Imagine a world where animals are faced with extinction and humans have to worry about how climate change affects their everyday lives . Climate change is the change in temperature and weather over a long period of time. Climate change might not sound bad, but it has lasting effects to everything around us.
Climate Change can make the earth warmer and also increase precipitation. This can cause a disruption in their ecosystem making animals find new environments because it is not suitable for them anymore.
Climate change effects plants, animals, and humans.
Climate change is also mostly caused by humans because a lot of human activities emit greenhouse gases.
The only way to fix this problem is to start recognizing it is actually a problem.
Greenhouse gases raise the Earth's temperature by trapping in heat like a blanket, However, humans are the main contributor to the emissions of greenhouse gases.
An increase in greenhouse gases in the air will have a warming effect over time.
In the year 2020 In the U.S. there was 5,981 million metric tons of Carbon Dioxide in the air. CO2 is actually the gas that is emitted the most due to human activity.
According to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) every greenhouse gas has a GWP (Global Warming Potential) number. The lower the number the is the longer it stays in the atmosphere. CO2 has a GWP of 1 which means it can stay in the atmosphere for thousands of years.
In the years 2030 to 2050, World Health Organization (WHO) projects that climate change is going to cause a surplus of 250,000 deaths per year, from malnutrition, diarrhea, malaria, and heat stress.
Climate Change also affects the clean air, drinking water, food availability, and safe shelter.
There are ways that climate change is already affecting us right now.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) realized that to reduce the impacts of climate change on our health we as a world need to reduce the temperature rise by 1.5 ° C.
Climate Change can affect then animals we love like this:
Plants when affected by climate change can start to bloom earlier and also leaning to colder temperatures.
Pollinators when faced with climate change are forced to get nutrients from flowers that are blooming earlier than expected.
The changing environment can also show an increase in invasive species. The Brook trout is a species that require freshwater to live, but when faced with higher air temperature, brook trout get outcompeted by brown trout which is an invasive specie that can tolerate higher air temperature.
Here are some ways you can reduce the greenhouse gases emitted from traveling.
You can start reducing emissions from your waste by:
When you use chargers and and home tech unplug them when they are not being used.
Planting trees and starting community gardens can reduce emissions.
Recycling is also a great way to keeping the environment healthy.
“Climate Change Indicators: Greenhouse Gases .” EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/greenhouse-gases#:~:text=An%20increase%20in%20the%20atmospheric,atmosphere%20increased%20by%2045%20percent
“Climate Change and Health.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/climate-change-and-health.
Hodgson, P. E. Energy, the Environment and Climate Change, Imperial College Press, London, 2010.
“Wildlife and Climate Change (U.S. National Park Service).” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/wildlife-climateimpact.htm#:~:text=Climate%20change%20has%20produced%20a,the%20environment%20for%20native%20wildlife.
Environmental Protection Agency. (n.d.). Climate Change Indicators: U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions. EPA. Retrieved March 27, 2023, from https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indicators-us-greenhouse-gas-emissions