According to NASA, the earth is currently in the midst of a climate change crisis. The agency warns that if global warming continues at its current rate, the planet will reach a point of no return in the next two decades, at which point the earth will heat up even more than before.
Moreover, scientists have been saying for a long time that the earth is warming up at an alarming pace due to human activity. Even though there are many variables that determine the exact rate of warming, the overwhelming majority of scientific publications agree that global warming is real, and it’s happening now.
The question is, what does this all mean for you? This article will discuss the complicated topic of climate change, and why you should be worried about it.
What Is Climate Change?
Climate change is a long-term transformation in the climate of Earth. This includes global warming, glacial melting, ocean acidification, and other related phenomena.
The climate system is a vast network of interacting parts, from the oceans and soils to the land and its inhabitants. Ocean systems, for example, are extremely important for both storing and releasing carbon. As the climate changes, the ocean takes up more carbon, and the land releases less.
If a person were to remove all the carbon from the atmosphere, there would still be roughly a thousand tonnes of carbon in the oceans, and about the same amount on land. The carbon would just “go somewhere else,” and is likely to come back to the atmosphere as a different kind of carbon.
The climate system has been changing for billions of years, albeit slowly. On a longer timescale, however, the climate system has undergone rapid and significant changes. Some of these have been driven by natural causes, while others have been driven by human activity.
Why Is Climate Change Happening?
There are many factors that influence the climate, and scientists are still discovering more about all of them. One of the most important factors, and the one that is mostly responsible for recent climate changes, is the increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Greenhouse gases are gases that absorb certain colors of light, which means they have a negative “emissivity” property, meaning they reflect other colors of light. To the naked eye, greenhouse gases do not absorb any light at all, meaning they have a positive “emissivity” property.
When sunlight reaches the earth, it strikes the gases and bounces off in multiple directions. Some of that light is absorbed by the gases and guided towards other parts of the earth where it can be seen as visible light. Some of that light is reflected back towards space and is not visible to us.
The net effect of all this is that gases like CO 2 and water vapor have an “average” warming potential of 100, while other gases have a lower “average” warming potential of 50.
How Does Climate Change Happen?
The atmosphere contains many gases that naturally interact with the sun’s rays. Some of these gases, such as CO 2 and water vapor, act as “greenhouse gases” meaning they “trap” more energy in the form of heat in the atmosphere than they “absorb” from the rays. This causes the planet to warm up slightly.
Other gases like N 2, O 3, and CH 4 have a “negative” emotionality property (meaning they absorb energy from the rays), and so they have a cooling effect.
The gases CO 2, N 2, O 3, and CH 4 are what is known as “greenhouse gases” meaning they “trap” more energy in the form of heat in the atmosphere than they “absorb” from the rays.
What Does Climate Change Mean For You?
Global warming is real and happening right now, and it will have a huge impact on your life. The following are just some of the ways climate change will have an impact on your daily life:
- Safety: With rising sea levels, coastal areas will become more vulnerable to flooding and storm surges, putting people’s safety in jeopardy. Increased intensity of droughts and other extreme weather events will threaten food security, leading to humanitarian emergencies and internal displacement.
- Health: Lack of clean air and water could cause devastating health effects, from asthma to diarrhea. People could also be at risk from vector-borne diseases spread by mosquitoes or pests like Zika or Lyme disease.
- Energy: As temperatures rise, buildings and infrastructure will buckle under the strain, costing lives and money. Energy demand will rise, with greater reliance on carbon-emitting fossil fuels like coal and oil.
How To Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
There are many ways to reduce your carbon footprint, and many of them are simple. The most important parts of reducing your carbon footprint are to use less energy and reduce your consumption of fossil fuels. You can also take steps to reduce your emissions of other greenhouse gases, such as CO 2 . Here are some examples of how you can reduce your carbon footprint:
- Turn off lights when not in use, and turn down the thermostat when you aren’t home.
- Ride your bike, walk, or take public transportation whenever possible. This can often be less expensive than car transportation, and it’s healthier for you, too.
- Do your grocery shopping once a week instead of grocery shopping every day. This will save money, reduce your carbon footprint, and you’ll be better for it.
- Install solar panels or wind turbines in your home to reduce your carbon footprint even further.
- Don’t use plastic bags unless you have to. Not only is this bad for the environment, but it’s also bad for your wallet.
What To Do If You Think You’re Experiencing Climate Change
If you are experiencing extreme weather or other climate change-related events that seem out of place, you may want to take them seriously.
First of all, don’t think that it is your fault. It is almost impossible to know exactly what is causing the change, but it is almost certainly not because you are doing something wrong.
Next, seek professional help. There are many resources available, such as local climate change groups and websites that offer information about what to do if you think you’re experiencing climate change.
Finally, keep an eye on the news. If there is much discussion about climate change, and if the reports show that it is happening, then it’s probably real.
