It is important to establish what climate change entails, from the affect it has on our planet and how we humans, are perpetuating it. Climate change is a term that has a lot of controversy in the modern, media driven, age. Many media and news outlets have conflicting opinions and information surrounding the greatest issue of our generation. Climate change is the term used to describe the rapid changing of Earth’s climate through a general warming pattern. These extremely rapid changes are almost unprecedented in human history, the only exception being 150,000 years ago during the last ice age. So, how does this happen?
Humans and their machines, everyday and every year, are releasing billions of tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This gas is very effective at trapping heat in our atmosphere which allows sunlight to come in but not to leave, causing a general warming pattern worldwide. In addition to machines, cattle production has also contributed vast amounts of methane production which is many times more effective than CO2 at trapping heat in our atmosphere. These combine to cause the Earth to heat up, our oceans and atmosphere are alarmingly warmer on average than they have been in recorded history.
So why is this an issue? The warming pattern is not always represented in just having warmer temperatures. More heat in our oceans and atmosphere causes high pressure weather systems to occur more frequently. That means exponentially more frequent and stronger weather systems such as hurricanes and tornadoes. In addition to these life-taking storms, warmer oceans means melting ice caps. This causes sea levels to rise and millions of coastal dwellers will have to relocate or drown, causing massive problems for inland economies.
Another major issue is the impact of entire regions having their climate shifted in ways that life cannot adapt to. Evolution and adaptation takes millions of years but climate change is going to shift habitats completely in our lifetimes. That means millions of animals and thousands of species will die off as they cannot adapt in time to changing environment. This is evident already in the ocean where coral reefs are dying due to warmer ocean temperatures and the thousands of species that depend on them are dying.
So we know climate change is an issue. So what can we do about it! We can take action! We can vote, live sustainably, and educate ourselves in order to help stop the biggest problem of our life times. So, let’s get together and make a difference!
Climate Change: Get Involved 