Simply reading the words “climate change” typically elicits one of two reactions: those who deny the existence of the phenomenon and therefore believe that there is nothing to be done, or those who see the facts of its existence and believe that we must take action. Unfortunately, these reactions stem from the issue being highly politicized. Climate change should not be seen as a political issue, but rather, as scientific fact. There are many studies that provide countless pieces of evidence of this phenomenon. Luckily, there are just as many articles providing a plethora of actions that can be taken to combat this global issue before it is too late.

So, what exactly causes climate change? According to a National Geographic video, a phenomenon known as the greenhouse effect is the main contributor. “Gases in the atmosphere such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and chloro-fluorocarbons let the sun’s light in, but keep some of the heat from escaping like the glass walls of a greenhouse. The more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the more heat gets trapped, strengthening the greenhouse effect and increasing the Earth’s temperature” (Causes and Effects). That being said, modern human activity has increased the production of greenhouse gases and therefore has been a large contributing factor to the warming of the Earth. Common human activities that give off these emissions include “energy production and consumption, agriculture, transport, and ecological processes” (Dow 45). 

One of the biggest arguments against climate change is that the Earth has gone through and will continue to go through temperature fluctuations. While this may be true, the patterns seen from data over the span of 400,000 years ago to present day show that the concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane are at the highest they have ever been. One staggering fact states that “the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide has risen from 315 parts per million (ppm) in the 1950s to just over 388 ppm in 2010” (Dow 38). This is an increase of more than a third since the industrial revolution. These higher concentrations are also heavily correlated with higher global temperatures. In a 136-year period (1880-2016), sixteen of the seventeen warmest years on Earth have occurred since 2001, with the warmest year being 2016 (Shaftel). The warming of the Earth has inevitably lead to problems such as warming oceans, ocean acidification, sea levels rising, glacier retreat, thinning of arctic ice, and an increase in severe weather conditions. 

In response to the increased greenhouse gas emissions, the oceans have absorbed a lot more heat. Since 1969, the top 700 meters of the ocean has warmed by 0.302 degrees Fahrenheit (Shaftel). This rather small temperature change may not seem threatening in any capacity. However, it has a big impact on creatures living in the ocean. With such a rapidly changing temperature, the plants and animals in the ocean must adapt to the new conditions or they will die. “In some parts of the ocean, krill populations have dropped by over 80 percent” (Stoller-Conrad). This once again may not seem like a concern to humanity since we do not consume krill. Nevertheless, all organisms living on Earth, including humans, are interconnected via food chains. If the krill die off, fish that have a diet comprised mostly of krill will most likely decrease in population or go extinct due to their food source being decreased. This will then create a chain reaction of organisms decreasing in population that can eventually reach our sources of food. Another example of this can be seen with the decreasing population of coral. Coral has a mutualistic relationship with algae; coral gives algae a safe and sunny place to live while algae photosynthesizes and provides food for them both. Algae can only photosynthesize in water at certain temperatures. Since there has been an increase in water temperature, the algae have failed to adapt and slowly died off. As a direct result, coral has become weaker as it has lost its main food source. This is why many parts of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia are claimed to be dead. Again, food chains will be affected and eventually impact humans.

Another effect of the warming Earth is the increase in ocean acidification. “Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the acidity of surface ocean waters has increased by about 30 percent” (Shaftel). The ocean warms by absorbing large amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. When carbon dioxide reacts with water, bicarbonate and a hydrogen proton are produced. Concentrations of hydrogen protons are what contribute to acidity. Just like humans, ocean life is very sensitive to acidity. If the ocean’s pH is only slightly off, processes important to life may be affected. For instance, mussels cannot produce their protective shells in more acidic conditions. In another example, due to low pH, coral is incapable of absorbing the calcium carbonate necessary for maintaining their skeletons. In each case, both species will be negatively affected and experience population decreases. A population decrease directly impacts the food chain and can begin to decrease other animal populations which can ultimately affect humans.

A major threat to humanity are the gradually rising sea levels. This is caused primarily by additional water from melting ice sheets and glaciers as well as the expansion of sea water as it warms. The “global sea level rose about 8 inches in the last century. The rate in the last two decades, however, is nearly double that of the last century” (Shaftel). The rate of change is about 3.4 millimeters per year. This undoubtedly leads to major consequences. Islands around the world will be flooded, valuable agricultural land will be lost, cities will be threatened, and low-lying communities will be at risk from storm surges due to stronger windstorms. Already, the USA has lost 72,380 km2 of wetlands while Australia has faced a loss of 29,830 km2 (Dow 68). Los Angeles, New York, Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, Manila, Cairo, and Shanghai are only a few examples of major cities threatened by coastal storms, flooding, erosion, and saltwater invasion into freshwater supplies due to sea levels rising. To put it even more in perspective, “around 40 percent of people live less than 60 miles from the coast… about 145 million people live less than one meter above mean sea level” (Dow 70). The effects of sea levels rising would drastically affect the lives of millions of people living on the coast as there is a potential for the destruction of jobs, decreased quality of life, and an increase in catastrophic storms. According to recent research, “cumulative damages to coastal property across the contiguous United States could top $5 trillion through 2100, says the Environmental Protection Agency” (Orr).

As mentioned before, melting ice sheets and retreating glaciers play a large role in the increase of sea of levels. This is simply due to the increase in temperature melting the ice. The arctic sea ice is declining at a rate of 13.2% per decade (Shaftel). This alarming statistic is potentially detrimental to the Earth. According to The Atlas of Climate Change, “were the Greenland ice cap to melt, it would add an estimated 7 meters to the global sea level” (Dow 68). The drastic consequences of sea levels discussed in the previous paragraph were based on a global mean sea level rise of 1 meter. That being said, 7 meters will only worsen the effects. Unfortunately, “even if greenhouse gas emissions are radically reduced over the next 20 years, because of the huge thermal mass of the oceans, sea levels will continue to rise for centuries” (Dow 68). Melting glaciers affect more than just sea levels and humanity; it affects the lives of animals and vegetation. In Kyrgyzstan, biodiversity stretches through many different climatic habitats from glacier regions to subtropical ecosystems. “[The] glaciers are part of often unique mountain ecosystems. In some places, one can go from a dry desert to lush green pastures in the space of two hours’ drive. Glaciers are driving much of that” says Dr. Stephan Harrison at the University of Exeter in the UK (Stracansky). A direct effect of the glaciers melting is excess water flowing into the soil which then affects vegetation. Furthermore, this affects animals as vegetation is their food source. Again, the food chain can be affected as populations decrease. “Glacial melting can also lead to huge flood as natural dams formed by the ice burst, sending lethal torrents down mountains and destroying entire forests” (Stracansky). The contributions of the melting of glaciers and ice sheets often go unnoticed by humans despite their enormous impacts on the Earth.

One of the most prevalent effects of climate change appears to be the increase in severe weather conditions. Just this year, three rapidly intensified storms have occurred and made landfall: Harvey, Irma, and Maria. An article on Newsweek points out that “Harvey’s maximum rainfall of 51.88 inches barely exceeded that from Tropical Storm Amelia in 1978 [which was 48 inches]” (Reynolds). Although this may be true, it doesn’t mean we can simply disregard the severity of the storm and its links to climate change. Even though it “barely exceeded” a previous tropical storm, it still exceeded it by 3.88 inches and had devastating effects where it made landfall. In addition, Harvey “transitioned from a tropical storm with winds of 45 miles per hour to a Category 3 major hurricane with winds of 125 miles per hour in only 36 hours… CNN meteorologist Dave Hennen labeled Harvey a ‘one-in-1000-years type of event’” (Miller). Storms typically do not go through such rapid changes. Naturally, it happens every once in a while. However, the occurrence of three catastrophic storms of the same intensity in one year is unprecedented. It is important to note that tropical storms and other weather changes will happen regardless of climate change. The increase in temperature and sea levels heavily contributed to the intensity of the hurricane. However, without those two factors, “[that] does not mean Harvey would have not formed, nor does it mean that the flooding would have not occurred, but it does mean it was very likely made worse [by climate change]” (Miller).

Now that the devastating facts and statistics of climate change have been discussed, what can we do to help our Earth? Action is required not only by the government, but also by the citizens of every country. Beginning with the government, the problem of climate change needs to be acknowledged publicly. Although officials are hesitant to do this because they want to avoid panic within their country, it is imperative that they do so. If not, the public will remain in a state of ignorance. On the other hand, if the public is informed and the government works directly with its citizens, more people will be inclined to take initiative to put an end to this dangerous phenomenon. The government should also work with other countries so that everyone in the world can come together and fight this issue. “Lobbying other nations and helping lead them to coalesce around such a proposal should have the highest priority on any government’s foreign policy agenda. Should such a global co-operative solution prove beyond the wit of humankind, the science seems to indicate that [it] is unlikely to have more than two or three generations left to run” (Steadman). The majority of people must be working to better our planet or else we will not be existing on it very soon. This will be most easily accomplished with the influence of major leaders and governments.

Since the government can take a while to implement effective policies, there are many actions that individuals can take. One simple thing everyone can do is reduce their emissions at home. This includes using energy efficient appliances and lights, insulating your walls, turning your heating down, turning the air conditioning up, using water efficiently, increasing use of renewable energy, and being a carbon-conscious shopper. These actions also can lead to long-term financial savings. A common set of actions that we all hear about is reducing, reusing, and recycling. “These [3] actions cut the amount of GHGs emitted during resource extraction or harvest, manufacturing, transport, and disposal, as well as saving energy and reducing pollution” (Dow 102). Another common suggestion we hear about is changing our means of transportation. Transportation is a big part of our lives that also contributes to carbon dioxide emissions. Choosing a more energy-efficient car, reducing mileage by half by combining errands, and carpooling are all ways to save energy and reduce carbon emissions. If your lifestyle doesn’t require that you have a car, you can choose to live car free and “[save] about 2.4 tons of CO2 equivalent per year” (The Most). There is a potential to save 17.6% of the current US total energy use if we change our excessive use of cars (Dow 102). On another note, you can always become active in groups within your community that promote environmental conscientiousness. These groups do not have to be large time commitments or incredibly impactful. Any small action you can take is contributing to a pool of actions taken by everyone else in the world. As small as it may seem to toss a piece of paper in the recycling bin rather than the trash bin, it can make a difference.

It can be seen that climate change is a real and valid problem regardless of your political stance. Even if certain “climate models showing global warming have been wrong over and over” (Hawkins), there are certainly many different trends and correlations that prove the global climate is changing and that we need to take initiative. The rise in global temperature has led to some extreme changes and dangers such as warming oceans, ocean acidification, sea levels rising, glacier retreat, thinning of arctic ice, and an increase in severe weather conditions. Even if we do not see the detrimental impacts of climate change in our lifetime, that does not mean we shouldn’t do anything. This planet isn’t just for our generation; this planet is also for future generations. As environmentalist Jacques Costeau puts it, “every child born has the right to walk on clean grass under a blue sky, breathe fresh air, and drink pure water” (Dow 9). That being said, it is imperative that we all take action before our Earth is at a point of no return.
