An area’s climate is made up of many environmental aspects. Climate change is not simply a change in one specific aspect of the climate but can be better considered as the overall condition of all elements tied to the environment. These things may be temperature changes, sea-level changes, seasonal shifts in weather patterns and plant and animal life changes, and general biodiversity changes of an area. Climate change can often be more significant in cities as they consume 78% of the world’s energy and produce more than 60% greenhouse gases, yet account for less than 25% of the Earth’s surface.
Table of Contents
Greenhouse Gasses
To adequately discuss climate change, we need to define greenhouse gas. The term greenhouse gasses has been coined to mean any combination of gasses like water vapor, carbon dioxide, ozone, and methane that absorb radiation, trap heat in the Earth’s atmosphere and help contribute to the greenhouse effect. Most greenhouse gasses come from burning fossil fuels and tend to raise the overall temperature of this planet.
Deforestation
Deforestation or the general removal of plant life from the surface of the Earth is one of the leading causes of climate change. Trees and other plants are the “Carbon Sinks,” which means they absorb all the carbon dioxide and other toxic volatile compounds released by living and non-living things. Trees are like natural air conditioning units, as they transpire more than 90% of the water they absorb. This moisture forms clouds and lowers the regional temperature. You can physically feel the extreme difference by simply walking through a wooded area versus walking through a bare dirt or solid surface area. We humans understand that the plants and forests of this Earth are integral for food, livelihood, water, climate, and health. Yet, during the years 2001-2015, more than 300 million trees have been removed (tree cover nearly equal to the size of India). Deforestation of an area can raise the temperature of that area by up to 40 degrees Fahrenheit. The recent (2020) report of NOAA (National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration) showed that the ocean and land temperature has been increasing at an average rate of .32˚F per decade since 1981.
Consuming Too Much and Wasting Too Much
There is a vast difference in how this planet’s inhabitants consume and use resources. Some inhabitants consume and waste vast quantities of resources, while others use very little and barely have enough to survive. Developed countries produce more waste than developing countries because the per capita consumption of plastic, fossil fuels, metals, and all other necessities is more. The developed and consumptive countries are often the core cause of the deforestation of many of the underdeveloped countries. Humans in the more developed countries throw away billions of tons of food each year, while over a million people die of hunger each year. There must be a more efficient way to manage our resources.
According to the UN world food program’s report, there are 957 million people in the world who do not have sufficient food and are below the poverty line. If the population continues to increase at the rate it has been, we will most certainly run ourselves out of natural resources in the not-so-distant future.
Generating more Power
The burning of fossil fuels is one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gasses and thus one of the biggest contributors to our climate changes. The consumption of fossil fuels is so inherently intertwined with our daily lives that it is tough to imagine any sort of existence of our species without this grandiose consumption. How can we possibly continue our current trend of industry, technology, and housing without fossil fuels?
Sure, the politicians give a lot of lip service to a multitude of more earth-friendly ways to continue our current practices, but the truth seems to be that we need to consume less and let mother nature heal herself more. We are simply wasting the Earth’s resources rather than efficiently utilizing them and using science to determine our consumption. The low-income and poor communities are often the most adversely affected groups as they live in unstable conditions, in areas where flooding, earthquakes, and land-sliding issues are common. They usually do not have the financial wherewithal to get out of these areas.
Climate and Air
Climate change is almost always associated with air pollution, and we are quite literally poisoning ourselves with our own pollution. I often find it hard to believe that we humans would take the steps that we do if we all knew and accepted all of the facts relating to our over-consumption and earth pollution. According to the WHO report (October 2018), indoor air pollution causes major respiratory issues among 40% of the world’s population (including 1 billion children under the age of 15).
Effects/Impacts of Climate Change
Hotter Temperature
The overall Earth’s temperature is now 1.1˚C warmer than in the 18th century. Efforts have been made to control this temperature rise, but while some of the Earth has made strides in the right direction, the vast majority of us have not, and the net results have not significantly changed. The rise in temperature affects all living things, including plants, animals, and the microbial life cycles. Nature has made everything in a perfect balance. Mother nature can, and will, balance this planet, with or without us humans. We need to learn how to care for our world before mother nature decides to take us out to fix the balance.
Increased Droughts
Water shortage has become a severe issue in the world. Many areas of the world exist in a state of extreme water shortage and frequent and prolonged droughts. Warm temperatures increase the rate of evaporation, leaving the soil and vegetation short of the life-giving moisture needed to thrive. Deforestation has altered the rainfall patterns, making many of the already drought-susceptible regions severely drought-sensitive and much drier than what would be needed to sustain vibrant plant life.
Soil Salinity
Many previously fertile lands have become barren and saline due to climate change. Higher temperatures and drier climates tend to dry our soils and significantly increase the effects of erosion. A rise in ocean temperature and sea level and the melting of glaciers and ice shores result in more water flowing into the oceans. This pushes more saltwater onshore from the Bangladesh coastline to Mississippi Delta.
Also, heat stress due to the rise in temperature causes groundwater depletion, resulting in the accumulation of salts in the soil. Australia, California, and sub-Saharan Africa are already severely affected areas.
Health Effects of Climate Change
The unprecedented climate changes brought on by humans have destroyed the atmospheric conditions and are also destroying human health. After the wildfire incident in Florida in 1998, the number of people suffering from asthma, bronchitis, and other respiratory problems has significantly increased. Increasing ratios of ozone, carbon, and nitrogen compounds are the causes of many human health issues. Water-related diseases are have also had a significant deteriorating effect on human health. More than 1 billion people do not have access to safe drinking water.
Worldwide Measures to Control Climate Change
Paris Agreement
The Paris Agreement (also called the Paris Climate Accords) is an international agreement on climate change among 196 countries established in 2015 and open for signature on 22 April 2016. Its aims include finding ways for the participating countries to help slow down global climate changes. Working on ways to use technology to lower greenhouse gas emissions without lowering food production and finding ways to finance these strategies could be an essential first step in the process.
As a whole, multi-nation organizations and political committees are typically not the answer to these worldwide dilemmas. Meetings of large groups of overpaid politicians typically find good ways to efficiently line their pockets with more resources and ensure the continuation of their careers but rarely find ways to implement world-changing strategies.
COP (Conference of the parties)
COP is a UNFCC’s (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) decision-making body formed in 1994 to protect the global climate from getting warmer and stabilize the emission of GHGs (greenhouse gasses). It has a total of 197 members that have been meeting every year since 1995 and have successfully arranged 26 meetings so far. The UNFCC’s 2021 meeting, known as CO26, aims to control greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
Once again, many good ideas but little real action taking place. Frequently, change will come from the many individuals who choose to take personal action versus the few government-run organizations that choose to discuss rather than act. According to a recent IPPC (International Plant Protection Convention ) report, climatic changes have become irreversible in some areas of the world. Extreme drought and rainfall patterns have ultimately changed the cropping patterns and plant growth patterns of large swaths of the Earth.
NASA’s Role in Climate Change Control
NASA stands for National Aeronautics and Space Administration and is the world’s leader in climate and Earth’s studies. It has 21 spacecraft at this time in the atmosphere that are busy collecting climate data and forwarding this data to numerous other departments worldwide to alert them to take action according to the present conditions. It does not involve policy-making directly.
Global Warming
As the name indicates, “Global Warming” is the process of heating the Earth due to human activities, especially uncontrolled fossil fuel burning and deforestation. These processes release greenhouse gases which remain trapped in the atmosphere causing the elevation in the Earth’s temperature. Pielke Jr, R. A. (2000)
Difference between Global Warming and Climate Change
Climate change is a long-term change in weather patterns (wind patterns, precipitation, humidity, etc.) and atmospheric temperature. At the same time, global warming is the emission and trapping of excessive greenhouse gases, which causes an increase in global temperature. Schneider, S. H. (1989). In short form, you can say that “Climate change is the result of Global warming, and global warming is the result of GHGs.”
Effects of Global Warming (similar to climate change)
Respiratory, cancerous, and other diseases to humans
Biodiversity and ecosystem disturbance
Conclusion
We can all do our role to help slow down the climate change that we humans have caused. No one part of this world is entirely to blame, nor is there any one part that can fully fix our problem. Each and every one of us should be concerned enough for our health and the health and well-being of our heirs to do our best to reduce our consumption, reduce fossil fuel usage, reduce the use of chemicals, and increase the amount of plant growth and forestation in our communities and on our properties. Consider that if we don’t step in and make a difference, it is likely that mother nature will step in at some point and do it for us.
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