Weston Mitchell
Mrs. Spoor
Honors English IV
6 November, 2018
Make Glaciers Great Again… Climate Change Is Fake News
Climate change has had many obvious effects on the world. Many scientists in the past predicted multiple effects that are now occurring in the world today. Some examples are the loss of sea ice, more intense heat waves, and sea levels rapidly rising. Greenhouse gases are filling the air and blocking heat from going to up into the atmosphere and towards space, so the global temperature is at a slow continuous rise. Some of the gases causing this climate change are; methane, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and water vapor (Shaftel and Callery). Climate change is such a substantial challenge the entire world is facing and the people can possibly help slow it down rather than make it worse. Multiple countries are in the process of coming up with solutions to fix this issue.
The world’s climate growth is caused by the gas emissions and pollution. Energy consumption is the number one contributor of greenhouse gases in the United States of America. Another cause of climate change is solar irradiance but many studies show that the sun’s role in this drastic change of climate is not a major reason. It is not a major reason because since 1750 the energy coming from the sun has been constant or slightly increased. If the sun was causing it all layers of the atmosphere would have heated up but in the layers closer to the sun scientists saw a cooler upper atmosphere. The lower atmosphere was trapping heat therefore its temperature was increasing over the years (Shaftel and Callery). In 1950 the carbon dioxide emissions, measured in parts per million, have risen around ninety parts per million. On October 17, 2018 the carbon dioxide was measured at 409.33 parts per minute. NASA has two missions the observe carbon dioxide levels which are Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) and Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO-2) (Shaftel and Callery).
An example from nature is the decrease of ice sheets. NASA’s multiple data charts show the difference in Antarctica and Greenland’s ice mass since 2002. Both places have seen an accelerated loss in ice mass since 2009. Antarctica loses approximately one hundred twenty-seven gigatons per year. Greenland is losing approximately two hundred eighty-six gigatons per year. NASA’s two missions that observe land ice are Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and NASA’s IceBridge (Shaftel and Callery). GRACE shows that Antarctic ice sheet decrease has tripled since 2012. This has caused sea level to rise 0.12 inches since then(Ramp-Up in Antarctic Ice loss). The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change stated in its fifth assessment report that from 1880 to 2012 the global temperature had risen 0.85 degrees celsius, which is 33.53 degrees fahrenheit. These rises in global temperature overall cause the ice sheets to lose mass and increase the annual decreation every year (United Nations).
Greenhouse gases are emitted from many different activities around the world. The Environmental Protection Agency has data that shows greenhouse gases are from 22 % industry, 28.4 % electricity, 11 % commercial and residential actions, 9 % agriculture, and 28.5 % transportation. The emissions from industrial uses are mainly birthed from burning fossil fuels for energy. The greenhouse gas emissions from the electricity production is caused from burning fossil fuels. Carbon dioxide makes up a large portion of the gases from fossil fuels, but other gases from it are methane, nitrous oxide. A very little portion is from sulfur hexafluoride which is used as an insulating chemical. The emissions from the commercial and residential actions are from combustion of natural gases. Humans have made organic landfills that put methane into the atmosphere. Water treatment plants in the world push methane and nitrous oxide. In agriculture the soil is treated in certain ways and it produces nitrous oxide and the livestock produce methane in their natural processes of digestion. Lastly, transportation is the biggest cause of greenhouse gases in these categories. Mostly small bits of methane and nitrous oxide are emitted in the burning of fuel. The majority of the emitted greenhouse gases from transportation are carbon dioxide. All of these are causes of the emission of heavy amounts of greenhouse gases contribute to the constant, steady rise of global temperature(Sources of Greenhouse Gas Emissions).
Some people have the standpoint that climate change is a natural occurrence and they say it is not a big deal. But studies show that the earth’s temperature is increasing gradually over the years. An article stated that the global temperature will be eight degrees fahrenheit warmer by the year of 2100. The raised temperature is causing natural disasters to be worse than ever before, and wet places are getting more wet and the dry places on earth are getting way drier than before. These disasters are costing more and more in damages. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said that in 2015 there was ten disasters that cost around one billion dollars in damages each. From 1980 to 2015 the yearly average was approximately 5.2 billion dollars. Aliya Haq, Deputy Director of NRDC’s Clean Power Plan initiative said, “The extreme weather events are costing more and more. She also stated the number of billion-dollar weather disasters is expected to rise.” This is all causing more danger to the people and citizens of the world. In the United States of America heat related deaths are higher on average and more likely than hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, and lightning all combined. Global warming is causing dirtier air throughout the world. It is making more ground-level ozone. It makes it harder on people who have cardiac and respiratory problems. Not only that the ground-level ozone can cause more health struggles for people with asthma. The same global warming issue may cause the sea levels to rise an absurd amount in this century. By 2100 it is scientifically estimated that the sea level will rise one to four feet (Denchak).
Many nations are upping the monitoring of the temperature rise. They are trying to keep the rise below two degrees celsius for the world's future. Aliya Haq stated, “Change only happens when individuals take action,’ There is no other way, if it does not start with the people” (Denchak). “The environmental threat to our world is greater than any time in human history. Just look around. We’re already seeing the impacts of climate change seared across the world,” says the Honourable Catherine McKenna MP, Canada’s minister of environment and climate change. “In the Canadian West, wildfires rage stronger and harsher than ever before. We’ve witnessed cities and homes burning, ranchers losing their stables – and each fire season, more communities displaced by the flames,” Minister McKenna states. She also said, “On the prairies, droughts and floods occur with increasing frequency, and produce greater devastation for families and farmers whose homes and businesses are harmed” (The Climate Reality Project).