“Climate change is happening, humans are causing it, and I think this is perhaps the most serious environmental issue facing us.”- Bill Nye.
This above quote is one hundred percent true. Climate change is happening and humans are the primary cause. Changes in climate can affect all aspects of a person’s life. This is one of the biggest environmental challenges that anyone has ever seen. Climate change has resulted in negative impacts all throughout the world, surrounding heath, environment, and agriculture. These negative impacts outweigh all positives.
Over 97% of climate experts agree that humans are causing climate change and global warming. That is because all around the world, people are burning gases, oil, and coal. Some of the worst man-made emissions of carbon dioxide come from the burning of fossil fuels, and the cutting down of trees that absorb carbon. Many people all around the world are involved in deforestation. That in return, releases heat-trapped emissions into the atmosphere and causes the shift in climate. By cutting down trees, an upshot of carbon is also released into the atmosphere, which nether the less also contributes to climate change.
Another horrific factor that results from climate change, is the effects that it has on health and the environmental determinants of health. Climate change can result in the lack of clean air, water, sufficient food, and shelter. Between the years 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause over 250,000 additional deaths.(World Health Organization) All as a result from malnutrition, heat stress, and malaria. Countries with weak infrastructure are expected to suffer the most. For example, Africa and South America.
The extreme temperatures that the shift in climate will cause, are expected to cause thousands of more deaths. In 2003, in Europe, a single heat wave resulted in more than 70,000 deaths. Heat waves are rarely given as much attention as earthquakes, tornadoes, and hurricanes, even though they claim more lives every year than those three combined. Heat waves affect mostly the elderly, young, and chronically ill. Not only can the high temperatures result in heat waves more deaths, but it can also lead to people developing cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.
As temperatures rise, ice and glaciers start to melt. This results in tons of additional water in the ocean. Oceans also enlarge as the water temperature increases. Global sea levels have risen over eight inches in the last century. If this level of rise continues, countries such as Bangladesh could be underwater, and could submerge coastal areas all around the world. Although flooding is one obvious effect sea level rise has on the earth, there are still some effects that can go unnoticed. For example, the sea level rise can contaminate drinking water. Saltwater can creep up into freshwater sources and contaminate crucial sources of drinking water. As almost all people know, saltwater is unsafe to drink. It is possible to remove the salt from the water, but it is costly and a very lengthy process.
Contaminated water is not the only negative factor that can result from sea level rise. It can also interfere with farming and plant life. It can result in extensive damage of agricultural land. All of the saltwater that will eventually end up in the coast, can change the qualities of the soil. As saltwater continues to grow closer to coasts, it may seem into the ground and affect the soil around it. That it because some plants are unable to adapt to the sudden change of soil and can soon disappear from coasts. However, trees will have an extremely difficult time adaptation to saltwater. Trees have to put more effort into extracting water out of a salty soil, that as a result, can impede the tree’s growth. A very common sign of sea level rise, is when trees start to die. After a while, the soil becomes too salty, that the tree cannot simply filter the salt out.
Not only are land and plants affected by sea level rise and climate change, but the ocean itself is actually at risk as well. The ocean absorbs enormous amounts of carbon dioxide, and impede it from going into the atmosphere. As the level of carbon dioxide begins to increase more than normal, and the water temperatures begin to increase as well, oceans can become more acidic, which ultimately has a negative impact on the oceans. One thing that is specifically at risk, are coral reefs. There are extremely delicate algae and coral that live on it, that are lacking sufficient amounts of oxygen. That in return causes them to bleach and eventually die. It climate change continued down this increasing path, by 2050, just about five percent of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef will stay behind. (WWF)
Although there are numerous amounts of evidence that supports the fact that climate change is real and happening, there are still some people out there that still disagree. For example, some people say “The sun is causing climate change” and “Plants and animals can adapt”. However, based on facts, these claims are proven to be false. For instance, the sun and the climate have been going in opposite directions for the last 35 years. Also, Plants and animals in no way possible, can adapt to such sudden change of climate on short time scales. That in a result can cause mass extinction of numerous types of species.
“Governments around the world must take rapid, far-reaching, and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society to avoid disastrous levels of global warming.” (UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change).
According to experts on climate change, the planet has until 2030 to stop climate change. The world can reach 1.5 degrees Celsius above levels as soon as 2030. Increasing the risk of drought, floods, wildfires, and food shortages for thousands of people all around the world. These predictions are based on today’s present-day levels of gas emissions. Based on studies and facts, people know that climate change is already happening, and many horrific thins can follow, unless international action is taken.