Cause And Effect On Climate Change

Global warming is the steady heating of Earth’s land, oceans, and atmosphere caused primarily by human activity. Climate change is one of the world’s biggest challenges right now, from people actively arguing that it doesn’t exist- to other’s who don’t care enough to do anything about it. There’s evidence showing that climate change is happening and affecting our world now and from what it seems, if action isn’t taken, major consequences will soon arise. Most of the world’s land mass has experienced a 0.2-1.0 degree Celsius average temperature increase since the 1970s, the temperatures of the Artic has increased at almost twice the mean global rate. Climate change is caused by human factors such as greenhouse gases and ozone depletion and because humans are so dependent on fossil fuels in their day to day lives, the issue at hand is only going to get worse.

Climate change is a threat that has been in existences for years, but appears to be a greater threat to the world currently. According to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, there is more than 90 percent certainty that emissions of heat-trapping gases from human activities have caused “most of the observed increase in globally averaged temperatures since the mid-20th century” (IPCC, 2007).

Former President of the United States, Barack Obama, once said that “No challenge poses a greater threat to future generations than climate change.” In fact, scientific evidence for climate change is undeniable and the effects of climate change are beginning to be felt all around the world (“Global Climate Change”). Furthermore, evidence to support these claims for climate change can be found anywhere from the tops of mountains to ice cores drawn from the bottom of the earth. For these reasons, the causes, effects, and solutions of climate change need to be understood, so that all people of the next generation still have a suitable habitat to live in.

Climate change looms large over our rapidly growing and continually changing world. No longer are the adverse effects of this menacing global issue a mere ominous projections, they are starting to become a very concrete reality. Countries are today experiencing rising sea levels, which compromises coastal infrastructure, prolonged drought, squeezing food supply and agricultural productivity, as well as extreme storms. Rising temperatures have already led to vast reductions in the size of the Arctic. There is now no doubt amongst scientists that anthropogenic activity has been the primary catalyst to the

Climate change otherwise known as global warming has been an ongoing issue for decades. Beginning in the 19th century, climate change has increasingly affected Earth and its atmosphere. Rising levels of carbon dioxide are warming the Earth’s atmosphere, causing rising sea-levels, melting snow and ice, extreme fires and droughts, and intense rainfall and floods. Climate change has and will continue to affect food production, availability of water, and can add to many health risks in humans and animals. In fact, in an article by Justin Gillis titled, “Scientists Warn of Perilous Climate Shift Within Decades, Not Centuries” he focuses on a paper written by a former NASA climate scientist, James E. Hansen, explaining the effects of climate change on Earth today. Although many believe Hansen’s theories in the paper are quite far-fetched, the author mentions, “Despite any reservations they might have about the new paper, virtually all climate scientists agree with Dr. Hansen’s group that society is not moving fast enough to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, posing grave risks” (Gillis). Gillis validates the fact that climate change has been rapidly expanding throughout Earth and society has not been able to reduce it fast enough. Many negative risks are being posed and will continue to mount if the issue of climate change is not taken seriously. Although climate change negatively affects nearly all aspects of the Earth, it poses a big threat to agriculture and food production.

Fossil fuels are cheap and easy to come by right now. Oil rich countries in the middle east are able to import 9.4 million barrels of petroleum into the U.S. each day for use. For these reasons, Americans may see no need to switch over to a new energy source. However, the burning of fossil fuels produce gases that trap heat inside the Earth’s atmosphere, which cause the global temperature to rise, or Global Warming. Ocean levels are rising and storms such as

Recently, the idea of global warming has been under fire by people who claim it to be a hoax. Even “President-elect Donald Trump said Sunday that “nobody really knows” whether climate change is real” (Eilperin). Even with skepticism, the largest problem facing the world in coming years will undoubtedly be environmental issues. All across the globe, millions of people and thousands of communities feel the effects of global warming and deforestation daily. Whether through a loss of water, rising sea levels, or even a decrease in agriculture, the world is changing and suffering as a result.

Humans may be causing the world to end? According to Melissa Davey, “Greenhouse gas emissions caused by humans over the past 45 years, on the the other hand, ‘have increased the rate of temperature rise to 1.7 degrees Celsius per century, dwarfing the natural background rate,”’...(Okco 2). Furthermore, scientists have proved that simple chemistry, the monitoring of climate control, and the ruling out of natural factors were an essential part in proving how this had hurt our climate. Climate change will be disastrous if not changed.

Climate change has been a gripping issue in current times as it presents the world with debate over not just the fate of the environment, but also political priorities, foreign affairs, media coverage, and public opinion. The concern for environmental health has grabbed the attention of people around the world and called for stricter regulations on gas emissions and pollution, but has also driven a wedge between populations. Climate change is an issue wrapped in political controversy and studied on a geographical level. Looking at how groups view and understand the research and concept behind this issue will help one better understand the environmental effects humans have on the world.

Climate change has growing negative effects in the environment and in many societies. Climate change affects everyone from any race, nationality, gender, and religion. However, many of the victims of the fast-changing climate are the people or nations who have least contributed to its fast speed. Climate naturally changes on earth and it’s been happening for centuries, however due to human activities, the pace of climate change became faster. This caused problematic effects like pollution and more environmental disasters which resulted to people losing lives. This showed the importance to address the fast-changing climate due to anthropogenic actions. This is the reason why international efforts to slow down climate change were created.

CLIMATE CHANGE Climate change is changes in the usual weather patterns within a certain area. This includes how much rain a certain country gets during a year, or a change in temperature over a certain season in another destination. Climate change is not the same as changes in weather, as weather can change in a few hours or minutes, but climate change takes hundreds and millions of years to change. The climate of earth is always changing, the temperature of the earth can change and last millions of years, and then peak or trough for the next few millions of years. There is evidence given by scientists who study these climate changes that claim earths temperature has risen by one degree Fahrenheit in the last one hundred years. One degree Fahrenheit is even less than one degree Celsius, so it may not seem like such a small change could affect the earth, but this small change already has big consequences. CAUSES There are many events and variables that are beyond our control that can cause the earths climate to change, the climate can be impacted by the earths distance from the sun, as we will receive less solar radiation, Or the sun can send less solar radiation to the earth. When volcanoes erupt it can also impact the climate. But the main concern about climate change, is what we as modern day humans are contributing to it. Everything that requires energy, can impact the climate and causes a climate change. Driving cars, buses, motorcycles, boats, jet skis, requires

Climate change can affect plants and animals that live in a delicate environment. Climate change affects populations of plants and animals in random ways. These changes in plant and animal habitat could affect migration patterns (Cohn 2). Plants will be more affected by a change in scenery more than animals because plants depend on the right temperature and rainfall in order to stay alive. Another reason that plants will be affected more is that plants stay in one place and animals can move if the habitat is hazardous to their health (Cohn 2). Comparing the present and expected future range of the species is one way to examine the consequences of climate change. Margaret Davis is an American palynologist and paleoecologist who received a B.A from Radcliffe College, Ph.D. in biology from Harvard University and an honorary M.S from Yale University. She served as president of the Ecological Society of America and the American Quaternary Association and as chair of the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior at the University of Minnesota. She was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1982. Davis used computer models to estimate a change in range of beech, yellow birch, hemlock, and sugar maple trees (Cohn 2). The results that Davis found are that the four species of trees would have to move 500 kilometers to sustain the same habitat to remain in order to stay healthy. The beech forests which thrive in southeastern United States would cease to exist (Cohn

Usually people pay attention on daily weather changes and how the weather will be through the week or the month, but do we pay attention on climate change how it affects our lives. Did we ask ourselves what are the causes of climate change? How climate change impacts our activities? Can we do something to solve this big issue before to turn to a big disaster? These questions make me think deeply how we work to solve this problem because the earth is the only place so far we can live on it. Climate change has become a worldwide problem and this issue affects human lives, environment, social and economic. The change in climate has serious impacts on our natural ecosystem and as human we should face it before causing great catastrophe such as water availability, agriculture, rising sea levels and health. Many studies recognize that sign of change is increasing in average temperatures, snow and rainfall, patterns are shifting, and extreme climate events are becoming more common in our days. These changes are expected to grow if we don’t solve the issues or the causes of climate change.

Fourteen billion pounds of garbage is dumped into our oceans every year and most of it is plastic. Americans alone make up 5 % of the world’s population and yet we produce 30% of the worlds waste and use 25% of the world’s resources. When even exposed to the ground ozone for only 6-7 hours healthy people’s lung function has decrease. With the increasing pollution the more it affects the climate which in returns effect our health and our everyday lives. Climate change has many reasons why it has increased and effected many people’s lives and how they live in this world.

Droughts, lengthy hot spells, heavy downpours, floods, and other extreme weather events are occurring more frequently and intensely every year. Around the world, research teams are analyzing these trends, noting the changes in temperature, rainfall, ice mass, sea level, and many other variables recorded by weather measuring devices. The trends are undeniable: the Earth is getting warmer. Polar sea ice and glaciers are melting, the sea level is rising, and as the oceans absorb more and more carbon dioxide, they are becoming measurably more acidic. Why is this happening? What is the cause of all this global warming? Mostly consisting of water vapor, the atmosphere is a natural layer blanketing the earth and creating what is known as the “greenhouse effect.” Normally protecting the planet from temperature extremes, when heat-trapping gasses accumulate in the atmosphere this creates an unnatural “expansion” of the greenhouse effect. The result is global warming.