Since man has walked the Earth the planet has been increasingly exploited for resources deemed useful. These exploitations have culminated over the last two-hundred years since the industrial revolution, resulting in Climate Change. A large contributor to the propagation of Climate Change is the belief that it is not harmful, because this idea creates complacency. Many studies counter this opinion, such as the National Climate Assessment which has cited rising temperatures, changes in precipitation patterns, and loss of Arctic ice to occur (USGCRP). The prevention of these events are of the utmost importance, but those who look the other way suspend progress. Without changing our practices, the state of our environment will only grow worse, and will increase the severity of warming, sea level rise, and propagation of diseases. Through extensive research and a careful selection of sources, this essay will prove, beyond any reasonable doubt, that Anthropogenic Climate Change is desecrating the planet we call home.

The source of nearly all Climate Change effects is warming caused by the greenhouse gases we humans produce, such as carbon dioxide and chlorofluorocarbons. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA, has been called upon by the United States government to investigate changes in the climate (Expenditures Report). According to NASA, since 1880 the average global temperature has risen 1.4-degrees Fahrenheit (NASA). To many, 1.4 degrees is considered to be insignificant. Consider this, the average temperature during the most recent ice age was only five to nine degrees cooler than today (NASA). The 1.4-degree increase in temperature is average, meaning that some places still have the potential to become cooler. For this warming trend to occur, every place that cools must be balanced out by another that warms, and the warming must be enough to offset the cooling by a 1.4-degree margin. This becomes an issue when extremes develop in agricultural areas, particularly in lesser developed regions. For example, maize, which occupies the majority of the global market share at eighty percent is produced mostly in lower income countries is threatened by a warming globe (FAOSTAT, qtd in Tripathi). Recently, an inspection of over 20,000 maize yields in Africa revealed that, "for every degree above 30  C, the grain yield of maize was reduced by 1 -- 1.7% under optimal rain fed and drought conditions" (Lobell et al., qtd in Tripathi). Other sources of food are impacted as well, such as fish. Damaging fish reserves especially affects poorer communities that depend primarily on the animal for sustenance (Tripathi). With oceans warming, many fish will more to deeper, cooler waters to maintain their required temperatures (Tripathi). This will negatively impact local fisherman who do not have the equipment to fish in deeper waters. Coral reefs also need very specific temperatures to thrive. When water is heated, or cooled, it is shown to lead to the death of coral reefs (Sandin 7). These corals are home to many types of undersea life, such as fish, lobsters, clams, and seahorses (NOAA). Although warming waters can harm many types of undersea life, they create an environment quite conducive to algal growth, which can lead to an algal bloom. Algal blooms increase "problems such as dissolved oxygen stress conditions, incidence of disease, parasites, competitors, predators and invasive species" which harm fish populations (Johann et al., qtd in Tripathi). Studies suggest that reefs with less human interaction are more resilient to the coral diseases (Sandin 7).

Hotter temperatures can also affect humans directly. For example, "According to the CDC, extreme heat events result in more deaths annually than all other catastrophic weather events combined (Krueger 80). Air conditioning does well to protect us, especially the elderly who are the most vulnerable, from the heat. When warming periods spike energy demand, and put power companies under high stress, power outages are likely to transpire. Without the ability to regulate indoor temperature, prolonged periods of extreme heat can cause death (Ostro et al., qtd in (USGCRP). The catch-22 is the interconnectedness of these systems, agriculture, water, and energy. For instance, in 2011 through 2012 there were severe droughts and above average temperatures. The demand for power rose as individuals consumed more to cool their homes. To meet demand, more water was drawn to generate the extra electricity. The higher temperatures led to faster evaporation which even further stretched the supply of water. Farmers in drought areas then more heavily relied on irrigation techniques to compensate. Finally, depleted rivers nearly forced power plants to suspend their operation (USGCRP). This situation clearly shows that heatwaves caused by Climate Change can impact a multitude of entities. One of the solutions implemented in 2013 by Los Angeles was the application of "cool roofs" to new residences (Krueger 80). The new roofs were designed to be more reflective and helped to reduce the "urban heat island" effect, in turn, lowering the occurrence of heat related deaths and improving air quality (Krueger 80-81). Simple solutions such as more energy efficient roofs can save energy, money, and reduce the impact on the environment.

Since 1880 we have already witnessed ocean levels increase by eight inches (NASA). While some sources suggest the potential for even more, NASA believes that the warming we are causing to the planet has potential to raise global oceanic levels by as much as four feet by the end of the century (NASA). According to the Costal Challenges website, nearly 44 percent of the world's population live in coastal areas. Many seaside areas regularly experience flooding due to earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters. New York city and much of Florida are such areas. When Hurricane Sandy hit there were massive losses; 43 people perished, 2 million people went without power for days, and almost 90,000 buildings flooded, these numbers are strictly representative of NYC (Klaus 40). This single disaster cost the city and its citizens around 65 billion dollars (Munich Re, qtd in Klaus 40). Experts have decided that it would be more economic to build defenses from flood surges than pay the price of rebuilding after such a catastrophe. While it is seemingly more effective to build flood barriers, it is no inexpensive task. Estimates for protective barriers around New York City are to the tune of 20 billion dollars (Associated Press, qtd in Klaus 45). This money will ultimately come from tax payers. The flooding that caused a majority of these damages will only worsen as a result of Anthropogenic Climate Change. 

Florida is not only a peninsula, but with the smallest difference from its highest point to its lowest, it is the flattest average region in the United States. Because of this, the impact of rising seas is very dangerous and has been vigorously tracked. Since 2006, the occurrence of tide induced flooding in Florida has risen by more than 400 percent (Wdowinski). Also, around 2.4 million Floridians live within four feet of their high tide lines (Strauss). To further the seriousness of matters, because of Florida's location, sea level rise around Florida is expected to be above the global average (Wdowinski). This not only means making preperatoins for cataclismic events sooner, but with a higher degree of assurance. These events are able to be mitigated, if not entirely prevented. The impact we humans have on the situation is noticeable, "observed change in weather and climate reflect the influence of anthropogenic climate change" (Hay). 

The problem of sea level rise is far worse in poorer nations as their plights often go unheard. The former President of Kiribati, Anote Tong, has bought land in Fiji as an "insurance policy", for what he calls, 'migration with dignity'" (Robison). Mary Robinson, a former President of Ireland and United Nations High Comissioner of Human Rights, spoke of a tragedy that occurred in Malawi, a country located in the southeast of Africa, "There was an unprecedented flooding in the country, it covered about a third of the country, over 300 people were killed, and hundreds of thousands lost their livelihoods." The people of Malawi payed a disproportional price for the actions of the global society. The average carbon dioxide footprint of a Malawian is about 80 kilograms per year (Robinson). Compare this to the standard American who emits well over 17 metric tons in the same time (Robinson). As Americans, not only are we causing this, but we are not even suffering the full effect. The rest of humanity is paying the price for our insatiable greed for further development. 

Diseases are expected to spread as a direct result of our environmental actions. The warming of the globe opens opportuinites for diseases to thrive in places where they were once eridicated. In 1998 major outbreaks of "blue tongue" disease spread across mainland Europe. The disease was first recorded in Northern Europe in 2006; the appearance of blue tongue occurred during the hottest summer on record for the area and after ten years of abnormal warmth (Mack 27-28). "Diseases are [an example] of serious, intertwined global-scale challenges spawned by the accelerating scale of human activity" (Walker et al., 2009, qtd in Mack 31). The planet has become incredibly interconnected over the last century. Transportation such as international flight brings animals, people, and microbes in unprecedented ways (Mack 31). Initially, this would be of little concern as most bacterium cannot actually cause disease in their correlated hosts this is in part "because microbes are often constrained geographically or seasonally by complex ecological relationships with their hosts, vectors, and surrounding environments (Mack 35). However, this is no longer the case, our travel and desecration of the environment has potential to eliminate the natural constraints on pathogens enabling giving them a larger area of influence (Mack 35). Weather has in fact already played prominent roles in the spread of parasites. The Irish Potato Famine was facilitated by an extended period of cool rainy weather from 1845 to 1847 (Money, 2006, qtd in Mack 58). This famine resulted in the deaths of over one million people and caused the migration of one million more (Vurro et al., 2010, Mack 58). 

Even with the ever mounting proof that the changing climate will have a severe negative impact, there are those who work to deny this evidence. "Town Hall", a notoriously biased news cite has shared the article, "5 Scientific Reasons Global Warming Isn't Happening" by John Hawkins. While the general objective of this article is to disprove global warming and climate change, a specific point made is, "Arctic is up 50% since 2012." This assertion is crucial as it is counter to the respected claim that the ice is disappearing due to the warming of the planet and contributing to the rising of the oceans. In Hawkins writing, he conveniently fails to mention that this is still the sixth lowest accumulation of ice on record, coming in at over one million square kilometers of lower than average (Foley). The addition of fifty percent is no reason to believe that our actions are without consequence. Not only is Arctic ice down, it is also changing. We are now observing more first year ice formation (Foley). First year ice melts far more rapidly than "multi-year" ice (Meier, qtd in Foley). Even if ice returns, or seems to increase, we are at no less, in fact, likely more, danger than before. 

Another counterargument comes from Tim Worstall whose article can be found in Forbes. He states that he is generally in agreement that climate change is occurring, but does not know the severity. Worstall's article largely focuses on "climate sensitivity." He suggests that if our sensitivity lies in the margin of "0.1 oC then we've precisely nothing at all to worry about and we can start burning as much coal and petrol as we like" (oC is in reference to "degrees Celsius"). This is simply not the case; we have already experienced warming above the point of "0.1" degrees Celsius; we are currently more than eight times that amount. Since 1880 temperatures have risen by 0.87 degrees Celsius (NASA). Wostall's message seems to be one of passive acceptance. The only way to truly know what our climate sensitivity is, is to continue polluting the earth with our greenhouse gases and see firsthand the level of our impact. If we intend to wait to discover what our climate sensitivity is, we could create irreversible damage to our planet. Surely Worstall is not suggesting this, but he does create an environment in which his writing can be misinterpreted into allowing such a conclusion.

 A common argument is that our planet frequently goes through natural changes and that humans causing the climate change is no different. Our planet has in fact changed dramatically in the course of its billions of years of existence, such as several ice ages. These changes usually arrive slowly and last for quite a long time, as much as 50,000 years (History). For about the last 10,000 years the earth has been abnormally stable. During this time of stability, civilization as we know it has come to fruition (Rockstrom et al., qtd in Mack). Modern man has no experience with a climate that is generally different from the one we currently inhabit; we have no idea what to expect. The issue is that we are causing the changes, disturbing the delicate balance that has allowed humans to thrive. Now with humans as the main driver of the changing climate, we have seen fluctuations occur at a far more rapid pace, preventing time for adaptation. Additionally, when changes happened in the past, we were not there to endure them. There were not seven billion people all with needs of nutrition, housing, and medicine. Now there are and the changing of the climate is not in their best interest. 

The great levels of carbon dioxide emission by modern man have brought on the warming of our climate. The warming of our climate causes issues for agriculture, power generation, coastal populations, disease control, and much more. The destruction of infrastructure, decimation of our environment, and most importantly, loss of human life is far too important to disregard the impact of anthropogenic climate change. Still, some choose to ignore the apparent signs and maintain uneducated stances, these have been addressed. The end of ignorance is education. If people equip themselves with knowledge in defense of the environment, we can improve the health of our planet. At one time the argument was of whether or not climate change was occurring, indisputable evidence has conquered that idea. The next challenge is proving that our actions are not only damaging but that we have the ability to change. Small steps have already been made, establishing limits on carbon emissions from vehicles, switches to green energy production, and protecting life giving ecosystems; but these are not enough, Earth is still suffering the consequences of our greed. If we do not adjust priorities, and adjust them quickly, we may cause irreversible damage to our only home.

"We have a single mission, to protect and hand on the planet to the next generation." 

-Francis Hollande, President of France (Matthews)

