WHAT IS CLIMATE CHANGE?
People are calling it the crisis of our time, and it is. “Climate change” But it’s easy to get lost in this story. Science is dense, and politics get in the way. World leaders are meeting in Madrid to talk about the climate crisis and how to slow it down, and they’re under pressure from millions of people around the world calling for concrete action. So what exactly are we doing wrong, and how do we fix it?
We’re going to kick this off with some basic science. So bear with me, because this is important. The graph of levels of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere over hundreds of thousands of years. But this spike in carbon dioxide at the very end? That took off during the industrial revolution.
We started breaking CO2 records in 1950, and we haven’t stopped since. Why? Well, scientists say there’s a 95% chance that human activity is the cause. We’ve been burning more and more fossil fuels like oil and coal, which release CO2, to power our homes, factories, airplanes, and cars. There are also a lot more of us. The global population has tripled in the past 70 years. And we’re consuming more products from animals that release another pollutant, called Methane. So all those gases are in the air, and when the sunlight gets into the earth’s atmosphere, some heat gets trapped, and the planet gets warmer. That’s why they call it the “Greenhouse Effect”.
But the concern is not that the earth is getting warmer. But the concern is not that the earth is getting warmer. “It’s the warmest temperature on Earth since the last ice age since 10 thousand years ago.”
The UN says that right now, our world is about 1 degree hotter than pre-industrial times. That’s around the year 1800. Which is okay. The UN says if we warm by 1.5 degrees before the end of the century, we should be fine. The UN says even 2 degrees would 'probably' be alright. But again, the problem is speed. Because right now, we are on track to hit 1.5 degrees in only ten years. And If we don't slow that warming down, it could mean catastrophe within my lifetime, and maybe yours too. And we’re already getting a taste.
“Climate change is here. Climate change is happening. We are well into the 6th mass extinction event.” Europe is currently colder than the Arctic. “More than a thousand people being rescued just in the early morning hours of Sunday.” “Millions of people are likely to suffer worsening food and water shortages.” ‘The drought that’s now in its tenth year is a phenomenon that’s here to stay.’ “We’ve never seen a year’s worth of rain in less than seven days.”
Sea levels are rising about 3 millimeters a year because seawater expands as temperatures get warmer. Melting ice sheets and glaciers also add trillions of tons of fresh water into our oceans. People around the world are already losing their homes. And if things carry on, millions more of us will have to pack up too. Entire coastal cities could be underwater within 80 years, like Miami in the US or Osaka in Japan. Entire island nations in the pacific could completely disappear. “Natural disasters becoming more and more intense, more frequent with devastating consequences. The dramatic impacts of droughts in different parts of the world, all of this is creating a situation that is a real threat to humankind. And we are not doing enough.” “If 99% of doctors said to you, ‘take this medicine, or you will get sick and probably die’ you would take it, who wouldn’t take it? The problem is, at the moment, we don’t have any medicine.”
Now, there is a plan to slow all this down. Back in 2016, world leaders signed the so-called Paris Agreement. And the big pledge is to cap temperatures rising by 1.5 degrees or a maximum of 2, before the year 2100. So countries set their targets on how much CO2 they emit. But here’s the thing, three years after the agreement, global CO2 levels are still going up. CO2 emissions have been going up the last year by two percent, so that's actually above the average of the last ten years. So it's started to increase again, and it doesn't look too good.
In some ways, we’re going backward. "The United States will cease all implementation of the nonbinding Paris accord and the Draconian financial and economic burdens the agreement imposes on our country."
The US, one of the world’s biggest polluters, has pulled out of the Paris deal. Russia and China are accused of not giving themselves Ambitious targets in the first place. Ambitious targets in the first place. Turkey and Poland want to build more power plants that use coal, And then there are the skeptics. It’s a political decision, that it’s artificial global warming. We forced the computer models to say AHA! Human influence, CO2, and other stuff. “The ground base temperature data has been massaged to show an increase, but the satellite data shows no increase.”
On the other hand, there is positive momentum. There’s more awareness and some countries are making progress. India, Morocco, and The Gambia have massive renewable energy projects. Different countries are doing different things successfully, some countries are, for example, making all public transport free in the cities. What a great way to encourage people out of their cars.
But experts say what’s needed now is an even bigger push to change everything about how we run our world. "Business as usual has got to change. Politics as usual has got to change to combat that, we have to change the system that has allowed it to happen. You can’t have infinite growth on a finite planet." "And everyone can do that by shifting to renewable energy, reducing the use of cars, using trains more, cycling more, eating less meat consuming a bit more carefully."
So where does that leave us? Well, there’s only so much bike-riding and light-bulb replacing you and I can do every day. But the truth is that it’s those everyday things that are going to change anyway. Even coffee could run out if farmers can’t grow it. So, the expert advice? It is that it’s down to all of us, to change our ways and shake things up, or climate change is going to do it for us.
Five things we can do to combat climate change
Climate change it's real, it affects us all and climate scientists say if we don't act there will be irreversible damage to our planet within decades. The solution cut greenhouse gas emissions and changed to clean green energy. But don't wait for politicians to make the switch, there's plenty we can all do to reduce our carbon footprint.
Number one become more energy efficient insulate our homes use energy save lightbulbs and appliances and if we're not using the lights switch them off, better still make the switch to renewable energy.
Number two is a bit more of a challenge, but the costs of going green are going down as more of us use it.
Number three is another big ask for many of us, our cars are our major carbon dioxide polluters. So consider using the car a little less and if we need a new one going electric and no matter what we drive maintain it deflated tires turn our cars into gas guzzlers.
Number four it's the three hours to reuse what you have to recycle what you don't need, and the big focus right now reduces especially single-use plastics like these they choke our oceans clogged the landfill, and are made from fossil fuels.
Finally, consider going flexitarian scientists say eating a little less meat less dairy fewer eggs, and embracing a more plant-based diet will help save our planet from the deforestation water pollution, and greenhouse gases that record numbers of livestock produce. Each one of us can make a difference and inspire a ripple of change to hold our politicians and the fossil fuels industry to account for and protect our planet while there's still time.
Causes and Effects of Climate Change
Causes of Climate Change
⦁ increase in industrialization
⦁ large scale energy use
⦁ agricultural practices in the world
⦁ large scale deforestation
⦁ livestock challenges
⦁ increase in transport
⦁ Pollution
Effects of Climate Change
⦁ Rising the World temperature
⦁ Rising the sea level
⦁ precipitation
⦁ change in rainfall patterns
⦁ increase in extreme events
⦁ land-base erosion
⦁ decrease pH
⦁ increase UV
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