Climate change or poverty- what according to you is a more grave issue? Experts believe that one issue cannot be dealt without addressing the other. While climate change has a direct impact on the poor, poverty in turn poses hindrance in combating the effects of climate change. Deforestation and flooding is causing maximum damage to the people in developing nations. It is also affecting the capacity of low income groups to deal with shortage of food and water.

Since the beginning of the century, global temperature has increased by .74 degree Celsius due to the greenhouse gas emission across the world. Climate experts are predicting a further increase of 2 degrees in the temperature if the emission is not reduced in this century. Due to the increase in frequency of natural disasters, people from underdeveloped countries are migrating for their livelihood. Climate change is posing several problems in the reduction of poverty across the world. Poor nations lack the resources to fight such challenges and their heavy dependence on natural resources makes them more vulnerable to natural disasters.

The present need is to adapt climate change into efforts related to poverty eradication. Rich countries should be encouraged to make sustainable investments in poor nations. By giving a fair share of climate adaptation cost to developing nations, rich countries can help them alleviate pressure on water, forest and land. If investments are made for the development of countries such as India and Africa, these nations will also be able to extend their support to combat pressing issues such as global warming and carbon footprint. Experts are of view that climate change is out there and it will continue to create havoc on poor nations. If the present condition exists, climate change will cause more shortage of drinking water and food in the coming years. This will result in negative effects on the health of poor people and a large part of foreign investment will have to be directed towards health care services instead of projects related to climate change reduction.

With the global warming debate in full swing these days, one will often hear the term “carbon footprint”. Just what does carbon footprint mean; what is it? When people talk about the carbon footprint, they are referring to the impact that human activity is having on the environment. As a whole, the entire human race is leaving one, mega-sized carbon footprint on the earth, and this is what is having a devastating effect on the planet in terms of the warming of the globe, the accelerated extinction of many species, the increasing size of deserts and the loss of fresh drinking water. When looking at the carbon footprint at an individual level, each person leaves a different sized carbon footprint. The size of the carbon footprint that a person leaves behind is based on how a person lives their life; how much they contribute to the overall problem of global warming. There are many things that a person can do in order to reduce their carbon footprint; much of it is common sense and easy to do.

The first way that a person can reduce their carbon footprint is to change how they live their everyday life. By taking alternative forms of transportation, such as the bus, car pooling or purchasing a hybrid vehicle, are all ways that a person can reduce the amount of greenhouse gasses they put into the air. The type of food a person eats as well as what they drink should also be taken into consideration when thinking about reducing the carbon footprint. That food and drink came from somewhere, it was processed with something and a lot of energy and water went into production of most of it.

The second way that a person can reduce their carbon footprint is to change how they run their house and business. Changing appliances to updated energy saving appliances, for instance, can greatly reduce the amount of greenhouse gasses being pumped into the air. Changing one’s habits to turn things off when they are not being used, recycling more, reducing the amount of garbage they put out from their household, using less harmful chemicals for cleaning and so on, are all ways that a person can greatly reduce their carbon footprint.

The third way that a person can reduce their carbon footprint is to do more green things for the environment, such as planting trees. Each tree planted will help to remove greenhouse gasses from the air and replace a tree that has been cut down somewhere else.Purchasing carbon offsets will also help to reduce the carbon footprint, as the money is usually put into programs that work to reduce the greenhouse gasses being put into the air.