Climate change

Climate change is a change in global or regional climate patterns, in particular a change apparent from the mid to late 20th century onwards and attributed largely to the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels. Earth has always been changing, but it is the rate at which the climate is changing that is causing concern to our scientists. As for our future we really do not know what exactly is going to happen to our planet, but our scientists are doing their best to give us an idea on what could happen.

Evidence

Thanks too earth-orbiting satellites and all of our other technological advances, scientists are able to see the big idea on climate change. Some evidence of our climate change is that sea level has already rose 6.7 inches in the last century. This means that it has doubled since the last century. Our oceans are warming and ice sheets are melting, which means the thickness of our ice sheets are decreasing. Climate change has also caused the acidity of our oceans to increase by 30 percent. We have also had a number of extreme events. High temperature events in the US have been increasing, however the number of low temperature events has been decreasing, since 1950. The U.S. has also experienced increased numbers of intense rainfall, and our snowfall has decreased.

Cause

Most climate scientists agree the main cause of the current global warming trend is the “greenhouse effect” aka the “greenhouse gases” - the warming that happens when the atmosphere traps heat radiating from Earth to space. From driving to work, to traveling around the world by plane, to powering and lighting our homes; Everyday the things we do release gases that end up generating heat into our atmosphere. Even with the removal of many trees for construction and deforestation is adding to the problem. Trees help absorb carbon dioxide, so when we remove vast amounts of trees, it leaves the carbon dioxide "hanging around" in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide has mostly been the cause of our planets warming. We can actually measured it. For 800,000 years we have measured our CO2 levels have been anywhere from 180-300 parts per million (PPM). We are now measuring the levels at 400 PPM, which means it has risen 40 percent since the Industrial Revolution.

Effects

So we are already experiencing a lot of the effects of climate change; our glaciers are shrinking, our CO2 levels are increasing, and plants and trees are even flowering sooner. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which is made up of more than 1,300 scientists, suggest that there will be a temperature rise of 2.5 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit within the next century. The IPCC also stated that the extent to climate change will vary and affect different places, differently. Our water patterns are being altered because of our climates change. In the future temperature and our sea level will continue to be on the rise. This effects the coral and shellfish in our oceans, because they are very sensitive to changes in the temperature. It is also suggested that we will experience longer growing seasons, but then we will be more likely to experience droughts. This also ties into tree infestation bugs being able to thrive, and doing more damage. We will also see changes in precipitation patterns, such as stronger and more extreme events. Something else that has been predicted is that out Arctic will be ice free by the middle of the century.This means that the animals that are ice dependent are and will be struggling to survive. Climate change will also lead to more extinction other than just the polar bears and other dependent animals. Environmental changes caused by climate change will be too harsh for some species to adapt. Even species that might tolerate the new environment could nevertheless decline as the ecosystems on which they depend collapse. The climate change will also effect agriculture. Famers are struggling to keep up with the weather patterns. Climate change can also contaminate our drinking water, with warmer freshwater pathogens will grow. Climate change is effecting one thing after another, and it is just snowballing.

Solutions

Basically we have a huge impact on what will happen in our climates future. Everything we do and use on daily basis contributes something to global warming. From making our coffee in the morning to making the roads we drive on. Some little things we can do on a daily basis are things such as driving the speed limit, unplugging things we are not using at the moment, and recycling our recyclables. Unfortunately some would say that we are pretty far along, making it hard for us to try and reverse global warming. With our technology advancing so quickly scientists are working to build planes that are battery powered, and cars that are self driving. They have also continued to work on world powered by wind, water, and sun. These changes would benefit our world immensely.

Wind helps generate electricity without putting harsh chemicals in our atmosphere

See also

Other closely related articles in this wiki include:

• Global warming
• Greenhouse gases
• Extinction

External links

Relevant online sources to this wiki article include:

• NASA Climate Change- Check out this site to see the cause and effect of climate change
• EDF - one of the sites I want you to explore to look for supporting articles.