Climate Change Essay – Essay on Climate Change

Climate Change Essay Points

1. Many activities can cause climate change. Temperatures can rise dramatically when there is climate change.
2. Many changes can happen on Earth when the temperature rises. It can lead to more flooding, droughts or heavy rains as well as more severe heat waves and more frequent events.
3. The oceans and glaciers have also seen some changes. They are becoming more acidic and warming, the glaciers are melting and the sea level is rising.
4. These changes will be a challenge to society and the environment in the future as they are likely to occur more often.
5. Human activities have produced large amounts of carbon dioxide, and other greenhouse gases, over the past century.
6. The majority of these gases are produced by burning fossil fuels for energy. The greenhouse gases act as a blanket that covers the Earth and traps energy within the atmosphere, causing it heat up. This phenomenon is known as the greenhouse effect.
7. It is necessary for life to continue on Earth. But, as greenhouse gases build up, the climate alters and has dangerous consequences for human health and the ecosystems.
8. The stable climate that we have had since the last ice ages, which occurred several thousand years ago, has helped people adapt. Warmer climates can cause changes in our water supplies, agricultural power, transportation systems, natural environment, our health, safety, and even our personal safety.
9. Some climate changes are inevitable and there is nothing we can do about them. Carbon dioxide, for example, can remain in the atmosphere for almost a century. Earth will continue to heat in the future.

Over the past century, global warming has been a reality. Global warming is the extraordinary rise in Earth’s average surface temperatures over the last century. This is primarily due to greenhouse gases that are released when people use fossil fuels. The increase in greenhouse gas emissions and their accumulation in the Earth’s atmosphere is responsible for global warming. Water vapor, carbon dioxide and dinitrogenoxide all have an impact on the atmosphere. Nearly 30 percent of the sunlight incoming is reflected back into space from bright surfaces such as clouds and ice. The remaining 70% is absorbed into the earth and ocean while the rest is absorbed into the atmosphere. Our planet is heated by the solar energy absorbed. The atmosphere absorbs and radiates heat, which is good for all life on Earth. The atmosphere today contains more greenhouse gas molecules. This means that more infrared energy emitted from the surface is absorbed into the atmosphere.

We are increasing the greenhouse gas concentrations and making Earth’s atmosphere more efficient. The Earth’s climate has changed throughout its history. Rapid warming such as we are experiencing today is a rare event in the history our planet. Natural factors like volcanic eruptions or changes in solar energy have an impact on climate. Changes in the amount and quality of solar energy can have an impact on climate. Because volcano eruptions produce more than just lava or ash, they can have a significant impact on climate. Volcanoes can release small particles of sulfur dioxide into our atmosphere. These particles reach the stratosphere, where they reflect back solar radiation into space. Climate can also be affected by snow and ice. As the Earth’s climate warms due to melting snow and ice, less energy is reflected which causes more warming. Climate can be affected in many ways by plants, animals, or other living things. Some plants can produce greenhouse gasses that trap heat and help to increase global warming via the greenhouse effect. Plants release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as they produce their food through photosynthesis. Some carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere by plants at night. Methane is formed when farm animals like sheep and cattle eat their food. Carbon dioxide can be released by trucks and cars when they use fossil fuels to power them. Carbon dioxide is released into atmosphere when wildfires are started. If a forest grows back to its original size, the amount of carbon dioxide that was released into the atmosphere from the fire will be removed. Scientists have predicted that global warming would lead to some effects in the past: less sea ice, an acceleration of sea level rise and stronger heat waves. Scientists are confident that global temperatures will rise over the next decades, due largely to human-caused greenhouse gases.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), climate change’s effects on specific regions will vary with time and adaptability of different social and environmental systems (The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). This decade has been the hottest since 1880. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has declared that 2005 and 2010 have been the warmest year records. If we don’t reduce our emissions from burning fossil fuels, the earth could heat by another 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit in the 21st Century (The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). Temperature rises will have major effects on earth’s climate and all living organisms. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that industrial activities have increased atmospheric carbon dioxide by 280 parts per Million to 379 parts/million in the past 150 years.

We must take action to reduce global warming and other impacts on climate change. Living things would die if the temperature rises in the future. The world would become cooler if humans took action to reduce global warming. This world would be safer if everyone stood together and tried to stop most of the climate change that is occurring.