Climate Change and How It Affects Us
Climate change has been an ongoing issue since around the 19th century when greenhouse gases were first identified. Rising temperatures are detrimental for every organism living on this Earth, whether we decide to recognize it or not. Ice caps are melting, wildfires are spreading, weather patterns are changing, and our ozone layer is deteriorating more and more everyday. Those are just a few examples of what climate change has in store for us and our fellow organisms if action is not taken to slow this detrimental process down.
NASA has been a big part in monitoring global warming and how climate change is affecting temperatures. This map shows a 30-year difference and spikes in temperatures across the globe. The rate of change increases every year. People tend to push it aside, assuming that the problem will resolve itself or that it’s no big deal. However, our planet is burning up. Record high temperatures are set every year and it is only predicted to increase:
At the rate in which climate change is happening, these are the global predicted temperatures. Temperatures like this cause a lot more than just sweat and higher air conditioning bills; prolonged droughts, weather pattern changes, wildfires, hurricanes, floods, and low air quality are just some short- term side effects of what this would do to us. Long-term effects have yet to be discovered since scientists have only been studying climate change for so long. Some predicted long-term effects include a decrease in water sources, melted sea ice, an increase in heat waves, and heavy amounts of precipitation (USGS).
This time lapse of global warming across the globe gives a better visual of how rapidly this became a major problem. As the world became more industrialized and more fossil fuels were being burned, more greenhouse gases are emitted into our atmosphere. As population increases, there will be a higher demand for manufactured products, and this cycle is just predicted to keep increasing until the Earth is no longer able to sustain life.
In order to spread awareness, rather than just watching a news broadcast and hearing about climate change, some authors use their talent and way of words to draw people to really visualizing what would realistically happen if we don’t attempt to slow this process down. In the book The Uninhabitable Earth by David Wallace-Wells, he explains, in detail, what the human mind doesn’t immediately connect with climate change. Each chapter is a different event that is caused by climate change; “Doomsday”, “Heat Death”, “The End of Food”, “Climate Plagues”, “Unbreathable Air”, “Permanent Economic Collapse”, “Perpetual War”, “Poisoned Oceans”, and “The Great Filter”. Most people don’t realize that these are the problems that come with the broad spectrum of Climate Change effects, problems inside of a problem, per se. This book is an excellent wake-up call for society to step in and start trying to prevent the progression of global warming. In a matter of a few decades, the human race as we know it could go extinct, and that is what people are failing to see. The climate would be too hot for agriculture or even to sustain food for livestock. The preexisting knowledge of the food chain from elementary school is proof that this means we would run out of food. Wallace does not hold back and has no filter when saying that the Earth and its inhabitants are in deep trouble if action isn’t taken soon. He explains how the air will become unbreathable and coastline cities will become the next Atlantis. The air could become so hot that humans could no longer bear it, we are animals that must cool down periodically otherwise we will overheat. New conflicts will arise between countries over resources and who to put the blame of the end of the world on. Global output will significantly decrease causing another Great Depression except it’s ten times worse. The ocean and other great bodies of water will become toxic to the touch, yet another way that humans and animals cool down that will be taken away. People tend to push fears and dilemmas to the back of their heads until it’s too late, and this is exactly what is happening with the issue of climate change.
Yet another book about climate change proves just that; humans will think it isn’t their problem and others will solve it, so they push it to the back of their head until it is far too late. Don’t Even Think About It by George Marshall explains and researches how people hear what they want to hear, and the rest gets ignored. He did research about how we know climate change is real, however we choose to believe that it isn’t. The way some people advocate for it more, while others try to “debunk” a “made up theory,” that is in fact very much real drives us apart. Climate change is something that all of humanity should be working together on resolving. There is some damage that is irreversible at this point, but we can still work together to slow it down as long as we stop fighting against each other. Marshall stated how sometimes science that is published can’t even be entirely reliable since media companies publish what wants to be heard. If they publish something that nobody will like or listen to, it will fail. Some “science” may be altered or even completely false to fit the wants of the public and gain publicity. He also did experiments with both sides of the brain to grasp climate change. Through evolution, our brains faced previous challenges, but it just can’t entirely grasp the climate concept yet with both brains and this is why people still rebuttal climate change.
In the article Do Americans Understand That Global Warming Is Harmful To Human Health? Evidence From A National Survey, the authors follow what George Marshall states above, people can’t grasp how serious climate change is. They conducted a survey and concluded from the results that most people believe that climate change will only affect the Earth minorly. According to the authors, “In 2011, a nationally representative survey found that 25% to 33% of Americans said that if nothing is done to address global warming, over the next 20 years there will be ‘many more’ deaths and injuries from a variety of causesdincluding flooding, hurricanes, severe winter storms, malnutrition due to spikes in food prices, wildfires, and heat strokes. The remainder said either there would be ‘a few more,’ ‘no more,’ or ‘fewer’ deaths and injuries if nothing is done to address global warming, or in most cases, they responded ‘don’t know.’” The majority of the United States isn’t prepared, nor do they intend on becoming prepared, in the case of a climate-change disaster. They believe that this is a problem of the future and will not affect them or that there is nothing they can do about it regardless. However, if the 7 billion humans roaming the Earth’s surface continue to act the way they do with no intentions of changing their ways or promoting awareness towards climate change, this problem will no longer be out of their lifetime, but in the very near future. Climate change affects are approaching entirely faster than what people seem to believe, and this is why climate change is becoming such a serious issue.
Something major that may increase the spread of awareness for climate change is social media posts. If influencers or celebrities post something advocating for it, many of their followers will side with them and begin to advocate as well. Many public figures are huge activists for climate change action and have donated millions to organizations working hard to put a halt to climate change and repair what we have destroyed. One big influential figure is Leonardo DiCaprio, for example. He is a big environmentalist who encourages his fans to do the same. Like Marshall says in his book, people listen to what they want to hear. If their favorite actor or singer is advocating, they will likely follow.
Nowadays, there are many misconceptions about climate change and everything about it. An article by John Cook explains why many people may be uninformed or misinformed. Cook goes into detail, following what Marshall researched in his Don’t Even Think About It book, about how anything a public figure says will most likely be taken up by their following. While some celebrity activists use this to be beneficial, others end up becoming detrimental. For instance, former president Donald Trump constantly tweeted how climate change was all a hoax. People who supported Trump would, of course, back him up and follow his opinion, even if there was science to back it up. The supporters of these opinions stick to the way they feel. Now, President Joe Biden is working on a Green New Deal to help with our ongoing climate change crisis. However, supporters of Trump will still hold their opinion strongly and stubbornly, just because Trump said so and choose to now attack Biden and his plans about saving our planet. Cook also mentions how the school systems fail to teach the real reasons why our planet is burning up. According to Cook, “Nearly half of U.S. teenagers believe that stopping rockets from punching holes in the ozone layer would reduce global warming” when that isn’t the case at all. It’s the every-day events that will reduce it, and it’s more than just putting your water bottles in the recycling can. Although recycling does in fact play a part in reducing pollution which reduces climate change, that isn’t what is going to determine whether our planet goes up in flames or not.
NASA has been working on finding a way to effectively reduce climate change in the very near future. Carol Rasmussen wrote an article on the device that will be used to detect high emission of carbon and other greenhouse gases that are detrimental to our environment and atmosphere. According to Rasmussen, “NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California is providing the instrument that will enable a nonprofit organization called Carbon Mapper to pinpoint and measure methane and carbon dioxide (CO2) point-sources from space.” This device is projected to launch in 2023. It will help to determine the locations that are the main causes of greenhouse gas emissions and help put a stop to, or at least significantly reduce them. NASA’s team has been working hard this past decade to become a team and brainstorm ways that will benefit every inhabitant of the Earth and ensure life as we know it. The carbon mapper is just the beginning of hopefully the end of a crisis that has been ongoing for decades.
Climate change is not a new topic, nor will it go away any time soon. People around the globe must come together in order to stop it. The human race and the Earth itself are at risk for complete deterioration. People must begin to see the severity of this situation and start acting upon it. If we all play our part, we, as well as the Earth, will be able to continue our journey of life for millions of years to come. It starts with each individual being.