Global Warming: A picture is worth a thousand words

[Le Cric De Coeurs]

Dennis Dimick, executive editor for the National Geographic, illustrated his concern over global warming not just in words, but also through photography in a lecture held on March 5.

Dimick was raised in an agricultural community near Mt. Hood in Oregon. From a young age, Dimick was interested in photography and documenting the world around him. That interest eventually would lead him to the National Geographic, capturing the world through a camera lens. Because Dimick's passion is in recording the world around him, he has grown attentive to its changes.

As the controversies surrounding global warming solidified into fact, Dimick became an activist in the push for environmental awareness. Having already focused four issues of the National Geographic around global warming, he now uses his photography as supplementary evidence to promote understanding. Dimick feels that Americans need to be informed on the energy expenditures surrounding their lifestyles.

“The United States has nearly a quarter of the worlds coal supplies. Coal fuels nearly 52 percent of power plants in the United States. Although we have less than four percent of the world’s population, we produce 25 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions.”

The driving forces behind global warming are greenhouse gasses. Produced from cars, power plants and even cheeseburgers, these gasses are responsible for the increase in global temperature.

“The first of all we have to realize the basic problem behind global climate change is the carbon dioxide and greenhouse gasses being released into the atmosphere,” said Stephen Jenkins, biology teacher at the University of Nevada, Reno. “Once we recognize that we can work on a solution.”

Carbon dioxide, a primary greenhouse gas, has been the byproduct of progress for centuries. From factories and production to vehicles and transportation, carbon gasses are signs of industrial development. Plants absorb carbon dioxide in order to produce oxygen as well.

“Carbon dioxide has been the driving force of the economy,” Jenkins said. “If there was no carbon dioxide, there would be no life on earth.”

While carbon dioxide itself is necessary for many biological and economic activities, an overabundance of the gas can have detrimental effects on the environment. Within the last 200 years, increased emissions and the destruction of vegetation have created a carbon buildup. In the case of global warming, the excess gas alters the composition of the entire atmosphere. These new atmospheric conditions can cause a change in climate as well as weather.

“What we’re seeing is a rise in carbon dioxide, which ultimately changes the composition of the atmosphere. As a result, fires, flooding and droughts are becoming more widespread.” Demmick

The impacts of these changes may appear mild, but the potential for harm extends far beyond the climate. Biological life on earth is also threatened as global warming compromises ecosystems.

“From a biological aspect, there are irreversible damages caused by global climate change,” Jenkins said. “For instance, a changing environment can completely drive a species to extinction. There is no replacing a species.”

Despite the severity of the global warming pandemic, the damages done can be repaired. Both Jenkins and Demmick acknowledge and encourage the push for atmospheric revitalization.

“There is a possibility of reversing the damages done,” Jenkins said. “If we ceased emitting greenhouse gasses today, instantaneously, then the amount of emissions in the atmosphere would decrease to some equilibrium level.”

Yet halting emissions instantly is an impossible feat. Reducing dependence on carbon emitting fuels is also a difficult challenge. The transition to cleaner fuels will be a slow one, yet Demmick insists it be initiated immediately. Research and innovation are necessary to hasten this process.

“A possible alternative, and one that would probably win a few Nobel Peace Prizes, would be to capture carbon dioxide and store it, or break it down into its respective elements.” Demmick

Although the transition to cleaner bio-fuels is currently underway, the timer on the global climate continues to count down as greenhouse gasses amass. How long until the timer expires is dependant on human actions.

“The question we need to ask ourselves,” said Jenkins, “is how much longer can we continue to do ‘business as usual’ before the consequences become practically irreversible.”