ENVIRONMENTAL GLOBALIZATION: THE PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF

THE EFFECT OF CLIMATE CHANGE

A Phenomenological Study on Environmental Globalization

Presented to the Faculty of College of Engineering Education

University of Mindanao

Davao City

In Fulfillment of the Requirements for GE3 (3486)

1ST Semester, A.Y. 2022

Delena, Charisse Razelle

October 1, 2022
Introduction

The global impact of Climate change has been devastating, and numerous
studies have been published explaining its disastrous effect on the world. There are
several professions that have acknowledged the problem of climate change. Finding
out how different professions see how climate change will impact their job might be
helpful to the actuarial community (Brath et al., 2015). With so many potential
climate-sensitive factors to consider, scientists need ways to narrow down the range
of possible environmental outcomes so that they know what specific problems to
tackle. The issue is made even more challenging by the fact that when the climate
changes, the very elements that affect temperature changes, such as ocean
circulation and responses of terrestrial ecosystems, will also change. (Mcnutt, 2013).

Humans face new challenges for survival because of climate change.

Currently, humans are altering the environment on a scale never before seen. The
use of fossil fuels has promoted economic growth, but the buildup of greenhouse
gases that has resulted, mainly carbon dioxide and methane, has consequences for
the climate of the planet. The previous three decades have seen the largest increase
in global warming since the 1850s, when temperature data first began to be kept
(Haines & Patz, 2004). According to IPCC (2021), increased human emissions of
heat-trapping greenhouse gases are altering the Earth's climate, which is already
having a significant impact on the environment. Glaciers and ice sheets are melting,
lake and river ice is breaking up earlier, plant and animal ranges are shifting, and
flowers and leaves are blooming earlier.

Philippines is the third most vulnerable country to climate change according to

the 2017 world risk report. Impacts of climate change in the Philippines are
immense, including: annual losses in GDP, changes in rainfall patterns and
distribution, droughts, threats to biodiversity and food security, sea level rise, public
health risks, and endangerment of vulnerable groups such as women and
indigenous people. According to a 2016 United Nations study, climate change-
induced heat in the workplace is projected to render 1% loss in working hours by
2025, 2% by 2050, and 4% by 2085. In 1998, when the Philippines experienced the
strongest El Nino phenomenon to-date, almost 40,000 dengue cases, 1,200 cholera
cases, and nearly 1,000 typhoid fever cases, were recorded nationwide. (NICCDIES,
2022). Other studies delved on increasing frequency of floods, typhoons and warmer
weather which were seen as evidence for the direct results of a changing climate
with corresponding socioeconomic impacts (Cinco et al., 2016; de Lara-Tuprio et al.,
2018). Their impacts on the goods and services provided by coral reefs, seagrass,
and mangrove ecosystems are important to understand because the reduction of
their abundance also affects fisheries productivity (Hoegh-Guldberg, 1999; Graham
et al., 2007; Licuanan et al., 2019).
 The present happenings that people are facing right now like decrease in sea
ice and an increase in permafrost thawing, an increase in heat waves and heavy
precipitation, and decreased water resources in semi-arid regions have brought a
traumatic and suffering moment to humans. Conducting a phenomenological study is
necessary to draw out conclusions and devise appropriate solutions. The researcher
believes that there has been no concise study conducted to identify what people
experienced and focuses on their experience on Climate change. Moreover,
conducting research on this matter is essential to understanding people’s
experiences of the phenomena.

Thus, the students are inspired to carry out an outstanding research of Davao
City residents to learn about their experiences with climate change. This study's aim
is to assist the local government of Davao City in taking action to keep its inhabitants
safe, particularly those who live in rural regions. With the data acquired, this study
can also help the community. Additionally, the researchers hope that their work will
be useful in the future.

Discussion

Climate change is the altering of weather patterns and related changes to the
oceans, land surfaces, and ice sheets over a decade or more. Climate change is
defined as a change in the statistical properties of the climate system that lasts for
several decades or more, frequently at least 30 years. Some of these statistical traits
are averages, variability, and extremes. Both natural factors, such as variations in
the Sun’s radiation, volcanoes, or internal climate variability, as well as human
influences, such as changes in the composition of the atmosphere or land use, can
contribute to climate change.

According to Gardiner (2004), many politicians and decision-makers assert

that climate change is one of the most significant worldwide issues, as well as the
most serious environmental crisis currently facing the world.

The state of the atmosphere, including its temperature, humidity, wind,

rainfall, and other elements, over a period of hours to weeks is referred to as the
weather. The statistical description of the state of the climatic system is referred to
as climate, in its broadest meaning, and is influenced by the ice sheets, oceans, and
land surfaces, which together with the atmosphere are referred to as the “climate
system.”

Weather forecasts can be made with a high degree of accuracy up to a week

in advance. From season to season, a basic forecast can be made for droughts and
other short-term climate fluctuations. In contrast, changes in the long-term statistics
of the climate system (climate change) can be forecast if long-term effects are known
or predictable.

Climate is determined by many factors that influence flows of energy through

the climate system, including greenhouse gases

The energy from the Sun ultimately determines how hot Earth gets. The
output of the Sun and its distance from Earth both affect how much solar energy the
Earth receives. Some of this sunlight is reflected back into space by the atmosphere,
the clouds, and the surfaces of the land, ice, and water. Small air particles known as
aerosols, some of which are a product of human activity, can increase the
refractoriness of sunlight.

The solar energy that Earth has absorbed eventually escapes as infrared
(heat) radiation. During the process, it interacts with the atmosphere, oceans, land
surfaces, and ice sheets throughout the entire climate system. When determining
climate, the atmospheric radiation flows are crucial. Nitrogen and oxygen, the two
principal gases that compose the atmosphere, do not interact with infrared light.
Smaller amounts of some gases, however, can absorb infrared radiation that is rising
from the surface of the Earth and re-radiate it in all directions, including back below.
They do this by obstructing the Earth’s infrared radiation’s ability to reach space. The
gases that do this by reacting with infrared light are known as greenhouse gases,
and this phenomenon is known as the “greenhouse effect.” The three that are most
significant are methane, carbon dioxide, and water vapor. The Earth’s surface would
be around 33°C colder without the greenhouse effect, which was discovered more
than a century ago and maintains the planet habitable.
Changes in climate can occur through both natural and human-induced
causes

The world’s climate naturally varies throughout periods of time ranging from
decades to thousands of years and more. These natural variations can originate
from two different places: internal fluctuations that alter the flow of energy, water,
and carbon between the atmosphere, oceans, land, and ice, and external influences
on the climate system, such as variations in the sun’s energy output and the effects
of volcanic eruptions.

Human activity has the potential to influence a number of variables, including

the amount of CO2 and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the amount of
aerosols, and the reflectivity of the Earth’s surface owing to changes in land cover.

Climate Change Affect the Water, Foods, Human Health, Infrastructure, and
Environment

Water

Water resource changes can have a significant impact on our globe and our
daily life. The problem of flooding is getting worse as a result of climate change. The
majority of the United States is experiencing both stronger and more frequent
exceptionally heavy precipitation events compared to the beginning of the 20 th
century.
 On the other hand, droughts are also getting more frequent, especially in the
West of the United States. More water is being consumed by people, particularly for
agriculture. Similar to how humans perspire more when it’s hot outside, plants lose
more water as a result of hotter weather, thus farmers must provide them with extra
water. Both show how more water is required in areas where supplies are running
low.

For many populations, the snowpack serves as a significant source of

freshwater. Freshwater becomes usable as the snow melts, particularly in areas like
the Western United States where there is little precipitation during the warmer
months. A consistent source of water for the full warm and dry seasons may not be
the snowpack, however, as there is less snow generally and it melts earlier in the
year as temperatures rise.

Foods

Our ability to produce food is impacted by the climate and weather. Even
while farmers and researchers may be able to modify some agricultural processes
and technologies or develop new ones, managing current changes will be difficult.
The farmers and ranchers who grow the food that ends up on our tables struggle as
a result of illness, extreme weather, drought, and water stress.

Human agricultural workers are prone to heat-related health issues like

exhaustion, heatstroke, and heart attacks. Rising temperatures and heat stress can
be harmful to animals.

Human Health

Human health is already being impacted by climate change. Life is at stake

when weather and climatic trends change. One of the most lethal meteorological
phenomena is heat. Hurricanes are becoming more intense and wetter as ocean
temperatures rise, which can result in both direct and indirect fatalities. More flames
are caused by dry weather, which pose significant health hazards. Flooding more
frequently can increase the risk of chemical risks, accidents, and waterborne
infections. The geographic ranges of ticks and mosquitoes are expanding, and they
can spread disease to new areas.

Due to the cumulative effects of climate change, the most vulnerable groups, such
as children, the elderly, individuals with previous medical conditions, outdoor
laborers, people of color, and those with little means, are at an even higher danger.
But public health organizations can collaborate with local communities to educate
residents about the health impacts of climate change and help them develop
resilience.

Infrastructure

Physical infrastructure consists of things like roads, bridges, ports, electrical

grids, broadband internet, and other components of our transportation and
communication networks. Many cities have infrastructure that was created without
taking future climate change into consideration because it is frequently intended to
be in use for years or decades. Even more recent facilities, however, may be
susceptible to climate change.

Existing structures and facilities may be put under stress by extreme weather
events that include torrential rainfall, floods, wind, snow, or temperature fluctuations.
More cooling is needed indoors as a result of rising temperatures, which can strain
an energy grid. Flooding caused by sudden, heavy rain can close major commercial
centers and cause traffic delays on important routes.

Millions of individuals will be harmed by sea level rise because over 40% of
Americans reside in coastal regions. Roads, bridges, water supply, and other coastal
infrastructure are all at risk. Additionally, coastal erosion and high tide floods are
both effects of sea level rise. By 2100, it’s possible that some towns may be at or
below sea level, and they will need to make decisions about managed retreat and
climate adaptation.

Many communities are currently ill-equipped to deal with the hazards that
climate change may bring. Even within a community, some groups are more prone to
these dangers than others. Future infrastructure expenditures should be made by
communities to survive anticipated climate risks. The consequences of climate
change on communities, both current and future, are being studied by researchers,
who can also recommend best practices. Resilience education is essential for
community people to prepare for climate change, including city planners, emergency
managers, educators, and communicators.

Environment

Even while not all ecosystems and organisms are affected equally, climate
change will continue to have a substantial impact on them. Given that it is rising at a
rate at least twice as fast as the worldwide average and that melting glaciers and
land ice contribute to global sea level rise, the Arctic is one of the ecosystems most
vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

The ability of some living things to adapt to climate change can be seen in the
early blossoming of some plants and the potential global expansion of some species.
But because of stressed ecosystems brought on by rising temperatures and shifting
precipitation patterns, these changes are occurring too quickly for many other plants
and animals. Climate change may enable some invasive or bothersome species,
such as lionfish and ticks, to spread even further.
 The ocean is also undergoing changes. About 30% of the carbon dioxide
produced into the atmosphere by the combustion of fossil fuels is absorbed by the
ocean. As a result, the water’s acidity is rising, which is bad for marine life. In
addition to the melting of ice sheets and glaciers, thermal expansion is raising sea
levels, increasing the risk of erosion and storm surge in coastal communities

Numerous changes in ecosystems are being brought on by the combined

effects of climate change. Coral reefs are susceptible to a variety of climate change
effects, including coral bleaching caused by hotter waters, stronger hurricanes that
can obliterate reefs, and sediment suffocation brought on by sea level rise.
Thousands of species call coral reef ecosystems home, and they depend on these
ecosystems to live.

Analysis

So, in this graph we can see the Emission of Carbon Dioxide starting from
(1751-2019) this shows that the carbon the we are releasing in our atmosphere may
seems a little but throughout the years we started to emit more carbon dioxide which
result to the increase of our surface temperature.
 Yearly surface temperature compared to the 20 th-century average from 1880–
2021. Blue bars indicate cooler-than-average years; red bars show warmer-than-
average years. NOAA Climate.gov graph, based on data from the National Centers
for Environmental Information.

Based on the Figure we can noticed that global average of the Surface
Temperature started to rise by roughly by two-degree Fahrenheit (One degree
Celsius) increase in global average surface temperature even if this may seem small
but throughout the years it started to rise exponentially specially in year 2000s and
year 2020 is on the top three warmest years on record.

Climate change is a natural phenomenon happening around the world it

cause disruption of weather pattern, because of the increase of CO2 or Carbon
Dioxide and other greenhouse effects made by man.

Climate Change started to affect our environment more than we expect,

drought becoming more common because of the hot temperature, Arctic ice sheets
started to melt, warming of ocean waters which leads to corals reefs bleaching and
many great changes in our ecosystem because of the sudden shift of climate and
temperature.

Our food supply dependent on our weather conditions the increases of

temperature, drought, extreme weathers creates challenges to our farmers, Floods
becoming an increasing issue because of the climate change, Human Health is
being impacted because of the changes in weather our infrastructure is being eroded
because of the constant flooding, and because of the constant change of our climate
plants and flower started to bloom much earlier than expected this are only few
things can happen if we let climate change continue.

We need to understand that climate change does not care regardless of

gender, religion, and nationality all of us will be affected.

Conclusion
 This study identified climate change as one of the major issues affecting the
global food, water, health, infrastructure, and environment systems. The study
demonstrates that climate change is having a negative impact on the world. The first
is water, which affects different parts of the world by causing droughts. In addition,
human agricultural laborers are vulnerable to health problems brought on by the
heat, such as exhaustion, heatstroke, and heart attacks. Animals are susceptible to
heat stress and rising temperatures. Climate change is already having an effect on
human health. Children, the elderly, persons with pre-existing medical illnesses,
people who work outside, people of color, and those with limited resources are
among the vulnerable populations who face the greatest risk. Extreme weather
events like torrential rain, floods, wind, snow, or temperature changes can put
existing buildings and infrastructure under stress. Even if not all animals and
ecosystems are impacted equally, climate change will nonetheless have a massive
effect on them. Coral reefs are vulnerable to many different consequences of climate
change. The data shows that Human activity has the potential to influence a number
of variables, including the amount of CO2 and other greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere. The study came to the conclusion that climate change has had a
significant impact on a variety of global issues, including food, water, health,
infrastructure, and environmental systems. Climate change does not care regardless
of gender, religion, and nationality all of us will be affected.

References

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