I’m sure you have all heard someone say that climate change doesn’t exist or that it really isn’t as big of a deal as people make it out to seem. I completely disagree with this mindset and I think it is important that we understand the impact our actions have on our planet.
The changes we are seeing in our climate are due to minutely small changes in the way that the earth orbits that affects the energy we receive. The temperature has risen approximately 1.62 degrees Fahrenheit since the tail end of the 19th century, which may not seem significant, but it does, in fact, have a large effect on the world we live in.
Increased carbon dioxide in our air is almost entirely due to human activity and has a huge effect on places like the ocean in particular. The water in the ocean has also risen in temperature over time and can affect the animals and ecosystems that reside there. Another area that has been affected are ice sheets in places like the Arctic and Greenland. Data from NASA has shown that between the years of 1993 and 2016 we have depleted approximately 281 tons of ice per year. Due to such a large amount of ice loss, the rising sea levels can cause flooding that could be cataclysmic to many people and animals.
There are many other impacts that we can observe due to climate change, such as extreme weather events and glacial retreat. Anybody who does not believe that climate change is an issue needs to understand what is happening, so we can work to decrease our impact on our earth and the animals living in it.