Climate Change Essay

To put it in its simplest terms, modality change refers to the long term change in the priming coats temperature, particularly an plus in the average atmospheric temperature (Dictionary.com). Although there argon some natural ca commits for climate change, most scientists argon in par all toldelism that humans argon at least in part trusty for some of the effects we have already seen and must therefore chair corrective action immediately to slow the process before it is likewise late and irreversible catastrophic harm has been done. The consequences of climate change, also cognize as global tendering include extreme weather interpreters such as extensive drought, severe hurricanes and tornadoes, increased wild fires and melting of the opposite caps (dosomething.org). In addition, there be hotter, longer lasting rut waves cause added health issues and even death, particularly to the already frail elderly or those who are already sick and may be more intimately susce ptible to health risks (dosomething.org). Since 1870, sea levels have shewn by to the graduate(prenominal)est degree eight inches globally.Coral reefs are in peril due to the fastball water temperatures and higher sea levels. The coral reefs are lacking the solarize they need to thrive and are becoming diseased. Here in the unify States, temperatures have risen by two degrees over the last 50 years and rushing is up by 5% (dosometing.org). According to Motherjones.com, the 2000s was the hottest decade on record in the US and 2012 was the hottest year ever. With the rise of sea levels, comes the loss of bring in across the world. Globally the average land loss is eight inches. What that moroseice to the States is we are shrinking. Those in danger are tribe who live closest to the shoreline. It varies storm by storm, still those living closest to the shoreline during each mega storm, such as Hurricane Sandy, are in critical danger of losing not only their personal property and their lives scarcely the actual earth beneath their feet. Everything could all be swept aside by the wind and sea. There are currently almost quintette billion Americans living within four feet of the ocean at high tide. It is expected that over the next century, sea levels will rise by anywhere from one to four feet (Motherjones.com). humor change affects rainfall as well and it can be devastating.A warmer planet means the air can hold more water vapor. That means when it rains it pours. The coupled States has seen record precipitation and flooding significantly above average(Motherjones.com), especially since 1991. The Northeast alone has seen a 71% increase in precipitation since 1958 (Motherjones.com). Nowhere has climate change left its mark more so than in Alaska. Due to melting glaciers no longer insulating the land, arctic storms are battering the now unshielded coastline that used to be protected by the now steadily melting glaciers. Additionally, 80% of the stat e has permafrost beneath its climb and as it thaws, the ground is literally giving way causing damage to roads and infrastructure. Currently, Alaska is spending about $10 million per year in repairs due to permafrost thawing and is projecting $5.6 to 7.6 one million million million for infrastructure repairs by 2080 (Motherjones.com). complete heat waves are becoming commonplace. Texas had one of the hottest and driest summers on record (Motherjones.com) in 2011 reaching over 100 degrees for 40 twenty-four hourss in a row. Its projected that if we continue on the same path, we could have a once each 20 years extreme heat day every two to three years by the year 2100 (Motherjones.com). In addition, we are feeling some of the driest conditions weve experienced in some 800 years. This has mattered in a loss to agriculture of as much as $10 billion in Texas and Oklahoma in 2011 & 2012 (Motherjones.com). Because we have more heat and drought, we have the potential for more wildfire s. We have had record setting wildfires in both 2007 and 2011. And to make matters worse, these very wildfires, as dangerous and deadly as they are also add to the climate change paradox. Wildfires actually sprain more one C from the ground and only make the climate problem even worse.According to Mothorjones.com, a single large fire in 2007 released as much ascorbic acid to the atmosphere as had been absorbed by the entire circumpolar Arctic tundra during the previous quarter century, (Motherjones.com). There are some natural causes of climate change that we can do nix about, but we have fast tracked global warming since the initiation of the industrial revolution. While volcanoes and solar patterns certainly are a trivial contributor to climate change, humans make a much great impact. Due to deforestation and the massive amounts of fossil fuels consumed, there is more vitamin C dioxide in the atmosphere today than at any point in the last 800,000 years (Dosomething.com).C arbon dioxide is widely believed to be the most damaging of all greenhouse gasses. The US alone emits approximately 6 billion tons of carbon dioxide every year 40% of which comes from power plants. As early as the 1700s, we began emittingmore and more greenhouse gasses, mainly carbon dioxide by using coal, oil colour and gas to run our cars, trucks and factories (Dosomething.com). It is the increasing use of fossil fuel along with deforestation that is keeping greenhouse gasses approximate to the earth not allowing it to escape the atmosphere thereby raising the earths temperature (Dosomething.com). We cant fix this problem overnight, but the resolving begins with us. The NRDC, guinea pig Resources Defense Council suggests a five step plan to subvent a longer lasting planet for our children and we must begin today.1. put together Limits on Global Pollution2. Invest in Green Jobs and mop Energy3. crowd Smarter Cars4. Create Green Homes and Buildings5. Build Better Communitie s and deportation NetworksSome of these steps are already in place. Take for instance the Clean Air Act which established emissions and fuel economy standards for all cars. For power plants and factories, the impact could be as great as 560 million tons of carbon per year by 2026 under the Act. This is estimated to avoid anywhere from $25-60 billion in health costs (NRDC.com). Another great cream is electric cars. They save on carbon emissions because they do not charter gas to run. They are also cheaper to run for that very same reason. causal agency in point Paul Scott from Santa Monica, CA bought an all-electric version of the Toyota Rav4 in 2002. It runs stringently on sunlight and he charges the battery with the solar panels he heats his pedestal with so essentially it costs him nothing to run. He hasnt been to a gas station in 12 years (NRDC.com).If you cant afford a new electric vehicle, at least you should be driving a high-mileage vehicle to cut down on emissions. Dri ve only what you need. We must cut down our dependence on oil and thereby reduce our consumption of fossil fuel. We can invest in retrofitting our homes install energy star appliances, insulation and seal leaks where cool and warm air is escaping. This can save hundreds to over a thousand dollars annually to the homeowner but if just one in five American homes were retrofitted to save energy, we could avoid the need to build 13 mid-sized power plants every year. On a national level, we could cut as much carbon pollution as taking half a million cars off the road if everyhouse in America were energy economical (NRDC.com). There are folks who believe global warming is a fallacy or work of fiction people who think that because of the late(a) cold weather that we experienced in the Winter of 2013 and 2014, the Polar vortex for example that global warming cannot possible be real.These are people who have done no investigate or who do not have any facts. That very cold trend was a resu lt of climate change (Climtecentral.org). There are also those that will mobilize facts and myths and counter with their own version of sentiments. They simply do not postulate to believe what is so vastly evident in research. Robert M. Carter, a research professor has written a myth v. fact document (globalresearch.ca) disputing the facts. Everyone is authorize to their opinion thats what makes our country so great.Based on my research, it is my belief that humans are in fact greatly responsible for the increase in climate change. Global warming is probably the wrong lyric and it makes perfect sense that it has been updated to climate change however there are still skeptics. There probably will always be nonbelievers. just I feel the data is undisputable. It is up to us to make the essential changes before it is too late. We must make changes or we could face despairing consequences. There are so many ways each soulfulness can make small changes. Every one of us must do our part and we must begin todayYour new America (observed temperature changes over the last 22 years). National Climate Assessment. Source Motherjones.com, National Climate AssessmentReference List1. Multiple sources. (date unavail.). 11 Facts near Global Warming. www.DoSomething.Org. Retrieved from https//www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts-about-global-warming 2. Carter, Robert N. (2009, Dec. 9). www.Globalresearch.org. Global Warming Ten Facts and 10 Myths on Climate Change. Retrieved from http//www.globalresearch.ca/copenhagen-and-global-warming-ten-facts-and-ten-myths-on-climate-change/16467 3. Mooney, Chris. (2014, May 6).