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“Global warming has been proven to be a canard repeatedly over and over again…The

[democrats] needs a dose of reality.” (Donald Trump via. Twitter, March 2012). Coming from

the current President of the country with the second greatest carbon dioxide emissions in the

world, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists, climate change has people around the

world worried. With only “70% of Americans believing Global warming is happening,” (Yale

Climate Opinion Maps, 2016) and one of the most influential persons in the world against it,

global warming and climate change is proved the need for further education, evidence and

changes in the world and its activities.

“Scientific evidence for warming of the climate system is unequivocal,” (Intergovernmental

Panel on Climate Change, 2017)

Throughout history, Earth’s climate has changed. According to the article Climate Change: How

do we know? (2017) “…in the last 650,000 years there have been seven cycles of glacial

advance and retreat, with the abrupt end of the last ice age about 7,000 years ago marking the

beginning of the modern climate era — and of human civilization.” The first six cycles,

according to the article Climate Change: How do we know? (2017) “…are attributed to very

small variations in Earth’s orbit that change the amount of solar energy our planet receives.”

However, the most recent and abrupt end to an ice age, “…is extremely likely (greater than 95

percent probability) to be the result of human activity.” (Climate Change: How do we know?

2017)

While historically the planet’s climate has changed, it can be seen in regions all over the world.

Not only in glacial advances, but things such as: “global temperature rise, shrinking ice sheets,

glacial retreat, decreased snow cover, rising sea levels, declining Arctic sea ice, extreme events
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[natural disasters] and ocean acidification,” (The Consequences of climate change, 2017) are all

glaring effects caused by climate change.

Global temperature rise is, in large part, the main cause of several of the consequences of climate

change. The world is getting warmer. According to Global Temperatures (2014), “…the average

global temperature on Earth has increased by about 0.8° Celsius (1.4° Fahrenheit) since 1880.

Two-thirds of the warming has occurred since 1975, at a rate of roughly 0.15-0.20°C per

decade.” While one degree of warming may seem futile to many, as the temperature fluctuates

by several degrees every day, global warming is the cause of ocean temperatures rising,

shrinking ice sheets, and more. Warming oceans, lead to the creations of hurricanes such as

Hurricane Maria which, “26 people have been killed by the storm…it left 100% of the island

without power,” (Keven Loria, 2017)

Not only the hurricane itself which caused so many damage, but the flood waters from the

hurricanes left many stranded and homeless. “Rapid loss [of polar ice sheets are] already

contributing to sea level rise,” according to an article from National Geographic News, 2012.

Flood waters, caused by rising sea levels, are an apparent risk not only to people, but the

environment as well. “Environmental damage may include widespread erosion, contamination of

aquifers and crops, and harm to marine life. And in the long term, rising seas may force hundreds

of millions of people who live along the coast to abandon their homes.” (Christine Dell'Amore,

2012)

From 1960-2014, states like North Carolina and Delaware have already experienced up to “eight

inches of sea level rise,” according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2015.

Caused by rapid melting of ice sheets around the world, it becomes an increasing concern for
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citizens and regions around the world. According to National Geographic News, 2012, “In [a]

20-year span, Greenland lost 152 billion tons a year of ice, West Antarctica lost 65 billion tons a

year, the Antarctic Peninsula lost 20 billion tons a year, and East Antarctica gained 14 billion

tons a year.” The mass amount of melting leads to extreme events and natural disasters, such as

Hurricane Sandy in New York and New Jersey.

Glacial ice is yet another piece of evidence supporting the fact of climate change. Taken from the

National Snow and Ice Data Center (2017), “Glacial ice can range in age from several hundred

to several hundreds of thousands years, making it valuable for climate research.” By studying ice

cores in the glaciers, scientists can determine, “Past atmospheric composition, temperature

variations, and types of vegetation…Past eras can be reconstructed, showing how and why

climate changed, and how it might change in the future.” (N.S.I.D.C., 2017) “Many scientists

attribute this massive glacial retreat to the Industrial Revolution, [and] with few

exceptions…glaciers around the world have been retreating at unprecedented rates. In fact,

several ice caps, glaciers and ice shelves have disappeared altogether in this century.”

(N.S.I.D.C., 2017)

Evidence, for climate change’s existence, is directly associated with the effects from it. From

“Ice cores drawn from Greenland, Antarctica, and tropical-mountain glaciers, [they] show that

the Earth’s climate responds to changes in greenhouse gas levels.” (Climate change: How do we

know?) “Ancient evidence can also be found in tree rings, ocean sediments, coral reefs, and

layers of sedimentary rocks.” Because trees are sensitive to local climate conditions, such as rain

and temperature, they give scientists some information about that area’s local climate in the past.

For example, “tree rings usually grow wider in warm, wet years and they are thinner in years

when it is cold and dry. If the tree has experienced stressful conditions, such as a drought, the
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tree might hardly grow at all in those years.” (Jessica Stroller-Conrad, 2017) This evidence

reveals that “…current warming is occurring roughly ten times faster than the average rate of

ice-age-recovery warming.”

While rising sea levels and deadly hurricanes are both reasons to believe in climate change, the

shifting agricultural seasons will become apparent, and difficult to some but beneficial to others.

Taken from an article from National Geographic, (2017) “Climate change may actually benefit

some plants by lengthening growing seasons and increasing carbon dioxide. Yet other effects of

a warmer world, such as more pests, droughts, and flooding, will be less benign.” One of the

most affected will be North America, because “No place grows more corn than the mid-western

United States. Despite a 20 percent drop in production…” (National Geographic, 2017).

According the National Corn Growers Association, (2016) “15.1 billion bushels [were]

produced.” With over “94.0 million acres planted,” (N.C.G.A., 2016) a shifted agricultural

season would be devastating as “90 percent of the grain [they] produce now comes in the form of

corn,” (Nathan F, 2013) and, “[cows] spend three to six months eating a diet composed of 70 to

90 percent corn.” (King Corn, 2008)

Shifting agricultural seasons may only affect specific regions of the world, however, a change in

precipitation patterns has been noticed. Kate Marvel, a climate scientist at Lawrence Livermore

National Laboratory, states that "It's worth saying that this is another grain of sand on that vast

pile of evidence that climate change is real and is occurring." (Ogburn, 2013) Information taken

from climate models lead scientists to predict that the, “…addition of heat-trapping gases in the

atmosphere will shift precipitation... [by] a strengthening of existing precipitation patterns. This

is commonly called "wet get wetter, dry get drier." (Ogburn, 2013) According to an article by
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Scientific American (2013), this is caused by, “Warmer air [trapping] more water vapor, and

scientists expect that additional water to fall in already wet parts of the Earth. ‘But because

precipitation has to be balanced by evaporation, we expect a [corresponding] increase in dry

regions,’ Marvel said.”

The change in precipitation patterns, in many regions of the world, will cause more droughts and

heat waves. Heat waves, defined as a period of abnormally hot weather, are “responsible for

more deaths annually than hurricanes, lightning, tornadoes, floods, and earthquakes combined.”

(Lugber G., 2008). Not only do these heat waves cause droughts, but they “…contribute to the

dry conditions that are driving wild fires.” (Trenberth, K.E. 2011). Numerous studies, such as the

Attribution of Weather and Climate-Related Extreme Events (Stott, P.A., et al. 2010) have

documented that human-induced climate change has increased the frequency and severity of heat

waves across the globe.”

The melting glaciers and rising sea levels, the commonality of extreme events, the heat waves,

and the casualties all attributed to such are caused by the Earth’s core temperature rising, known

as global warming. Taken from the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report, (2014) the main cause of

global warming is “human expansion of the ‘greenhouse effect’ — warming that results when

the atmosphere traps heat radiating from Earth toward space.”

Certain gases contribute to the “greenhouse effect,” which block heat from escaping the

atmosphere. Of these gases, there are two main types: Long-lived gases and “feedback”

gases. Long-lived gases, such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide “that remain semi-

permanently in the atmosphere and do not respond physically or chemically to changes in

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temperature are described as ‘forcing’ climate change.” (A Blanket around the Earth, 2017).

These long lived gases, produced due to human activity, last different lengths of times in the

atmosphere, forcing climate change at different levels of intensity.

Greenhouse
Average lifetime in the atmosphere
gas

Not destroyed over time, absorbed by land/ocean surface. Some is

Carbon
absorbed quickly, but some may remain thousands of years in the
dioxide
atmosphere.

Methane 12.4 years

Nitrous oxide 121 years

Fluorinated
A few weeks to thousands of years
gases

Table 8.A.1 of the I.P.C.C.’s Fifth Assessment Report, 2013

One of the most abundant greenhouse gases, water vapour, “acts as a feedback to the climate.

Water vapor increases as the Earth's atmosphere warms, but so does the possibility of clouds and

precipitation.” (A Blanket around the Earth, 2017). As the most abundant greenhouse gas, due to

more water being evaporated as the Earth warms, the more water that is in the atmosphere.

“Because the air is warmer, the absolute humidity can be higher (in essence, the air is able to

'hold' more water when it's warmer), leading to more water vapor in the atmosphere.” (Water

Vapour, 2017). Since water vapour is a greenhouse gas, the increased concentration of water in

the air is able to absorb more thermal energy from the Earth, warming the atmosphere. This leads

to what is known as a ‘positive feedback loop,’ where the Earth’s atmosphere warms due to the

increased water vapour in the air being heated, thus creating more water vapour.
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While this ‘positive feedback loop’ with water vapour is natural, and does not have an over

significant effect on climate change, the other long lived greenhouse gases most often occur due

to human activities. Carbon dioxide, is “emitted primarily through the burning of fossil fuels (oil,

natural gas, and coal), solid waste, and trees and wood products…Deforestation and soil

degradation add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, while forest regrowth takes it out of the

atmosphere.” (Major Long-Lived Gases and Their Characteristics, 2013) The burning of fossil

fuels is used primarily for “Electricity generation, [which] is the largest source of greenhouse gas

emissions in the United States, followed by transportation.” (U.S. EPA, 2016)

Next to carbon dioxide, methane is one of the worst greenhouse gases. While it may not last as

long in the atmosphere, “…it is initially far more devastating to the climate because of how

effectively it absorbs heat. In the first two decades after its release, methane is 84 times more

potent than carbon dioxide.” (Hamburg, 2017) Most often, methane is “emitted during the

production and transport of coal, natural gas, and oil.” (E.P.A. 2017) However, the next greatest

producer of methane, is agriculture, which “contributes approximately 6 to 7% of the total U.S.

greenhouse gas emissions.” (Ishler, 2017) With the beef industry being so prevalent in the United

States at “52.5 billion pounds being consumed in 2012,” (Barclay, 2012) it is to little surprise

when “livestock farming creates 90 million tonnes of methane per year.” (Bousquet, 2006)

With all of the evidence, it comes to little surprise when “Multiple studies published in peer-

reviewed scientific journals show that 97 percent or more of actively publishing climate

scientists agree: Climate-warming trends over the past century are extremely likely due to human

activities.” (J. Cook, 2016). However, made apparent by powerful individuals that not everyone

believes in climate change and its effects on the planet and its inhabitants. “I am not a
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believer…unless somebody can prove something to me, I believe there’s weather.” (Donald

Trump, 2015). The acting President of the United States is not alone, as “56% of Republicans in

the 114th Congress deny or question the science behind human-caused climate change,”

according to ThinkProgress (2015). Even with the warning given by the scientists of the UN’s

I.P.P.C. (2014) of “cut carbon emissions substantially or risk ‘severe, pervasive and irreversible

impacts for people and ecosystems,’” people do not believe in the cause of climate change

relating to human activity. According to an article from B.B.C. (2016) “People who do not

believe in the threat of global warming, climate change deniers, have said that colder winters are

a sign that there is no environmental threat.” However, this theory is disproven by a vast majority

of scientists who state “…the melting polar ice caps, and resulting warmers seas, work to pull

cold Arctic air across parts of the world - resulting in harsh winters.” (Baggs, 2016)

Overall, greenhouse gases such as methane, carbon dioxide and water vapour are contributors to

the rise of global temperatures, leading to extreme events, rising sea levels, heat waves, and

many other things. According to The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which

includes more than 1,300 scientists from the United States and other countries, forecasts “…a

temperature rise of 2.5 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit over the next century.” (The Consequences of

climate change, 2017) The continual rise in Earth’s temperature is further proof of what is to

come, and the need for action.

Climate change and global warming is not solved in a short period of time, as the Earth takes

time to heal and change. However, there are steps into slowing the rates of climate change and

creating a long term solution for the ever growing issue. The first challenge, is foregoing fossil

fuels and the burning of such: coal, oil, and natural gas. This is not simple, as “denizens of richer
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nations literally eat, wear, work, play and even sleep on the products made from such fossilized

sunshine.” (Biello, 2007) According to the E.I.A. (2017) “about 65% of utility-scale electricity

generation in the United States was produced from fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, and

petroleum).” However, the solution of switching to a renewable, cleaner source has its fair share

of issues. An article by The Daily Good (2016) states that “It only takes .6 percent of the

country[‘s] [land] to fuel the United States.” While this may seem like a small number, this is

equivalent to around 12 million acres of pure solar panels, and with “A good number for solar

farm cost per acre is typically $500,000 here in the U.S,” (Innovative Solar Systems, 2017)

When multiplied by twelve million, the total cost for the farms needed is $6,000,000,000,000, far

more than what is available.

Rather than removing the energy creation by fossil fuels altogether, reducing the energy demand

is a step in the right direction. “Overall, fossil fuels made up 81% of the United States’ total

energy consumption in 2016.” (E.I.A. 2017) The reliance of fossil fueled energy needs to be

reduced before options of renewable and “greener” power can become an option. One way to

reduce the reliance is to decrease the energy consumption in households. “The U.S. has an

energy efficiency of 42 percent, which means 58 percent of all the energy [they] produce is

wasted!” (Battaglia, 2013) In a perfect world, this means that over 50% of the energy generated

by fossil fuels and other harmful substances is not needed. From a New York Times article

published in 2008, it estimates that “71 percent of energy generated for transportation is wasted,

66 percent is wasted in electricity, 20 percent is wasted in commercial and residential buildings,

and 20 percent is wasted in industry or manufacturing.”

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Not only is generating energy an issue with fossil fuels, but the economy surrounding oil in the

United States. According to U.S. Oil in the Global Economy (2017) “Over the course of the past

10 years, U.S. liquid production has risen by over 150 percent…The United States is now the

world’s largest exporter of refined petroleum products and in 2016/2017 became a net exporter

of natural gas…With this, growth in oil demand is forecast to be somewhere between 1.3 and 1.5

million barrels per day (mb/d) in 2017.” As the demand of oil becomes greater, so does the price.

As of November 16th, 2017, the cost of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate comes in at $55.14.

At the high prices, the “[oil] industry supports around 9.8 million jobs and makes up eight

percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).” (Fitzsimons, 2016)

The world’s reliance on fossil fueled energy that largely goes to waste, with no doubt is the cause

of the rise of global temperature. The rise of temperatures, leads to drastic changes in the Earth’s

climate, taking its toll on a variety of things like agricultural land, sea levels, and harsh heat

waves. While many do not believe in its effects and being caused by human activities, the

evidence far outweighs its nonbelievers. With that in mind, solutions must be looked at to slow

down, and eventually begin reverting much of the damage and effects done to the planet, which

includes less energy waste and greener energy production.

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