Reflection on Lecture Eight- Carbon Management

This week’s lecture has introduced more theoretical concepts of physical geography as compared to the previous lectures. This is required in order to have a more define understanding of the carbon cycle which is so closely and directly linked to the carbon management in any region. Why is there a need for carbon management? There is rising concern on the increasing amount of carbon emission in recent times. Not only is the value increasing rather rapidly, it is expected to increase in the next twenty years. This growing rate of carbon emission is posing threats to the environment we are living in. As mentioned in the previous lecture, climate change and global warming is damaging the Earth and universities are taking role in encouraging the public to start to protect the environment. One of the main causes to these problems is the large emission of greenhouse gases, with carbon dioxide top on the list. 

There is the greenhouse effect, follow by global warming. The natural greenhouse effect is caused by certain gases and clouds absorbing and re-emitting the infrared radiating from Earth's surface.

 Greenhouse Effect

Water vapour is the most important contributor to the greenhouse effect but human emissions of carbon dioxide are driving this climate change. Carbon dioxide constitutes a large portion of the total emission of greenhouse gases. It is still responsible for two-thirds of the additional warming caused by all the greenhouse gases emitted as a result of human activity. As such, it is quite obvious that people should be very careful in the amount of carbon dioxide they are emitting into the atmosphere due to their human activities such as economic production, commuting and the clearing of large area of green landscape. 

Other than the global measures as mentioned during the lecture, I feel that is more effective if everyone is to play a part in reducing their own carbon footprint. If everyone can reduce their footprints even just by a small extent, it can in fact reduce the total world carbon footprint by a large extent. Instead of investing and putting in so much effort and money into implementing large scale measure to cut carbon emission across the world, isn’t it much easier for everyone to cut meat consumption to one portion every two days, and to take the public transport instead of to drive more frequently? After all, many of the global measures that are carried out are for pragmatic reasons. There are limitations to what the environmentalists can do. In order for preservation measures to be successfully implemented, these people need financial and community support from the government and people. There has been debate going on which argues that the government and public play a part in dealing with environmental issues mainly for pragmatism and due to political pressures. As such, the results of the preservation measures will not turn out to be very effective and efficient. However, it is a different story when everyone is truly concern about the environment and wants to do something to protect the preserve the Earth.

Therefore, it is better to educate the public on the environmental problems the world is facing to make people understand their roles. Nations should also put more emphasis onto environment issues and create more awareness in the public to how beautiful the Earth they are living in is. Only when people are more familiar and have a closer interaction with the wonderful nature and environment then they will begin to appreciate the place they are living in. It’s futile to just impose tax on for instance petrol consumption and the purchasing of vehicles when people do not understand the intention and meaning behind the measure. Instead, people who can effort to pay may in turn exploit the resources and environment by using it inefficiently and being wasteful as they feel that the resources belong to them once they have paid for it.