The world’s facing it’s greatest problem yet, Climate Change. Our planet is getting warmer! When you're lying down enjoying the nice breeze in a southerly gale you might not think it's a bad thing. But Think again.
Climate change isn’t only about warmer weather. Climate change also means that the weather is wilder, heavier and more destructive. Which also means more frequent drought and wildfire, melting ice sheets, melting glaciers and more flooding.
Climate change is here and it’s the biggest challenge the world’s going to face, with more challenges are yet to come.
What is Climate Change?
Understanding climate change
Understanding climate change is understanding the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect keeps our planet warm using the sun’s energy. Some of this ENERGY is trapped by the gasses of the atmosphere called ‘greenhouse gases’. The gases are carbon dioxide, methane and Nitrous oxide; these are the most important ones.
Without any greenhouse gases, planet earth wouldn’t be warm enough to support any life. However in recent years, the amount of greenhouse gases have increased in the atmosphere. The carbon dioxide levels are the highest they’ve been in THOUSANDS of years. Now that more heat is being trapped, it’s causing the planet to become warmer. The change in temperature is happening at a very alarming rate and humans are causing it.
What is causing climate change?
Before the 1800's, the people only produced little amounts of greenhouse gasses, and then came the factory’s, mechanical and building Revolution. Where gigantic factories were and cities around the factories were built, the world around then the world began to grow rapidly.
Agriculture
Agriculture is another major source of greenhouse gases, mostly methane and Nitrous oxide. While these gases don’t stay in the atmosphere as long as carbon dioxide, both are potent (they have a great effect). In New Zealand, most of their methane comes from sheep and cattle belching as they digest grass. Nitrous oxide is mainly produced when urine farm animals react with living organisms, called microbes, in the soil.
Fossil fuel
The factories required A LOT of energy, and that energy came from burning coal , a fossil fuel that releases greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide. Nowadays , burning fossil fuels for electricity and transportation is the largest source of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Deforestation
Deforestation is also an adding problem. Burning forests to make farmland, to build more factories and also buildings/cities. Forests are carbon sinks. They absorb billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide and turn into oxygen. Trees help to keep our most problematic greenhouse
How does climate change affect the planet
Climate change has already started showing visible and observable effects on the environment. Glaciers have shrunk, ice on rivers and lakes is breaking up earlier, plant and animal ranges have shifted and trees are flowering sooner. Effects that scientists had predicted in the past that would result from global climate change are now occurring: loss of sea ice, accelerated sea level rise and longer, more intense heat waves.
The oceans are getting hotter and are expanding. They are getting hotter because they absorb 90 percent of the extra heat in the climate. Because of the warmer atmosphere it causes the planet's snow pack, glaciers and sea and freshwater ice to melt rapidly. Melting glaciers and polar ice sheets contribute to unprecedented sea level rise.
This shift causes the oceans to expand, contributing to higher sea levels, and strips corals of their vivid colors. Also in the arctic and antarctic most of the ice is melting taking away the habitats of many species that live in those places.
The weather is becoming more and more extreme each year. Heatwaves are more frequent worldwide, causing some places to catch on fire, and causing droughts and wildfires to become more intense. The increased evaporation of water is like fuel for storms, exacerbating extreme weather events, such as hurricanes.
Is there a way to stop Climate change?
Yes, we can stop these climatic changes but for that, every one of us has to come forward and has to adapt ways that can reduce and control our bad habits that affect the environment. We have to the initiative and make everyone aware of the climatic changes.
With that note I hope you enjoyed this informational report on climate change, and has made you more aware of the challenge that we are facing today.
The biggest direct & indirect contributor of climate change is animal farming industry. So the single biggest thing any individual can easily do to positively help our ecosystem's sustainability is to #GoVegan