What is the role of human activities, particularly the burning of fossil fuels, in exacerbating climate change?
Sample solution
Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell.
In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.
God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.
Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.
To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.
References
Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.
Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies, 4(8), 487.
Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.
Sample Answer
Sample Answer
The Role of Human Activities in Exacerbating Climate Change
Introduction
Climate change is one of the most pressing issues facing our planet today. It refers to long-term shifts in weather patterns and temperatures, which can have severe consequences for ecosystems, economies, and human health. While natural factors such as volcanic activity and solar radiation have played a role in climate change throughout Earth’s history, human activities, particularly the burning of fossil fuels, have significantly exacerbated this phenomenon in recent years.
Thesis Statement
The burning of fossil fuels through human activities is a major contributor to climate change, leading to increased greenhouse gas emissions and subsequent global warming.
1. Greenhouse Gas Emissions
One of the primary ways in which human activities contribute to climate change is through the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O), trap heat within the Earth’s atmosphere, causing it to warm. The burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and natural gas, for energy production and transportation is the largest source of these emissions.
Fossil fuel combustion releases large amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere. CO2 is a crucial greenhouse gas that has increased by more than 40% since pre-industrial times.
Methane emissions from activities like livestock farming, rice cultivation, and the extraction and transport of fossil fuels contribute significantly to global warming. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, with a warming potential over 25 times greater than CO2 over a 100-year period.
Nitrous oxide emissions primarily result from agricultural and industrial practices, including the use of synthetic fertilizers and the burning of biomass. Nitrous oxide has a warming potential over 300 times greater than CO2 over a 100-year period.
2. Deforestation and Land Change
Apart from fossil combustion, deforestation and land use change also play a significant role in exacerb climate change. Forests act as carbon sinks, absorbing2 from the atmosphere throughynthesis. However, human activities such as logging, agriculture expansion, and urbanization have to massiveorestation worldwide.
Deforestation disrupt the carbon cycle by reducing the number of trees available to absorb CO2. This leads to increased concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere.
Land use change, particularly the conversion of forests into agricultural land or urban areas, further contributes to climate change by releasing stored carbon and reducing the overall capacity of ecosystems to sequester carbon.
3. Global Warming and Climate Impacts
The increase in greenhouse gas emissions resulting from human activities has led to global warming, causing various impacts on the climate system:
Rising temperatures: Global average temperatures have increased by approximately 1.1 degrees Celsius since the pre-industrial era. This warming trend is primarily attributed to human activities.
Melting ice and rising sea levels: Global warming has accelerated the melting of glaciers and polar ice caps, leading to sea-level rise. This phenomenon poses significant risks to coastal communities, ecosystems, and infrastructure.
Extreme weather events: Climate change intensifies extreme weather events such as heatwaves, droughts, hurricanes, and heavy rainfall. These events can have devastating impacts on human populations, agriculture, and natural ecosystems.
Conclusion
Human activities, particularly the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation, have played a significant role in exacerbating climate change. The release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere has led to global warming and a range of climate impacts with severe consequences for our planet. Addressing this issue requires collective action, including transitioning to cleaner energy sources, promoting sustainable land use practices, and adopting policies that mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. By recognizing our role in exacerbating climate change, we can take steps towards a more sustainable future for ourselves and future generations.
