Debbra Marcel JP/8544/13 Assignment

JIB 222 Ecology

GLOBAL WARMING IN MALAYSIA

Overview

The increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations in earth's atmosphere are one

of the primary causes for global warming, which become more serious recently. As the global

annual mean concentration of carbon dioxide gas in the atmosphere has increased, the global

temperatures including Malaysia are increasing and accelerating year by year. Multiple studies

by the scientists around the world show the evidence of the warming of the earth’s atmosphere as

the climate system store more than 90% of additional energy in as compare to few decades ago.

The warming trends in most places including Malaysia provide a lot of negative impacts to

human, the other organisms, as well as the natural ecosystem. A holistic approach, continuous

efforts and strong commitments must be carried out by the earth community in order to contain

the global warming from further deteriorating the earth, which include us, Malaysian.

Introduction

Global warming is one of the major threats facing nature and humanity in the 21st

century. According to the Oxford Dictionary of Biology, global warming is referred to the

gradual increase in the average temperature of the surface of earth and its atmosphere. This

phenomenon is similar to the occurrence of greenhouse effect that caused by the presence of

certain gases called greenhouse gas that absorb infrared radiation. Greenhouse effect is actually a

natural process of the greenhouse gases’ cycle which created a more hostile environment to the

millions species of the earth. The abundance of water vapor in the atmosphere is a type of

greenhouse gas which has a positive feedback on the climate causing ocean water to evaporate

and rising the air temperatures. However, the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases

such as carbon dioxide gas has been increased by the human activities and this cause the

atmosphere as well as the ocean to continue to warm and increase the global temperature (Raven

& Berg, 2005).

Figure 1: The human activities causing the greenhouse effect create a warmer earth’s atmosphere

(Picture source: http://pixgood.com/greenhouse-effect-diagram-to-label.html)

Debbra Marcel JP/8544/13 Assignment

JIB 222 Ecology

As can be seen in Figure 1, the natural greenhouse effect allows the visible sunlight and

the long wavelength of ultraviolet radiation to easily pass through our atmosphere and warms the

earth’s surface. Although greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide gas and water vapor are

transparent to visible light in the atmosphere, most of the infrared radiation that emitted by earth

intercepted and absorbed by them, re-reflecting some of it back toward earth and retains some of

the solar heat, finally causing the global warming to happen. The warming of global temperature

has been approximately increased three times since the mid-1970s preceding 100 years

(Botkin and Keller, 2005). The earth’s heat budget change influenced by the rising

concentrations of long-lived greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide. Furthermore, most of the

solar radiation that strikes the planet will be reflected back into the space.

A. The causes of Global Warming

Global warming is indeed a global concern, and most parts of the world are already

affected by this negative phenomenon. In Malaysia, an analysis of temperature records shows a

warning trend by using the 14 GCM’s (Global Climate Models), indicated that Malaysia could

experience that alteration of temperature as well as the precipitation ranging from -30% to 30%

(MSTE, 2000). There are many factors identified to cause and influence climate change.

However, the greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide produced by human activities contributed

more than 90% of most of global warming gas (IPCC 5th assessment report, 2014). The

increased in the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide for more than a century concerns

scientists because as it is closely linked to the global temperature increase. The graph below

serves as information about the emission of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in Malaysia, which

has increased significantly over the years, provided by Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis

Center (CDIAC), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

Figure 2: The graph of per capita carbon dioxide gas emission estimates for Malaysia

(Source: CDIAC, http://cdiac.ornl.gov/trends/emis/mys.html)

Debbra Marcel JP/8544/13 Assignment

JIB 222 Ecology

Before the Industrial Revolution, the greenhouse effect was a natural process. However,

global warming has been steadily increasing with the rise in pollution caused by industrial

activities. The factories release smoke and greenhouse gases into the air, which lead to an

increase of the greenhouse effect and increase rate of global warming. This is mainly because

combustion of coal, gasoline, wood, and other organic fuels remain central to industrialized

societies and cannot be burned without releasing carbon dioxide. Besides that, some carbon

dioxides are produced as a result of chemical reaction, especially during the manufacturing

process in factories, plants and other industrial activities.

Scientists studies showed fossil fuel burning could contribute to the global warming. In

Malaysia, the carbon dioxide emissions are mainly caused by transportation activities. As 19

million registered vehicles in Malaysia, a sheer number of motor vehicles of personal own as

well as company/organization owned vehicles contributing to over 1.9 million metric tonnes of

carbon dioxide emissions in 2008, causing the air to be polluted (MDOE, 2010). Combustion of

gasoline in vehicle engine not only produce high amount of carbon dioxide, but also trigger the

production of tropospheric ozone by emission of nitrous oxide. The main sources of carbon

dioxide emission are the burning of carbon-containing fossil fuels such as oil, coal and natural

gas, as the burning produces about 21.3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide per annum. Fossil fuels

are non-renewable resources as t takes million years to form.

Deforestation is also another human activity that drives for a warmer global climate,

which responsible approximately 20% of the total global emission of greenhouse gases. The

burning of the rainforests for wood and the land clearance for farming adds to the level of

atmospheric carbon dioxide by reducing photosynthesis. When rainforest and other types of

forest are destroyed, forest soils will dry out as no tree to protect the soil from being dried out by

the sun. Trees are also naturally involved in cycle of water by returning the water that taken up

by the tree into the atmosphere via water vapor. Frequent forest fires which take place in all over

the country not only cause the occurrence of haze, but also increase the carbon dioxide in the

atmosphere, contributing to the global warming situation in Malaysia.

Figure 3: The carbon cycle diagram above shows among the main sources of atmospheric carbon

dioxide that leads to the global warming. (Source: http://globecarboncycle.unh.edu/diagram.shtml)

Debbra Marcel JP/8544/13 Assignment

JIB 222 Ecology

B. The effects of Global Warming

By 2050, Malaysia is predicted to be hotter with the increase of temperature at 1.5°C

(Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, 2000). In Malaysia, annual greenhouse

gas (GHG) emissions have more than doubled in the past two decades. Over the past decade it

has become increasingly clear that climate change poses a significant danger to the future of the

natural environment and human welfare globally. On average, the global warming will cause the

earth to be become warmer as air temperatures rises between 1°C and 5°C. One predictable

consequence of increasing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere is the changes in the life

cycles of plants. For example, the increased productivity of C3 species plant that spread into

terrestrial habitats that currently favor C4 plants is may be one effect of increasing global carbon

dioxide concentration.

A stronger greenhouse effect warms the oceans, melts glaciers and other ice, resulting in

increase of the sea level, as ocean water will expand if it warms. Warmer conditions may also

lead to more evaporation and precipitation overall in one area, but wetter and dryer in other

areas. As warmer areas will expand, tropical diseases such as malaria will expand its horizon,

and this may lead to spread of disease and the occurrence of epidemic. There more extreme and

dangerous weather phenomenon such as droughts, heavy rains, heat waves, and intense cyclonic

storms if the climate change continues to happen (IPCC 5th assessment report, 2013). Besides

that, global warming which are caused by human activities through various development

activities may not only increase the likelihood of forest fires, but also natural disasters such as

unusual floods and severe and prolonged drought, which has happened recently in the Eastern

Coast in the West Malaysia.

Unpredictable changes in weather patterns and sea level rises will not only lead to

increasing numbers of disasters, but changes in temperature and precipitation can also impact

soil quality which can affect crops and threaten food security. Agriculture is highly sensitive to

the extreme weather. Climate variability and the rising of the atmospheric concentration of

carbon dioxide may cause physical damage, lost of crop harvest, drop in productivity and finally

bring negative effect to the farmer as well as the consumers. Natural forest like mangrove forest

also will be decreased as a result of the rise of sea level. Analysis of fossilized pollen also

indicated that the communities of plant had changed dramatically which influenced by the

changes of temperature. However, past climate changes occurred not as often and extreme as

now, that is why the affected plant and animal populations had ample time to migrate into new

habitat that allowed them to survive.

The biological system on the earth is an interdependent functioning system of plants,

animals and microorganisms. Global warming may alter the ecosystem of the organisms,

especially to the rich biodiversity of Malaysia. Plants are among many organisms that cannot

rapidly disperse over long distances, may not survive to the rapid climate change as a result of

global warming. Furthermore, many of the habitats these days are more fragmented than ever,

limiting more to the migrate ability of many organisms to. This may leads to the risk of organism

extinction, especially in the wild, which depend on each in their food cycle.

The lifetime of carbon dioxide is poorly defined because this gas is not destroyed over

Debbra Marcel JP/8544/13 Assignment

JIB 222 Ecology

time, instead moves among different parts of the ocean, atmosphere and terrestrial system. The

absorption of some of the carbon dioxide’s excess will be quick such as by the ocean surface. On

the other hand, but some may remain in the atmosphere for thousands of years because of the

very slow process by which carbon is transferred to ocean sediments. The accumulation of

carbon dioxide in the ocean may lead the damaged coral. It is the increased of ocean temperature

due to the global warming causing in coral bleaching. Figure 3 presents among the effect of the

climatic change due to the global warming.

Figure 4: Increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration and global warming affect

species and ecosystems. (Source: https://academichelp.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/climate-change.jpg)

C. Containing Global Warming

There are many approaches that can be done to slow down the global warming, along

with practical actions to yield a cleaner, healthier atmosphere. In order to attain this objective, we

as a Malaysian and the member of the global community should work towards to the reduction of

global greenhouse effect by at least 50 per cent in the coming decades. We must significantly

reduce the heat-trapping emission of greenhouse gas global warming. As individual level, we can

simply put ourselves into action by opting for the green initiatives in our day-to-day lives. We

can simply choose to use the green technology.

We can start by reducing the electricity consumption around our home. Firstly, we can

switch to the energy-efficient lighting called Compact Fluorescent Bulbs (CFLs) or much energy

saver Light Emitting Diode (LED), which can be last much longer than the incandescent bulbs.

While lowering our electrical usage, both lights efficiently reduce the emission of carbon dioxide

into the air. Besides that, we can also improve the efficiency of our home appliances by using the

energy-efficiency electrical appliances. The electrical appliance that has Energy Star label

Debbra Marcel JP/8544/13 Assignment

JIB 222 Ecology

indicated as the most efficient appliances. The more we use energy efficient appliances, the less

it costs to run. While lowering our utility bill, we help protect the environment. Moreover, we

can choose clean energy options by choosing the company that manufactured their electrical

appliances by generating at least half its power from renewable sources such as wind mills, and

solar energy, micro-hydro turbines or biogas/biomass with full combustion, or simply apply the

energy generator in our home. The models feature green technologies such as building,

photovoltaic system and sustainable agriculture program will not only benefit the community and

the environment, but also increase the production of renewable energy sources. Choosing or

redesigned our home with improved passive design, which is more environmental friendly,

making our home to be more energy efficient.

Transportation is another major source of carbon emissions. Therefore, by choosing

alternatives to driving, such as taking public transport, walking, biking and carpooling, while

bundle our errands by making fewer trips, we can actually reduce the emission of carbon dioxide

to the atmosphere. The most effective way of controlling the carbon dioxide emissions is to

reduce the fossil fuel consumption. Therefore, we can choose an efficient vehicle, which are

high-mileage cars such as hybrids as this type of car use less gas and save more money. There

are many other strategies that can be done to reduce carbon dioxide emissions which include

energy cross-cutting and apply to transportation, industry, businesses and homes. The reduction

of carbon dioxide emission can also be done by practicing energy conservation such as reducing

personal energy use by turning off electrical appliances and lights when not in use, thus reduces

the electricity demand. Reducing petroleum consumption by reducing distance traveled in

vehicles also another way of conserving energy. We can also limit our hours of using air-

conditioning by enjoying the natural weather of Malaysia.

As deforestation is one of the major contributors to the global warming, the reduction of

this activity around the world is an important approach to slow down the global warming,

particularly in the tropical regions. Forests form an essential component of carbon cycle by

acting as a reservoir for carbon storing. By reducing deforestation, we would not only slow the

buildup of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere, but would sustain native forests and preserve

biodiversity, a positive outcome for everyone, including the organisms. Trees planting trees can

also help much to reduce global warming compare to other method as trees not only give oxygen

but also take in carbon dioxide, during the process of photosynthesis, which is the main source of

global warming. Furthermore, by limiting land clearing in and out of the cities and encourage

more greenbelt space, we can create a better and greener environment.

As a member of public in Malaysia, it is good for us to participate and support the efforts

of the authority such as government and non-government agencies in community programs by

joining awareness programs such as Malaysian Environmental Week (Minggu Alam Sekitar

Malaysia), Agro-Science Workshop and 3R campaign (Recycle, Reduce and Reuse). By doing

so, we will not only increase the awareness of society towards the greenhouse gas effect and

global warming, but also will get a better understanding on how to be a wise and responsible

members of the community. By joining the consumerism campaigns like "Go Green", we will

also increase our interest and knowledge in the application of more efficient and environmentally

friendly technologies.

Debbra Marcel JP/8544/13 Assignment

JIB 222 Ecology

Law Enforcement Surveillance Act of petrol and diesel which was launched in recent

years can hopefully strengthen the National Environment Policy. It also shows that our

government is unwaveringly emphasizing the maintenance and conservation of the environment.

Strengthening of institutional and implementation capacity to harness the opportunities to reduce

negative impacts of climate change by exclusion of green house gas emissions sources/sinks in

nursery planting stage, pesticides manufacturing, transport and use, fossil fuel use during land

clearing activities, carbon footprint of infrastructure, plant and equipment, carbon sequestration

in palm end-products and work-related employees travel and commute.

In the international level, continuous relationship between our country with other

countries in the world will further increase the network and communication towards reaching

the global goal of combating the climate change and global warming. By joining the

international bodies in addressing the climate change such as United Nations Framework

Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

(IPCC), these platform will allow us to share and voice out our concerns, our ideas in solving

the climatic issues, gather information from other countries, develop strategies, sharing and

transfer technologies and information as well as conduct a corporative research towards our

common goal in implementing environmental conservation.

Another promising alternative from emitting to the air is the carbon dioxide capture and

sequestration (CCS). It is set of technologies recently established in the United States (US),

which are significantly reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases, and at the same time enable

the electricity generation containing low-carbon produced from power plants large industrial

sources. CCS may play an important role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, while enabling

low-carbon electricity generation from power plants (MIT, 2007). According to the U.S.

inventory estimation on Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks, more than 40% of carbon dioxide

emissions in the United States are from electric power generation. The currently available CCS

technologies can dramatically reduce the carbon dioxide emissions by 80 to 90 per cent from

power plants that burn fossil fuels. The coal-fired power plant which emits approximately 3

million tons of carbon dioxide per year, can avoid the amount of green house gas emissions (with

90% reduction efficiency) which is equivalent to the planting of more than 62 million trees, and

waiting at least 10 years for them to grow as well as avoid the annual electricity-related

emissions from more than 300,000 homes. This amazing set of technologies can be established

in Malaysia, especially in the industrial plants and agriculture mills by hoping that the carbon

dioxide emission will be significantly reduced.

Conclusion

Global warming is undeniably pervasive and insidious planetary crisis that gives negative

effects to our lives and the future generation. Stabilizing the carbon dioxide emissions requires

concerted international effort and changes in both our personal lifestyles as well as the industrial

processes. Therefore, as a developing country, Malaysia government agencies as well as public

should work together to conduct appropriate program and containing measure to control the

atmospheric carbon dioxide in order to avoid the devastating effects of global warming.

Ultimately, it is all depend on each one of us, as individuals, families as well as a nation to play

our role in slowing down and finally reverse the effect of global warming through our everyday

awareness of energy use, conserving electricity and minimize the usage of fossil fuel.

Debbra Marcel JP/8544/13 Assignment

JIB 222 Ecology

References

1. Botkin, D.B. & Keller, E.A. 2005.Environmental science. 5th. Edition.USA:John

Wiley & Sons, Inc).

2. Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC), U.S. Department of Energy

(DOE).

3. Campbell, N.A., & Reece, J.B. 2008. Biology. 6th ed. San Francisco (CA): Benjamin

Cummings. p. 1247

4. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (Ed.). (2014). Climate Change 2013: The

Physical Science Basis: Working Group I Contribution to the Fifth Assessment Report of

the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press.

5. Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment. (2000). Malaysia Initial National

Communication. Report submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on

Climate Change.

6. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. (2007). MIT Study on The Future of Coal.

7. Molles, Manuel C. 2010 Ecology, Concepts and Applications, International Edition, (6th

Edition), McGraw-Hill.

8. Oxford Dictionary of Biology, Sixth Edition. Edited by Elizabeth Martin and Robert S.

Hine. (2008). Oxford University Press. 736 pages

9. Smith, Thomas M & Smith, Robert L. 2009, Elements of Ecology, Seventh Edition,

Pearson International Edition