Paper Example on Ocean Sustainability

Introduction

Human beings are blessed with the resourceful world. Numerous kinds of natural resources can be used and transferred to different products and energy sources (Reuters, 2015). The ocean is a great resource that is provided by nature to contribute to the wellbeing of phenomena. Unfortunately, their exhaustion of this natural resource and it has lately become a controversial topic. The ocean is a significant and vital natural resource that is now endangered by pollution and other hazards caused by human habitation and other activities. Climate change is a significant problem facing humanity today. Currently, climate change, along with global warming is already beginning to transform life on Earth. The rapidly changing environment has also contributed to the difference in the ocean environment (Reuters, 2015). Hence, making the basis of the explanation of the current hazards befalling the ocean waters such as the sudden lowering and rising of the sea level. Oil spills and plastic wastes have a tremendous impact on the ocean and marine life; therefore, modern techniques are employed to clean up the vast water body that is tremendously deteriorating. Property developers and the general public need to consider the impact of their activities on the global climate hence ocean hygiene. Climate change may have significant effects on oceans and water sources around the world.

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Groundwater Supply

Groundwater is a primary source of fresh water, which is essential to humankind and the oceans. While groundwater was supposed to be a renewable natural resource, a variety of environmental circumstances have challenged the water supply. Besides, humans' high consuming rate has exceeded its limit, making it unable to replenish even at its average rate (Famiglietti et al., 2011). Groundwater depletion is mainly caused by unsustainable irrigation and other anthropogenic uses (Famiglietti et al., 2011). The global warming effect also worsens scenario. The continually rising temperature caused glaciers to melt when they help to keep the water locked away from evaporation. Many places such as the New Mexico area, is facing a freshwater crisis. Unfortunately, while the same report estimated that that are 20 billion acre-feet of groundwater supply available in New Mexico, only 1.4 billion acre-feet are recoverable (Li, Arnold, Kozel, & Cow, 2005). The global water supply is expected to drop by approximately one- third and 2-7 billion people are predicted to be severely short on water (Reuters, 2015).

Fish

Similar to freshwater supply, fish is a type of renewable natural resource available from the oceans (Myers & Worm, 2003). However, people are taking more fish out of the ocean before they can replenish. The declination of fish supply can be caused by many environmental factors such as global warming and pollutions, but overfishing from the human was a significant factor. Fish being one of human's primary food sources; the global catches are two to three times larger than what the ocean can sustainably support (World Wild Fund, n.d.). With today's new technologies, like by- catching, more sea animals were caught in the ocean. Such technology further worsens the fish supply by destructing the ocean environment, making the sea no longer sustainable. Global fish catch has dipped from 82.6 million in 2011 to 79.9 million in 2012 due to the declination of the fish stock (Reuters, 2015).

A research article collected data worldwide and found that the biomass of many oceans and shelves, including the Tropical Atlantic, Subtropical Indian, Temperate Pacific, etc., also declined in a rapid rate (Bosetti & Lubowski, 2010). Shockingly, the same report also suggested that over 90 percent of big fish have been lost due to environmental hazards. Even with the continual declination of the fish population, the global fish consumption in 2011 still hit a record of 17 kg per person per year (Myers & Worm, 2003). People are continually ignoring and challenging this severe problem. In the long run, stocks of all species that are currently fished are predicted to collapse by 2048 if the society continues with this habit (World Wildlife Funding, n.d.). Declination in the fish supply is a serious problem, not only environmentally or economically, but it can also be lethal to many other animals that relied on fish as their primary food resources (Myers & Worm, 2003).

Most of the evidence discussed in the present paper argued against Lomborg's optimistic view. Although these articles provided evidence to prove their stand, limitations still present in their arguments. To begin with, many of these reports only examined specific area or region of the world. Data was then generated and used for the global situations. Results produced from the particular area should not be generalized to the public situations. Furthermore, researchers from both sides of the argument used fluctuation of price as their evidence of support. However, the cost of the natural resources can be affected by many extraneous factors (Myers & Worm, 2003). Most importantly, some of the articles provide evidence that was based entirely on their predictions and estimations. This aspect could be misleading and may also raise false alarms.

Based on all the evidence provided and discussed above, it is more convincing that the natural resources depletion issue does presently. Although Lomborg held an optimistic view on the subject, much other evidence did show related problems caused by natural resources depletion. Also, it is a disturbing problem that affected not only human but many other species. Even though limitations presented in the articles could be misleading or caused false alarms, the topic of resources exhaustion is an inevitable issue that deserves to the globe's immediate attention. It should be clear that the idea of limited natural resources was mentioned on both sides of the argument. With scarce resources, the government should have more funding for research that is on the same field. No matter the peak phase is reached or not, natural resources should be used in moderation and a sustainable rate (Myers & Worm, 2003).

The property development sector is an essential factor in climate change which in turn affect the oceans (Bosetti & Lubowski, 2010). The massive energy consumption associated with the building sector contributes significantly to the global greenhouse gas emissions. The use of fossil fuel in buildings during the operational phase, both in developed and developing countries is responsible for approximately one-third of greenhouse gas emissions around the world. Structures play a significant role in greenhouse gas emission around the globe. There is a need for carrying taking measures necessary for significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the building sector. For instance, a rigorous assessment which takes into account all stages in production and operation of buildings should be done to identify the appropriate strategies for minimizing greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere. Besides, improvements in environment and energy management can be made with a sound procedure to cover various materials, equipment, workforce input and operational cost.

Developers and homeowners should explore various options for reducing carbon dioxide emission. This aspect can be achieved through the deployment of renewable energy technologies such as solar, biomass, hydro, wind, and ocean, in a sustainable manner that can significantly aid the full range of energy services required for building operations. Renewable energy solutions, unlike fossil fuels, release little or no carbon dioxide emissions (Bosetti & Lubowski, 2010). It is also essential to reduce the energy consumption in buildings through the use of energy-efficient technologies that help significantly in reducing the emission of carbon dioxide. Smart building designs, low carbon appliances, and high-efficiency HVAC systems can be used in buildings to not only reduce energy consumption but to also reduce carbon dioxide emission significantly. To assess the effectiveness of such energy efficient systems, it is imperative to further examine their effectiveness by taking into account the end-use efficiency measures, total cost, economic analysis, as well as socio-cultural benefits and barriers.

Deforestation Effects on the Oceans

The pressure for development land has also led to run away deforestation. As the population increases, the demand for housing increases (Bosetti & Lubowski, 2010). As a result, property developers seek to take advantage of the desire to construct new buildings. In the process of property development, people cut down trees to create space for houses. The growth of poorly planned towns has led to a significant effect to the water bodies because of the following factors: cities that are established near water bodies are a source of water contamination through ejection of waste. Rivers that flow through towns are evidence of the deterioration water resource. Human beings eject sewerage into the waters without minding the effects that they will cause to the oceans (Bosetti & Lubowski, 2010). Deforestation is another factor that renders beaches vulnerable due to a lot of open ground that leads to runoff that also contaminates the waters. Furthermore, forests are being cleared to make way for property development and arable farmland. Deforestation is the considered an essential factor of climate change because forests all over the planet serve as active carbon sinks. Forests regulate the amounts of CO2, therefore, reducing its contribution to global warming. Consequently, it is clear that trees play a vital role in maintaining the global climate. However, by carrying out large-scale deforestation people are causing an inadvertent change in the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. Although the world's forests cover approximately 30 percent in the area, large patches are being lost to deforestation every year (Bosetti & Lubowski, 2010).

Among the significant greenhouse gasses is CO2 which traps the sun's infrared rays hence making the atmosphere warmer? There is no doubt that these gases are important in the atmosphere, but too much of them also have negative impacts. They cause the effect of raising the average global temperature, a phenomenon that has a considerable number of knock-on effects. Global warming may lead to a rise in sea level occasioned by melting ice in the Polar Regions. Therefore cause the disappearance of islands and cities along coastal lines. Besides, it will lead to loss of lives and property (Bosetti & Lubowski, 2010).

The Hydrological Cycle

The hydrological cycle is a remarkable phenomenon not only for humans but also for all species of animals and plants around the globe. Trees play a significant role in the water cycle. Therefore, deforestation negatively affects the hydrological cycle. Less tree cover means that little water is returned to the atmosphere through transpiration. As a result, there has been an increase in water pollution as the water cycle is affected by deforestation (Li, Arnold, Kozel, & Forster-Cox, 2005). Deforestation has impacted negatively on the quality of human and animal life. Deforestation causes massive soil erosion. Heavy rainfall washes away soil from the dry land to main waterways leading to contamination of water in rivers, streams, and lakes by artificial chemicals. Consequently, the compounds may endanger aquatic life and animals that drink the water. The reason is that the water could be poisoned. Therefore, deforestation poses severe dangers to human, animal and aquatic life. Deforestation affects the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere. Water vapor is another greenhouse gas that facilitates the retention of solar heat in the atmosphere. Deforestation has led...