Sandner

1
Madison Sandner

Prof. Echols

English 1201-504

17 March 2022

The Effects of Climate Change

What are the contributing factors that cause climate change and what can be

done to reverse its effect? Climate change is one of the greatest challenges we face as

a global community, and we will have to deal with the devastating effects it has caused

for the rest of our lives. Climate change is the long-term change of the Earth's

temperature and weather patterns. Climate change is the result of the world's

atmosphere warming, causing ice caps to melt and creating lasting environmental

issues. Although it can't be completely reversed, nations can come together as one to

solve this global crisis.

Many people once thought that humans could never have negative effects on the

planet, but over a century later, many scientists now see that what we do in our daily

lives has a lasting impact on our world. Some examples of negative human behavior are

aerosol spray cans and driving our cars excessively, which contribute to more damage

in the atmosphere. "Global temperatures have already increased by an average of 1.1

degrees Celsius, or 2 degrees Fahrenheit, since the 19th century, as humans have

pumped heat-trapping gasses into the atmosphere by burning coal, oil and gas for

energy, and cutting down forests"(Plumer and Zhong). These common practices of

modern human life have increased the total amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere

to 418.08 ppm (parts per million). This carbon dioxide acts as insulation and traps heat
 Sandner
2
from the sun. The summer of 1988 was the hottest summer on record at that time,

causing wildfires and widespread drought as a consequence. This was about the same

time that scientists began predicting devastating consequences and attracting media

attention. As a result of the public paying closer attention, the International Panel on

Climate Change (IPCC) was established under the United Nations.

To this day, politics plays a very important role when it comes to climate change,

and it establishes whether or not the crisis will get attention or be ignored. In the year

2000, the Democratic presidential candidate, Al Gore, lost to his Republican opponent,

George W. Bush by a very small margin. The election was so close that a U.S Supreme

Court case was needed to determine the winner. Gore had very strong opinions towards

climate change and trying to solve the issue was a very big part of his campaign. After

he lost and nothing was done against the climate change crisis, Al Gore made a

documentary. An Inconvenient Truth(David), was made to illustrate that this problem is

not made up and that there are serious consequences for the actions we have made for

multiple years. Throughout the documentary, Gore tries to keep everything simple and

explain every detail so it will be abundantly clear how urgent this matter is. He mostly

used visuals to explain, such as graphs, images, and videos, to avoid confusion or

doubt. This shows that Gore and his producer really wanted to stress the fact that if we

don't do something about how we impact the environment around us, this issue will be

passed on to the next generation and it will be even worse by that time.

Climate change affects every living thing and person, meaning all ages are going

to have to deal with this issue at one point or another in life. A great example of this is

seen in Greta Thunberg, who is a 19-year-old activist with a strong message. Although
 Sandner
3
she is young, she has traveled the world in hopes of spreading awareness for climate

change. Unlike most people who want others to think that we have unlimited time to fix

this issue, Greta wants people to panic. She wants people to feel the pressure and face

this issue today before it is too late to make a difference. Greta addresses people with

power in her speeches, which are included in her book, No One is Too Small to Make a

Difference (Thunberg). This book contains eleven of her speeches and focuses on

accusing people of knowing what they do is bad for the environment, but they continue

to do it. She uses her Asperger's disability as a strength in which she states that it helps

her see things clearer and gives situations one right solution. Greta stresses that we

already have all of the answers and solutions, but we simply decide not to use them. A

way we can make a change is to reduce carbon emissions, like trying to use reusable

bags instead of plastic ones, yet these opportunities are passed up time and time again.

If we don’t put our foot down or enforce boundaries, we will not have the opportunity to

make a change in the future, leaving the upcoming generations to suffer through a

barely livable ecosystem.

The problems that future generations face will affect the entire planet including

over seven billion people, businesses, and ecosystems, which is discussed in the book

A Wicked Problem (Incropera). Sea levels are expected to rise due to ice caps melting,

causing coastal flooding. This should cause a panic, especially in coastal regions,

because entire neighborhoods and cities would be underwater, yet not enough people

are committed to making a change to slow down this continued warming trend. Climate

change also affects the jet stream causing extreme weather events like tornados and

hurricanes. As these extreme weather events occur with more frequency, they will
 Sandner
4
cause more damage than was present before. Rising temperatures due to increased

carbon emissions will result in droughts and forest fires, which will end up damaging

more of our natural resources. These extreme weather conditions will also impact water

reserves, food production, and air quality which are all basic essential elements of

human existence. However, only about 44% of Americans believe the scientific basis for

climate change is true. This indicates that we as humans cause our own destruction and

should be held accountable for what we did and continue to do to our planet.

Most people find it surprising that we already have the solutions. Since nothing

has changed, some think this means that the scientists haven't found the solution on

how to make this issue disappear. Not only do we have the answers, but we have had

them for decades. Top scientists around the world have all looked at this problem and

every one of them has given the same list of tasks: stop emissions, leave the fossil fuels

alone, and do your part in taking care of the planet. Air pollution, littering, and waste all

play a big role in climate change, yet humans do it every single day. NASA has provided

pictures of the earth several years ago versus today that show just how much of the ice

caps have melted and no longer exist. These pictures illustrate the real impact we have

on the earth and make the differences over time very clear (Shaftel). Ice caps are

melting, the global temperature is rising along with the sea level, and the carbon dioxide

in the atmosphere is at an all-time high, but we still choose to do nothing as the problem

gets worse daily. Actual rocket scientists have fact-checked everything multiple times,

yet the answer remains the same. So the question is simple: Why haven't we done

anything yet?
 Sandner
5
Now various people can say that we are doing things to help, like cleaning the

oceans and beaches, taking shorter showers, or trying to turn the lights off when they

aren't needed. These are all great things to do daily, but this is not the main problem we

face. The main contributing factor to climate change is the increased carbon emissions

in the atmosphere. One of the main sources of increased carbon emissions comes

from using fossil fuels like coal and oil. The reason that fossil fuels are still being drilled

and emissions aren't being stopped are because of money. Oil and gas companies are

among the biggest corporations in the world with powerful lobbyists who exert great

influence over elected officials. Since they have the money and lots of people depend

on them for employment, no one wants to stand up to them. This is a very dangerous

game because if someone controls your income, your opinions can be more easily

persuaded. The other situation we run into as a whole is the fact that we know gas-

powered cars are bad for the environment, but we refuse to limit their use because we

depend on them for means of travel. Until we are ready to make the sacrifices needed

to save our planet, progress will remain minimal and ineffective.

 Sandner
6
Works Cited

David, Laurie, et al. An Inconvenient Truth. An Inconvenient Truth, Paramount Pictures

Corp., 2006, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZUoYGAI5i0. Accessed 6 Mar.

2022.

Incropera, Frank P. Climate Change : A Wicked Problem : Complexity and Uncertainty at

the Intersection of Science, Economics, Politics and Human Behavior. Cambridge

University Press, 2016. EBSCOhost,

https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cat01128a&AN=scc.b2242

468&site=eds-live.

Plumer, Brad, and Raymond Zhong. “Climate Change Is Harming the Planet Faster Than

We Can Adapt, U.N. Warns.” The New York Times, 28 Feb. 2022.

Shaftel, Holly. “Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet.” NASA, NASA, 4 Mar. 2022,

https://climate.nasa.gov/.

Thunberg, Greta. No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference. Random House UK, 2021.