We already know and easily can highlight several signs of climate change. So many things are being affected by climate change. Published 30 November 2015. Living things, including humans, can easily adapt to substantial changes in climate as long as the changes take place slowly, over many thousands of years or longer. The world now faces one of the complex and important issue it has ever had to deal with: climate change. In addition to warming, there is also an unbalance of all natural systems, which leads to a change in the regime of precipitation, temperature anomalies and an i… Taking care of our environment is the responsibility of every individual in the globe to provide a habitable place for future generations. I prefer to say that we are “borrowing” the earth, from future generations; when you borrow something, you have to hand it back in good condition. Greenhouse gases are the reason why climate change has affected the environment for many years. Climate, hear the words “climate change” what comes to mind? Education is an essential factor in the ever more urgent global fight against climate change. Who knows what it can cause in the future. For example, the changes in climate can affect how people, plants and animal live, such as food production and health risks. This was a smaller increase than the present-time increase due to human activities, such as fossil fuel burning, which thus far have raised CO2 levels from the pre-industrial value of 280 ppm to a current level of over 400 ppm--a level which is increasing by 2 ppm every year. Climate change is one of the most important challenges of humankind in this century. Climate change today is one of the biggest concerns of human beings on the planet and the effects of climate change are undeniable and it may cause environmental, social, and economic threats to the planet. Figure 1.2: Sea Level: Today vs. the Pleistocene Epoch -, From Meteorology to Mitigation: Understanding Global Warming, The Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, Overview of the Climate System - Part 1 ›, Lesson 1- Introduction to Climate and Climate Change. Therefore, if you are interested in studying nature or natural disasters, you can simply choose a topic that focuses on how global warming affects your area of study and the individuals residing in these regions. You need to make sure that you get your points right. What this thought experiment tells us is that the issue is not whether some particular climate is objectively "optimal". Unique, irreplaceable, and often described as ‘the world’s lungs’, … A warmer climate will cause ice caps on mountains, Greenland, and Antarctica to melt, putting additional water into the oceans. How much time do we have to stop climate change? The earliest mention of climate change dates back to the 19th century. The ability to adapt, mitigate and reduce carbon emissions will be decisive to preserve the world for future generations. What does ocean acidification look like? The last IPCC report has provided more evidence regarding the rise in temperature and sea level. Infrastructure. Earth’s environment is not what it … Changes in the different variables associated with climate change help nurture the conditions harmful to human health. It turns out that the natural increase in atmospheric CO2 that led to the thaw after the last Ice Age was an increase from 180 parts per million (ppm) to about 280 ppm. Why should we care about climate change? Here is a useful "thought experiment" to illustrate what sort of discussion might be happening now if, instead of the current climate, we were living under the climate conditions of the last Ice Age, and human fossil fuel emissions were pushing us out of the ice age and into conditions resembling the pre-industrial period, rather than the actual case, where we are pushing the Earth out of the pre-industrial period and into a period with conditions more like the Cretaceous. By some measures, human interference with the climate back then, had it been possible, would have been even more disruptive than the current interference with our climate. Climate change is a very bad thing that has been going on for hundreds of years. Weather is actually “the changes we see and feel outside from day to day. [2] But globally, greenhouse gases have increased since then, bringing humanity very close to the dangerous levels of global warming that were predicted. No one usually stops to think about how the food production systems for the food we eat is also a contributing factor to the rise of CO2. They are: rising. Climate change is here and this is what it looks like: more frequent flooding in the central US, a longer and more costly wildfire season in California, and droughts across the Great Plains. “Sea level rise … Take a look at Figure 1.2 below, which indicates the Gulf coast continental outline near the height of the last Ice Age 18,000 years ago, vs. the current continental outline. Accept and close . If climate changes naturally, then why should we be concerned about the climate change taking place today? Global climate change is one of the most important social and political issues facing humanity today. Weather also changes from place to place” (Dunbar, 2014). We should be able to target the issues in a more economic way as the costs of climate change mitigation are already perceived to be too high. The issue is that human civilization, natural ecosystems, and our environment are heavily adapted to a particular climate — in our case, the current climate. During last year’s State of … The last IPCC report has provided more evidence regarding the rise in … These are the reasons why it causes climate changes to create negative effects on the earth. It might rain one day and be sunny the next. What is Climate Change: Climate change is the changes in the global climate patterns apparent the mid to late 20 century the climate increased the level of atmospheric Carbon Dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels in the climate process there are many system in the climate process such as food production and availability of land, water, and health risk. This courseware module is part of Penn State's College of Earth and Mineral Sciences' OER Initiative. The site editor may also be contacted with questions or comments about this Open Educational Resource. Climate change will damage economies, devastate populations, increase resource scarcity and dramatically impact the cost of doing business. So, arguably, if the dawn of industrialization had occurred 18,000 years ago, we may very likely have sent the climate from an ice age into the modern pre-industrial state. Like investing in your retirement, the sooner we take action, the better chance we have at preventing the direst impacts of our rapidly warming world. These particles get into the stratosphere and reflect solar radiation back out to space. Climate change is a topic that is brought up in many different genres of conversations. Green living is one of the best ways to save the planet and to conserve our natural resources. Some of those same people are the people who still deny that climate change is happening. In the remainder of this lesson, we are going to try to begin to get a handle on the fundamental science underlying climate change and global warming. Things that are being affected are trees, plants, animals, and even people. Much of our society’s critical infrastructure is at risk from flooding. We hear a lot about climate change but it seems that most of the problems and solutions lie in the hands of major industry and government. In short, water evaporates into the atmosphere from both land and sea and returns to Earth’s surface in the form of rain and snow. In recent years, the climate on Earth has changed markedly: some countries suffer from anomalous heat, others from too harsh and snowy winters unusual for these places. Writing an essay on green living or other environmental issues can be difficult. What can we do and, more importantly, why should we care? But you cannot really do anything about a problem that you do not understand, let alone know how to solve. After all, the early Cretaceous period discussed previously was warmer than today, but life thrived even in regions, such as the interior of Antarctica, that are uninhabitable today. Sea level is expected to rise five inches during the next 20 years, flooding coastal cities such as New York, Washington, Miami, Houston and others worldwide at storm surge. It is, instead, the rate of change that has scientists concerned. Apparently, additional 2°C above the pre-industrial average temperature levels is unavoidable, and it will continue at that level due the accumulation of gases in the atmosphere (Solomon 2009). That is not, in fact, the case. About 40% of Americans live at or near the coast. With that has come an increase in severity and frequency of storms, heat waves, wildfires and heavy rains. Climate Change Climate change is a problem that we have been and are currently experiencing. Did you know that Climate change is affecting people all around the world? The above short essay topics on global warming covers the various far reaching effects of climate change on the earth’s ecosystem. Psychological Responses to Global Climate Change “Climate change is not ‘a problem’ waiting for ‘a solution.’ It is an environmental, cultural, and political phenomenon which is reshaping the way we think about ourselves, our societies and humanity’s place on Earth” (Hulme, 2009, xx). Yet that interference would simply be raising global mean temperatures from those of the last Ice Age to those that prevailed in modern times prior to industrialization. This chain of events is known as the albedo … Here is an example of a climate change essay with all the necessary information about it, facts, and conclusions. 2217 Earth and Engineering Sciences Building, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802 Examples of the power projections are political power, diplomacy, economic, Abstract: If climate changes naturally, then why should we be concerned about the climate change taking place today? One of the issues is that environmental research is changing at a breathtaking pace, so it is easy to use outdated data to make your point.. We hear about the changing levels of CO2 in our atmosphere and the Earth’s population contribution to the rise of it. Contact Us, Privacy & Legal Statements | Copyright Information These climate patterns play an important role in shaping natural ecosystems, and the human economies and cultures that depend on them. In short, because the future of the planet is on the line. But before you start writing, you should learn some essential information about climate change, understand controversial moments about it, research different ways to prevent it. Changes that can happen in the environment could be how cold is the … Volcanoes release tiny particles made of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere. This phenomenon affects both national security and human security across the world. Yet, in spite of the evidence at hand, climate change remains the toughest, most intractable political issue we, as a society, have ever faced. The John A. Dutton e-Education Institute is the learning design unit of the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences at The Pennsylvania State University. In the United States, the amount of greenhouse gas emissions has held steady since 1990–even though our economy and our population has grown. The concept of climate change has been around for quite a while. After all, it is today’s young generations who will pay the price if we neglect our duty to minimize the effects of climate change – and we will not go far in fulfilling that responsibility unless we engage young people in a meaningful way. The College of Earth and Mineral Sciences is committed to making its websites accessible to all users, and welcomes comments or suggestions on access improvements. Authors: Michael Mann, Professor of Meteorology, Department of Meteorology, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University. It has caused much damage to people and the environment, by temperatures rising and natural disasters. Climate change is the seasonal changes for a long period of time in the world. Creating the Perfect Essay on Climate Change or Any Environmental Topic Probably weather and the changes. The world continues to spin and spin, and we’ve always heard about the condition of the climate. Perhaps it is something worth doing something about. However, climate change is one of the unpleasant surprise that can be credited to the degraded acts towards the environment due to deforestation, burning of fossils and fuels, industrialization and many more. That is not, in fact, the … The Earth’s temperature has been rising over the years. The Pennsylvania State University © 2020. National security is a nation that the government, along with the legislation, should protect the state and citizens against different kinds of “national” crises through different power projections. My attempt to explain will certainly fail to an extent. Figure 1.1: Polar bears walking on melting ice. It has caused much damage to people and the environment, by temperatures rising and natural disasters. “I turn my life upside-down, start biking to work, plant a big garden, turn down the thermostat so low I need the Jimmy Carter signature cardigan, Climate change is a change in global or regional climate patterns. Vector borne diseases, are one of the most known diseases that can be credited to climate change. Is it hopeless to stop climate change? And we’re seeing warming greater than the global average on land and in waters. Someone asked me to send over my “quick paragraph” on why we should consider climate change a real and dangerous problem. Why should we care? Brian Gaudet, Assistant Research Professor, Department of Meteorology, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University. Factors like, globalization and urbanization can be contributed to such changes. Policy making therefore needs to address some of the most sensitive and pressing issues in this regard. Because rainforests are incredible. Swedish scientist, Svante Archenius was the first scientist to study the effect of CO2 on climate. Rapid departures from that climate would likely exceed the adaptive capacity that we and other living things possess, and cause significant consequent disruption in our world. But, there is actually a difference between weather and climate. Essays; Environmental Sciences; Examining Evidence Of Climate Change Environmental Sciences Essay. Whereas “climate is the usual weather, population growth. However, adapting to changes that are taking place on timescales of decades is far more challenging. As Earth heats up, people across the globe are experiencing more intense rainstorms, severe droughts, powerful tropical cyclones, and extreme heat waves. One misconception is that the threat of climate change has to do with the absolute warmth of the Earth. Volcano eruptions can really affect climate, because when it erupts it spews out more than just lava and ash. This is not to say that there hasn’t been progress. Who knows what it can cause in the future. The area ultimately flooded would be considerably larger than that currently projected to flood due to the human-caused elevation of CO2 that has taken place so far. Three different outcomes that surround the topic climate change comes from our human activities, environment changes, and human health issues. The ability to adapt, mitigate and reduce carbon emissions will be decisive to preserve the world for future generations. It is a problem that world leaders need to take more seriously, and try to get more people involved to help better the environment. Why we must urgently act on climate change. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) defines climate change as “A change in the state of the climate that can be identified (e.g by using statistical tests) by changes in mean and/or the variability of its properties and that persists, Climate change is one of the most important challenges of humankind in this century. Mark Serreze National Snow and Ice Data Center . Why is the Arctic So Sensitive to Climate Change and Why Do We Care? Sail Bhattacharya, Incident Response Plan And A Disaster Recovery, Fear Is The Main Reasons For Decision Making As Fear, Cyberbullying 's Hold On Today 's Society, Analysis Of Warren Smith And Orlando's Condition Of Extreme Melancholy, Company Analysis : Renaissance Re Holding, Effective Methods For Infection Prevention, Similarities Between Victor And The Monster. Climate change is a problem that we have been and are currently experiencing. Climate can change if there is a change in the amount of solar energy that gets to the Earth. Climate change is a serious threat … It affects everyone who lives on this earth every day and, Climate Change Around the World An animated journey through the Earth's climate … One reason that climate change is happening is that the earth is always in orbit so the climate is always changing. What happens if we do nothing to stop climate change? 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