Articles

Climate Change: Where we are, and where we’re going.

Climate Change

Climate Change. You’ve heard the term before, heard a couple of compelling causes, and probably even felt scared about the future it’s bringing. But, what exactly is Global Climate Change? How do we know its real? What does it entail? Where are we on its course of destruction, and how can we stop it?

Well, Climate Change is the change that our global climate will undergo as Earth’s average temperature heats up. So far, we have risen roughly 0.7 degrees Celsius in the past century alone, which is a drastic increase in such a short amount of time. A rise in 2 degrees Celcius will dramatize weather patterns such as drought, hurricanes, famine, heat waves, and more. We are steadily but surely headed to this marking, and so far, our current state gives no signs of slowing down. Our country actively incentives against clean energy, and instead promotes coal, natural gas, and oil. These non-renewable sources of energy only have so long (50 years left of oil, by the way,) and our government refuses to acknowledge the poisoning these resources have done to our environment and people.

We know for a fact that climate change is real for numerous reasons. First of all, CO2 emissions on Earth have never risen past 300 ppm, (Parts Per Million), but currently, the number rests at about 400 ppm, and it isn’t slowing down. But how do we know that isn’t just more people exhaling, and fewer trees taking in that CO2? Because the carbon in the atmosphere is Carbon-12, an older form of carbon dioxide, as compared to Carbon-14, the form that we as living organisms exhale. The Internation Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has come to a consensus that yes, climate change is real. Why don’t we trust our climatologists?

If climate change is real, which trust me, it is, what does it exactly entail? Will people just sunburn easier, or will there be worse consequences? Global Climate Change has already melted ocean ice ( which will flood our cities), created hotter and longer heat waves, and deeply intensified drought. So far, this has negatively impacted our food resources, which is already becoming very strained under the population growth of our time. Not to mention that in the future, these extreme weather patterns will begin making our Garden of Eden its own nightmare, killing off its people until almost no one survives.

Of course, that’s a far off possibility. If governments across the globe pull it together and actually make some change, then our best case scenario is a 2 degree celsius increase with crazy weather. Still not a fun environment to live in, but hopefully humankind will continue. What we as people can do about climate change is to get in touch with our representatives, make calls, and spread the word about whats to come. Cutting down on your personal carbon footprint is also a lovely idea, and ways to do this are eating vegetarian or local, walking or biking places, and support clean energy like solar, wind, geothermal, and hydroelectric.

In conclusion, yes; climate change is real. Climatologists are sure. If we don’t do something about it fast, its going to inevitably hurt us in future decades.

margoa

Margo is a student at Homewood High School and a member of the Springboarders teen leadership program.

More Posts

You may also like

Leave a Reply