Climate Change
Inbar Koursh
What is climate change?
In a nutshell, climate change is a result of co2 and other greenhouse gases which are released into the atmosphere. As seen in the picture below sunlight hits the earth, the earth absorbs some but deflects the rest into space. In order for earth to maintain temperature, there are greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that “trap” some of the light in earth's atmosphere. This effect is known as the greenhouse effect. While this effect is perfectly normal, humans have increased the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere which leads to less reflected sunlight escape from the atmosphere, resulting in climate change.
What are the effects of climate change on the environment ?
climate change has a huge impact on us and on our environment. As the earth continues to heat up climate change's effects will grow stronger and new problems may emerge.
Currently, the “major” effects are/will be:
Currently, the “major” effects are/will be1:
1) Hurricanes will become stronger and more intense
The intensity, frequency and duration of North Atlantic hurricanes, as well as the frequency of the strongest hurricanes, have all increased since the early 1980s. The relative contributions of human and natural causes to these increases are still uncertain. Hurricane-associated storm intensity and rainfall rates are projected to increase as the climate continues to warm.
2) Sea level will rise 1-4 feet by 2100
Global sea level has risen by about 8 inches since 1880. It is projected to rise another 1 to 4 feet by 2100. This is the result of added water from melting land ice and the expansion of seawater as it warms. In the next several decades, storm surges and high tides could combine with sea level rise and land subsidence to further increase flooding in many regions. Sea level rise will continue past 2100 because the oceans take a very long time to respond to warmer conditions at the Earth’s surface. Ocean waters will therefore continue to warm and sea level will continue to rise for many centuries at rates equal to or higher than those of the current century.
3) Arctic likely to become ice-free
The Arctic Ocean is expected to become essentially ice free in summer before mid-century.
4) More droughts and heat waves
Droughts in the Southwest and heat waves (periods of abnormally hot weather lasting days to weeks) everywhere are projected to become more intense, and cold waves less intense everywhere.
Summer temperatures are projected to continue rising, and a reduction of soil moisture, which exacerbates heat waves, is projected for much of the western and central U.S. in summer. By the end of this century, what have been once-in-20-year extreme heat days (one-day events) are projected to occur every two or three years over most of the nation.
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For more details about any effect or a list of more effects: https://climate.nasa.gov/effects/
Below are images before and after. For more pictures or more information about the pictures shown please go to: 8 Terrifying Before And After Photos
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What can we do to help?
NASA and the UN are spending a lot of money to try and slow down climate change. Sadly, unless a new scientific breakthrough happens, climate change cannot be stopped, at least not in a couple of years. But it’s not all bad, according to the UN annual report of 2017 (see link) one of the main key elements of the Paris agreement is to “Limit the global rise to as close as possible to 1.5 °C”. Furthermore, according to the report the UN, the total funding for fighting climate change in 2017 was 98 million dollars2 and in 2018 an astonishing 1 billion dollars will be spent by the UN to slow down and eventually stop climate change3.
Not only big organizations with a high budget can help, we can help too. “A small change can make a big difference”. If you want to learn more about how you can help to stop climate change the United States Environmental Protection Agency has a helpful article about that:
https://www.epa.gov/environmental-topics/greener-living
The injustice
Sadly most of the nations that are affected by climate change are not the ones who cause it. one of the Pacific island-nations that are currently being submerged under the sea due to rising sea-levels said: ”The industrialised countries caused the problem, but we are suffering the consequences… it is only fair that people in industrialised nations and industries take responsibility for the actions they are causing. It’s the polluter-pays principle: you pollute, you pay.” In 2004 alone 262 million people were affected by climate change and an astonishing 98% of them are in developing countries4.
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