Climate Change

The Greenhouse Effect, Global Warming, and Climate Change. 

What It Really Means:

Each year the Amazon rainforest is diminishing in size by “nearly one million soccer fields”. The ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica are now melting at a rapid pace. In fact, scientists predict that the melting ice sheets could raise sea levels 27 inches by 2050.

So why is this a problem?

Diminishing rainforests, melting glaciers, and rising sea levels present a very real threat to our planet and livelihood. This is because our planet relies on natural rhythms such as biodiversity and stable ecosystems. Already, scientists are documenting changes that have occurred in the wake of global warming and climate change. For example, insects are diminishing in number. They provide a key link in the ecosystem to pollinate plants and provide a food source for other animals. The loss of the necessary quantity of insects to maintain this ecosystem could halt the ability to grow plants and food in the future.

In recent years, global warming and climate change have moved into the spotlight of both local and international governments. This is intertwined with much discussion about the greenhouse effect.

The greenhouse effect was first documented in 1824. Scientist Joseph Fourier determined that the earth’s atmosphere is responsible for regulating the earth’s temperature. It does this by creating warmth through the trapping of gases. As the sunlight touches the surface of the earth, the energy radiates upwards into the atmosphere. The molecules of the greenhouse gas trap the heat-generated radiation. This means that more heat is generated as the levels of greenhouse gases increase. Without the greenhouse gases trapping heat, the temperature of the earth’s surface would plunge by about 60 Fahrenheit. The greenhouse effect is natural, and it makes our planet livable.

Although the earth's average surface temperatures have been stable for thousands of years, a change is taking place. As modern life has developed, the increasing use of fossil fuels has injected much higher levels of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. In fact, the level of atmospheric carbon dioxide is now three times higher than it was 150 years ago. The depletion of rainforests means that this effect has been further compounded because trees absorb carbon dioxide. Fewer trees mean that even more carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere.

As a result of rising temperatures, large sheets of ice are melting. Scientists are immediately concerned that a rise in the sea-level will displace wildlife and human habitats. Another concern of rising temperatures is the change it creates in the earth’s weather patterns. The earth has started playing to the beat of a different drum.

Climate change describes “the complex shifts now affecting our planet’s weather and climate systems”. As the average surface temperature of the earth rises, weather events become more extreme. This change in weather patterns threatens our planet’s fragile environment as weather events become more severe.

For example, storms are becoming more intense. Greater quantities of rain are falling, which creates floods and landslides. At the same time, drought increases in severity. There is also a loss of water from glaciers. In the past, plants, animals, and humans have depended on the water supply from glaciers. However, as glaciers around the world recede, this integral water supply is at risk. Many plants and animals are also adopting an earlier cycle of flowering and reproduction. Wildlife is becoming displaced as it migrates to cooler temperatures. This activity is disrupting the natural balance and rhythm of our planet.

Global warming and climate change represent the loss of everything that is beautiful about our planet. This is our home, and it is fragile. Let's do what is needed to look after it and to preserve our future.