Bringing Awareness to Climate Change
As I'm sure you've been made aware of in recent news and current events, climate change is a big problem that is being talked about by politicians, news reporters, and scientists. A s years pass, the effects of climate change will continue to grow worse, ultimately ending the capability for sustainable life on earth. As many people do not know about climate change and how it is affecting the earth, it is important that awareness is spread, and information is shared to inform people about this topic.
The cause of climate change is something that has misinterpreted by most people, leading many people to believe that it isn't real. The cause of climate change can be traced back to humans and the dangerous greenhouse gases that are reflected back into space. This process is known as the "greenhouse effect" which is described by NASA as "Warming that results when the atmosphere traps heat radiating from Earth towards space" thus heating the earth. (Causes, NASA) Some dangerous gases that contribute to this heating are Water vapor, Nitrous oxide, Methane, Carbon dioxide, and others. The reason this can be traced back to humans is because of the "Industrial activities that our modern civilization depends upon, which have raised atmospheric carbon dioxide levels from 280 parts per million to 400 parts per million" (climate.nasa.gov/causes/). A study done by the U.S. Global Change Research Program "Found that between 93% to 123% of observed 1951-2010 global warming was due to human activities" (Hausfather).
The effects that climate change have and will continue to have on earth will keep getting worse and worse if we don't do something about it. The effects of climate change go much deeper than temperatures rising. Around the entire world, sea levels are slowly rising and are occurring at a faster pace than years past. Most notably at the Earth's poles, ice is melting rapidly. "Rising temperatures are affecting wildlife and their habitats" (Global Warming Effects, National Geographic). If these effects begin to grow worse, it is suggested that within this century there will be less freshwater available, hurricanes will be stronger, sea levels will rise tremendously, and diseases such as malaria will spread more.
There are many things that you can do about climate change to either bring awareness or lessen the effects. On the Union of Concerned Scientists website about global warming (ucsusa.org/global-warming), they provide readers with many ways to get involved and bring awareness to climate change. They mention that there are "Practical solutions at hand" and that we must "take immediate action to address global warming" so that the consequences don't get worse (Global Warming, Union of Concerned Scientists). There are also an immense about of charities and non-profit organizations that are focused on bringing awareness and ending climate change, such as 350.org, The Climate Reality Project, and ConservAmerica.
If we continue to ignore the impacts of climate change, they will continue to grow worse and will be ultimately un-fixable. That is why it is important that we give uninformed individuals relevant information on the topic. The dangerous gases entering that atmosphere can be lessened, the incredible amount of ice melting and sea levels rising can be stopped if we take action.
Do You Need