Which of the three modern global change problems discussed in this chapter-- global warming, ozone depletion, or loss of biodiversity--do you consider to be the most serious?

Question

Give reasons for your answer. If you wish, include information drawn from other sources.
What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

There are different opinions for this problem; one can argue that any one of them is the most significant problem. We have listed reasons students could use for all three of these problems below.

Students can argue that global warming is the most serious problem because:
• It affects the greatest number of people
• Migration of marine animals could result
• Rising sea level could result
• Cold climate species might die
• Ozone depletion and deforestation are currently both confined to particular areas whereas global warming is truly global

Students can argue that ozone depletion is the most serious problem because:
• It causes the most immediate damage to our planet and its inhabitants
• It can cause skin cancer
• It occurs faster than global warming, because global temperatures only rise a few degrees in 100 years , whereas severe ozone depletion occurred within less than decade over Antarctica.
• It could conceivably become global if stratospheric chlorine reached levels higher than those of today

Students can argue that loss of biodiversity is the most serious problem because:
• There is potential for recovery for the other problems: the ozone layer could recover within a few generations and greenhouse gas concentrations should return to "normal" within a few million years
• The recovery rate for species following extinction is tens of millions of years
• Once a species is gone, it is gone for good
• It could cause an imbalance in the Earth's ecosystem and economy
• Deforestation also contributes to global warming