An Approachable Intro to Climate Change
What exactly is climate change, what’s causing it, and why should we care? It’s hard to find short and simple answers to these questions without hours of research, so I’ve created this introduction on climate change to break it all down!
What is climate change?
First off, let’s clear something up. There is climate change and then there is global warming. They don’t mean the same thing and the terms cannot be used interchangeably.
Climate change refers to a change in average temperatures, precipitation, and wind patterns over a long period of time (Nasa).
Global warming is the long-term heating of Earth’s surface observed since approximately 1850 due to human activities (Nasa). As shown in the graph below by the NYTimes, most of the warmest years on record have happened in the past 20 years.
To sum it up, climate change involves all aspects of the weather patterns (including precipitation and wind changes) while global warming is just about the earth getting warmer.
Source: NYTimes
What’s causing both climate change and global warming?
The rise in greenhouse gases.
What are greenhouse gases?
Greenhouse gases are gases that can trap heat. “They let sunlight pass through the atmosphere, but they prevent the heat that the sunlight brings from leaving the atmosphere,” which leads to a warmer earth (Nasa). They get their name from actual plant-growing greenhouses, which also let in sunlight but don’t let the sunlight’s warmth escape (Nasa). See the GIF below for a visual of what happens when the heat cannot pass through atmosphere due to greenhouse gases.
The biggest greenhouse gas offenders are carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and various synthetic chemicals (EPA).
Source: ELYX, UN Digital Ambassador
What caused the increase in greenhouse gases?
“Human activities are responsible for almost all of the increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere over the last 150 years” (EPA). But what human activities you ask? In the United States, the largest source is from burning fossil fuels (EPA). Fossil fuels (such as coal, natural gas, and petroleum) are burned so that we can have electricity, heat, and transportation. There are more sustainable ways for us to produce energy for electricity, heat, and transportation, like through wind or solar energy creation, but fossil fuels are unfortunately still the main source for the time being (EPA).
Also, it is important to note that the majority of carbon emissions have been caused and hidden by large corporations including Chevron, ExxonMobil, and BP. “…90% of the emissions attributed to the top 20 climate culprits was from the use of their products, such as petrol, jet fuel, natural gas, and thermal coal” (The Guardian).
What’s actually going to happen and when?
It depends on what we do to act on it, but the effects of global warming are happening now and will continue to happen in the future on a larger scale if we don’t act (Nasa, NYTimes). The flood pictured below occurred in 2019 in my home state of Arkansas – it's something that I never saw growing up and something that I hope stops happening in the future.
Nasa has broken down what we can expect to see now and in the future throughout the United States if we don’t take action:
The Arkansas River floods homes Tuesday in Fort Smith.
Source: NWA Online
The Northeast. Heat waves, heavy downpours, and sea-level rise pose growing challenges to many aspects of life in the Northeast. Infrastructure, agriculture, fisheries, and ecosystems will be increasingly compromised.
The Northwest. Changes in the timing of streamflow reduce water supplies for competing demands. Sea level rise, erosion, inundation, risks to infrastructure, and increasing ocean acidity pose major threats. Increasing wildfire, insect outbreaks, and tree diseases are causing widespread tree die-off.
The Southeast. Sea level rise poses widespread and continuing threats to the region’s economy and environment. Extreme heat will affect health, energy, agriculture, and more. Decreased water availability will have economic and environmental impacts.
The Midwest. Extreme heat, heavy downpours, and flooding will affect infrastructure, health, agriculture, forestry, transportation, air and water quality, and more. Climate change will also exacerbate a range of risks to the Great Lakes.
The Southwest. Increased heat, drought, and insect outbreaks, all linked to climate change, have increased wildfires. Declining water supplies reduced agricultural yields, health impacts in cities due to heat, and flooding and erosion in coastal areas are additional concerns.
Source: Nasa
Why should we care?
If we wait to deal with it, it is going to harm more people and cost more money to fix all the damages. Below are some of the main areas that climate change will impact and why we should care about them.
Human Health - We are already seeing death and illnesses occur from extreme weather events, such as heatwaves, storms, and floods (WHO). If we continue on our current path, approximately 250,000 additional deaths will happen per year between 2030 and 2050 from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhea, and heat stress (WHO).
Water - As temperatures rise, water is becoming more scarce across many areas of the world. This can cause a shortage of drinking water, water for sanitation, water needed for hand washing (which is important so that illnesses do not spread as easily), and water needed for agriculture (Stanford, Earth Matters). This lack of water could create conflict and spur migration (The World Bank).
Food - Food production is likely to be harmed by changes in temperatures and water scarcity, which could limit food availability, diminish food safety, and cause price increases (USDA).
Money - Climate Change is already costing us a pretty penny and it takes more money to fix these events than it does to prevent them. “In 2020, in the United States alone, climate-related disasters like hurricanes, droughts, and wildfires caused nearly $100 billion in damages to businesses, property, and infrastructure, compared to an average of $18 billion per year in the 1980s (NY Times).”
What can I do about it?
It’s easy to feel small in this movement when the problem is so big - but don’t give up now! As Greta Thunberg said, “No one is too small to make a difference.” You already made it to the end of this post (and it’s a little long) - so just think about what else you can do! Keep following this blog to learn more about actions you can take because we can create the future we choose!