Climate Change/Greenhouse Gases

The amount of Carbon Dioxide has been increasing at an alarming rate for the past 800,000 years and is causing the earth’s average temperature to vary. Climate change by definition is the global or regional climate patterns. Keep in mind that weather and climate are two different things. They do correlate with each other, but are not the same thing. Weather is changes we may see or feel outside for example, raining and a cloudy day may lead to cooler temperatures, and sunny clear days lead to higher temperatures. Weather is the daily state of what is happening in the atmosphere, and is different every day whereas the climate describes the average weather over long periods of time usually referred to in years, decades, or centuries. The problem is the Earths climate, which is all the climates around the world averaged together, has been increasing at an alarming rate. In the past 100 years the Earth’s temperature has increased 1 degree, 1 degree doesn’t seem like much but on a big scale it effects weather around the world.

“Global Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation.” NASA, NASA, 5 Feb. 2019, climate.nasa.gov/solutions/adaptation-mitigation/.

What Causes it?

Greenhouse Gases: Essentially, the earth is a greenhouse. The O-zone layer in the atmosphere acts like a blanket to protect our earth. On a nice day you may feel the warmth of the sun when you walk outside, this is the sun’s rays that travel all the way from the sun to the earth. While entering the atmosphere these rays pass through the air until they hit the surface where it is then absorbed and eventually radiated back to the sun. Green house gases come in to the picture by absorbing and trapping the heat from radiating back and as a result the earth’s overall temperature increases.

The Greenhouse gases

-Water vapor: Water in its gas form comes from evaporation, when the water precipitates it works as a cooling method for the earth

-Carbon Dioxide: CO2 can be emitted into the atmosphere through nature, in ways of decaying and other living organisms and also from volcanoes. CO2 can also be emitted by people through car exhaust and factory smoke.

-Methane: Is a natural grass that comes from crops like rice, or it can even just be emitted from different environments like wetlands. It also can come from raising cattle and mining coal

-ozone: This gas is present in the atmosphere and protects the surface from the sun’s rays.

-nitrous oxide: Is another natural gas that comes from the nitrogen cycle, bacteria, and the ocean emit this gas

-chlorofluorocarbons: This gas cannot be found in nature, they come from aerosol sprays, blowing agents for foam and other packaging materials. This breaks down the ozone layer.

“Greenhouse Gases.” EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, www3.epa.gov/climatechange//kids/basics/today/greenhouse-gases.html.

Another theory of global warming is the sun’s patterns, the thought is that as the sun was putting off more rays of sun causing the amount of rays absorbed to decrease, however this theory has since been denied, according to NASA “A series of satellite instruments have measured the energy output of the sun directly. The satellite data show a very slight drop in solar irradiance.” This means the sun has actually done the opposite and is putting off fewer rays than it used to.

How do humans contribute to it

Since the industrial revolution the amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere has increased significantly. Burning fossil fuels for energy became popular during that time and continues to be done today. Fossil fuels are a big contribute to air pollution. Humans contribution to climate change has a lot to do with air pollution, here is a link to one of our previous post about air pollution https://medium.com/evironmental-issuess/air-pollution-70dc19887399

Effect on the Environment

Unfortunately the small change in climate is effect the earth in big ways. The warming of the earth is causing glaciers and ice to melt meaning sea levels will rise and increase the risk of floods. The melting ice also endangers many ice dwelling species like penguins. The increase temperatures also have an effect on migration patterns, causing species to move farther north where it is cooler.

Reporter, Daily Mail. “All at Sea… Polar Bear and Its Cub Drift on Shrinking Ice 12 Miles from Land, but Expert Says They Should Have Survived.” Daily Mail Online, Associated Newspapers, 3 Mar. 2010, www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1254862/All-sea--polar-bear-cub-drift-shrinking-ice-12-miles-land-expert-says-survived.html.

There has either been a major increase in precipitation in spots of the globe while others face a severe drought. The climate change is also known to bleach coral reefs destroying sea life habitats.

CBS News. “Mass Coral Bleaching Hits the Great Barrier Reef — Again.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 15 Mar. 2017, www.cbsnews.com/news/great-barrier-reef-coral-bleaching-again/.

Ways to prevent it

• Use renewable energy when possible! This means solar or wind, it can be costly to get solar panels or wind mills but it is worth it if you are passionate.
• If you can, avoid using your heating or AC in your house, open some windows or bundle up. This is a less costly option.
• Buy energy efficient household appliances, these appliances are made to use energy efficiently. Examples are refrigerators
• Reduce your water waste, this reduces carbon pollution. This means shorter showers or not as ht showers because it takes a lot of energy to heat that water. Turn off water while brushing your teeth.
• Be a vegetarian! or just eat the food you buy, when food goes bad creates methane. Keep in mind energy is used to grow the crops, and the food given to livestock also emits methane.
• Unplug! When you are not using something un plug it, electronics still use energy even if you are not using them.
• Buy LED lightbulbs, these light bulbs are the best light bulb for conserving energy.

What Have we Done to Prevent it so Far

People have come together and created a voice for the earth, many campaigns have taken place concerning this subject. In the UK after a petition of 200,000 signatures was proposed the government created a bill claiming to decrease carbon emissions 60% by 2050. Another popular solution is the Paris agreement, according to unfccc news the “ Paris Agreement requires all Parties to put forward their best efforts through nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and to strengthen these efforts in the years ahead.” Each party books there progress every 5 years.

Sources:

• Dunbar, Brian. “What Is Climate Change?” NASA, NASA, 13 May 2015, www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/stories/nasa-knows/what-is-climate-change-k4.html.
• “National Snow and Ice Data Center.” Climate vs. Weather | National Snow and Ice Data Center, nsidc.org/cryosphere/arctic-meteorology/climate_vs_weather.html.
• “Global Warming Effects.” Global Warming and Climate Change Effects: Information and Facts, 4 Feb. 2019, www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/global-warming-effects/.
• US Department of Commerce, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “How Does Climate Change Affect Coral Reefs?” NOAA’s National Ocean Service, 3 Mar. 2015, oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/coralreef-climate.html.
• McGregor, Helen, et al. “The Industrial Revolution Kick-Started Global Warming Much Earlier than We Realised.” The Conversation, 8 Apr. 2019, theconversation.com/the-industrial-revolution-kick-started-global-warming-much-earlier-than-we-realised-64301.
• Denchak, Melissa. “How You Can Stop Global Warming.” NRDC, 13 Mar. 2019, www.nrdc.org/stories/how-you-can-stop-global-warming.
• Denchak, Melissa. “How You Can Stop Global Warming.” NRDC, 13 Mar. 2019, www.nrdc.org/stories/how-you-can-stop-global-warming.