Functions of the Environment
The environment performs certain vital functions, like sustaining life. It would be able to function properly as long as the demand for these functions is within its carrying capacity. The rising population in developing nations and the affluent consumption standards of the developed nations has placed a huge stress on the environment. Resources are becoming extinct and waste is being generated beyond the absorptive capacity. As a result, we are on the threshold of an environmental crisis. Due to the overuse of renewable resources, we are compelled to spend on research and technology to explore new alternatives. Added to this are the health costs of the degraded environment, which are higher than the benefits received. Thus, the expenditure on health is also rising. Global environmental issues like global warming and ozone depletion also add up to the financial commitments of the government. These problems are not new, but the problems have escalated due to increased industrialisation and urbanisation. The need of the hour is to take effective steps at both the individual level and at the level of the governments around the globe to combat climate change and to prevent the planet. A UN conference on climate change held in Kyoto, Japan, in 1997 resulted in an international agreement to fight global warming which called for reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases by industrialised nations.
Which of the following can help in reducing global warming?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Reduction in the use of greenhouse gases
Gases such as carbon dioxide and methane, released by burning fossil fuels and by deforestation, hold back heat in the earth’s lower atmosphere; as they build up, the average temperature rises. This is global warming. To slow it, the emission of these greenhouse gases has to be cut, which is why the UN conference at Kyoto in 1997 called on industrialised nations to reduce them.
Why the other options are incorrect
Option (1) Increase in industrialisation — Incorrect. Industries burn fossil fuels and release carbon dioxide. More industrialisation raises greenhouse gas emissions; the passage names it as a reason the problems have escalated.
Option (2) Expanded urbanisation — Incorrect. Growing cities use more energy and transport, and clear land and forests. Urbanisation adds to emissions rather than reducing them.
Option (3) Extinction of certain species — Incorrect. The loss of species is one of the harms of a degraded environment. It does nothing to reduce greenhouse gases.