Climate Change Assignment

Introduction

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better it’s not.”-Dr. Suess, The Lorax

“I have learned that you are never too small to make a difference.”-Greta Thunberg

            This past last few weeks in class have been eye-opening to me when it comes to the subject of climate change. I have always believed climate change was an important issue that I believed our world leaders needed to solve, but with the discussions we did on the subject and the lab we had done I now have a better understanding of the subject. I did some research on my own and I agree with how the United Nation defines the subject “Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. Such shifts can be natural, due to changes in the sun’s activity or large volcanic eruptions. But since the 1800s, human activities have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas. (United Nations) The main thing I want to give with this research paper is the important of the latter part of that quote which describe how human activities have greatly impacted climate change. I always knew we had a big part of it, but I did not realize how bad it was. In this paper I want to discuss some things I learned about climate change, the effects of climate change, and some solutions for climate change any average Joe can do.

What I Learned about Climate Change

            Besides some of the things we learned in class like our own carbon footprint (my own footprint would take 4.8 Earths for every human being to live how I do) I decided to do some research on my own outside of class. First, “Global climate change is not a future problem. Changes to Earth’s climate driven by increased human emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases are already having widespread effects on the environment…” (NASA) This means that climate change is an extremely urgent issue with massive impacts on our day-to-day lives. Our plant is “1.42 °C warmer than it was in the pre-industrial era.” (United Nations) This heat increase has major implications on our oceans, wildlife, and even our own existence on the planet. Not only are things getting hotter, but our country (the United States) has been a big factor in the climate change crisis. “In the United States of America and the Russian Federation, per capita emissions are almost three times the world average of 6.6 tons per CO2 equivalent…” (United Nations) This knowledge has lead me to seek out the actual impacts of climate change on our planet.

Effects of Climate Change

            In my previous paragraph I described climate change as a crisis. This is for a good reason; it is because climate change has adverse impacts on life on this planet. Due to the increase temperature on this planet “Some changes (such as droughts, wildfires, and extreme rainfall) are happening faster than scientists previously assessed.” (NASA) This fast pace changes cause crop failure, decreased our forests, and impact our access to drinking water. “By around 2050, the amount of land consumed by wildfires in Western states is projected to further increase by two to six times.” (NASA) Our woods not only help reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions get into our atmosphere but also reduce the number of homes for local wildlife in this area which will lead to some species becoming extinct. Additionally, wildfires have ravaged homes and towns of people across the States and beyond. “Droughts in the Southwest and heat waves…are projected to become more intense, and cold waves less intense and frequent” (NASA) Across the world we have been having record breaking temperatures that effect our crops and local wildlife. If this increases more, we could see more food insecurity across the world. It gets more dire from here. Due to the ice caps melting “Global sea level has risen about 8 inches (0.2 meters) since reliable record-keeping began in 1880. By 2100, scientists project that it will rise at least another foot…” (NASA) This will drown coastal cities cause massive amount of chaos and destruction. This seems dire, because it is.

Solutions to Climate Change

            Of course, the main issue with climate change is due to industry and major corporations which produce a massive amount of greenhouse gases, but I there are things we can do as an average Joe. “At every level, people can take actions to address climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions” (EPA) As mentioned before, if everyone lived like me we would need 4.8 Earths to sustain the population, so there are things I can change to help the planet and other people can do as well. First, we can reduce how much electricity we use “improving your home’s energy efficiency, through better insulation, for instance, or replacing your oil or gas furnace with an electric heat pump, can reduce your carbon footprint by up to 900 kilograms of CO2e per year.” (United Nations) This seems like a small amount, but the more people do simple things like turning off you lights when you are not in the room or such, we can make a major impact on the amount of greenhouse gases we produce. Another thing we can start reducing the amount of plastic we use “Plastics alone generate 1.8 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions in 2019…” (United Nations) Additionally, reducing the amount of plastic we use can reduce the amount of non-biodegradable things polluting our oceans and Forrest. One thing that I saw that would help reduce the amount of greenhouse gases is the hardest thing to do in the United States, reducing the number of times you use your care. “Living car-free can reduce your carbon footprint by up to 2 tons of CO2e per year…” (United Nations) This is hard for our state of Wyoming due to the massive amounts of “empty space” we often have to travel in. But doing something simple of walking to things that are close by is not only good for the environment, but also a good way to keep in shape. Last thing that helps is promoting and supporting people who are fighting against climate change. A large part of climate change is due to economic factors such as greenhouse gases coming from industrial complexes. Supporting action to reduce such factors or creating more efficient factors is huge in the fight against climate change.

Conclusion

            In conclusion, climate change is an extremely important subject that needs everyone’s support to solve. Letting these catastrophic effects cause irreversible damage to not only our society but our planet is, in simple terms, not okay. Studying this subject has made me an informed citizen and helped motivate me to change some things in my own life. This new knowledge allowed me to understand not only my own views, but the diverse views of people around the world and how different it is for each person across the world to address climate change in their own local area. This knowledge allowed me to think more critically about my own actions and the actions of society at a large. I can now understand my own impact on climate change and how industry has a major effect on climate change as well. A big part of being an informed citizen is humility which I learned through understanding my own ignorance on the topic of climate change. Understanding that I do not know a lot of important issues allowed me to trust scientists a lot more and gave me a lot more respect for people who have made a living discovering new things about our planet and its issues. Finally, understanding all of these things gave me a drive to learn more about the world around me which is something I normally would not be due with certain subjects such as science. I am not a science wiz, but having a good basic understanding has improved me as a person and an informed citizen. Overall, I am glad I learned more about climate change, and I am motivated to do my part as I hope most people who learned about the subject are.

References

United Nations. (n.d.). Actions For A Healthy Planet.  https://www.un.org/en/actnow/ten-actions#drive-less (un.org)

United States Environmental Protection Agency (n.d.). What You Can Do About Climate Change. https://www.epa.gov/climate-change/what-you-can-do-about-climate-change

United Nations (n.d.). Climate Action Fast Facts. https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/science/key-findings#temperature-rise

NASA (n.d.). The Effects of Climate Change. https://science.nasa.gov/climate-change/effects/