Climate Change (Overview)

Climate change is mankind's greatest challenge and we must act together or else face the consequences.

If the world fails to take action on this planetary emergency, over 100 million people will die from climate change by 2030 (Source).

Already, millions of people are dying each year as a direct result of global warming and air pollution. If no action is taken, this number will only rise drastically in the upcoming decades.

There could also be over a billion refugees by 2070 (Source).

However, the reality is that our planet itself is not at stake, it is the biosphere and the species that dwell in it.

There is now too much evidence to ignore it any longer. Also, there are many facts of this planetary crisis that are quite alarming to say the least.

There is a great deal of incontrovertible evidence of climate change

Image provided by Eric Stamps New Media

The Effects

Already, hundreds of species have been affected and have already started to migrate towards the poles.

Many more will become extinct in the near future.

Unfortunately, there are many more effects that are occurring right now.

For instance, in addition to record high temperatures, there will be an increase in the ferocity of

Droughts and Floods
Dust Storms
Heat Waves
Hurricanes
Malaria, Dengue Fever, salmonella and other diseases/viruses
Tornadoes
Tropical Storms
Wildfires

It will also lead to

In truth, this crisis goes even beyond that: it will affect every single ecosystem on the face of this planet by altering

atmospheric pressure
cloudiness
humidity
precipitation
temperature
and wind patterns

As a side note, climate change includes global warming as well as changes in precipitation, wind patterns, weather, moisture levels, sea levels, and other factors. On this website, we use the term climate change rather than global warming.

What is Causing Climate Change?

We are.

Our production of greenhouse gases has plagued the atmosphere since the dawn of the industrial revolution, increasing the concentration of carbon dioxide from 280 to over 410 ppm (Source).

There is more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere now than at any time in the last 800,000 years.

Since then, our planet has increasingly warmed as a direct result of the greenhouse effect.

In fact, the top ten hottest years on record have all occurred since 1998, the hottest one of all was 2016. Data from NASA states that 2020 tied with 2016 as the hottest year.

More specifically, some of the many causes of this crisis include:

Agriculture
Deforestation
Transportation
The Meat Industry
Manufacturing/Construction
Power Plants Using Fossil Fuels
Oil Spills and Other Environmental Disasters

What Can We Do?

Fortunately, it is not too late.

There are many ways in which we can help solve the climate crisis.

Some of things we can do include:

Recycling/Reducing/Reusing
Composting
Using Alternative Energy
Getting an Electric Car
Becoming Energy Efficient
Using Public Transportation More Often
Consuming Less Meat
Planting Trees
Buying Products Locally

Furthermore, these actions will provide several benefits to your health and will even save you money.

More importantly, it will help millions of people around the world who are, or will soon be, facing the dire consequences of climate change.

Ultimately, I think spreading awareness and pressuring governments to take action is the best thing you can do as a citizen. The more you spread awareness about climate change, the more people will join forces in pressuring governments and companies to take the climate crisis seriously.