Climate Change and Environment Essay

This report examines a natural resources problem that afflicts the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The sources of the problem and their implications are first discussed. Potential avenues for its pragmatic resolution are then considered.

Climate change is a problem that purports to affect the entire world but, in fact, has immediate practical ramifications for Massachusetts (“Climate Change,” 2018). The increase in temperatures will directly affect both marine and estuarial habitats. The effects upon the state’s vital fishing industry may be particularly severe, as the abundant stocks of cod require environments where the benthic temperature never exceeds 12○C. Indeed, stocks of cod may altogether vanish (Freitas et al., 2015), inflicting irrecoverable damage on the state’s economy.

Increases in sea level concomitant with the rising temperatures at the Antarctic ice cap will serve to increase storm surges and attendantly flood the coasts more frequently (Shankman & Berwyn, 2017). This will not only serve to accelerate the rate of coastal erosion but also to threaten the state’s recreational beaches (“Massachusetts Beaches,” 2018). Moreover, reduction in the annual precipitation expected to result from rising global temperatures will significantly alter Massachusetts’s physical environment. While this will give residents more opportunities for outdoor fair-weather recreation, it will also deleteriously affect the depth and duration of snow cover, thereby significantly harming the state’s winter recreation industry (Bever, 2017). Further, the reduction in spring snow melt will reduce the water volume and current in the state’s rivers and streams, impairing their ability to support wildlife. Finally, the marked decrease in fresh water will reduce the rate at which aquifers can recharge and thus impair both the quality and quantity of fresh drinking water available to residents of and visitors to the Bay State. This irreparable harm to the supply of sweet water can also be expected dramatically to hamper the productivity of the state’s arable farmland and to reduce the ability of the environment naturally to filter toxic runoff (“Groundwater Contamination,” 2018).

References
Bever, F. (2017, March 15). New England’s ski industry prepares for a changing climate. WBUR News. Retrieved from http://www.wbur.org/news/2017/03/15/ski-mountains-climate-change.
Climate change in Massachusetts and its impacts. (2018). Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved from https://www.mass.gov/service-details/climate-change-in-massachusetts-and-its-impacts.
Freitas, C., et al. (2015, May). Behavioral responses of Atlantic cod to sea temperature changes. Ecology and Evolution 5(10): 2070-2083. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4449760/.
Groundwater contamination. (2018). The Groundwater Foundation. Retrieved from https://www.groundwater.org/get-informed/groundwater/contamination.html.
Massachusetts beaches range from mountain lakes to ocean bluffs. (2018). Visit New England. Retrieved from https://www.visit-massachusetts.com/state/beaches/.
Shankman, S., & Berwyn B. (2017, December 27). Polar ice is disappearing, setting off climate alarms. Inside Climate News. Retrieved from https://insideclimatenews.org/news/27122017/arctic-antarctic-sea-ice-sheets-2017-year-review-glaciers-disappearing-polar-records.