THIS ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN BY GOPIKA PILLAI, A STUDENT OF JINDAL GLOBAL LAW SCHOOL.

In February 2015, US Senator Jim Inhofe set out to disapprove of the ‘ stupid scientists’ who claim that climate change is real. He arrived with a snowball picked up by him outside – from the snow that had blanketed Washington- and presented it as proof that in this cold outside, there would be no evidence that climate change could be actually happening.

In spite of Sen. Jim’s views about global warming and climate change, the reality is that environmental crises have been a subject that humankind has ignored for a long time and probably would continue to ignore if activists hadn’t made substantial advancements to bring the problem to light.

” Environmental crises are distinguished by rapid and largely unexpected changes in environmental quality that are difficult if not impossible to reverse.” 1. These environmental changes could be reversible due to many factors. However, the primary characteristic of ecological crises is the rapid shift in the environmental quality that, in turn, could threaten the existence of various species.

The causes of environmental studies are a field of study that is a subject of intense debate, and establishing the causal link between these causes. The ecological problem itself is a difficult task. Once that’s done that way, then comes the daunting task of understanding the nature of the problem, the causes that it creates, and the solutions it will need. Although this was a largely ignored issue in the 80s and 90s, The 2000s have witnessed an increase in interest in researching climate change- a shift which can be attributed to the persistence of both scientists and activists; apart from that, the influence of the political economy has also contributed to the process. Social scientists, who for a long time ignored environmental issues and the impact they had on societies, began to include them in their debates. Social scientists were then able to draw a connection between ecological problems as well as the class struggle that people face in society.

Carson, along with Walter H., in their book, The Global Ecology Handbook: What You Can Do to Help the Environment, presents the notion that environmental problems could be the result of three primary reasons: population increase and the greenhouse effect, the development process and overuse in the use of nature resources as well as the general inability of managing waste. These reasons will be explored in depth in this essay.

The population has exploded in the past two decades. Modern medicine’s rise, along with breakthrough advancements in technology, has allowed mortality rates to hit record lows. Although mortality rates were extremely high prior to and during the post-industrialization period, technological advances in the 21st century have allowed them to drop significantly. The life expectancy rate was between 30 and 40 during the 19th ^century as well as 20 ^the century now, increasing to near the early 80s. That means that in the majority of regions of the world, the average human will be able to live to the age that is around 80.

While life expectancy rates have increased, the development has also led to the rapid growth of the population. Families were encouraged by the government to increase their number of kids, particularly in times of economic prosperity, which led to a dramatic increase in the number of people. The total population worldwide was estimated to be about 1.6 billion in the 1900s and, according to recent studies, jumped to 7.6 billion in the decade 2000. [2]

The rapid growth of the people’s population, along with the increasing life expectancy and the dramatic advancements made in technology, have led to an increase in carbon footprint for every individual. Carbon footprint refers to an amount that is the sum of all greenhouse gases produced by an individual. According to research conducted in 2008., the carbon footprint generated by children is more than twenty times the amount that can be saved by driving environmentally-friendly vehicles, using LED bulbs, or any other eco-friendly item. [3] This implies that carbon emissions have risen to the point that even a small amount of environmentally eco-friendly products is not a good idea without an overall strategy to reduce your carbon footprint.

The study from Oregon State University concluded that “the potential savings from reduced reproduction are huge compared to the savings that can be achieved by changes in lifestyle.” 4. The study at Oregon State University concluded that one effective way to cut down on their carbon footprint for humans around the world is to reduce the number of children born, which would mean that the carbon emissions are not added to those that parents are already using. Of course, the carbon emissions produced by children are dependent on the location they were born.

The reason that the carbon emissions are hazardous is that their rapid growth has actually led to an increase in the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is the way that the sun’s radiations are trapped by the Earth’s atmosphere because of its transparency, which allows the Earth to heat itself. Humans’ carbon emissions are increasing will cause the Earth’s atmosphere to thicken, which results in more sun’s rays being trapped in the atmosphere, which heats the Earth quicker. [5]This results in huge problems for animals and humans alike. Thus, there is an obvious connection between the larger carbon footprint and the impact it can have on the warming of Earth.