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Chase Jennings

Professor Cassel

English Composition 1201

17 April 2019

A Real Threat To Humanity

In some areas north and east of Alaska and Canada where there was once a large

population of polar bears, there is only a relatively small number of them left. The population

was decreased by forty percent due to the melting of the sea ice where polar bears used to travel

to hunt and reproduce. These stunning facts resulted from the warming of the planet, which will

kill off dozens more of species if people do not act now (World Wild Life). The term “climate

change” has been around for decades, but not everyone fully understand what it means and the

impacts of it. If put into words, climate change has some drastic consequences for not just an

individual country but for the whole entire planet. It impacts literally everything that is living and

non-living. That is why people need to address this concerning and problematic topic.

Quite often, many people get global warming and climate change mixed up. According to

NASA:

Global Warming refers to the long-term warming of the planet. Climate change

encompasses global warming, but refers to broader range of changes that are happening

to our climate, including rising sea levels; shrinking mountain glaciers; accelerating ice

melt in Greenland, Antarctica and the Arctic; and shifts in flower/plant blooming times.

(NASA)
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When it comes to climate change, greenhouse gases are relevant and to illustrate, Earth is like a

giant glasshouse, trapping heat and warming the inside. The “greenhouse gases” are the gases

like carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxides. Once released into the glass house, they

become trapped and cannot escape, much like when they are released into the Earth’s

atmosphere. They become trapped in the upper layer of the Earth, causing the temperature of the

planet to rise. According to NASA, “These heat trapping gases wrapped around the Earth, which

keeps it toastier than it would be without them.” To understand what causes climate change, one

must first understand why it is important, and why humanity faces a fundamental danger to their

lives on Earth and economy if it continues.

So why is it important to keep the temperature of Earth down? According to NASA,

human activities have interfered with the temperature balance in the Earth’s atmosphere through

the industrial activities like the burning of fossil fuel, which releases carbon dioxide into the

atmosphere and causes the Earth’s temperature to rise above the normal level. The planet’s

temperature needs to remain at a certain level in order for living organisms to continue to live

comfortably. The first time climate change made headlines in North America, the population was

alarmed, but as time went by, many skeptics contributed their “scientific research” to the public

dialogue regarding climate change. The public opinion has shifted away from believing in

climate change to thinking either it is a hoax or climate change is not human made. Many climate

scientists have agreed that climate change is very likely due to human activities. According to

NASA, “Ninety-seven percent of climate scientists agree that climate warming trends over the

past century are extremely likely due to human activities.”

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“This graph, based on the comparison of atmospheric samples contained in ice cores and more

recent direct measurements, provides evidence that atmospheric CO2 has increased since the

Industrial Revolution. (Credit: Vostok ice core data/J.R. Petit et al.; NOAA Mauna Loa CO2

record” (NASA).

Climate change is the changing of numerous climate patterns on Earth that include, but

not limited to the rise in sea level, the increase in global temperature, as well as, the changing of

the seasonal climate. According to the U.S. Global Change Research Program, numerous studies

have shown that the temperature on Earth’s surface has risen. This increase in temperature also

occurred in the ocean and the atmosphere. They also mention that the precipitation occurrences

and the above average temperature has increased; the frozen properties like glaciers and snow are

melting, causing the sea ice to withdraw (U.S. Global Change Research Program). For instance,

the ice in the sea in the Artic has decreased at an alarming rate of 12.8 percent every year since
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1980. The sea ice size was 8 million square km in 1980, now it is less than 5 million square km

(NASA). The increase in global temperature has significantly contributed to the melting of the

ice, leading to the rise in sea levels. The rise in sea levels has two primary causes: the water that

is contributed by the melting of the ice sheets and the increase in size of ocean water as it warms

(NASA). According to NASA’s measurements, the sea height has increased from 7.6 mm to 72.5

mm in 2015 (NASA).

There is a strong connection between climate change and global warming. The trapping

of the greenhouse gases released by the burning of fossil fuels in the Earth’s atmosphere

increases the global temperature. For instance, scientists have recorded the changes in

temperature in the Earth’s atmosphere since 1880. The average temperature has risen from

negative 0.1 degrees C in 1880 to 0.86 degrees C in 2019 (NASA). This drastic increase in

temperature causes the ice to melt in many places like Antarctica and the Arctic which leads to

the rise in sea levels which can cause flooding in many coastal cities. These higher sea levels

have dangerous consequences. Especially in the United States where a large portion of the U.S.

population thrive in coastal communities. According to the National Ocean Service, “eight of the

world’s 10 largest cities are near a coast.”

The burning of fossil fuels have significantly contributed to climate change. According to

Juliane Weber, a research scientist, “The generation of electric power with fossil fuel-fired

power plants is the largest source of carbon dioxide emission with a share of approximately 35%

of the global emission.” Consequently, the burning and usage of fossil fuels contribute a

significant amount of carbon dioxide emission. Other fossil fuel burning like oil and coal has

also contributed significantly to the CO2 levels in the atmosphere.

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According to a study by NASA, conducted and recorded at Mauna Loa Observatory in

Hawaii, there has been an increase of carbon dioxide level from 380.9 ppm (parts per million) in

2006 to over 410 ppm in 2019. This shows that the burning of fossil fuel like coal and oil,

contribute greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. According to NASA, the burning of

coal and oil by themselves do not release CO2, but when combined with oxygen in the air they

then become CO2.

Despite the overwhelming scientific evidence regarding what causes climate change,

there are others who disagree about what causes climate change, specifically in regards to global

warming. Dr. Sallie Baliunas who graduated from Harvard University with a Doctor of

Philosophy degree, has an alternative view regarding the cause of climate change. Like many

others, she agrees with the idea that carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere has risen within the

past century, but she disagrees that is the leading cause of global warming. According to Gale,

Dr. Baliunas agrees that there is definitely an increased level of CO2 levels in the atmosphere,

but she does not agree that is the major cause of the warming of the globe but rather refers to the

Sun’s energy output as the primary cause. This proves that despite the scientific consensus on the

issues, there are many others who disagree with the causes of climate change, some like Dr.

Sallie Baliunas who have college degrees ("Warming Up to the Truth: The Real Story About

Climate Change”).

NASA acknowledges that the Sun’s energy output drives our climate system but do not

believe that the Sun’s energy output plays a significant role in increasing the Earth’s

temperature. According to NASA, past climate changes have been contributed to by solar

irradiance but NASA then provides several concrete evidence including why the Sun’s energy

output. It does not explain the changes of global temperature because the energy projected from
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the Sun has remained unchanged over the past several centuries, hence this does not explain why

the temperature has increased drastically since the Industrial Revolution. NASA also observed

that if the warming is contributed by the increased Sun’s energy output, the changes in the

warmer temperatures should have been constant for all layers of the planet but it is not. Between

the many parts of the layers in the upper layer and lower layer of the atmosphere, one cools

while the other warms up. Also NASA explains that the changes in global temperature cannot be

reproduced over the past several decades without the greenhouse gases.

All of these have significance implications for everyone living on Earth, especially

people who live in developing nations who will be unprepared for the drastic consequences of

climate change. In the United States, climate change also has some significant impacts both to

the economy and the public health. According to the U.S. Global Change Research Program,

“Climate change affects human health and wellbeing through more extreme weather events and

wildfires, decreased air quality, and diseases transmitted by insects, food, and water.” This

explains the far reaching impact of climate change within the United States, both to the

infrastructure and the well-being of society. Another consequence is the cost wildfires can cost

the government--billions of dollars which can be spent elsewhere. Furthermore, many

Americans will lose their lives to diseases caused by climate change.

In the grand magnitude and severity of the situation, if humanity is unable to reduce

greenhouse gas emission and stop climate change in it track. There will have to be some serious

considerations for adapting to climate change once it is too late. The National Academy of

Sciences have come up with four national priorities if the worst is to come. The spread of better

access as well as the serviceability of information regarding the different dangers posed by

climate; Substantial increase in investment for researches that focus on adaptation; A creation of
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a budgeting plan for the economic costs for both personal and public adaptations; And the

substantial improvement for policies that are adaptation relevant (Guile, Bruce, and Raj Pandya).

All of these are important in regards to the preparation for the many forceful changes that climate

change brings.

Climate change has and will change the lives of all significantly if action is not taken

now. Climate change, and the many causes of it, including the burning of fossil fuels, warming

of the planet, the melting of ice in many places around the world, and other human activities are

contributing to the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. It is imperative for people to

realize the importance of climate change and the danger it poses to humanity. The economy and

livelihood of people are at stake, and people need to do something about it. There are many

actions people can take to decrease their carbon emission such as decreasing their energy

consumption within the home by turning off lights when one is not using them and purchasing

electric vehicles to decrease the carbon emission released by gas run automobiles. The Earth is

our home and if people don’t help keep it in shape, humankind will soon be left with a place

uninhabitable for any living creature.

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Works Cited

"Climate Change Impacts on the United States." Environmental Issues: Essential Primary

Sources, edited by Brenda Wilmoth Lerner and K. Lee Lerner, Gale, 2006, pp. 114-117.

Opposing Viewpoints in Context,

http://link.galegroup.com.sinclair.ohionet.org/apps/doc/CX3456400053/OVIC?u=dayt30

401&sid=OVIC&xid=b7d1319c. Accessed 15 Apr. 2019.

NASA. “Climate Change Evidence: How Do We Know?” NASA, NASA, 26 Mar. 2019.

Guile, Bruce, and Raj Pandya. "Adapting to Global Warming: Four National Priorities." Issues in

Science and Technology, vol. 34, no. 4, 2018, p. 19+. Opposing Viewpoints in Context,

http://link.galegroup.com.sinclair.ohionet.org/apps/doc/A549337337/OVIC?u=dayt30401

&sid=OVIC&xid=f3b179d6. Accessed 1 May 2019.

U.S. Global Change Research Program. “Understand.” GlobalChange.gov, U.S. Global Change

Research Program, www.globalchange.gov/climate-change.

US Department of Commerce, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “Is Sea

Level Rising?” NOAA's National Ocean Service, 27 Oct. 2008,

oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/sealevel.html.

"Warming Up to the Truth: The Real Story About Climate Change." Environmental Issues:

Essential Primary Sources, edited by Brenda Wilmoth Lerner and K. Lee Lerner, Gale,

2006, pp. 454-458. Opposing Viewpoints in Context,

http://link.galegroup.com.sinclair.ohionet.org/apps/doc/CX3456400170/OVIC?u=dayt30

401&sid=OVIC&xid=4d76a3a2. Accessed 15 Apr. 2019.

climate.nasa.gov/evidence/.
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Weber, Juliane, et al. "Impact of climate change on backup energy and storage needs in wind-

dominated power systems in Europe." PLoS ONE, vol. 13, no. 8, 2018, p. e0201457.

Opposing Viewpoints in Context,

http://link.galegroup.com.sinclair.ohionet.org/apps/doc/A551293563/OVIC?u=dayt30401

&sid=OVIC&xid=2f8ae9cb. Accessed 20 Apr. 2019.

World Wild Life. “Polar Bear Population Decline a Wake up Call for Climate Change

Action.” WWF, World Wildlife Fund, www.worldwildlife.org/stories/polar-bear-

population-decline-a-wake-up-call-for-climate-change-action.