Climate change

Climate change: is it real?

Climate change refers to a change in weather conditions which are in a certain period of time considered usual. It can be caused by biological, chemical and geological processes, such as changes in solar radiation, plate tectonics, and volcanic eruptions. Certain human activities that have been described as the main cause of the so called "global warming"; contribute to the very recent climate change which is happening very quickly and has significant effects on the ecosystem. Some scientists oppose the idea of climate change, while others strongly support it. To understand what is behind of this phenomenon, it is important to be aware of what causes it.

The Earth is surrounded by a cover of gases as an atmosphere. This atmosphere allows most of the light to pass through, which then reaches the surface of the Earth; however, the atmosphere traps heat radiating from Earth toward space. This is because the gases from the excessive presence of vehicle transport and automobiles, fugitive emissions from fuels, the burning of solid fuels, and the propellants from many deodorants; accumulate causing severe damage to the Earth. These gases are mostly present in the atmosphere naturally like CO2, nitrogen oxides, and methane, but by the accumulation of pollutants, they prevent the escaping of heat from the earth’s surface, which results in “global warming”.

This phenomenon results in higher annual average temperatures and causes weather anomalies around the world. Higher temperatures cause higher sea levels, the melting of the icecaps, the shrinking of glaciers, and the shifting of plant and animal ranges. Ice on rivers and lakes is breaking up earlier, too. Moreover, it causes extreme weather conditions: in Australia extremely high temperatures are resulting in bushfires; in the Asian pacific tsunamis and unprecedented monsoons are beginning to appear and in Europe, especially in Hungary, the appearing of mild winters and the disappearing of spring is becoming normal, resulting in trees flowering sooner and more intense heat waves arriving in the summer.

However, the media is flooded by the denying of these obvious facts: it is said that global warming is not manmade but natural. Warmer periods of the Earth’s history came around 800 years before rises in CO2 levels. The people who oppose climate change claim that there is no scientific proof of the climate change. Rising and dropping in temperatures is natural. Moreover, the world has warmed a mere .36 degrees Fahrenheit over the last 35 years since scientists started measuring the data in 1979.

To prove that these statements are merely forgery there are many scientific proofs that the Earth is being constantly damaged by the population. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change stated that: “Scientific evidence for warming of the climate system is unequivocal.” This can be proved as the current warming trend is of particular significance because most of it is very likely human-induced and proceeding at a rate that is unprecedented in the past 1,300 years. Earth-orbiting satellites and other technological advances have enabled scientists to see the big picture, collecting many different types of information about our planet and its climate on a global scale. The heat-trapping nature of carbon dioxide and other gases was demonstrated already in the mid-19th century. Ice cores drawn from Greenland, Antarctica, and glaciers show that the Earth’s climate responds to changes in greenhouse gas levels. They also show that in the past, large changes in climate have happened very quickly, geologically-speaking: in tens of years, not in millions or even thousands.

In conclusion, the evidences are clear-cut and show that the aforementioned human activities, which cause the recent climate change, do result in global warming and have effects on the ecosystem. My opinion is that the constant damaging and over-exploiting of our environment will slowly make our planet deteriorate, if there is no change in people’s attitudes.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1.      Oreskes, Naomi. "The Scientific Consensus on Climate Change," Science 3 (2004): 5702.

2.       “Summary for Policymakers.” Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007. 17.

3.      National Research Council. “Advancing the Science of Climate Change.” America's Climate Choices: Panel on Advancing the Science of Climate Change. Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press, 2010

4.      The New York Academy of Sciences. “Building the Knowledge Base for Climate Resiliency: New York City Panel on Climate Change 2015 Report.” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 1336 (2015): 1–150.

5.      Meredith, Charlotte. “100 reasons why climate change is natural.” Express (2012)