WA1 by Liu Yufeng

Combating global warming with ecosystems

In the passage, the authors mentioned that, nowadays, governments have recognized that natural ecosystems are playing very important roles to control the greenhouse gases emission. Treating climate change as a problem for both nature and humans is a way to fight global warming. People can make use of natural ecosystems to solve the global warming problem rather than destroy the nature (Turner, Oppenheimer, Wilcove, 2009). As what the authors mentioned in the article, people need to harness the natural services to conserve the biodiversity to decelerate the climate change and increase the ability of humans’ adaption. So it is obvious that natural ecosystems are the important and efficient roles to solve the climate change problems. Hence, the authors stated two arguments to explain why people can use natural ecosystems to solve the climate change problems (Turner, Oppenheimer, Wilcove, 2009):

Firstly, natural ecosystems such as ocean, forest, peat land are efficient devices to control the carbon and other global biogeochemical cycles (Turner, Oppenheimer, Wilcove, 2009). For example, ocean can store 2 gigatonnes of carbon a year; reducing deforestation and forest degradation can store at most 1 gigatonnes of carbon a year; natural habitats can also store 0.65 gigatonnes of carbon a year. So, natural ecosystems are the important roles to control the global biogeochemical cycles.

Secondly, natural ecosystems are the cheapest, safest and easiest solution to solve the global warming problem. It is because natural ecosystems have already existed. There is no need to develop other technologies to solve the problem. In addition, the natural ecosystems can also promote the adaption to unavoidable climate changes (Turner, Oppenheimer, Wilcove, 2009). For example, grassland, shrub lands and Mediterranean habitats can promote the water regulation and purification. Desert and tundra can reduce the emission of carbon from soil. (Turner, Oppenheimer, Wilcove, 2009). So we can treat climate change as a problem for nature and make use of nature ecosystem to solve the problem.

According to the authors, one more benefit of maintaining the nature ecosystems is that natural ecosystems can protect lives. For example, mangroves can protect the coastal countries from the cyclone and hurricanes. People cannot compromise with the climate change which will cause more loss of forest and ecosystems that can accelerate the climate change. So human beings have to corporate with natures and protect the natural ecosystems to fight against climate change.

In conclusion, climate change is a problem for both people and nature. Human beings should acknowledge the important role of natural ecosystems on climate change. To protect and harness ecosystems are both important methods for saving lives and combating the climate change. It will be wise to corporate with natural ecosystems rather than fighting against natures because natural ecosystems are efficient to control the global biogeochemical cycles and making use of the natural ecosystems is the cheapest, safest and easiest solution to solve the climate change problems.

Reference
Turner, W.R., Oppenheimer M. &Wilcove D.S. (2009) A force to fight global warming. Nature 462, P.N 19.

Liu Yufeng