Why We Need to Act on Climate Change 1
Connor McMahon
Professor Liebenberg
English 130
13 May, 2020
Why We Need to Act on Climate Change
Climate change is the greatest threat our world is facing going into the middle of the twenty-first century. For years scientists have been advocating for an increase in efforts to increase environmental protection. Through an understanding of how climate change works, how it affects our planet today, and how it can impact our world in the future, it has become apparent that action must be immediately taken to fight the increasingly worrying problem of climate change.
From a historical standpoint, the planet is warming up at a much faster rate than ever recorded. Between the end of the last ice age and today, the planet has warmed by and average of five degrees celsius. This is over a period of five thousand years. In the last fifty years alone, the temperature has increased by 1.4 degrees celsius. Earth is heating up at a rate of ten times faster than normal, according to an scholarly article called History Compass. This is potentially disastrous for the planet’s wildlife. Animals have a much more difficult time evolving to higher temperatures in such a brief span. Scientists believe that the rapid change in heat is due to man-made pollution. Since the start of the industrial revolution, levels of carbon output have increased exponentially. Large corporations are engaging in huge rates of pollution in order to mass produce their products in order to maximize their products. With little regard for long term environmental consequences, this could wreak havoc on our planet’s wildlife if left unchecked. This is why it is imperative that change is made to slow, and eventually stop the pollution of our Earth as quickly as possible.
Today, the increase in Earth’s temperatures occurs because of a process known as “The Greenhouse Effect”. In this process, the increase in Carbon emissions gets trapped in our atmosphere, similar to a greenhouse, making it warmer. There is evidence of this, as pre industrial studies of the air showed that Carbon levels in the air were approximately 280 parts per million by volume, whereas today they are 380 parts per million by volume, according to “Climate Change: A Multidisciplinary Approach” by William James Burroughs. Furthermore, our hurricane seasons have become deadlier due to climate change. According to an article in Global Warming Focus, 2017’s Hurricane Harvey was stimulated by the increase in ocean temperatures, which in turn led to more moisture. The added moisture brings strength and durability to hurricanes in the South Atlantic, making them much more dangerous and capable of ravaging cities.
The scariest part about climate change is how it will derail our future. Due to the sudden rise of global temperatures, the ice caps in the arctic are melting. If nothing is done to curb the heat, it is estimated that 40% of Western Antarctica is in danger of melting, according to a May 2018 article of Nature. This melting will raise sea levels by multiple meters, which in turn will leave several coastal cities at risk of being underwater. This would cause a huge migration problem, as a vast amount of people living in coastal cities will be forced to move, with all their property now essentially worth nothing. This will likely impact the poor more than anyone else. While upper and middle class citizens would likely be able to rebound and land back on their feet, those living in poverty will likely create a situation of mass refugees, looking for a safe place to continue their lives.
Even with the staggering evidence of climate change, there are still those who doubt its existence. One argument that climate change deniers often make, is that there are still some years that are colder than the previous year, so therefore the theory of the rising temperatures is debunked. While the warming of the Earth does not exactly occur in a perfectly straight line, the patterns over the years create an undeniable correlation of heat over time. According to the Guardian, the case is not that we increase one degree per year, but that we are increasing multiple degrees on average over several years. The case is that this is a long term geographical crisis, that has been proven over and over again by scientists time and time again, that will get progressively worse unless drastic measures are taken to halt it.
In conclusion, drastic government measures must be taken in order to ensure the safety of the future of our planet, as evidenced by the background of climate change, its effects on our world today, and the potentially disastrous effects on our future. Over the past few years, there has been an increase in awareness of climate change, and citizens’ personal efforts to stop it. This is great, but unfortunately it will not mean much until the largest pollution offenders, multinational corporations, change their methods and become more environmentally friendly. In the United States, it is very possible for an educated population to demand this change by boycotting their products, or demanding government oversight. Either way, if the US takes initiative in stopping this major issue, the rest of the world will likely follow suit. The climate issue will be daunting, is not unbeatable, but it will take all of us to stop it.
Work Cited
Das, Pallavi V. “People’s History of Climate Change.” History Compass 16.11 (2018): N/a. Web.
Burroughs, William James. Climate Change: A Multidisciplinary Approach. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2007. Web.
“New Findings from National Center for Atmospheric Research Describe Advances in Climate Change.” Global Warming Focus (2018): 163. Web.
Fox, Alex. “Antarctic Seals Recruited to Measure Effects of Climate Change.” Nature (2018): 018-05204-y. Web.
Burnett, Dean. “Climate Change Is an Obvious Myth – How Much More Evidence Do You Need? | Dean Burnett.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 25 Nov. 2014, http://www.theguardian.com/science/brain-flapping/2014/nov/25/climate-change-is-an-obvious-myth-how-much-more-evidence-do-you-need.
Connor McMahon 