Global Climate Change and Us

You hear more and more about Global Warming and Global Climate Change. Is this actually happening? At a recent meeting of 1,300 leading scientist from around the world and from numerous fields of expertise two conclusions were made. They all agreed that the earth is warming and 95% of these scientific experts attribute this change to human activity. This means all of us contribute and therefore are involved. So let`s look at some of the facts.

Sea levels have risen about 7 inches in the last 100 years and in the past decade oceans have risen at double the rate of the last century. All melting land ice, weather it is in Greenland, the Artic, Antarctica, or in glacier form, all add to the rise in sea level. The Artic ice is 13% less then 10 years ago and Greenland is currently loosing from 36 to 60 cubic miles of ice per year. The warming of the oceans also increases sea levels due to the fact that heated water expands. 75% of the world`s population lives at sea level or in flood plains.

Global temperatures are rising with most warming occurring since 1970. Twenty of the warmest years on record have occurred since 1981 with the ten warmest years occurring in the past 12 years. Last year was the warmest on record and 2012 is expected to exceed that record. Today the earth is 1 1/2 degrees warmer than it was in 1880. Climate warming will affect everything from the depletion of fish in the oceans to contributing to the severity of future storms and droughts.

All of the above is the result of the increase of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. In 1950 carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was 280 parts per million which is the highest it has been in the last 650,000 years. Today carbon dioxide is 394 parts per million. Carbon dioxide is the result of burning the fossil fuels coal, oil and natural gas.

So the earth`s climate is going through a period of drastic change and there are a couple of things that stand out from the decades of research on this topic. First, scientists keep increasing the severity of anticipated effects. Instead of oceans rising by inches in the next 100 years, the rise will be measured in feet. Secondly, scientists keep moving up the time line. Instead of effects occurring in 100 years they now agree that it may only take 50 years. Why? Because when you look at a graph of atmospheric carbon dioxide over the last 650,000 years, it stayed within a consistent range. In the last 150 years, the graph literally goes straight up due to industrialization and the drastic increase in the use of fossil fuels.

So is there anything that you can do to affect the predicted outcome of global climate change? Yes there is. The average household in the U. S. produces 22,000 pounds of carbon dioxide which is the biggest factor in climate change. Simply reduce your carbon footprint by using less fossil fuel. Reduce your electrical usage by the purchase of energy saving products or changes in your behavior; an example would be turning off the lights when you leave the room. Recycling greatly reduces your carbon footprint. The purchase of a more fuel efficient car or simply driving your car less will reduce your carbon footprint.

It seems that global warming is due to us humans. So we are both the problem and the solution. In some small but very real way, how you live your life and what demands that you put on our planet do have an effect. At times it seems futile, like you are a small piece of sand on a very big beach. But realize that even grains of sand can make a difference, together, moving in the same direction they make islands and build sand dunes. Do what you can to be part of the solution. This is not about you or us but instead about the generations to come.