Climate Change as A Worldwide Problem

Introduction / Definition

     Have you ever heard of...climate change? Climate change is the change in temperature or weather. Climate change happens as it is affected by greenhouse gases. Humans developed greenhouse gases to stabilize the earth’s temperature, but this leads to a global problem we now know as global warming. Too much sunlight is absorbed by earth, and it causes climate change.

     Greenhouse gases leads to climate change, then it also leads to global warming. So the world’s problem is only global warming, or are all of them problems? All of these are all worldwide problems. Greenhouse gases, climate change, and global warming are different things, but something they have in common is that they are all related to each other and to the earth’s atmosphere and life. Even though most people already got informed about global warming, sometimes we may forget what comes before that, climate change.

     So why is climate change a worldwide problem? It is a worldwide problem because climate change effects the whole world. Too much heat is not good for earth, and we should not underestimate climate change. It is a serious problem that the world is currently facing. It exists around you, even though it may seem like the average weather condition. So let’s find out the causes, effects, and solutions so that we can contribute to saving the world from climate change!

The Problem & The Causes

     Humans are getting to know more about climate change and we are trying to find a solution towards this problem. However, climate change is related to the weather and that means it is also related to nature. Because of this, climate change is a very hard problem to solve.

     So, what causes this huge problem? The truth is, humans are a huge part of what causes climate change. Without human action, climate change would not happen. So how do humans even cause climate change? Isn’t it related to the weather and nature? While that is true, humans did cause climate change because we tried to stabilize the earth’s heat. Humans had a great idea to stabilize the earth’s heat, but then there were mistakes made, so now the problem is that too much sunlight is being absorbed into the earth.

     What is this stabilizing agent that leads to the problem? If you recall what we have read earlier in the introduction, we have been introduced to something called greenhouse gases. This is the heat stabilizing agent that humans developed. Examples of greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide, methane, water vapour, chlorofluorocarbons, and nitrous oxide.

     Yes, it has great effects for us because greenhouse gases are important to life on earth but apart from that, it also has bad effects as it is contributing to climate change and global warming. The greenhouse gases exist in our atmosphere and it may trap, absorb, or reflect sunlight. The sun is a huge part of what makes earth a great planet. It is our source of light and heat as it supports life. However, the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are absorbing most of the sunlight instead of reflecting it back out to space. This absorption leads to more heat in earth.

     What are some human activities that contribute to climate change? Lately, there has been an increase in the burning of fossil fuels such as oil and coal. These increases the atmospheric carbon dioxide. Other examples of human activities that also contributes to this problem includes industries and the clearing of land for agriculture.

Effects: So What?

 Why should we care? How does this effect us? The answer is simple, it is destroying the earth. Climate change doesn’t only effect humans, it also effects other living things such as plants. With more heat, plants are also affected as they can grow faster than expected.

     There are a lot of effects being caused by climate change. Some of the effects include droughts, heat waves, wildfire, change of weather patterns, and rise in temperature. From a few of those main effects, there are still a lot of problems in each of them.

For example, climate change causes glaciers and ice caps to melt, which will also lead to the rise in sea level. Ice caps and glaciers are mostly made up of water and when it melts, that really effects a lot of things. As an example, it endangers a lot of countries because some countries might sink as sea levels are rising. Apart from that, it also endangers the animals. Animals can lose their habitat and their lives will be in danger. Without other living things, humans also cannot survive.

Solutions

     So now that we know its causes and effects, can we find a solution to this problem? One thing we should know is that the effects depend on the amount of carbon dioxide emitted. If we can reduce it, then we can help reduce climate change.

     We can put in effort by increasing little things in our everyday lives such as the energy efficiency, using renewable things/ energy and recycling. We can also start trying to reduce and prevent pollution. We can contribute by doing things like using public transport instead of private transportation, and also using reusable items such as reusable bags, bottle, and cutlery instead of the plastic versions of them.

     We shouldn’t wait any longer. We should raise awareness of this problem so that others can also help. Climate change and global warming has gone too far, but it’s not too late to contribute now. If we let this problem slide, then imagine how bad earth’s condition is going to be. Let’s start doing little things in our daily lives that can help the earth!

Sumber: https://climate.nasa.gov/