In brief, climate change is a change in global or regional weather patterns, which has been especially induced by global warming starting from the mid to late 20th century, onwards. Global warming is an increase in the temperature of the Earth's atmosphere which can generally be attributed to the greenhouse effect. It is caused by a gradual increase of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Above: greenhouse gases being pumped into the atmosphere by a factory. Around 31% of the sun's UV light is reflected back into space by the atmosphere and surface of the Earth (by ice, snow and sand for example). The atmosphere itself only absorbs about 20% of the UV light and other types of radiation that the sun emits. The rest of it is absorbed by the surface of the Earth which converts it into heat and infrared radiation. This process warms the Earth and the air above it, much like how the glass in a greenhouse traps the heat that is emitted by the plants inside it, keeping the greenhouse warm. The most abundant and naturally occurring greenhouse gas is water vapor. However, since the beginning of the industrial revolution, other man-made greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane, have been pumped into the atmosphere of the Earth. This has caused the delicate balance between the radiation the planet receives from space, and the radiation that's reflected back out to space, which is the very thing that keeps the planet habitable, to be disturbed. Above: a graphic that depicts what the greenhouse affect is
Life on Earth simply can not exist if global temperatures continue to rise, and humans do little to help it. It is for this reason that without action, climate change may very likely be the end of life on Earth as we know it.
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One harmful misconception that many people in the western world have, is that the effects of climate change and global warming will be realized in the future when they are old, or no longer living. However, this is far from the truth. There are hundreds of real and devastating effects of climate change that have already begun to affect people all around the world. Above: an image of global warming deniers protesting a decision made to help the environment. Credit: bcvphoto via Flickr More extreme natural disasters,like stronger hurricanes and severe heat waves, are some examples of the life-threatening consequences of climate change. In fact, extreme heat events are responsible for more deaths annually than hurricanes, lightning, tornadoes, floods, and earthquakes combined. Heat waves can be fatal, especially when coupled with humidity, because certain system's in the body that can not adapt to heat become overwhelmed. For example, when a person is exposed to heat for a very long time. the body's ability to sweat shuts down. Perspiration is a crucial bodily function because when it is dried by the air, there is a cooling effect on the body. This means that once a person stops perspiring, the body gets very hot and they can quickly move from heat exhaustion to heat stroke. Untreated heatstroke can quickly damage the brain, heart, kidneys and muscles which can cause a loss of consciousness, and in many cases, death. Above: an image of a road that melted during a heat wave in New Delhi, India during May of 2015. Temperatures exceeded 45°C and nearly 2000 people died from heatstroke and other heat-related complications. Outdoor air pollution is an outcome of the greenhouse effect that is responsible for more than 3 million premature deaths per year. Without government intervention, the number of deaths could easily double by 2050. People living in areas with poor air quality can suffer an array of health complications including chronic respiratory disease, lung cancer, heart disease, and even damage to the brain, nerves, liver, or kidneys. Children and the elderly, are especially susceptible to the adverse health effects of air pollution because their bodies are weaker. Above: A young boy stands with his mother at a bus stop in the west of Beijing. Many young children now wear masks when they are outside to protect themselves against the horribly polluted city air.
There is irrefutable evidence that human exploitation of natural resources like fossil fuels, has in some way affected the majority of land animals that exist on Earth today. Climate change has already altered the way in which thousands of animal species live their lives. Here are some effects of climate change and the way in which they affect land animals: Warmer and shorter winters: Due to warmer and shorter winters, hibernating animals don't get the natural cue to go into hibernation at the right time. As a result, many animals come out of hibernation early, and some may not hibernate at all. One main reason that animals hibernate is as a a solution to resources that are seasonally available. This means that food is often not available to animals that have come out of hibernation early. Timing is crucial to the survival of a hibernating animal. For example, according to one study by Gregory Florant of Colorado State University, yellow bellied marmots that typically come out of hibernation in mid-may, now come out in mid-april. They emerge hungry for plants but often find that the meadows they live off of are still covered by a thick layer of snow. When this happens, they either starve or are eaten by predators. Furthermore, longer springs do not actually help hibernating animals. This is because cold weather actually enables animals to conserve their energy until springtime. Above: an image of a yellow-bellied marmot Melting ice at the poles: It is common knowledge that warming temperatures have caused large quantities of ice to melt at both of the poles. As a result, it is estimated that nearly two-thirds of all polar bears will cease to exist by 2050. In the Hudson Bay area, there is no sea ice for polar bears to hunt on during the summer. Polar bears have to live on land until the ice freezes up again in the fall. During this time, the bears eat little to nothing. Because of global warming, ice has been melting earlier in the springtime and forming later in the fall. In fact, in just 20 years, the hunting season for polar bears in this area has been cut short by nearly 3 weeks. This means that polar bears have a much narrower time fame than usual to hunt baby seal pups when they are born. Consequently, the average weight of a bear in this area has dropped by 15%, which has caused a decline in reproduction. The polar bear population in the Hudson Bay area has decreased by more than 20%. Evidently, it is not only polar bears in the Hudson Bay area that are affected. All over the arctic, sea ice is diminishing at very fast rates. This has caused many polar bears to make long and dangerous journeys to find food. Many polar bears do not survive journeys like these. Above: a polar bear leaps from one piece of pack ice to the next Another species that is in great danger of extinction due to melting ice caps, are Adélie penguins. According to a study by University of Delaware scientists, around 60% of the population of Adélie penguins may be gone by 2099. Adélie penguins are affected by global warming because they feed on krill which live on the bottom of ice sheets; ice sheets that are rapidly disappearing. Because the population of the krill is quickly decreasing, the penguins are forced to migrate further distances to find food. Spending the majority of their energy finding food, means that they are less successful at reproduction and raising their young. It is not surprising that these factors may very possibly lead to their extinction in the near future. Above: an image of an adult and baby Adélie penguin. Credit: University of Delaware/Megan Cimino
It is estimated that 50-80% of all life on Earth exists underneath the surface of the Earth's oceans and that oceans contain 99% of the living space on the planet. It is not surprising then, that climate change should have a profound effect on not only humans and other land animals, but also on various forms of marine life. Above: a scene of vibrant marine life One of the most important marine species affected by climate change includes plankton. Phytoplankton are a crucial part of the ecosystem of the Earth because they are the first link in the marine food chain, and they produce up to 70% of the Earth's oxygen. Unfortunately, oceans have absorbed up to 30% of the Earth's man-made carbon dioxide. When ocean water and carbon dioxide are combined, chemical reactions occur that cause a decrease of the pH level of the seawater. Over time, this has caused the naturally slightly basic ocean water to become more and more acidic. This is called ocean acidification. Many marine organisms that rely on equilibrated chemical conditions in the ocean to build their calcium-based shells, such as as corals, clams, mussels, sea urchins, oysters and barnacles, are negatively impacted by this phenomenon. This is because the shells of the adult organisms start to dissolve, and it can be very difficult for their young larvae to build a shell in the first place. For example, an oyster larvae will form a shell within 48 hours of being born, and will then proceed to make a feeding organ. However, in acidic water, it becomes very difficult for the larvae to form a shell, so it has to spend all of it’s energy doing so. This means that the larvae has no energy left to make a feeding organ. Without a feeding organ, the larvae can’t consume food and dies. These ocean calcifiers are no longer able to use their biology to protect themselves, and their populations are quickly decreasing as a result. Above: because of ocean acidification, these young oysters had to be spawned in a special hacthery to survive (this image was taken at Taylor Shellfish Farms, which is the largest shellfish growing operation in North America) Another devastating effect of climate change in the ocean is coral bleaching. Corals bleach when they are under stress. With a global temperature rise of around 0.7 C since before the industrial revolution, one major stressor that corals face is water that is too warm. When the water around a coral is too warm for an extended period of time, the coral becomes stressed and releases the colourful algae that lives inside of it and its white skeleton is revealed, hence the name "coral bleaching. Sadly, because the algae provides up to 90% of the corals energy, the coral begins to starve. At this point the coral can only recover if the temperature of the water returns back to normal in a short period of time. If not, the coral dies. It can take up to a decade for a coral to recover, but in many cases the algae causes its flesh to rot and it's structures collapse, making the chances of a full recovery highly unlikely. When corals die, the entire ecosystem around them is transformed. The fish that use the coral as shelter and a source of food move or die off. The bigger fish that feed off of the smaller fish lose their source of food and also disappear. The birds that eat fish lose their source4 of energy which causes a depletion of island plants that thrive off of the bird's feces. Above: an image of rotting corals that died after being bleeched around Lizard Island in the northern third of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. This image was taken by diver Richard Vevers in 2016, after the Great Barrier Reef suffered the worst coral-die off on record. Chu, Jennifer. "Ocean acidification may cause dramatic changes to phytoplankton." MIT News. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 20 July 2015. Web. 18 Dec. 2016.
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