Bouzakti 1

Adam Bouzakti

Professor Bell

Eng1201

18 March 2021

Literature Review

Climate change and global warming are phenomenon’s that have been recognized by multiple

renowned international organizations that specialize in atmospheric sectors of scientific research

such as the National Aeronautical Space Administration, and the United Nations. Although

climate change and global warming are often intertwined, they are not to be confused as the

same definition. As climate change is the alteration of weather patterns, whereas global warming

is the heating of earths atmosphere caused by greenhouse gases; both are recognized as potential

dangers to society in multiple forms. This leads to a macro question of society; why is climate

change such a controversial topic and how exactly do we go on to combat it?

Climate change is usually a normal process in which the climate is in constant new

formations, yet humans contribute greatly to the alterations of climate change through excess

greenhouse gases which warm up the earth’s atmosphere and create holes in the ozone layer, thus

causing harmful ultraviolet rays to enter earth in mass and melting glacial surfaces [ CITATION

NAS21 \l 1033 ]. Specialized organizations such as NASA have brought attention towards this

issue, denoting much of the earth’s temperature hikes and ice cores melting within Artic regions.

Climate change’s skepticism has shown more prevalence in nations such as the United States,

Norway, and Australia in recent years. This has been noted due to a groups political counter

movement that has taken a clear stance of partisanship upon the movement in exchange to make

a statement, thus leading them to deny the scientific veraciousness of climate change [ CITATION
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Ada201 \l 1033 ]. The media consists of a large role in climate change denial as skeptics utilize

the internet to further their agenda. Nevertheless, it may be presumed that certain political party

supporters such as Republicans may have a greater regard for the illegitimacy of climate change,

yet studies have revealed that only one-third of conservative media make up of climate change

denial [ CITATION Ada201 \l 1033 ].

The public response over climate change is still contested despite the denial of some, as climate

change is seen as the second biggest global threat behind terrorism, and some have the

impression that climate change is a future issue rather than present, as many studies speak of the

impacts of climate change in the year of 2050 [ CITATION Fle21 \l 1033 ]. A major issue society

faces is the recognition lag of climate change and personal decision to combat climate change.

Studies have shown that 44% of people surveyed were concerned about climate change, and 30%

were somewhat concerned; statistics of carbon footprint do not correlate with such concerns

[ CITATION Fle21 \l 1033 ]. This begins to shift the root of the issue to the opposition of climate

change, to the concurrence of climate change.

The impacts of climate change pose multiple dire consequences such as species extinction for

instance. The Amazon, home to the largest rainforest worldwide, has begun to show its reaction

to the threat of climate change due to the rise in global temperatures affecting precipitation

patterns, which are detrimental to rainforest biomes such as the Amazon. Unstable precipitation

patterns cause flora within the Amazon to deplete, which slowly reduces bird habitation. A study

conducted showed strong evidence that the bird species of the Belem Area of Endemism (a

highly deforested zone within the Amazon) will lose up to 73% of their habitation by the year

2050 [ CITATION Fel20 \l 1033 ].

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Climate change also has a crucial effect on agriculture as farming and food stability are posed at

great risk. Soil is depleted due to the decrease of soil moisture, rapid depletion of soil organic

matter, premature drying of grains, and increase in heat stress [ CITATION Mek21 \l 1033 ]. This

is a worldwide threat, yet particularly negatively impacts geopolitical areas such as Ethiopia

which rely on agriculture as a major source of economic opportunity. It’s stated in a text

“Developing nations, especially those in sub‐Saharan Africa are more vulnerable to the effects of

climate change” [ CITATION Mek21 \l 1033 ]. It quickly becomes evident that climate change will

not only destabilize food security, but also displace populations due to new socioeconomic

standards through obstructive acts of climate change in agriculture.

Climate change’s rapid causation by human contribution to the alteration of the

environment is highly acrimonious due to its legitimacy from the people and its questioning of

how and what to use as combatants from the scientists. Scientists have answered by stating we

must reduce carbon emissions to keep prolonging the effects of climate change, but this raises

the question, how will we get individuals to properly implement the acts of the new age of

reduced carbon footprint? First, we must recognize that the effects of climate change are in fact

at our doorstep and not just a bridge we will cross in the future.
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Bibliography
Adam, Silke, et al. " How climate change skeptics (try to) spread their ideas: Using
computational methods to assess the resonance among skeptics' and legacy media ."
2020.
Felippe de Moraes, Kaue, et al. " Climate change and bird extinctions in the Amazon ." 2020.
Fletcher, Jean, James Higham and Nancy Longnecker. "Climate change risk perception in the
USA and alignment with sustainable travel behaviours." 2021.
Mekonnen, Adisu, et al. "Climate change impacts on household food security and adaptation
strategies in southern Ethiopia." Food & Energy Security 10.1 (2021): 14.
NASA. 8 March 2021. March 2021. <https://climate.nasa.gov/>.