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.
The greenhouse effect, warming that occurs whenever the atmosphere traps heat from Earth towards space, is the main cause of global warming (NASA, 2016). Gases such as water vapor, nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide, and methane do not respond chemically to drastic changes in temperature, force climate change. One of the reasons for this is because of the deforestation of land for agriculture or industrial needs has increased concentration of green house gases.
The effects for this are very dangerous and permanent. One example is that the Earth will exhibit extreme weather effects. While some places, like
There are numerous debates about the pros and cons of climate change and what are the causes and effects of climate change. There are those who argue that the rising levels of atmospheric greenhouse gases in our environment are as a direct result of human activities. Some activities that are at the top of the list include but are not limited to the burning of fossil fuels, the cutting down of our forest, these activities are causing significant and increasingly severe climate changes which include global warming. Global warming results in a rise in the sea level, longer summers and more severe winters among other issues. Governments worldwide have come to some agreement that climate change affects every sector of life and that
Climate change in the world can be caused by various activities. When climate change occurs; temperatures can increase a dramatically. When temperature rises, many different changes can occur on Earth. For example, it can result in more floods, droughts, or intense rain, as well as more frequent and severe heat waves. Oceans and glaciers have also experienced some changes: oceans are warming and becoming more acidic, glaciers are melting, and sea levels are rising. As these changes frequently occur in future decades, they will likely present challenges to our society and environment.
Climate change is caused by the interaction of humans on the environment. Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide — the main heat-trapping greenhouse gas produced by human activities. Carbon dioxide is a “greenhouse gas” (GHG) that traps heat in the atmosphere, warming Earth's surface. It is generated by natural sources such as wildfires and volcanic eruptions, and by human activities — primarily burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas (Weeks 523). “We cause global warming by increasing the greenhouse effect, and our greenhouse gas emissions just keep accelerating,”
Climate change is an important issue that concerns humanity. Climate change refers to an increase in average global temperatures. Every day, the enhanced greenhouse effect continues to advance, which significantly influences Earth’s long-term climate. In addition, human activity is also contributing to the increase of global warming and is already leading to harmful consequences. Some people believe that global warming is not occurring and the heating of the globe, is just a part of the Earth’s natural cycle. Several consequences such as, ice caps melting, show us that global warming is in fact occurring. Therefore, we should start making changes in order to reduce future damages to the Earth.
The Earth’s temperature is rising, the oceans are warming, glaciers are retreating and because of this, our sea level is rising and more (Climate Change Evidence). The climate changing has the potential to completely damage our world. Animals, plants, ecosystems and our health will all be affected. Changing weather patterns are already wreaking havoc in coastal areas and areas prone to flooding. While other areas are experiencing droughts and wildfires (The Threats of Climate Change). Human activity on Earth is to blame. We are causing a “greenhouse effect.” Burning fossil fuels, coal, oil, driving cars and more are attributing to this (Climate Change Causes). Yet, with all this evidence in hand, climate change is still a hotly debated topic in our society. However, a study in 2010 found that 97-98% of climate researchers that are most active in their field all agree that human activity is the primary culprit for global climate change. This same study also found that the proficiency of researchers that do not believe humans have caused climate change is "substantially below" that of researchers who believe that humans have caused the climate to change (Climate Change Procon.org). Instead of increasing funding to research, or putting forth funds to establish clean energy, our President, Donald Trump, has slashed the budget of the Environmental Protection Agency. He cut 80 million dollars from them (Mundahl). May Boeve, executive director of the environmental group 350.org,
Climate change is affect by many different factors in the world, 4 main contributors to climate change are gases which are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. What all of these types of gases have in common is that they all affect the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is warming that results when the atmosphere traps heat radiating from earth to space. Water vapor is the most abundant greenhouse gas and also the most critical component because as the earth gets warmer by carbon dioxide more water vapor entries the atmosphere. Andrew Dessler and colleagues from Texas A&M University in College Station confirmed “heat-amplifying effect of water vapor is potent enough to double the climate warming caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.” (Hansen 2). As carbon dioxide heats up the atmosphere more water vapor is released cause climate change to double. Carbon
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 been a major topic of environmental concern over the past several decades. The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has recently predicted a 1 to 3.5o Celsius increase in average atmospheric temperature above 1990 levels by the year 2100. One of the main causes of climate change is agriculture. Agriculture has evolved by including new technologies, increasing the amount of chemicals, mechanization, and government policies that preferred maximizing the production of food that is created during agricultural activities. These changes allowed a low number of farmers to produce the majority of the food. Nevertheless, farming has a lot of negative effects such as causing deforestation and causing a huge amount of greenhouse gas emissions.
The world is changing to the point where humans are not able to put things back how they were years ago. Global warming is the concern of many people. Some people show they care by changing their lifestyles and adapting to the world for the temperatures to remain comfortable, and others are continuing to do what they do to make global warming expand. Global warming is “a gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earth's atmosphere generally attributed to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons, and other pollutants” (Bradford, 2014). Global warming has caused sea levels to rise, glaciers to melt, and different species to adapt to a new life.
Climate is a general weather condition in an area during a long period of time. An example that can be used to visualize what climate actually is can be New York’s climate, which is hot and humid over the summertime and mild during the winter. Because of many human activities, which harm the environment, rates of climate change have risen. Climate change is the pattern of change that Earth’s climate experiences over several years. Though climate change may occur through natural instances, it is now starting to become a problem because of human contribution.
Global warming, or climate change, is a subject that is not going to show signs of cooling down any time soon. Why is it happening, what is causing it and how is it going to change our planet. Unfortunately, the earth is showing many signs of worldwide climate change, and based on the work of thousands of scientists in more than 130 countries, the prognosis is that humans have caused all or most of the planetary warming. Pollution, deforestation, and industrialization have significantly increased atmospheric concentrations of water vapor, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane; which are all greenhouse gases, and they trap heat near the earth’s surface. Humans are pouring carbon dioxide into the air faster than the planets and the ocean can absorb it. Historically, scientists studied climate and recognized that natural cycles in the earth’s orbit can alter the planets exposure to the sun, and warming and cooling cycles have occurred over hundreds and thousands of years due to these shifts. These changes occurred over several centuries and the changes that are occurring now have been measured over the past hundred years or less. This has raised a global concern for the future of our planet because many species are facing extinction from disappearing habitats, changing ecosystems and acidifying oceans.
Climate change, either caused by humans, or naturally occurring, is beginning to affect several areas around the world and is causing human environmental insecurity in some already weakened states and regions. Climate change is defined simply as changes in the earth’s weather patterns. Change in climate becomes a security concern, for example, if decreased rainfall equates to decreased crop production in what was once a dependable food source that has now disappeared. The lack of this resource may produce rioting, corruption and increased crime for a replacement food source resulting in human migration causing instability in a nation or neighboring region. Using a constructivist lens to explain and counteract the deleterious effects of
Carbon Dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide make up the biggest part of the cause of global warming, which form greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases are trapped in the earth’s atmosphere and cause the earth to warm up. This temperature change has an effect on the earth’s ice, glaciers, oceans and ecosystems.
Global warming has been discussion for many years, but has, in the last decade or two been at the forefront of attention. The enormous effects and potential risks on humanity that can result from rise in global temperatures and the environment must be addressed, because the earth after all is finite. “Globalization refers to the rise of average temperature of oceans and earth’s atmosphere. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the earth’s average surface temperature increased 0.8 °C with the most since 1980. Recent increased drought, unusual heat, wildfires, hurricanes, and water shortages are clear indicators of global warming.” (Haldar, 2011) The fact is, global warming seems to be caused by
The rise in Earth’s temperature also leads to melting of glaciers which leads to increase in sea level and may boost the occurrence and concentration of severe climate events, such as floods, famines, heat waves, tornados, and twisters.