Climate Change: It’s in Our Hands
Climate change; the two words that have sparked controversy across the media in recent decades, has been highlighted as one of the greatest environmental threat to humanity in the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). With the current warming of the climate considered as “unequivocal”, the report has brought back the issue of climate change and global warming to the forefront of public and political debate, asking the question: is climate change real and should we really care?
The scientific evidence supporting the rapid change in the climate is substantial and compelling. Technological advances, particularly with satellites, have enabled scientists to begin to understand and track the full extent of the changes. One of the greatest and widely used pieces of evidence is the global temperature rise. There has been a documented rise in temperatures since 1880, with the largest increases occurring since the 1970s. This coincides with the beginning of the industrialisation in more developed countries, including the UK.
However, global temperatures aren’t the only indicators of global warming. One that poses a great risk to southern areas of the UK, is the rise in sea levels. A rise of 17cm in the last century has been recorded, with more rapid rises predicted. This is in part due to the shrinking of ice sheets and the decline of Arctic sea ice. Greenland has suffered the most, with a loss of 150-250 km3 ice
Climate change and Global Warming are out of control. This means that, no matter what policies, processes or actions are implemented, the Earth as we know it will never be the same again. There is significant evidence to support this hypothesis. The dilemma becomes whether we can limit the damage and adapt to a new status quo or not. Rising sea levels and the damage caused by this phenomenon has irreversible impacts on coastlines worldwide. Damage to sensitive reef systems cannot be fixed. This also has permanent impacts of the ecology not just of those immediate areas but also the ocean as a whole.
Climate change poses a problem whose consequences are global. In 2006, above average temperatures were recorded throughout the world for the 30th consecutive year. Increasing average temperatures are melting glaciers and polar ice caps, which raises sea levels and increases the risk of flooding in coastal areas. There is mounting evidence to the effect that these changes are not the result of natural climate variability. The thesis of climate change caused by humans is supported by many leading scientific bodies, including the British Royal Society.
Climate change has become one of the most crucial topics of discussion over the last 50 years. Its popularity, or rather infamousness, and lack of general consensus have caused it to be a subject that everyone knows, but few know well. Time may be running low, and with the effects being felt now more than ever, people are beginning to feel the need to make a real endeavor against global warming. Individual efforts are seemingly stronger and more widespread, but still it is not enough.
Global warming, also known as climate change, is the ascent in the average temperature of the earth’s climate. It is caused by the “greenhouse effect”, which is the accumulation of carbon-dioxide(C02) and other pollutants and greenhouse gases in the atmosphere which absorb solar radiation which is normally reflected back into space. Although it is caused by various factors, the largest sources of this heat-trapping pollution worldwide are the burning of fossil fuels for electricity and transportation. The global temperature is rising rapidly. “Over the past 50 years, the average global temperature has risen at the fastest rate in recorded history” (MacMillan). The majority of the scientists and scholars agree that this rapid increase in global temperature leads to many environmental, social, economic, and political problems. Global warming has been an affair of controversy in the past few decades. Every national and international scientific body agree with the existence of this phenomenon. However, a limited number of scientists still argue against its existence. Global warming is real because with the passage of time, its effects are becoming more apparent and there is abundant scientific evidence that corroborate its existence.
According to the IPCC Summary for Policymakers, warming of the climate system is happening without a doubt, many of the observed changes have never happened before over decades to millennia and these changes were specially noted since the 1950’s. The consequences of these changes are reflected on the atmosphere and ocean which have warmed up, snow and ice have diminished around the globe, sea level has risen, and ultimately the concentrations of greenhouse gases have increased.
As climate change continues to progress, sea levels will continue to rise. There are two reasons for the rise. First, offshore ice melts and flows into waterways due to the increase in atmospheric temperature. Secondly, as water temperatures increase, due to its chemical properties will expand at the molecular level. In the last 100 years, sea levels have rose 6.7 inches, which in double that of the previous century (Climate Change Evidence 2017). By 2100, sea levels could increase another one to four feet (Global Climate Change: Effects 2016).
Global warming and global climate change has been a consistent news headline and global topic for the past two decades. From a political standpoint, there has been great debate as to whether or not humans are completely to blame, partially to blame, or to blame at all for the changes we are seeing in the Earth’s climate. However, from a scientific perspective, this is not the case. From the Kyoto Protocol, to dummy-downed explanation like in Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth”, to NASA’s comprehensive monitoring of the Earth’s “vital signs”, the idea that the human race has had a gigantic and irreversible effect on the global climate is the consensus among the scientific community. According to one major study, ninety-seven percent of climate scientists—those who solely focus on studying the earth’s climate—agree that the changes we are seeing are very likely caused by human activity (“very likely” being with at least 95% certainty). (W.R.L. Anderegg) Unfortunately, scientific evidence does not always correlate with proactive measures in society. Taking the United State’s government and society as a case study, large-scale projects or changes tend to be reactionary with contemporary issues. While frustrating, this fact can be somewhat understandable for a few major issues like military force or foreign economic aid (due prudence for the best course of action). Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem to be the case for the global climate; that is, Mother Nature does not wait for
-The rate of increase of the global sea level has doubled the rate of the last century in the last 10 years.
Temperatures are rising, natural disasters are becoming increasingly frequent, and the lives of millions of people are going in completely different directions. Sounds like some post apocalyptic wasteland, right? Contrary to many people’s beliefs, this is becoming a reality, and it is happening now. At the moment, greenhouse gases are entering the atmosphere at an alarming rate, and global warming is more of a problem than most people could ever realize. Climate change, while being a natural occurrence, is happening at an alarming rate because of the amount of greenhouse gas emissions everyone emits in their everyday lives without even knowing it. Luckily, if enough people are aware of the consequences of their actions, the rate of increase in temperature has the potential to slow dramatically. If, however, people refuse to take steps to decrease global greenhouse gas emissions, they run the risk of ruining not only their own lives, but the lives of every living thing on this planet.
Within the past decade, global warming has become an increasingly debated topic. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the global average temperature has risen by one degree Fahrenheit in the last century. Almost all scientists attribute this to human activities such as burning fossil fuels which releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Even though one degree may seem like an insignificant change, it has already been linked to shrinking ice caps, increased sea levels, and worldwide droughts (Controlling Global Warming). Global warming should be taken as a serious threat to planet Earth due to the catastrophic damage it imposes on the environment and humans themselves.
When it comes to the phenomenon of global warming, we are not talking about the temperature of the hot summer this year than last year, but we are talking about climate change, the major changes affecting the environment, atmosphere and climate in general. Climate change is affecting ecosystems on earth and directly impacts the daily lives of people. The warming of the global climate can cause serious consequences. The ecosystem is destroyed. Climate change and carbon dioxide are increasing challenges of our ecosystem. The consequences of such shortages of fresh water, polluted air, energy and fuel scarcity, and health issues related not only affects our lives but also the problem of birth. Climate change causes the loss of biodiversity. Earth 's temperature is currently making the species disappeared or are in danger of extinction. About 50% of animal and plant species would face the risk of extinction if temperatures in 2050 increased from 1.1 Earth to 6.4 ° C again. This loss is due to loss of habitat for fallow land, deforestation and warmer sea water. The biologists found that there were some animals migrated to the poles to habitat suitable temperature. For example, the red fox, previously they often live in North America, it has moved up to the Arctic. Man is not outside influence. Condition wild land and rising sea levels threaten our habitat. And while plants and animals lost synonymous with food, fuel and our income are gone. The climate change also causes the war
Attribution of recent climate change is the effort to scientifically ascertain mechanisms responsible for recent changes observed in the Earth 's climate, commonly known as 'global warming '. The effort has focused on changes observed during the period of instrumental temperature record, when records are most reliable; particularly in the last 50 years, when human activity has grown fastest and observations of the troposphere have become available. The dominant mechanisms are anthropogenic, i.e., the result of human activity. They are:
Global climate change refers to the long-term alterations in the world 's average leading weather conditions such as precipitation, temperature, and the wind. In the view of the most authoritative climate watchdog, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the global average climatic conditions are drastically changing due to many factors. The body cites greenhouse gas (GHC) emissions as the primary of all the possible causes. The GHC emissions develop a glass roof that blankets the earth hence tapping and containing the heat that would easily escape to the space (Bradley, Keimig, Diaz, and Hardy). The assessment of global climate change relies on the changing precipitation and temperatures. Even
At this point, its very hard to argue against the harsh process of climate change and our impact, as human beings, in facilitating this process. This seems to be a time to take action immediately to protect against the detrimental eventualities of climate change, since our planet depends on it. Unfortunately, the movement to help protect environment is diligently batted down by the hands of the Polluter Industrial Complex. The polluter industrial complex is a collection of politicians, corporations, lobbyist, etc. dedicated to efforts that would undermine the environmentalist movement. For someone looking at this situation from an environmentalist point of view, this is crazy. Empirical scientific research has shown that the
David Attenborough (an English broadcaster and naturalist) once said, “[t]here is no question that climate change is happening; the only arguable point is what part humans are playing in it.” Climate change is a pending issue waiting to be addressed and resolved by society as a whole before it is too late. Statistics show that the United States contains only 5 percent of the world 's population, but contributes 22 percent of the world 's carbon emissions. During the 21st century, global warming is expected to continue and climate changes are likely to increase, including: changes in temperature, precipitation, snow and ice, ocean level, and ocean acidity. The Kyoto Protocol, protocol aiming to reduce the collective greenhouse gas