Introduction
Currently, climate change is considered by many nations one of the most important global issues of this century. The phenomenon of climate change is being intensively developed all over the world. Meanwhile, global climate change has become a critical issue for the world economy and politics, affecting people. Therefore, it is essential to establish definitions, interpretations, and progression of climate change as a social challenge.
Definition
Climate change is an ongoing process of worsening living conditions on the planet. This is combined with various impacts on weather patterns and temperature increases (Barkan, 2016). Moreover, climate change consists of rising temperatures and abnormal weather events, elevated ocean levels, changing wildlife populations and habitats, and other environmental influences. The objective component is that although many individuals will not appreciate the significance of climate change, in surveys, 64 percent of Americans believe that it will occur and that negative consequences are expected (Barkan, 2016, p. 54).
That is because climate change leads to droughts, melting glaciers, or significant storms. Crucially, the subjective component of this definition is that national and supranational-level policymakers are working to implement strategies to deal with climate change. Thus, the challenge of climate change is constructed as a social problem because it has been proven that there are adverse consequences, and they will continue to increase (Barkan, 2016). Moreover, another indicator of the construction is the efforts of ordinary people and politicians to address this problem.
Interpretations of the Problem
Initially, climate change may not appear to be the most obvious subject of social concern. The scientific evidence underlying the interpretation of global warming is complicated to understand. However, it is an issue that may become an essential topic of the 21st century. As with most environmental issues, some people, usually low-income and marginalized groups and women, youth, and indigenous populations, are more impacted by climate change and less capable of adapting to it than others. Therefore, they consider climate change a global challenge that needs to be addressed.
In contrast, there are wealthy consumers, fuel and heavy industries, and transport and logging companies. They produce the greenhouse gas emissions that cause these changes and, at the same time, benefit far more from the activities that lead to pollution. Hence, these individuals do not interpret the problem of climate change, which leads to an unequal distribution or scarcity of natural resources, as a global social issue.
Development Issues
Since time immemorial, climate change has been affecting human life, which is why the migration of Homo sapiens is a consequence of climate change. From 275,000 to 60,000 years ago, climate change became more intense (Chao & Feng, 2018, p. 420). Several times, they led to dramatic changes in the landscape: lush vegetation and deep freshwater lakes were replaced by semi-deserts with small brackish puddles. By the middle of the twentieth century, humanity faced the emergence and rapid development of an ecological crisis on Earth. Global challenges of ecological character are coupled with anthropogenic action on the natural environment, causing climate change, depletion of the ozone layer of the atmosphere, deforestation, and desertification (Chao & Feng, 2018).
There are fewer areas on the planet with undisturbed or weakly disturbed ecosystems. Therefore, the problem of climate change has been defined as a social problem because it negatively affects people (Chao & Feng, 2018). This has occurred at the international level, and many international organizations, including the UN, have identified climate change as a significant problem of the 21st century.
Conclusion
Thus, climate change has a direct impact on people, as drying or flooding of theories forces them to migrate. At the same time, it creates the possibility of food shortages. Moreover, the adverse effects of human activities, such as the emission of gases into the atmosphere, lead to global consequences, which may, in the future, affect the uninhabitable nature of the planet. Such climate changes have gradually occurred throughout humanity, which is why it is essential to prevent them now.
References
Barkan, S. E. (2016). Social problems: Continuity and change. University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing edition.
Chao, Q., & Feng, A. (2018). Scientific basis of climate change and its response. Global Energy Interconnection, 1(4), 420-427. Web.