Climate change has been on the back burner of society’s mind since the 70s, but it has become increasingly harder to ignore. Just within this past year, we watched what used to be once in a century hurricanes rip through southern states three separate times. Two took place within two weeks even. We’ve watched fires ravage California inflicting an estimated $400 billion in economic loss, while deadly and historic floods across the Midwest have left entire towns stranded and displays an ominous preview of future climate change impacts. The term has been in use for decades, but it has taken mounting environmental and weather-related events here at home and around the world, global attention from politicians, scientists and celebrities, and credible predictions of jaw-dropping consequences to bring the point home. Thankfully, a heightened sense of urgency has finally risen to society’s surface.
I wanted to finish my plant blog on this topic. I’m sorry that it’s not quite as cheery as house plants, nor as trendy as succulents. But it should be trending. It should be in the absolute forefront of public discussion. I shouldn’t still be having conversations with fellow classmates about whether human activity is causing climate change. And our country shouldn't still be discussing whether it's even real or not. But here we are.
So what is climate change again?
The term global warming was first thrown out and then quickly roped back in as not to seem so “extreme” and “leftist.” In reality, that is precisely what is happening. Our earth is heating up. Quickly. The hottest year on record since 1880 was 2016, according to NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), while five of the warmest years on record have taken place since 2010. This isn’t some natural cycle in Earth’s geological timeline either. It is a defining issue threatening food production, coastal towns and public health. Not to mention species extinction. For instance, have you heard about the frogs? A Researcher from Macquarie University in Australia published a study that examined recent extinctions within vulnerable groups of animals –reptiles and amphibians—and found alarming results. Approximately 200 frog species have already gone extinct since the 1970s, and hundreds more are following close behind. Ecologists fear that the planet is literally in a mass extinction ---the sixth in the long history of life on the Earth. And to put it into perspective, amphibians hopped right out of the extinction of the dinosaur with no apparent effect. Earth is so bad now though that even these hardy creatures can’t handle it. So that’s the frogs. Which are feared to be an indication of the biodiversity loss that birds, fish and mammals will also experience. But back to the atmosphere. Discussing animal extinction for too long is a sure-fire way to make one depressed. So let’s move on, shall we?
Basically, atmospheric greenhouse gases act as an insulation blanket around the Earth keeping average temperatures at a livable temp for humans and animals. Carbon dioxide is one of these gases and as humans have burned fossil fuels carbon dioxide, is released into our atmosphere. Increase the CO2 (and other GHGs) and you increase Earth’s mean temperature. The United Nation Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) clearly states these three conclusions.
The concentration of GHGs is directly linked to the average global temperature on Earth.
GHG concentration has risen steadily since the Industrial Revolution, along with mean global temperatures.
Carbon dioxide is the most abundant GHG, accounting for about two-thirds.
So far, the planet’s average surface temperature has risen by 1.62 degrees Fahrenheit since the late 19th century, or about 1 degree Celsius. Now that may not seem like such a bad thing. There will be entirely new agricultural zones and what is a few degrees, right?
What’s the Big Deal?
Rising temperatures do more than make our cars unbearably hot and our foreheads sweaty, they’re shrinking Arctic ice sheets. Warming the oceans. Causing glacial retreat. Decreasing snow cover. Rising sea level. Increasing extreme weather events like hurricanes and tornados. Turning our oceans into an acid bath. United Nation Environment’s sixth Global Environment Outlook (2019) report found that we’re entering a realm of climate change that surpasses what we even thought possible. Environmental factors are racing beyond our understanding, and the World Meteorological Organization warns that we’ve stepped into “truly uncharted territory.” Because the thing is, is that this Earth is fragile, and unlike a high school breakup, there isn’t any going back and forth. Once we break up with the Earth, it’s over. There are crucial tipping points for Earth's ecosystems, and once we’ve hurdled past these points, irreversible changes in major ecosystems and the planetary climate system will happen. Alarming evidence suggests some of these points may have already been reached and passed.
Here are five climate change facts I’ve found the most alarming in my research:
There isn’t any scientific debate about the reality of climate change. Through multiple studies, a clear 97 percent of researchers believe global warming is happening and that human activity to the cause.
Climate change will create a refugee crisis: Displacement of people as a direct result isn’t a hypothetical thing. An average of 21.5 billion people have already been forcibly displaced since 2008, according to the United Nations High Commissioner For Refugees. So if we think the U.S. faces a refugee crisis now, just wait. It’s going to get exponentially worse.
Sea levels are rising at their fastest rate in 2,000 years: sea levels have risen primarily due to the added water from melting ice sheets and glaciers, as well as the expansion of sea water as it warms. The current rate is 3.4mm a year. In July 2017, a huge crack in the Larsen C ice shelf gave way and sent a trillion tonne iceberg four times the size of London adrift into the ocean. Melting ice sheets, glaciers and sea ice will impact ocean tides and a profound change in the Earth system. Plus, less ice cover means the Earth will absorb even more sunlight, and so the cliamte change ball continues to roll.
Global flooding could triple by 2030: According to a study from the World Resources Institute, the number of people exposed to flooding each year could triple from 21 million to 4 million by 2030. This would increase the economic costs of flooding from £65 billion to around £340 billion.
Earth could warm by six degrees this century: the planet’s temperature will continue to rise as long as we continue to pump out greenhouse gases. The estimates range from two degrees Celsius to as much as six degrees Celsius.
The latest news – brace yourself
According to the latest report by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), we have 12 years to keep climate change to a maximum of 1.5C. Going even a half degree higher will significantly worsen floods, droughts, extreme heat and poverty for millions of people around the globe. The fate of all coral reefs rests on this half degree difference. Climate change is like a runaway train still on the tracks right now. But it's grinding against the rail-line; in the not too far-off-future we'll lose the ability to control it at all. Cue the mass extinction, billions of dollars in economic loss, and coastal towns had better head for the hills... literally. This report is the latest and most urgent update from the worlds’ leading climate scientists.
Head to NASA’s climate webpage to see some images of change.
So now what?
No longer is climate change a term to be glossed over. It has weight, public health consequences and far-reaching effects on poverty and peoples' way of life. The words now have a voice, an increasingly fearful face and pictures from around the world that bring to life the meaning behind it. We should care because, not to be overly dramatic, but climate change is a threat to civilization as we know it. OK, so yes, there is a serious element of drama when it comes to climate change. It’s like a Shakespeare play, but all of the death and great one-liners hit a little closer to home.
So on this note, spread awareness. Make people care. I believe that is one of the biggest problems facing climate change—an unaware public. People that won’t search out this information. People that have no idea how dire the situation is. If a more significant number of the population understood how serious climate change effects are and that there is a time cap on mitigation, public opinion would hopefully shift from this lukewarm debate we have now to a discussion of needed collective action.
The IPCC report says urgent and unprecedented changes are needed to reach our target. They say it is affordable and feasible though. So let’s step outside our homes (turn the lights off on your way the door), away from the pure joy of our houseplants, and join a movement of caring. A movement that thinks past our own desires and wants as human beings and considers everything else on this planet. Plus, all of the people in poverty because these are the people that will feel climate change the hardest and earliest. Now is the time. The only time, really. We’re one of the first generations that knows climate change is real, happening and that we must change our behavior to mitigate climate change. And we know the ways we could do it too. The question is, when will we act?
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