Climate Change Renewable and Sustainable

Question: Discuss about the Climate Change Renewable and Sustainable. Answer: Introduction: Growth of plants has some impacts to the local climate of an area due to the alterations in the temperatures of the atmosphere. When the plants are growing, they take up energy from the sun in form of sunlight and uses to make their food (carbohydrates) while emitting oxygen and using up carbon dioxide (Loarie et al., 2011). Since carbon dioxide exists in large quantities in the atmosphere, its removal alters the manner in which the earth is warmed. The plants also provide a cooling effect to the atmosphere by the process of transpiration. In situations whereby the atmosphere is warm, the plants counter these effects by releasing large amounts of water into the atmosphere from the leaves which cools their leaves as well as the atmosphere. Moreover, areas covered by many plants or canopies release a lot of water vapor to the environment which makes the area to have a cloud cover. Evaporation and transpiration are two processes via which the plants are able to create energy balance as well as maintain the water cycle. The effects that the plants cause to the weather are the ones that affect the climate too for several years. On one side, the plants cause effects to the temperature and the humidity which affects the climate while on the other hand the vegetation absorbs the energy releases and absorbs energy. When the fossils are burnt, the toxic chemicals released that would harm other living things are absorbed by the plants in form of carbon dioxide. Since about twenty percent of the surface of the earth is covered by vegetation, farming has a crucial function in the maintenance of vegetation cover. Moreover, other processes such as evaporation and deforestation lead to negative effects to the climate. The green effect is as a result of an imbalance in the infrared radiations from the atmosphere which leads to a warming effect to the earths surface. The accumulation of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has been associated with radiation of energy which in turn causes a warming effect to the lower atmosphere (Lashof and Ahuja, 1990). As a result of this, increased planting of trees which in turn use carbon dioxide to make their food is likely to help in the reduction of the global warming. The increased demand for fossil fuels has led to a rise in their prices leading to the need for biofuels. This, way several countries have adopted the plantation of sugarcane which in some countries like Brazil is mainly used for biofuels production (Martins et al., 2016). However, there is a great worry on the effects of replacing the natural vegetation with sugarcane on the climate effects. The replacement of the original; vegetation by increased planting of sugarcane for bioethanol has effects on evapotranspiration and the hydrology of a local area. Moreover, the roots of the sugarcane could affect the infiltration of water into the soil affecting the availability of water in dams which are used for generation of electricity as well as irrigation purposes. The results in a study to determine the effects of sugarcane plantations on evapotranspiration in Brazil indicated that evapotranspiration increased during the planting of new sugarcane. On the other hand, the rate of evapotranspiration reduced shortly after the sugarcane plants were harvested. This means that since much of the run off is trapped in the soil, the sugarcane yields can only be increased through irrigation. Moreover, water cannot be transferred from the land as well as transpired from the sugarcane to the atmosphere and this negatively impacts the water cycle. Albedo refers to the ratio of the radiation which is reflected from a surface in reference to the incident rays (Reddy et al., 2012). It is used to provide the measurements of the manner in which the energy from the sun is reflected back to the atmosphere. Generally the albedo effects of the earth provide a cooling effect. Replacement of the local vegetation with sugarcane causes an alteration in the cooling effects of the albedo in the atmosphere leading to the global warming effects (Cox et al., 2000). The sugarcane growing as a bioethanol source is associated with the reduction in the temperature of the local air in sugarcane growing areas. These findings are in comparison to the effects on local temperatures by other annual crops like soybeans. However, if these plantations were inhabited by natural vegetation which have cooler affects, the plantation of sugarcane the results in the warming effects of the local area. The significance of global warming that it makes it possible to foresee the future trends in climate such as the snow and hail. It also enables the estimation of thermal energy which can be experienced in a certain place for a given period of time (Wang and Dickinson, 2012). Advantages of sugarcane planting They help in the absorption of some nutrients such as phosphorus from the especially from lakes. When harvesting sugarcane, the stalks which remain behind help in the recovery of nutrients back to the soil. The sugarcane plants are resistant to many pests and insects and hence do not require much application of the insecticides. Being a perennial crop, sugarcane enables the conservation of the soil composition throughout the three years cycle. However the other annual crops require several land preparations which destabilizes the soil composition. As a source of biofuels, the sugarcane produces ethanol which is cost effective, easy to scale and friendly to the environment (Filoso et al., 2015). As a fuel, sugarcane helps in the reduction of greenhouse gases that are emitted by the fossil fuels. Disadvantages of sugarcane planting Sugarcane grows best in a rainy and warm climate thus reducing its widespread growth in other regions as a source of biofuel. As a biofuel, ethanol from sugarcane has been associated with the corrosion of some parts of the engine as compared to the fossil fuels. This is due to its ability to absorb water and dust particles which requires frequent filtering (Gheewala et al., 2016). Increased use of sugarcane for bioethanol is likely to result in food shortage due to their widespread applicability and low costs as fuels. This is due to increased sugarcane plantations which replace the conventional food crops. References Cox, P. M., Betts, R. A., Jones, C. D., Spall, S. A., Totterdell, I. J. (2000). Acceleration of global warming due to carbon-cycle feedbacks in a coupled climate model. Nature, 408(6809), 184-187. Filoso, S., do Carmo, J. B., Mardegan, S. F., Lins, S. R. M., Gomes, T. F., Martinelli, L. A. (2015). Reassessing the environmental impacts of sugarcane ethanol production in Brazil to help meet sustainability goals. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 52, 1847-1856. Gheewala, S. H., Bonnet, S., Silalertruksa, T. (2016). Environmental sustainability assessment of sugarcane bioenergy. Sugarcane-Based Biofuels and Bioproducts, 363-378. Lashof, D. A., Ahuja, D. R. (1990). Relative contributions of greenhouse gas emissions to global warming. Loarie, S. R., Lobell, D. B., Asner, G. P., Mu, Q., Field, C. B. (2011). Direct impacts on local climate of sugar-cane expansion in Brazil. Nature Climate Change, 1(2), 105-109. Martins, M. T. B., de Souza, W. R., Cunha, B. A. D. B., Basso, M. F., Oliveira, N. G., Vinecky, F., Buckeridge, M. S. (2016). Characterization of sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) leaf senescence: implications for biofuel production. Biotechnology for Biofuels, 9(1), 153. Reddy, V., Nathues, A., Le Corre, L., Sierks, H., Li, J. Y., Gaskell, R., Becker, K. J. (2012). Color and albedo heterogeneity of Vesta from Dawn. Science, 336(6082), 700-704. Wang, K., Dickinson, R. E. (2012). A review of global terrestrial evapotranspiration: Observation, modeling, climatology, and climatic variability. Reviews of Geophysics, 50(2).