About Climate Change

There are natural disasters that could potentially threaten our planet in the future but may not be immediate threats. One example of this is climate change, but it can be prevented. It is a threat that people should recognize and we need to prepare for it. The first step to being able to prepare for climate change is to understand what is causing it. The next step would be to look at the affects it can have to the world now and the damage it can cause 20 to 30 years from now if it is not addressed. Another step would be to understand the benefits to fighting climate change besides preventing the negative affects it will have. The final step in preparing for climate change is to understand what must be done by looking at possible solutions to the problem.

Causes of Climate Change

Understanding what causes climate change is important to comprehending why it is a threat to our future. One cause for climate change is a natural process called the greenhouse effect, which allows the Earth to retain heat. According to the causes of climate change page on the EPA website, the greenhouse effect is the process that allows the Earth to balance the energy it receives from the Sun. The Earth can reflect or absorb the sunlight, which the absorbed energy is then released into the atmosphere in the form of heat (EPA). This allows for the Earth to remain warm or cool enough to be inhabitable for life.

According to the EPA there are greenhouse gases such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, and methane that absorb the energy and “act like a blanket, making Earth warmer than it would otherwise be”. This would mean that the Earth would be too warm if there is an excess of one of those gases. According to Europa, the gases most responsible for climate change are carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. Burning fossil fuels, cutting down forests, increasing livestock farming, using fertilizers containing nitrogen, and using fluoridated gases can cause those three gases to increase in the atmosphere (Europa). These causes for the increase in greenhouse gases are all human related, which means we are responsible for speeding up the process for rising temperatures.

The Current and Future Affects

There are affects that we are facing and we will face with the increased amounts of greenhouse gases. According to the atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases page on the EPA website, carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere has increased from 280 ppm (parts per million) in the 1700’s to 401 ppm in 2015. This problem then leads to increased temperatures because carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gases. According to NASA, the global temperature has increased by 1.1 degrees Celsius since the late 1800’s. 2016 was the warmest year globally on record with about an increase of .1-.12 degrees Celsius from 2016, although the El Niño played a role in that (McGrath, 2017). According to McGrath (2017), 15 of the 16 warmest years on record have been since 2001.

The increase in carbon dioxide levels can be attributed to the industrial revolution with factories and eventually cars emitting carbon dioxide. The increased global temperature leads to faster melting of glaciers around the world. According to Visser (2015), approximately 30 inches of ice thickness was lost in 2015 with this being two times the rate in the 1990’s and three times the rate in the 1980’s. It is estimated 90 percent of the glaciers in the European Alps will be gone by the end of the century (Visser, 2015). If most of the glaciers in the European Alps are gone by 2100, then other glacier systems may be at risk.

The glacier problem then leads to rising sea levels, which threaten coastal regions and increases severe storms.

According to the NOAA, sea levels are 2.6 inches higher than the average in 1993 and sea levels rise an eighth of an inch every year. This may not seem like a lot but it adds up over several years. Weather is affected as well with nuisance flooding increasing by 300-900 times since the 1960’s (NOAA). Other examples include heat waves being three times more than the long-term average in 2012, rate of water loss being two times the long-term average, heavy downpours being 30 percent higher than the average from 1901-1960, and increased hurricane strength (globalchange.gov). These weather-related problems increasing from climate change is costing money because of the damage that is caused by severe weather.

Benefits to Combating Climate Change

There are many benefits to combating climate change besides preserving our planet for future generations, although it is the most important benefit. One benefit is it will save money by not having the costs involved with increased severe weather. Another benefit would be better health with less money being spent on illnesses caused by pollution. An example of this is China having a $63 tax on per ton of carbon dioxide for companies, which reduced emissions by 17 percent and it cut illnesses related to coal pollution in the country (Porter, 2014).

This shows reducing greenhouse gas emissions can potentially reduce illnesses caused by pollution.

Lowering the number of droughts is beneficial as well because it will save money on transporting food and water. Droughts are very costly because there is limited water to drink and to raise crops, which then needs both to be transported into the region so people do not starve or dehydrate. It would also save money on population relocation from warm regions that are becoming uninhabitable, i.e. the Middle East.

There are economic benefits to fighting climate change as well with more jobs and boosting the economy. According to Hirtenstein (2016), employment from solar energy grew 12 percent faster than overall job creation in the U.S. In 2015, clean energy was responsible for employing 8.1 million people worldwide (Hirtenstein, 2016). It is important to point out that clean energy jobs have 9 different industries including solar photovoltaic, liquid biofuels, wind energy, solar heating/cooling, solid biomass, biogas, hydropower, geothermal energy, and CSP. This shows that clean energy has potential economic benefits, which would help to combat climate change as well.

It would also be beneficial to be less dependent on fossil fuels and therefore fossil fuel rich nations. This is because there may be less need for military spending to protect countries with fossil fuels so the natural resources every country is dependent on are safe. The last benefit would involve technological advancements made from investing in researching ways to combat climate change. This is similar to any other times in history society set their minds to achieving a goal. Two examples of this would be technological advancements because of the world fighting the nazis in World War II or from the U.S. getting to the moon.

Solutions to the Problem

Climate change is a problem caused by the greenhouse gases that are being pumped into the atmosphere from man made causes. Being aware of the problem is good but figuring out how to fix it is even more important. One possible solution that was mentioned earlier is a tax on carbon dioxide emissions, which encourages companies to lower their emissions. The problem with this is it is more of a band aid, which means it can help the problem. It will not solve climate change without a proper alternative fuel source. Another solution would be to invest even more into researching alternative fuel sources or improving current clean energy.

This would allow scientists to have the funding they need to research ways to create energy that is comparable or better than fossil fuels. Another solution would be to use multiple clean energy sources to power everything that coal, gas, and oil currently powers. This would mean using a combination of solar energy, wind energy, or any other sources scientists discover. Nuclear energy could also be a part of this but figuring out how to properly dispose of nuclear waste would be important. There are many solutions to the problem of climate change but it will require action from everybody in order to lower greenhouse gas emissions.

References

https://www.epa.gov/climate-change-science/causes-climate-change

https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indicators-atmospheric-concentrations-greenhouse-gases

https://ec.europa.eu/clima/change/causes_en

http://nca2014.globalchange.gov/highlights/report-findings/extreme-weather

Hirtenstein, A. (2016, May 25). Clean Energy Jobs Surpass Oil Drilling for First Time in U.S. Retrieved from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-25/clean-energy-jobs-surpass-oil-drilling-for-first-time-in-u-s

McGrath, M. (2017, January 18). Climate change: Data shows 2016 likely to be warmest year yet. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-38652746

https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-noaa-data-show-2016-warmest-year-on-record-globally

http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/sealevel.html

Porter, E. (2014, September 23). The Benefits of Easing Climate Change. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/24/business/economy/the-hidden-benefits-of-mitigating-climate-change.html?_r=0

Visser, N. (2015, August 3). World’s Glaciers Melting At Fastest Rate Since Record-Keeping Began. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/glaciers-melting-fastest-rate_us_55bf7090e4b06363d5a2a494