The Dangers of Climate Change

Everyone knows that change is inevitable.

However, there are some cases where change is horribly negative.

One such case, climate change, is impacting our world in a plethora of ways.

However, many continue to deny the existence of climate change, and others are skeptical of the impact that humans have on it.

There’s no doubt that climate change is real.

According to the National Wildlife Federation, changes in overall world temperature have been closely correlated with the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

2000-2009 was the hottest decade in the past 1300 years, according to the National Resource Defense Council, or NRDC.

Additionally, according to the National Climate Assessment, the world will be eight degrees warmer overall by the year 2100.

Eight degrees may not seem like much, but this change will, and is already, wreaking havoc on our environment.

When the atmosphere is warmer, it can collect and retain more water, leading to higher precipitation in wetter areas and making dry areas drier, according to the NRDC.

This causes severe storms, floods, wildfires, and droughts, which are extremely costly.

According to a study conducted by the United Nations, there have been about 606,000 deaths and a cost of trillions of dollars due to natural disasters worldwide in the past 20 years.

The excessive heat caused by climate change can also cause an increase in the number of illnesses and death.

“More than 150,000 Americans may die by the end of this century as a result of a growing number of excessive heat events caused by climate change.” said the NRDC.

Additionally, climate change can mean extinction for some beloved species of animals.

According to a report published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, animals are often forced to change habitats, food sources, and behaviors.

Animals like koalas, who primarily eat eucalyptus, and polar bears, who hunt on rapidly-melting Arctic sea ice, are in severe danger.

Due to these facts, there’s no doubt that climate change is real, and is negatively affecting our world.

However, the question still remains: Is this the result of humans?

According to the National Climate Assessment, it is.

Humans are the number one cause of climate change, mainly because of carbon pollution caused by burning coal, oil, and gas.

When we burn these fossil fuels, greenhouse gases are trapped in the atmosphere, causing more heat to build up.

Therefore, we can conclude that we have been indirectly harming our world, and thus have the responsibility to work to fix it.

One such way we can do so is by working to implement renewable energy sources to assist with the United States’ immense power need.

It would take roughly .6% of the US’s land to power the entire country with solar panels, according to a report published by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

We can also contact our state’s representatives to persuade them to support environmental protection legislation, work to reduce our energy use, and try to reduce the amount of garbage we throw away.

Change isn’t always good, and with some effort, we can work to reduce the immensely harmful effects of the climate change we’ve caused.

CARTOON: MICHELLE LOPES

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