. There are now 2.9 billion impoverished populations, worldwide, with no real sanitation facilities. As a result, over 4,000 children die each day from drinking water polluted with the bacterium, viruses, and parasites from human waste. All of this waste causes excess nutrient pollution of waters, resulting in greatly increased algal growth indirectly acting to increase CO2 levels. All of the large animal feeding operations create similar problems when livestock manure and manure effluent results in nutrient pollution of our waters. Massive pollution of our oceans is changing the pH levels and creating huge "dead-zones" where nothing can survive. There are now thousands of such problems that have been well documented, and it is clear that humans are engaged in the "trashing" of the planet they depend upon for life.

There is also the so-called "response effect" to global warming. In brief, this effect is seen as the search, development, and implementation of solutions to human causes of global warming. These solutions include "green" (alternative) energy development, organic food production, hybrid cars, more mass transit, zero net energy housing, plasma gasification of waste, improved sanitation, pollution control measures, and so on. We do have solutions, but these solutions need to be implemented on a large scale. In the past, we have had wealthy and politically powerful special interests who spent millions of dollars to pay lobbyists and "political payola" (large, sustained campaign contributions) to promote products known to be major causes of pollution; e.g. the petroleum companies. Part of the response effect will be increased citizen efforts to counter the corruption of our political system by special interests who seek to delay or defeat green solutions to human causes of global warming. Thus, the total effect of global warming is very diverse.

Learn more about this author, David Nuttle.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

• << previous page
• 1
• 2

Add your voice

Know something about Global warming: Cause and effect?
We want to hear your view. Write now!