The earth’s climate has been changing throughout the beginning of time. Over time the earth has shown trends of warming and cooling due to the amount of solar energy the earth obtains. The current warming trend is abnormal because average temperatures are rising at a rate higher than ever recorded, and as a result are creating some major environmental problems worldwide. The term climate change refers to the change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over an extended period of time. Often times people refer to this phenomenon as “global warming”, but many scientists use the term climate change because it is more inclusive, and the effects of climate change are not limited to the earth’s temperatures rising.
The issue we are facing with climate change is very important because it affects every single person on the planet, and will carry on generation to generation if we do not actively fight the causes. No matter one’s race, class, location, etc. this is an issue that no one can escape. Although there are many skeptics, climate change has been directly linked to human activity. Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, the amount of carbon we produce has been rapidly increasing due to large numbers of factories and our means of transportation such as planes, cars, and boats which all use fossil fuels for energy. In the last 150 years our global atmospheric carbon dioxide levels have risen from 280 parts per million to 400 parts per million. The increase of emissions has led to a term called the “greenhouse effect”. The greenhouse effect is an event that happens when solar radiation reaches the earth’s atmosphere and the rest of the sun’s energy is absorbed by the land and oceans, as a result heat the earth. Some of the heat is then trapped by greenhouse gases which allows the earth to maintain a temperature warm enough to sustain life. The problem is that human activities are causing an increase of these greenhouse gases, which trap extra heat in the atmosphere and cause the earth’s temperature to rise.
Climate change has been linked to many environmental problems such as mass extinction, frost-free seasons, change in precipitation patterns, droughts and heat waves, increase in hurricane activity, rising sea levels, and the melting of ice. All of these events have direct and negative impacts on our society. In my opinion, those who live in poverty or lower income areas are the most affected, First, the agricultural cycles all over the world are being disrupted. An extended length of the growing season may sound good in theory, but many farmers rely on certain temperatures and weather cycles to be able to grow their crops, and certain hardy vegetables will not survive under the warming conditions. Also, when frost doesn’t occur, many insects will reproduce year-round which makes farmers crops or livestock more prone to infestation and disease. Secondly, droughts and dangerous heatwaves have turned fatal for many people living in poverty around the world. India in particular has been widely impacted by death-causing heatwaves. The level of those living in poverty in India is very high, and many people do not have access to basic necessities such as electricity or water. Due to lack of resources and extreme temperatures many people suffer from heat strokes and become fatally ill while working or being outside for long periods of time. Rising sea levels have also become a serious issue for those living in poverty. Coastal residents of the Pacific islands, Southeast Asia, Africa, and South America are being subjected to mass flooding which often times engulfs a whole town or village. As a result, families are being forced to relocate and many times are struggling to survive. In the same areas, hurricane activity has increased due to climate change. Many of the time third-world countries are the most affected, and the problem is that they don’t have the funds or resources to help every person affected and often times take many years to rebuild infrastructures.
If we are not making positive changes in our practices with energy, transportation, and daily life it is not likely that climate change will decrease any time soon. Future predictions are that by the year 2100 the average temperatures will have increased by .5 degrees F to 8.6 degrees F. Scientists have calculated this average by studying worldwide trends of global emissions in relation to rising population. A larger population creates larger amounts of global emissions. Many countries have recognized this relation and have been proactive in ways to combat this climate change to ensure a safe and comfortable future for themselves and future generations.