Climate Change

For as long as I can remember, scientists around the world have been researching the reasons behind our Earths change in climate. First, let's define the word climate. Climate is the average, or typical weather in a given area over a long period of time. This is not like weather, which is the state of the atmosphere on a given day (temperature, wind, precipitation, humidity, cloudiness, etc.).

So now that we know what climate change is I'm going to answer 3 questions that will tell you why climate change is occurring, and how it affects our society and our world...


Is there evidence that the climate is changing right now?

Yes. Scientists have been measuring the temperature of the Earth since around 1880, and if you look at the graph to the right, you can see the increase in temperature from 1880 to the year 2000. The increase in average temperature over the last 100 years around the world is 1.4°F (0.8°C). This may not seem like a lot, but according to the National Research Council, a mere 9°F drop in today's average temperature is the estimated difference in today's temperature and an Ice Age!!! This is proof that climate change is happening now, and has been happening for years.

Some think this change in climate is because of the sun, however evidence proves this is not true. Satellites have the ability to measure solar output from the sun, and according to satellite readings over a period of 30 years, records showed no increase in the sun's output. So who is to blame for the changing climate? 

What does evidence say about humans' roles in  the changing climate?

Greenhouse gases, which include carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, and nitrous oxide, are a natural thing that helps keep the Earths surface warm. We of course need this in order to survive. However, when these greenhouse gases are greatly increased they act like a giant blanket on the Earth, trapping a more than needed amount of heat in the lower atmosphere.
What causes this great increase in greenhouse gases is people. Decades of research has proven that human actives has lead to an increase in the Earth's temperature. The burning of coal and oil, cutting down forests and the production of things such as cement add CO2 into the atmosphere. Land use also affects climate change because when an entire forest is wiped out, the ground it once shaded is now completely exposed to the sun for years to come. The burning of fossil fuel add to the methane in the atmosphere. Fertilizers used on farms add to nitrous oxide in the atmosphere. There are statistics, and long term studies supporting all of these things I just listed that prove human activities greatly contribute to the changing climate.

How is climate change likely to affect our society and our world? What will Earth be like in 50 years?

Scientists predict temperatures will continue to rise, and by the end of the century we will see an additional 60-90 days of temperatures reaching more than 100°F. In California we can expect much longer, hotter summers. Say goodbye to Fall and say hello to a shorter, much warmer winter.

Not only this, but scientists say that dryer places will get even drier, and wet places even wetter. This is
because with the heat, more water will evaporate from oceans, lakes and rivers, sucking the earth dry in some places and greatly increasing rainfall in others. This will lead to an increased risk of fires, and floods.

Snow covered areas will no longer exist. We already see much of it disappearing, eventually it will all be gone. This will wipe out many species of animals that live and depend on snow and ice such as the Polar Bears. And what about the rising sea level which is a result of the increased greenhouse gases? With the snow and ice melting this will cause the oceans to rise even faster.

With the changes in climate, animals will need to adapt. Some will move to more favorable locations, others will learn to adapt, and the ones that can't, such as Polar Bears, will become extinct. The animals that depend on the ones who move to different locations will need to find a new sources of food, move, or die off.

And what about food for humans? Do we really think livestock will learn to adapt to living on dry land in 110 degree weather for 4 months at a time? Or would we build special buildings with AC's to grow our livestock which will then GREATLY increase our price of meat. "If 5°C (9°F ) of global warming were to be reached, most regions of the world would experience yield losses, and global grain prices would potentially double". So even farming vegetables would become very expensive. The changing climate could possibly starve the world.

If we continue at the rate we're going, we're just setting up the world, and every living thing on it to die. If CO2 in the atmosphere continues to rise, in the next 50 years we will definitely see all of the above affects of climate change happening before our eyes.

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Even with all of this evidence, some people still deny the fact that the changing climate is a serious issue that needs to be addressed when it clearly is, and it needs to be addressed NOW! Here are some common reasons people don't see the changing climate as a crisis:

• It costs too much money to fix
• It's inconvenient to make the proper changes/people don't like changes
• Some people believe that the natural greenhouse gases affect the earth more than we do
• Other think it affects the future, not now so why worry?
• A lot of people are too uneducated on the topic to care
• Scientists do admit its happening, but their future predictions are not guaranteed so people are iffy
• There are benefits to warming temperatures so why not let it happen?

Sources:
http://nas-sites.org/americasclimatechoices/